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Transformative Yoga Practices
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So now that I'm over my physical illness (prior blog entry), I have to say that my yoga practice has been really phenomenal over the past few days. That doesn't mean it has been easy - far from it, it has been very challenging. But once I am finished, I literally float out of the shala, back up the main pathway to the terrace, then to my room to shower and such. I've been working hard on Second Series Ashtanga, and Petri has been guiding me with a grace and gentleness that I sort of fall into. By design, Second Series has a tendancy to raise one's energy, and I have been noticing it lately - my hands and arms were shaking today when I looked at them, I was so charged. But even though you're charged, it's also physically exhausting - the intense backbending work in Kapotasana, all the arm balances in Karandavasana just to name a few. I did have to stop at one point and shed some tears, as it goes so deep into you that such releases are quite common among yogis. So I feel an intense sense of humility, vulnerability and eventually release while doing this practice...
Add to the fact that I've been incorporating pranayama (breath work) just prior to my final resting pose of Savasana, and I feel like I'm no longer a member of planet earth, I have been jettisoned somewhere else in the Universe. When I walk out of the shala, my vision is a little blurred, as I step down the stairs things seem fluid and in flux, it is the weirdest feeling. But I have this dreamy, drifty smile on my face all the while...
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German Bakery Dinner
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So this past Tuesday I finally scheduled a reunion with Verena and Ulla (my 2 German friends whom I met in Mumbai a few weeks ago - Gosh already a few weeks ago!!). We decided to meet at this place called German Bakery - a local joint that is very well known to all the residents and tourists. It is one of the most chilled out, relaxed places I have ever been. It was fantastic - the food, the people, the atmosphere, the chillout music playing in the background. Seriously, its the kind of place that is cozy and intimate and all you want to do is light up a joint and just chill the fuck out! LOL!!! Of course I did not do that, but other patrons were clearly partaking in that. Besides just me, Katja, Petra and Sarah came with me, and we all had the most amazing time. Here are some pictures:
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Another Visit to Anjuna Market
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Yesterday after practice, the ladies and I decided to go back to Anjuna Market to do some more shopping, then go to the beach (since it is ON the beach anyway). It was the same kind of thing - lots of touts and hawkers trying to get you to buy the cheap stuff, all of it the same. Kind of over that now, to be honest - just so frantic a place, shopkeepers literally jumping in your face asking if you want to buy. "Just look is free yeah?" Yes looking is free, right. There was one guy who was selling whips (and I think the Kama Sutra book to go with it!) and he kept whipping the whips right in front of the tourists. He got really close to me at one point and I jumped aside, as I thought he was going to get me! I didn't buy much but I did find this one really cool necklace from the Tibetan area - got an "Aum" necklace that suits me quite well, was only 100 rupees, so what is that - $2 USD? :-)
Eventually, we found the same shop where we got our Lassi drink last time, and partook in another Lassi / Samosa snack. Gotta say those Lassis are the best I've had in India so far - just fantastic, so fruity and so tasty! Later we made our way to the beach and found this really chill beach restaurant. Petra and I had some lunch while Katja and Sarah went for a swim in the ocean. The booths where you eat are like lounges - pillows everywhere, you just want to go to sleep in them, the breeze from the ocean feels so good, you are having some great Indian food and drink, and you just feel so relaxed! It was really nice. Here are some pics:
And here's a few other shots of the Market
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Mind your Ears
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We made our way out of the beach shack and back to the main entrance where we looked for our taxi driver. For those that don't know, the typical thing we do at the retreat is book a taxi for an entire trip - take you to the destination, wait there for you, bring you back - 500 rupees? Very common and everybody does it. Normally the taxi drivers are very good at spotting you, but we couldn't find the guy for some reason, so we walked around the parking lot for a while looking for him...
Then, I experienced something extremely unpleasant - something I hope will never happen to me again for the rest of my life, I was so upset! A man walked up to me and started talking to me - at first I couldn't understand him but he kept pointing at my ears, as if to convey that I had some kind of bug or insect on my ear. So I was shooing it away from my ear, but he just shook his head and then GRABBED my ear. He grabbed my ear and stuck some sharp metallic object into my ear, rubbing it around. I was bewildered at first as to what was going on, it happened so fast. Sarah was with me and saw the whole thing. Then he took this metal stick out of my ear and tried to convince me that this "paste" was coming from the inside of my ear - as if my ear was infected and he cleaned it out for me. I realized what was happening, and I pushed him away, walking quickly back to the taxi driver (whom was eventually found by the others in the group while this ordeal was happening to me). I still didn't know what had happened and what was going on - I kept feeling like there was something stuck in my ear. I eventually got in the cab and we started driving back...
"What the hell WAS that???" I asked the girls.
"I don't know, it didn't look right though"
Then I realized what was going on - others at the retreat have encountered this scam before, but I was oblivious to it. Basically, they try to convince you that your ears are dirty and they cleaned it out for you and now you owe them money...
I was fucking PISSED!!! It's one thing to learn how to deal with extreme poverty, with children coming up and grabbing your arm asking for money, people constantly touching you, jumping in your face, etc. Ok ok, I guess I can deal with that. But this - this is a whole other level. This guy stuck a foreign object that has been God knows where into my EAR - and it wasn't just the surface, it felt like he was going deep. He could have fractured my ear drum, I could have gotten a nasty infection. Besides that, it is one of THE MOST invasive things anyone has ever done to me. Petra tried to calm me down and told me to just let it go, I was fine, nothing was going to happen. Eventually I did, but it took me a couple of hours, I was so upset. Just try to do something like that anywhere in the West, Europe or the U.S. Hell if it was in the U.S. that guy would have his ass handed to him...
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Dinner at Greek Restaurant
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We made our way back to the retreat where I showered, got myself composed and changed, and then went right back out to this nice little Greek restaurant that is literally on the beach, perched high on a cliff. The entire retreat was there, as it was our collective night out. You get there early and you get some good seats where you can watch the sunset. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets that I've ever seen - it was picturesque, grandiose, majestic. Here are some pictures - just imagine there is a good breeze coming off the water and it only adds to the feeling of paradise:
The food itself was ok and the service a bit spotty, but I guess it's difficult to serve 36 people all at once, meanwhile attend to the other guests. Something we take for granted in the U.S. I guess, but this is India, and things work differently...
After dinner we were supposed to go and see one of the staff members D.J. at a club he works at. Originally it was going to be Thursday night, then while at dinner they said it was actually THAT night. Then we ask the cab driver to take us there, he doesn't know where it is, has to ask someone else, finally figures out where to go. We show up, the gates are locked - no one there, totally silent. One of the guys comes up to the gates and says nothing is going on until Friday. Which is totally bizarre because everyone else said it was tonight. Then the D.J. himself shows up, thinking he has a gig tonight, but finds out that it's not until Friday. All of us cracked up - only in India can this kind of thing happen... :-)
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Looking Forward
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So that is what has been going on. As I mentioned earlier, my last day at Purple Valley is this Saturday, where I fly into Delhi to meet up with my contact, Arjun. I booked a new flight anyway than what I originally scheduled, as I wanted something direct and not have to change in Mumbai. Plus Katja and I can be on the same flight, and it's always nice to travel with friends...
So Delhi for 3 days, then Agra for 1, then Rishikesh (I think), then Amritsar, then home. That's the next 2 weeks of my life. I'm sure I will have many more stories to come. But for now, Namaste and Love from Goa, India :-)
Jeff, Safe travels to the north -- and may you never experience a scam like that again!
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