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Published: January 13th 2010
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Acro yoga
Acroyoga on the beach in Varkala After Dom and I parted company on a super-fast bus on route to Trivandrum I made my way to Varkala - a sunny beach town about an hour north of Trivandrum. Its full of western travelers drinking cocktails and wearing tie dye but its got a ocean and a nice sandy beach to lie on for a few days. A welcome break after some hard travel in India in the commotion of curry and chaos.
So i donned the suntan lotion and hit the shores. A lot of like minded travellers chilling, reading, doing yoga and this very funky type of acro-yoga on the beach at sunset.
First night I hooked up with some people I had bumped into a few times on route - they live in Melbourne and we got along famously. I was late back to the hotel though and the guys were wondering where I was. So at 1am someone was knocking on the door..only looking for me in concern knowing I was alone and it was my first night.. but it frightened the hell out of me!
Now bearing in mind its about 400 degrees in the shade - The following evening I
yoga buddies
Christmas eve in the Ashram left my window open - with burglar bars of course - just to keep a bit of air flowing through. I woke up so sweaty and hot, but then heard a rustling in the corner of the room. I got up to check it out praying it wasn't a rat, only to find a black shadow at the window, with a long flexible arms rummaging through my bag. My voice dropped 7 tones into super scarey Manda voice and I chased him away learching at the window trying to smack him as he retreated through the bars. I had fortunately unpacked my valuables from the bags, so he wasn't going to get lucky anyway. My handy tip or luck was that my shoes were in a plastic bag...and that is what gave him away. Pack everything in plastic so you can hear little cheeky monkeys rummaging through them. They didn't get anything - but i did find my bag of my dirty knickers in the alleyway the following morning... wa-lah! That would have been karma if he had made off with those!
So unscathed but a little shaken up - It was a stark realisation that I was on
my own for the first time traveling and it was a big ugly world out there and I am facing it on my own. It was a tough day, but I stood up, shook myself down and drank chai and had a swim. Looked around at the palm trees, blue sky and wonderful beach full of gorgeous folk and realised its great to be alive and know you have the strength to live hard. So really, I guess that day was the beginning of my real journey in India and I am learning more everyday!
A few days later I travelled down to Sivananda Ashram in Neyer Dam. A gorgeous place for yoga and devotional practice set in the peaceful mountains next to a lake. I arrived just at dinner time, checked in and was escorted to the canteen for dinner. Imagine 180 people all sitting in rows on the floor in front of metal dinner plates, eating in silence with their hands.... Surreal and slightly like a prison! What the hell have I let myself in for! But equally what have I got to loose!
After dinner a nice lady showed me to the dormitory where I
made myself at home and then went down for the evening mediation in a similar setting - only this time everyone was sitting in rows facing a shrine, on the floor in silence meditating. Oh god help me i thought!
After a good nights sleep we were up again at 5:30 for more of the same - this time followed by 1.5 hours chanting in Hindi, then 2 hours yoga and a swim in the dam, then another 2 hours yoga, dinner in silence
Then more meditation and chanting. The chanting I'll add is interspersed by the teachings of the founder who spreads self acceptance and love to all. No orgies NO!
I hear you say - its sounding like a cult to me - but the benefit of focusing on love and positivity in body and mind for 3 weeks has not only changed the way I deal with myself and others, but has given me a great sense of peace and happiness with my life and the wonderful people in it. Cult or no Cult - I was totally into to it for 3 weeks. I met the most amazing folks too - generally lots of
NYE 2009 in the ashram
yes and that was herbal coffee ladies - as it was a lady only dorm - most of which were single and older than me and all having a wonderful time of life.... So why the hell not!
I also embarked on a 14 day PanchaKarma - an Ayurveda detoxification programme which consisted of 1.5hour massage and medicated oil treatments every day for 14 days, with a few purge days in between.
So 3 weeks later, toned, lighter in body and mind I am ready to face India again with a full beaming grin on my face!
It was certainly the best place for me to spend my Christmas and NYE and I met so many amazing people to share that time with. A few of the girls will be good friends for years to come. I am going to Varkala to meet them for a few days on the beach again.
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