Last week in the Ashram

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Saturday, Oct. 10th

The past two days have been quite stressful. The city was quite intense as always. Sometimes I feel like a zoo animal. Being blonde and green-eyed is just very, very unusual for India and people will randomly come up to me and start taking pictures… Nothing bad, it can just get a little annoying. Wearing sunglasses and a scarf helps.

Yesterday we had our Parichay exam, a practical exam, where we had to do certain yoga poses. Semi-Finals started today: here we have to conduct an entire yoga lesson. I went first this morning at 6 am, which was very good, cause I had very little time to worry about it :-) It went very well though. Plus, we have an essay due tomorrow. I meant to write about Yoga and Depression, but it ended up being more about Yoga in our everyday life. Maybe I’ll put it on my blog…
Today is Saturday which means bajahns (singing time). It’s weird how your perspectives and expectations shift. I mean, I’d still prefer good electronic music, but you just take what’s there. Speaking of which: I made up a new style of yoga. I usually go up and practice for a while before dinner and one night I just got really bored, so I took my Mp3 Player. It’s amazing how much better some asanas can be with good music! No, but seriously, living here really sort of puts you back on the ground again. It makes you appreciate simple things more, like for example, clean clothes or electrical power coming out of the socket, all not a given here.
My back is still kinda sore, but I get regular massages from one of the Thai Girls. I pay her in chocolate, which is incredibly expensive here! Last time I got her Chocolate in Town I spend about four times as much as I did on my train ticket to Mumbai. I mean, it was still not a lot and the Indian railway system is just incredibly cheap, but still…
I’m so glad that Amy and I are staying a couple of days longer… It’s just gonna be very relaxed, plus the weather has become awesome after the rain last week. During the days, it’s sunny and around 25 to 28°C, at night it gets pretty cold. And she got a ticket for the same flight as I did to Goa. I’m very excited for the beach.
I’m probably going to town on Monday, to finally book my flight to Melbourne. It’s very hard to decide when to go, cause I still wanna have enough time in India, but I also wanna get there at some point… we’ll see, it’s probably gonna and up being sometime in the middle or end of November.


Monday. Oct 12th

So… it’s over! We’re done! Man, the last two weeks went by so fast! Tomorrow we only have our ceremony and our goodbye lunch… Everyone’s packing up their backs trying to fit everything in. I’ll probably end up sending a package home. I guess, for once my parents were right and I brought wayyyy too much stuff :-) Fortunately there is DHL in India, Indian post is very unreliable.
Finals went very well. And since we didn’t really have to do anything today, we went for a long walk and afterwards, Kajsa and me went up the hill and tanned illegally. I decided not to go to town today, since we’re going tomorrow. And Thursday. Amy and I are gonna see an Aruvedic Doctor. He’s gonna fix us  Don’t really have any big news to tell ya. Decided to put my essay up in here.
More tomorrow


Tuesday, Oct 13th - sunrise Yoga

This morning we went up the hill before sunrise and did yoga up the hill. Well, we took lots of pics and did very little Yoga, but whatever :-) Later we had our Graduation ceremony. It was very dad, a lot of people already left today. It feels really weird, cause all these ramdom people were family for one month... I'm just so happy that Amy's staying with me, I don't think I'd be doing very good all by myself after being with a bunch of people all the time for 4 weeks.... What is very nice, though is to have our room all to myself...

For lunch we had a goodbye lunch in the city - awesome Indian food. Then we went so see some very famous caves - they were cavy.... not so much for me. Write more, when we're back in the Ashram. Still gottta book my flight!

Hugs & Kisses


Wednesday, Oct 14th - cow worshipping day

I meant to write something yesterday and then I didn’t. It was just a lot yesterday. All the people leaving… Today we were only 5 left of our class. It was fast. Need more time to deal with stuff. Glad Amy’s staying and coming with me….

Today was just THE LAZIEST DAY ever. I pretty much stayed in bed all day and knitted, listened to audio books and did nothing, which was great. Oh, and since today is the first day of Djivaali, the festival of lights. We’re gonna be in Mumbai for the peak of the festival on Saturday, which is gonna be very interesting. So, since this was the first day, we worshipped the cows today. It was fun, except for I had a feeling that the cows didn’t like it that much. Tomorrow, Amy and I are going up the hill again for sunrise, well if I can get her to get up at 5…


Ok, so I promised to write something about the Yogic lifestyle. And since we had an assignment to do so, I just decided to puplish my essy here:

Yoga in our daily life

Living in an ashram for the past four week made me realize how little appreciative we are of simple things in our life, like clean water or electrical power anytime we want. We take it all for granted, not even wasting a thought on the prosperity that surrounds us. We always try to aim for better salaries, better apartments, a better social status. Even having more than enough to live, lots of people are discontent, searching for a true meaning in their lives, trying to fill their inner emptiness by spending more money or overindulging in food. Sounds familiar?

After the stock markets crashed about one year ago, a general feeling of hopelessness and mistrust developed. People seem to have lost their faith in the general kindness of man. Everyone wants to rescue every penny that is left of their money, searching for the best protected ways to store it. Instead of trying to keep up a positive attitude about the future, most people are stuck in a pessimistic way of thinking, supported by the hysteria that is spread by the media. No one wants to take more risks than necessary. Despite of have a job that we hate, we rather keep it out of fear of not finding anything else. Despite of living in a relationship that expired month ago we rather stay with someone we don’t love than being by ourselves. The least change will cause the least trouble, so it seems. All these issues crate negative thoughts, emotions, resulting in stress and the weakening of the individual’s energy (Prana), resulting in depression, anxiety, burn-out or other disorders. Now, you might ask yourself, what all that has to do with yoga, especially since Yoga appears to have become a mere tool for relaxation and exercise in the West.
The word Yoga means ‘Union’, the merge of body and mind. How many times is our body not listening to our mind, especially when it comes to pain, or physical exercise? Yet, it also means the unification of thoughts, words and actions, a lot of people seem to be lacking these days, just think of politicians as one example.

The practice of Asanas will not only help to unite body and mind, but it will also help to increase the flow of Prana in the individual, cleaning the body from unwanted toxins. Also Yoga will regulate not only bodily, but also mind processes, taking direct effects on the glands and organs. The breathing techniques (Pranayam) taught will allow the person to effect their nervous system and mind in a way that is positive for their current state either calming or stimulating, warming or cooling. Meditation will help to turn inwards, instead of running away from the own thoughts and emotions. Yoga Nidra can aid in purging bad habits such as smoking or overeating, diminishing factors that can lead to chronic diseases. It also takes a major part in stress management, a skill that is becoming more and more important, teaching us how to relax appropriately, letting go of any stress, tension and worries. Karma Yoga as well does its part for stress relief, by working for other without any expectations, thus, without any stress: putting in all the heart, only for the sake of working, not seeking any reward.

Don’t get me wrong: this doesn’t mean: Practice Yoga and the world will be bright and shiny and you’ll never be sick again. It just means, that the knowledge you gain about your body and mind will help you to deal with difficult situations better. Yoga is a constant process of normalization and balance, two things, we are deeply in need of today, whether it concerns our bodies, thoughts, emotions or actions.
When Patanjali wrote the Yoga sutras, around 400 years B.C. he most probably didn’t expect it to be still read and more up to date than ever in the 21st century. And even though he used difficult language, what he had to say back then has become more and more important today. If more people started orientating their life on the Yamas and Niyamas, the world would become a better place. I agree, that sounds incredibly shallow, but let me get further into detail: The Yamas consist of five guidelines for social living: Non Violence (Ahimsa), Truthfulness (Satya), Non stealing (Asteya), Sex Control (Brahmacharya) and Non Possessiveness (Aparigraha). The Niyamas on the other hand are principles for self discipline and include Purity (Shoucha), Contentment (Santosha), Austerity (Tapa), Self Study (Swadhyaya) and Surrender to God (Ishwara Pranidhana).

These ‘rules’ may sound very strict and hard to follow when you first read them, yet keep in mind, they are ancient and they don’t need to be stuck to by a hundred percent. This doesn’t mean you have to give away all your belongings and live like a monk or a nun! Use common sense and just take them for what they are: guidelines to guide you daily life. Make an effort to follow them and try to improve every single day. Be happy with what you have and develop a positive attitude towards the people around you. Try your best not to hurt anyone deliberately, whether with thoughts, words or actions. Try to skip meat in your meals, at least once in a while. Have faith, and if you don’t believe in anything like god, have faith in yourself. Believe in your own capabilities and self-worth. Don’t torture your body with diets and over exercising. Don’t numb yourself by taking painkillers or other medicines, when it isn’t really necessary. Get rid of everything and everybody in your life that affects you in negative ways. I know, easier said than done! Dare to do something new and unexpected. Always be aware of your actions and the effects on your environment. Try to see obstacles as challenges to grow on. Take one step at a time, and add one little goal each day. It may not be easy all the time but as most things in life it gets better the more you practice. Promised.











© Meike Mentzel, October 2009
This essay is not based on scientific research or facts; it merely represents the opinion of its author.

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