Yogi in Training

Hi Everyone:
 
For the month of December, Lenny and I have been travelling separately in Nepal.  Lenny is volunteering at a school & orphanage.  And I have taken this time to a little soul searching. 

Normally I'm not very spirtual, but being in the part of the world where many come to seek spirituality, I couldn't pass up this opportunity to learn what yoga and meditation is all about.

Although yoga and meditation classes are being offered in many places in Nepal, it wasn't easy to find the ideal place.  I was looking for a place with the right ingredients - a peaceful surrounding and a good Yoga teacher.  Luckily, I found both of those at Sadhana Yoga located in the hills, above Pokhara with a great panoramic view of Fewa Lake.

Most of the yoga that I was familiar with at home was the quick drop-in style yoga classes that stressed fitness and exercise. When I arrived at Sadhana, I quickly realized traditional yoga encompasses a lot more.

As I learned, yoga was developed with the purpose of uniting a person's own consciousness with the universal consciousness. The physical aspect of yoga is designed to tone, strengthen, align the body and increase the body circulation.  While the mental aspect of yoga is designed to quiet, clarify, and discipline the mind.  Both aspects are important in achieving the union of the body, the mind, and the spirit.

So in the six days yoga retreat, I was given my first taste of traditional yoga. The yoga retreat followed a pretty rigid daily schedule.

Meditation started at 6:15 AM, which is pretty damn early for those of you who know me!!!  Meditation is a process of quietening the busy mind.  We meditate for about 30 minutes in the morning and in the evening.  Of course with only six days, it's hard for one to be able to still of the body, not moving for 5 minutes is hard enough!  To get to a point to be able to ignore all the aches and pains from sitting still would take a much longer time.  I  found meditation did calm my busy thoughts.  I mean most of the time I was concentrated on ONE thought, my numbing foot!

After meditation we woud go for our morning walks which consisted of a good hour walking down and up the hilly landscape of Nepal.

Then comes the neti. Neti is a traditional nasal cleansing technique.  This is done because there is a lot of breathing exercises in yogic practices and it is important for nasal passageway to be clear.  I can tell you all about the mechanics of this neti technique as shown in the pictures.  But as others and I at the yoga retreat agreed, it is definitely something one does not understand until they try it for themselves.  So I will leave it at that.

Next is the the Hatha Yoga, which perhaps is the path of yoga most are familiar with since this is the most popular branch of yoga in the West. I loved this part the most especially since we got to do it outdoors at times. There is nothing better then doing the Sun Salutation to the rising sun in front of the beautiful Fewa Lake.

After Hatha Yoga, we either did a mud or steam bath. This is suppose to help detoxify the body. But to me it's more like going to the spa with the girls!

We have the rest of the afternoon to ourselves to read and hang out till karma yoga. Karma Yoga is where we do household chores around the yoga center for an hour to collect our positive Karma. It is believed that your present situation is based on your past actions, so by doing selfless service now, you are choosing a future that is free from negativity and selfishness.  I think it's more of a good plan for the owners to have some free labour!

After that, it's chanting, evening yoga, dinner, hanging out and bed time, before a whole new day begins again at damn 6:15 AM!

I definitely didn't became enlightened in the six days I was there but it was a very good intro to yoga.  I learned that yoga is not about Lulu Lemon or getting toned for the summer. I learned more about recognizing what's going on with my body and mind. Even the simple breathing, I never knew my lungs were capable of so much more till I start focusing on just breathing!

And the best part was that I met some really great people at the yoga retreat, which made my mini spiritual journey an very enjoyable one!

Om Mitraya Namah, Salute to the friend of all

Jenn