Chanting, chanting, chanting...
Being in India, is being submerged in a world of familiar and unfamiliar sound. From early in the morning, like 4am, walking through the Ashram grounds, one hears chanting. The young monks are also up at that time, filling themselves and the sound waves with prayer. From our tent come constant sounds of chants and music. Sometimes the enormous metal gong is chimed, which takes one on immense inner journeys in meditation, and breaks up blockages in ones cells. Liberating. In the evenings there's the Aarti ceremony down at the river in front of the big Shiva statue. Chanting, bells, harmonium. Solo voices and group chants. In the village there are always motor bikes and scooters hooting like crazy as they drive in and out of people, cows, dogs, beggars etc. And the River. It's huge presence constantly imprinting with the rush and movement of water.
I love the hour I have after course ends and before dinner, to walk around and drink in the atmosphere. I'm not tired or bored by it. Always something new and entertaining to see.
Today was the last day of lectures by GurDhuram who I've named GrrrrrrDunham. Sometimes the people who push our buttons can be the greatest teachers. And boy, was this the case with him. His delivery was so utterly frustrating and really quite boring to me. But I decided I'm going EFI on this course. (A term learned from Tour D'Afrique in 2008 where I had no desire to do EFI then. That was a cycle tour and people wanted to ride Every Fucking Inch. )
So EFI it had to be, and I sat it out on my mat listening to this flipping boring Englishman talk in phrases of 11words and less, in a dry monotone. As mentioned before, some of the gaps in his phrases were so long, and the content on either side of the pauses, so boring that I fell inside the equivalent of a black hole and sometime didn't emerge till the end of the lectures. I felt like a naughty resistant school girl. I knew I had to try find the lesson in it. So I just stayed on my mat throughout the days.
Well, either he became a little more animated as the days went by, or his material became a little more interesting, or......... it worked. I was able to move myself through my block and resistance, take the gifts out of what he was teaching and be peaceful with the rest. Viva Me!!
This morning he actually started his session off by playing two very loud very upbeat pieces of Bhangra music. Everyone leapt up and dances while he sat there on stage with a tiny wry smile on his dial, and wiggled his fingers a little. Almost adorable :-)
It was his last day today. Yes!
The rest of the day was taught by the magnificent Sat Siri, on technique of different postures. I'm filling a book with notes.
The afternoon was filled by the skillful wizardry of GurShabad who led us through one of the most powerful processes yet. Some very strong postures, followed by a visualisation with movement and some dramatic gong power. The basis was a liver cleanse which enabled us to process anger, both new and old and release this before going into the opening of the most exquisitely held meditation. I'm sure I'll never be the same again after this.
And on and on. Tomorrow Gurmukh will be back with us. She went to the Kumba Mela for a few days. So it's more power on now until the end.
Yesterday we each taught a meditation in smaller groups. I'm happy with my holding of the space. However, doing 15 meditations through the day was pretty crazy, and by the end of yesterday I knew I was very sensitive because every time I passed an animal in the streets I started crying. I'm so pained by some of the very hungry looking dogs, and emaciated cats. Even the cows made me cry yesterday.
We have some days to prepare a class which we'll each present to our groups starting on the 18th. This is the practical part of our course, and I think we do a written exam on one of the last days. Great standards. I'm up for it. Gratitude and love to my friend Micky who suggested to me long ago that I would make a great yoga teacher. I could never have imagined what that meant then. I miss her very much on this process. I'm always resistant to any form of fanaticism and religious fervour. I know we'd resonate on that level, so I've popped into the Green Hotel for some minestrone and a glass of ginger/lemon/honey. And thank heavens once again for my brilliant little coffee jol in the mornings. Keeps me sane.
Wahe Guru (which basically means WOW!!)
Lovingness
till later.......
Being in India, is being submerged in a world of familiar and unfamiliar sound. From early in the morning, like 4am, walking through the Ashram grounds, one hears chanting. The young monks are also up at that time, filling themselves and the sound waves with prayer. From our tent come constant sounds of chants and music. Sometimes the enormous metal gong is chimed, which takes one on immense inner journeys in meditation, and breaks up blockages in ones cells. Liberating. In the evenings there's the Aarti ceremony down at the river in front of the big Shiva statue. Chanting, bells, harmonium. Solo voices and group chants. In the village there are always motor bikes and scooters hooting like crazy as they drive in and out of people, cows, dogs, beggars etc. And the River. It's huge presence constantly imprinting with the rush and movement of water.
I love the hour I have after course ends and before dinner, to walk around and drink in the atmosphere. I'm not tired or bored by it. Always something new and entertaining to see.
Today was the last day of lectures by GurDhuram who I've named GrrrrrrDunham. Sometimes the people who push our buttons can be the greatest teachers. And boy, was this the case with him. His delivery was so utterly frustrating and really quite boring to me. But I decided I'm going EFI on this course. (A term learned from Tour D'Afrique in 2008 where I had no desire to do EFI then. That was a cycle tour and people wanted to ride Every Fucking Inch. )
So EFI it had to be, and I sat it out on my mat listening to this flipping boring Englishman talk in phrases of 11words and less, in a dry monotone. As mentioned before, some of the gaps in his phrases were so long, and the content on either side of the pauses, so boring that I fell inside the equivalent of a black hole and sometime didn't emerge till the end of the lectures. I felt like a naughty resistant school girl. I knew I had to try find the lesson in it. So I just stayed on my mat throughout the days.
Well, either he became a little more animated as the days went by, or his material became a little more interesting, or......... it worked. I was able to move myself through my block and resistance, take the gifts out of what he was teaching and be peaceful with the rest. Viva Me!!
This morning he actually started his session off by playing two very loud very upbeat pieces of Bhangra music. Everyone leapt up and dances while he sat there on stage with a tiny wry smile on his dial, and wiggled his fingers a little. Almost adorable :-)
It was his last day today. Yes!
The rest of the day was taught by the magnificent Sat Siri, on technique of different postures. I'm filling a book with notes.
The afternoon was filled by the skillful wizardry of GurShabad who led us through one of the most powerful processes yet. Some very strong postures, followed by a visualisation with movement and some dramatic gong power. The basis was a liver cleanse which enabled us to process anger, both new and old and release this before going into the opening of the most exquisitely held meditation. I'm sure I'll never be the same again after this.
And on and on. Tomorrow Gurmukh will be back with us. She went to the Kumba Mela for a few days. So it's more power on now until the end.
Yesterday we each taught a meditation in smaller groups. I'm happy with my holding of the space. However, doing 15 meditations through the day was pretty crazy, and by the end of yesterday I knew I was very sensitive because every time I passed an animal in the streets I started crying. I'm so pained by some of the very hungry looking dogs, and emaciated cats. Even the cows made me cry yesterday.
We have some days to prepare a class which we'll each present to our groups starting on the 18th. This is the practical part of our course, and I think we do a written exam on one of the last days. Great standards. I'm up for it. Gratitude and love to my friend Micky who suggested to me long ago that I would make a great yoga teacher. I could never have imagined what that meant then. I miss her very much on this process. I'm always resistant to any form of fanaticism and religious fervour. I know we'd resonate on that level, so I've popped into the Green Hotel for some minestrone and a glass of ginger/lemon/honey. And thank heavens once again for my brilliant little coffee jol in the mornings. Keeps me sane.
Wahe Guru (which basically means WOW!!)
Lovingness
till later.......
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