Talent Show at the Ashram and Nose Floss!!!

Hello there My Lovely Friends,
How are you? What's up and new? What is your heart saying and feeling today???? As for me, I've been a the Sivananda Ashram now for a week now. It's truly amazing and so what I've been needing. My heart is happy here, I get a work out, I get to meditate (not as much as I'd like though), I get to be social and well....I'll tell you more in a bit.

So let me start by telling you the schedule-it's 5:30am rise and shine, 6-7am is Satsong where we meditate, chant amazing chants that I'm loving most of, a little word of Sivanandas work, more chanting/ending prayers and then Prasad-this is a little sweet that translates to Grace om english and it is chanted over and given to you in the morning an evening-all different kinds of prasad-fruit, fried fruit with sugar on them or dates. Then we have tea, do 2 hours of yoga, on to breakfast, then a talk on yoga, diet, etc, then karma yoga/service to the ashram, coaching on what ever you need, then yoga, dinner, satsong, prasad and then bed at 10pm-ish.

It's a very full day with little time alone and great people that you want to be social with so it's hard to not just take your space in the little free time.
But THIS PLACE IS GREAT!!!

Every Saturday they have a TALENT SHOW!!!! That's right, a talent show. Last week I got up and sang a duet with my friend Viv that I met at Amma's and then I danced to Lisa Gerard-the mirror pool album (the first track, just in case you want to know). Everyone went wild over it-well wild for an ashram anyway, even the main Swami thanked me in front of the whole crowd from bringing dance on stage and something different, HOW EXCITING! As I feared they may freak on me for doing such lustful things-yet it was quite a spiritual song so not too groovy, sexy or sensuousness.

But I'll be dancing again tomorrow twice, one a duet and a solo and then a singing duet and a solo. Oh, last week I got the dance captured on my camera!!!! So that's great! It's nice to have these things documented! I'm meeting great people and learning a ton about myself, yoga-which I'm just loving and the practices.

Speaking of some of the yoga practices, they do this great thing of taking salt water and putting it in a little container and then we do what I call nose douche and you put the container to your nose and let it pour out the other nostril. It gets out all kinds of lovely mucus, makes you snore, cough up stuff and get it all out.

But then comes the really fun part NOSE FLOSSING! You take this rubber cord and slowly stick it up your nose, inch by inch until it hits your tongue, then your reach back and grab it and pull it slowly through and you then proceed to floss back and forth-YOUR NOSE! I gets a ton of stuff out and it works! Don't try this at home without some kind of instruction! But it's interesting if you don't gag, throw up or anything. So now I no longer have to just floss my teeth but now my nose!!! More things to do in the morning I guess! All for good health.

Some people even swallow 6 cups of water and then make themselves puke so it cleans the stomach, I haven't tried this yet. But I'll think about it.

The food here is good, feels healthy, yet not enough raw. They said it's because it's not slow season and not enough staff to get raw fruits up there. But many of us will go out and get fruit as it's just so nice to have it around and so refreshing in this sticky weather. It's thankfully rainy season now and so it's so cool I don't need the fan at night but it's still muggy at times and the mosquitos love to come sneak up on you to take blood when you are holding an asana-they know you can't move so they can just take what they want from you.

OH, OH, OH!!!! I'm so excited, I did my first head stand by myself on the first day they instructed it AND I didn't fall over! They teach it so well here I'm so excited! As the last time I tried it in India I hurt myself, but they have it down in the teaching of the head stand and I can feel how healthy it is to be in this position!

I've considered doing the teacher training for yoga here just for the knowledge but I doubt I'll do it. It's not something I want to teach I just love all the info on health and how they believe and live. Well except the part that you should have no desire, lust and you should keep your energy to yourself so no sex. Well I'm sorry, that maybe for them but that's not my philosophy, I like Tantra myself, I am about inclusion of life and bringing up energy a different way thank you! But I can see how people can get sucked into this way of being as it's powerful!

You see all these amazing people going through their day, meditating, chanting, being fed, being of service to everyone and it makes you want to be part of it! I have seriously considered staying here for a few months, but I think I'd rather go visit a few more of their ashrams around India and not just be in one place.

The ashram had several people a week ago and just in the past few days everyone has cleared out so now there maybe 30 people here, well.....more like 20 people studying here now I think. It will be nice as there will be more space and time to ones self.

I'm loving doing food service here, yet it's a little tricky with no speach during the two meals a day, as you just have to guess if people want something and go over to them and see if they look up and signal yes or no to what you have. Talk about serving, it really shows me how servants had to have been way back then or even now in some places, watching your every move to see what you may want-reminds me of The Color Purple.

Oh the other night everyone in the ashram went for a night walk to the lake, it was so nice to outside at night walking and seeing the stars, how lovely! We all sat at the lake to meditate and chant, just beautiful. A few lights on the lake from a few homes on it, the sky dark but for the stars and the outline of the palm and coconut trees around the lake. Really breath taking! We do that walk in the morning once a week too!

I really get how someone can stay a while here. You can swim in the lake. Well let me explain this statement. It's not like stripping off and going skinny dipping. Nothing of the sort, here in India. It's more like you have all your clothes on-in which you want to wash as they want you to wash yourself and your clothes down in the lake to conserve water. So here you are dressed from head to ankle and you walk into the water and hope and pray the rumours of aligators in the lake are a myth or have been taken out of the lake by now. But still you swim with one eye open curious about them!

So I'm good, I'm happy, I'm getting better in yoga and trying new things-like the head stand by myself! Now I'm meeting a few people that want to do cleansing as well, so we may all go and do it together which would be nice. Plus I talked one of the teachers into teaching a class on cleansing so that will be on Monday!

I hope you are well. It's funny as I sit here they are throwing fire crackers outside every minute and it feels and sounds like a bomb, so coming from the ashram it's a little shocking. But I am doing great other than the shock waves of those things!!! ; )

May your heart be happy, sing, dance, play and may you find more hidden belief in yourself every day! The people here are never taught to question themselves with low self esteem or confidence so here they get up and just chant out of tune, off key and out of rhythm and love it! It took a little bit to realize how nice it was to just have them be them and them show self acceptance so beautifully.

I have found some new people to hug and touch and play with which feels really good! I really get I need that in my weekly, if not daily life.

Well I'm off, I love you, send you hugs. I hope to hear from you soon at my email address at: gypsysundancer@yahoo.com. Remember to be happy and do things that make your heart thrilled to be alive. Love and passion to you, Heather

Everyday feel what it feels like to live a passion filled day! XXXOOO