FOOD (part 1)

I've been meaning to tell you about what I've been eating for a while now.

At the ashram, they treat us well. Breakfast is served with hot chai every morning. Sundays we eat a bowl of chicpeas; Thursdays, the blob (we don't know what it is exactly so we started going out for breakfast on Thursdays); the rest of the week either a bowl of tumeric rice or a bowl of hot, sloppy, chunky, chewy wheat and coconut porridge. Can you guess my favourite?

Lunch and dinner are the same deal: a mass of white rice (which I stopped eating 2 weeks ago when I got a cold), a bowl of dahl, a scoop of curried vegetables and fresh, hot, buttered (or not) chapati bread. Often some raw cucumbers or tomatoes are served on the side, and a guy usually goes around with a plate of green chillies if you feel like spicing things up. You can have a second helping but you've got to finish everything on your plate. That hasn't been a problem with me. I love this food.

ashram grub

Now I want to tell you about a few wicked things I've tried here in Rishikesh.

"The Himalayan Health Pancake" (Madras Cafe): A huge whole wheat pancake spread with curd and honey, decorated with slices of apple, papaya, orange, banana and pommegranite gems. SO GOOD.

Street samosas: Two of 'em in a banana leaf bowl, a sweet red sauce, hot green chilli sauce and pinch of spice on top, eaten with a wooden spoon. (Pete's already mentioned the ones we get at The Office.)

large masala chai and a chocolate banana samosa

"Lemon Nana": Fresh mint lemonade in slushy form.

"Origanic Greek Salad" (Prem Namaste Cafe): A bed of cabage topped with tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta cheese, grilled potato and eggplant, pineapple, mixed nuts, raisins, parsley - sweet and creamy dressing. I didn't mind that it wasn't your typical Greek salad; it was nice to eat all those raw veggies.



Traditional rice pudding: On the 12th anniversary of Shayla Mataji's husband's death, we were served this for desert. (Shayla is an old holy woman who has lived at the ashram for, like, 30 years.) It is so creamy and comforting, made with tiny rice and lots of cardamonn. Mmmmm..

Crazy peanut sweet: Everyone loves this stuff. It's kind of like fudge. Twice I've been handed a piece on the street as I I came across a parade; we also get a piece every Monday and Friday night after Kirtan.

Images of Rishikesh

Ram Julah Bridge, ~10 min walk from our ashram

Pete in a quiet street

sweet spot

back when his beard was tame

pretty young women

objects of worship

behold the Ganges!

Leprosy Bibing Hall

Yoga Niketan after breakfast

cabins

flight of the monkey

Neti (Nasal Irrigation)

Due to undesirable weather conditions, we were unable to practice neti in class yesterday morning (bummer!!)

However, being the enterprising individuals that we are, we purchased ourselves our very own neti bottles and cleansed our nasal passages on our own. Unfortunately we still do not have the rubber tubes you use for flossing, although I may pick some up today.

Here is the wikipedia article on neti: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_irrigation

The benefits of the treatment include:

• Clearer vision due to cleaning of the tear ducts
• Decreased use of medication
• Deeper, more relaxed breathing
• Improved sense of smell and taste
• Improved sinus-related quality of life
• Reduction of symptoms

If you're interested in getting a neti bottle... maybe we can pick one up for you. We can get some fairly small, travel-friendly sized plastic neti bottles here for cheap, so let us know!

Mantra

Hari Om!

This mantra we recite before every meal and it is occasionally recited before commencing meditation and yoga asana class.

om saha na vatu
saha nau bhunaktu
saha veeryam karava vahai
tejasvainav adheetam astu
ma vidvisha vahai
om shantih shantih shantih

It is explained as

Om may he protect us both (the teacher and the taught)
By revealing knowledge, may he protect us both (by vouchsafing the results of knowledge)
May we attain vigour together
Let what we study be invigorating
May we never quarrel with each other
Om peace peace peace

I've got a sore throat! Time for some honey-lemon-ginger tea :)

Pete

Tratak

Since it's been a while since we last post (and because the last time I went to a cyber cafe I couldn't remember what I wanted to post about), I am posting on another subject as well today.

The subject is Tratak, a process which vastly improves concentration, is one of the methods of purification (that I left out in my earlier post), and is said to improve eyesight.

There are two different approaches a beginner may take and I will mention both.

1. Draw a black spot on a sheet of white paper big enough to nearly fill your field of vision. Spend a few days just staring at this and concentrating on it. You are ready to move on when you can narrow your field of vision to see only the spot. Then shrink the size of the spot. Continue doing this process until you the spot is 1 inch in diameter.

2. Choose an object of "best choice", something that you love most, that you feel no aversion to. Place it before you at a looking distance (about 3 feet in front of you while seated). Concentrate on this object.

In the above two methods, when I say concentrate, I mean that you will stare at the object and that is it. You stare at it until you feel light strain in your eyes or until the point of tears. When you feel the strain, close your eyes and visualize the object. When you are ready, open your eyes again and repeat the process.

Eventually you will move beyond circles and favourable objects to neutral objects.

That is the first step. The second step is to sit and try to draw the image of the object from memory. Close your eyes and try to visualize the object which you focused on (this does not apply to the black circle). This is called remembrance.

The third step is to assemble a group of objects and do tratak and remembrance on each one.

The fourth step is to go to a solitary, peaceful place. Sit down and think of someone who you love most. This person is already in your memory, so you can simply close your eyes and visualize them.

While visualizing and concentrating, there are two different practices. You can either attempt to have no thoughts and simply observe the object, or you can think of all attributes of the object and gain deep knowledge about it.

For instance, if you are doing tratak on a flower, you may think of its colour, its structure, the texture of the petals, but you should not be lead astray by tangents and begin thinking about bouquets, weddings, families, etc.

If you are attempting to have no thoughts, it is unadvisable to try to force thoughts out of your mind. Resistance = Persistence. Instead, gently bring your mind back to focusing on the object.

Once you have mastered tratak, you will be able to computerize your memory and be able to relive experiences that you have had in the past. Say you visit a very beautiful garden, but it will not be easy for you to return there. Then you can practice tratak on the garden and keep it in your memory. By remembrance, you can "open the key to memory", and be there whenever you please.

Nasal Flossing

Howdy doodah! (There is a greek man here who always says that to me and chuckles. I think he thinks that it is a common Canadian greeting.)

I hope everyone is doing well in Canada. We're doing great here in India, although the past few days have been very hot. Today is beautifully cool. :)

Last Saturday we had our second nasal cleansing. I think we are both fairly proficient at pouring water in one nostril and having it come out the other now. We didn't attempt the pushing from mouth to nose, but we did do the nasal flossing with a rubber string.

That's where things got interesting. I was very determined to do it this week, and I was having no success. While I kept trying to stuff this string up my nose I could hear Steph laughing and speaking exasperatedly with a yoga teacher who was helping her stuff it down her nose (whether she liked it or not). I tried and tried and tried and had no luck. Soon there was only 3 people still attempting to do it and the yoga teacher, Naveen, who had previously been helping Steph approached me.

"May I?" Of course! And so he began stuffing it down my nose for me. Wrong hole. Wrong hole. Wrong hole. Oh this time we got the right hole. OK Now reach and grab it! Do not worry, this is only a problem for first time (gag reflex). You do it. Nononono do not pull it out. Too late, I couldn't get over the gagging and I had to withdraw the string (it is more like a thin tube with 1 closed end). He left me be for a bit and I kept trying, but I could not get it down the right hole.

Eventually I was the only one still trying to do it. Then Naveen came over to help me once more. He said, "This time you do it. I will do it for you." Not knowing exactly what this meant, I agreed. Wrong hole. Wrong hole. Right hole! And down it went again to the back of my throat. "I think this is right way. Yes this is right way."

Now it was in there and I soon learned what he meant by "I will do it". I started reaching in to grab the tube and he shoved my elbow, pushing my fingers deep into my throat. I grabbed the tube and pulled it out my mouth! SUCCESS!! And so I began flossing, posing for photographs, and salivating like crazy. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photographs, since our batteries were dead, but hopefully someone will send them to us.

When I was satisfied, I pulled it out my mouth and that was that. Can't wait to try again next week.

Lecture

Hari om!

Today I would like to expand on a certain part of our schedule, the lecture. Monday through Saturday, at 3:15, we have the opportunity of grabbing a cushion and sitting around a wise old man and listening to him speak.

This man, this swami, has a thick beard and wavy white hair (both around 3 inches in length) and a very gnarly nose. He is 87 years old and lives at just about the highest point in the ashram, which is very impressive, since he walks (very slowly) all the way there and back several times a day without the help of a cane.

There are usually very few people (1-5) at the lecture. It seems that many people will come on their first day and never return-- most because they cannot understand what he is saying due to his accent and their unfamiliarity with english. I, luckily, can understand very clearly and have been attending regularly for the past week and a half.

His speech is very repetitive, which helps things sink in, as well as build up patience in the listener ;>. He says the same things to all the new people:

First you comes purification. Then comes concentration. Then comes meditation. Then comes realization.

The question comes, how to purify the mind? I will tell you. The aspirant must only choose one that he likes best. Only one is necessary for purification. When you wish to teach others, you must practice them all.

First Truth, universal love, selfless-service. You cannot have purification without this.

Second Recitation of mantra. Loud recitation of mantra brings physical purification. Mental recitation of mantra brings mental purification.

Third Bhojan Kirtan. The singing of devotional songs and playing with musical instruments. Singing of devotional songs brings internal purification and playing of musical instruments brings external purification.

Fourth Listening to Kirtan. Listening to devotional songs with concentration will bring purification.

Fifth Tratak.
Sixth Pranayama. There is simple, medium, and high pranayama. Simple pranayama is breathe in, breathe out. Close left nostril, breathe in, breathe out. Open left nostril, close right nostril, breathe in, breathe out. This is single clearance. Close left nostril, breathe in, open left and close right, breathe out. Breathe in left nostril, breathe out right nostril. This is cross clearance. Then breathe in both nostrils, breathe out both nostrils. This is full clearance.

Medium pranayama is breathe in, breathe out. Stop. It uses same techniques.

High pranayama is breathe in, stop. Breathe out. It uses same techniques.

Seventh Silence. The sky is the embodiment of supreme silence. When the mind is silent, it is absorbed in the sky. It is like a rain drop falling in the ocean. When it has fallen, one cannot say where is the rain drop.

The main goal of the lecture is first to answer any questions the students have. Once all questions have been exhausted, he speaks to us on whichever topic he feels like.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed this little peek into our daily lives! Thanks for all the comments :)


Pete

Rise and Chai

Namaste!!

This week has been tough - both physically and mentally. Between morning and evening yoga and meditation, meals, clothes washing, studying hindi and an afternoon nap (that is necessary to not falling asleep during evening meditation), there is little room for down-time. We're keeping our heads above water though..

I will certainly write about all the food I've consumed in detail, but not right now. It's time for chai. Just to be clear, chai is made by boiling fresh creamy milk with sugar and masala spice mix. It's a big deal around here - and it makes sense. Not only does the milk nourish the body, this little cup of flavour is a small pleasure in the lives of many people who have very little.


where we're at

a view from our ashram

sunset on the Ganges

Ashram Life

Turns out the cool air on our first day in Rishikesh was not common place. After walking for hours in the extreme heat of Delhi the day before arriving, my feet were so swollen they no longer fit my sandals. (I hammered in a couple new holes using fine tweezers and a masterlock.) Not as hot as Delhi, but it sure is HOT around here. A bit of rain now and then, tail-ending the monsoon season, brings moments of relief but otherwise after breakfast I am sweating until dusk.

The yoga has been amazing - we are both very sore from our sessions yesterday - and the pranayama (special deep cleansing breathing techniques) feels very powerful to me. Unfortunately, the meditation has been a struggle. Getting up to meditate at sunrise or trying to meditate at the end of a long hot day as the sun sets has proven to be very difficult when we're so tired. I keep nodding off. I think we're going to try out afternoon naps and see if things get better.

There are lots of neat people staying at the ashram. A couple from Germany, a world traveller originally from Ohio, many from Japan (this ashram is well known there), a sweet woman from Korea... and the staff are all really great. One old guy told Pete he'd better get rid of his beard. "Only old men have beards here." He, however, had none.

Neither of us have gotten sick yet. (I hope I don't jinx us.) We've voluntarily introduced some of the Indian water into our system by brsuhing our teeth with it, washing our dishes with it. I have a feeling the acidophilis (probiotic) we're both taking is helping.

On with the day!

The Race That Never Ends

O my goodnesssss. Inida! Mother India!! After landing, we were wisked away to Paharganj, the poorest neighborhood in New Delhi (I don't think we knew this when making reservations), where we spent two nights at Hotel Namaskar. Enormous cows and skinny dogs (many lactating but with no pups around..) wander around docily, eating whatever they find. Confettied egg shells glued together with greening yolks, shit spliced into sections from bike wheels, rotting, slimy greens, stagnant puddles of urine, old paper packages... all of these things make up the streets of Paharganj. Waste of all sorts is everywhere and it is picked over again and again until it is swept aside by some diligent street vendor and becomes permamently a part of this place, it seems. I'm glad we stayed where we did because I don't think we would have been brave enough to explore the area in depth had we approached it from a nicer side of the city. Plus the best chai I've had so far was made by a guy around the corner from us. (a cup cost Rs. 4 = 10 cents)

The driving is mayhem. NO EXAGERATION. It is a miracle there aren't accidents everywhere. (A couple times I thought we were done for.) Indian drivers make European drivers look ilke sissies - and Torontonians like babies. It is a constant race; everyone is always trying to pass everyone else. They will drive on all sides of the road at absurd speeds and the noise is deafening. (The most important part of any vehicle is its horn.) Yesterday we took a 6 hour taxi ride from New Delhi to Rishikesh (where we are now). People running through traffic, bicylces, auto-rickshaws, non-autorickshaws (a person on a bike pulling a little wagon with 2 people or so), cars, vans, buses, trucks, cows, horses and wagons... and us in the back of a car with the most determined dirver of them all. In 6 hours we were not passed once. I can't imagine how long it would have taken us to get here if my mom were driving. ;)

It is great to be here in Rishikesh. This place is les chaotic than New Delhi and we are right on the Ganges River! There is a big suspension bridge to cross the Ganges and it looks stunning from afar when filled with women in bright clothing, baskets on their heads, motorcylces, cows and mokeys.

We've got stuff to do now. We've been taking some pictures and will try to post some at some point, but I'm realizing how inadequate pictures of this place are. Being here all your senses are tantalized, challenged, spanked, awakened. The smells, the sounds, the HEAT, the flavours... of course, the visuals are quite something.

ONE MORE THING: this morning, after the most intense yoga class I've ever experienced, we flushed our nasal pasages with salt water.. and attempted to floss them. This might not make sense to you; it seems crazy to me too.

Hope everyone's doing well at home!

Alive in Rishikesh

Hello everyone,

We have survived two very, very long days in Delhi and now are enjoying a peaceful, cool time in Rishikesh. We have seen a lot of crazy things, and berated with people trying to get money from us, but it's been okay. I think we are both very happy to be gone from Delhi for now, although we miss our morning chai (over here the chai is basically orange pekoe tea with milk and sugar).

The Yoga Niketan Ashram that we are staying at is pretty lovely. We have a room together in a cabin infested with ants, a hybrid toilet with bidet and two very hard beds. The good part is that it overlooks the the Ganga river and it's fairly quiet.

We have a strict schedule while we stay at the ashram. It's as follows:

4:30am        Morning Bell
5:00-6:00am   Meditation
6:30-7:30am   Yoga
8:00am        Breakfast
-- time to do what we please, but it is recommended to study in the library --
12:00pm       Lunch
3:15-4:15pm   Lecture
4:00pm        Tea
5:00-6:00pm   Yoga
7:00-8:00pm   Meditation
8:15pm        Dinner
9:15-10:00pm  Kirtan (Mondays and Fridays only.. not sure what this is exactly, but I know it involves singing)

We get Sundays off, except we have to clean from 6:30-7:30am. Not really sure what else to say at this point, so hope everyone is doing well back home. We are grungy over here and are looking to buy some clothing soon! Two shirts over 4 days is not a great choice!