This is my new home for atleast the next two weeks. It's a huge apartment just off the sacred Ganges for 500rs a night $9.45. The first picture is of my massive bedroom. The next is a collage: top left is the hallway outside my bedroom, the doorway is where my bathroom is (which has HOT WATER!!!!!), then the hallway has a shelf which has become my vanity and bookshelf. The top right is my living room, which I've totally rearranged. It's now where I practice yoga and meditate. You'll see the big couch, my kitchen table, my yoga mat and a doorway which leads into my kitchen. The bottom left is my kitchen. There's no burner or anything but I bought some goodies and have a little water heater to make tea. The bottom right is a picture of my kitchen table and the doorway which leads out to my awesome front porch. Next is a photo from my kitchen window, out the back, and the photo after that is the view from my front porch. Not too shabby. It's a bit musty in here, so I've rearranged all of the furniture, opened all the windows and doors and have hung all the blankets out for a bit. I'm really tempted after week two to move to Ananda Guest House, which is only 150rs a night (a little more than 2$). Basically where I'm staying now is a bit off the tourist radar- it's an ashram that rents out rooms to people who are here for the programs that they run. I found out about this through my teacher Sequioa, who is in the building next door. On the 27th they have a group coming in, so I'd have to move out- but if there's an availability somewhere else in the building they told me that I could go there. Basically, if I'm packing up and moving- I might as well be moving somewhere else. The rooms are tiny at Ananda, but there's a full kitchen to use and Gita, the momma there, is the sweetest ever. She must have hugged me a dozen times- and when you're traveling alone and missing your mom, well- it's nice to be smothered with love but an old, soft and round grandma. Who knows, no stress- I'll figure it out when the time comes round. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying my new place. I slept til 10am today!! After the all-nighter and stress at the Delhi railway, followed by little to no sleep on the train, my poor body was due for a proper rest. In addition to my vamana dhauti (yes- I'm still drinking and puking up a liter of water every morning), the jala neti, tongue scraping, and washing of the eyes- I've added in brushing my gums with salt. Just regular salt, using your finger- and I gotta say, this is the cleanest that my mouth has EVER felt. I skipped my asana practice this morning, opting instead for pranayama and a long meditation, and I'm already looking forward to the Iyengar class that I'm doing tonight. As odd as it was for me (only 3 poses in 2 hours), the lecture-like class really stuck with me, and I ended up writing two full pages about Uttita Trikonasana when I woke up this morning. Also, that pose usually leaves my knee screaming in pain, and this morning I woke up with a happy and healthy knee. I'm excited to start exploring this slow, intense, insightful Iyengar practice more.
After pranayama, I adventured into the shower. They "claimed" that the shower had hot water, but that claim usually doesn't hold true- or the hot water only works for 3 minutes a day, something like that. Anxiously, I stepped into the shower and VOILA, burning hot water!!! It only lasted for 5 minutes, but it was the first hot shower that I've had in months!! I scrubbed and scrubbed and enjoyed each and every blissful moment that my body was met with such warm water. It was especially great because it is damn cold here in the mornings, so a cold shower would have forced me to go without one!
I'm sitting on my porch now, squeaky clean and grateful for the warm afternoon sun, as Im taking time to journal. I have 3 going: my sadhana spiritual journal: chronically each day of my spiritual journey- the challenges and the pleasures that I meet along the way. The second is my Yama/Niyamas journal which I'm keeping track of my weekly commitments. Ahimsa just ended and today begins Satya. And the third notebook is my Ayurvedic Food Journal. After plowing through and LOVING "Prakriti" by Dr.Robert E Svoboda, I have been inspired! So I'm writing down what I ate and:
1. How I felt (emotionally) before i ate : (for example....I was bored, I was anxious, or best yet...I was actually hungry!!)
2. How I felt (physically and emotionally) after I ate it (for example...full, gassy, bloated, satisfied)
3. Any extra thoughts or side notes
It's a new journal, and it's an experiment- but I feel like my biggest challenge on the yoga path isn't asana, pranayama or meditation...but it's about my issues with food! I'm obsessed, literally. When I'm doing my morning practice, the thought that distracts me is always concerned with food- what I'm having, what I want, when I want it, etc. I also eat to comfort myself when I'm sad or overwhelmed, and I use it as a reward for whenever I've done something great. So hopefully the journaling will help me build some awareness about my habits and therefore help me to overcome my issues with food. That's my ramble for today. Namaste my friends!
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