Sivananda
I was getting ready to leave Chennai and decided to have one last lunch at the place I normally go. While eating lunch there was an australian wandering around looking for a seat and I called him over to let him know that he can share my table if he'd like.
We struck a conversation and he was telling me about this clothing material he makes in India for his business and how it is based on biodynamic farming founded by Rudolph Steiner (google it if you are interested...)
Anyhow, I'd been working quite hard in India for more than a month on a few projects I needed to catch up in. I was burnt out, unshaven, sick with long hair. I asked him if he knew any nice yoga ashrams. I've been looking for a nice place to do yoga and meditation for the last part of my India trip with no luck. A person on the next table tapped on my shoulder and told me that I need to go to Sivananda (www.sivananda.org). I listened with a skeptical look in my eye..
"Is it any good?" I've found many places in India where either the yoga was meditation or it was taught by people who really didn't know yoga. He gave me a firm look and told me he's been doing yoga for 35 years and I won't be disappointed. I felt humbled by the firm, confident look in his eyes.
So instead of leaving to Pondicherry, I decided to head over to the Sivananda center in Chennai. The ricksha driver took me through the crowded streets of chennai and veered a left. The breeze felt cooler and cleaner as we headed towards the ocean. The crowded and dirty streets of Chennai seemed less crowded and less dirty. I had a good feeling...
I arrived at the center and paid for a room to stay in for a few days. The payment included all food with meditation, yoga programs, chanting all in the package. The funny thing is that the center was really small and there is only 1 room! So I was the only guest...
I was hungry when I got it and asked about food. They told me they were headed to a wedding and asked me to come along. I hopped into their jeep and went to a fancy hotel where I had fancy food and had my picture shot with a bride and groom I didn't know.. And that was my first experience of yoga at Sivananda!
Anyhow, after we headed back I had them drop me to a salon for a haircut. I looked horrible - unshaven, weak, and very tired. I'd been sleeping around 3am everyday and eating very little. I felt more tired and weak than I have ever felt before. The barber took me in and cut my hair and he looked at me shaking his head.. He told me I needed some sort of oil thing on my face and relaxation. I didn't quite understand and was too tired to argue so I said okay. Next thing I know he takes me in an isolated room and examines my face under some sort of large microscope. He tells me that my skin is healthy but he knew I was using the computer too much and could see the darkness under my eyes and bla bla bla.. He then gave me a choice of different treatments such as some weird fruit mix thing to put on my face. I felt all weird and declined. He somehow managed to convince me to stay and lay down and told me to trust him. So I laid down on the table and closed my eyes.. He told me to relax and for the next 45 minutes he did all sorts of things to my face.. He put layers and layers of things and some fancy movements with his fingers that felt nice on my face. I have no idea what it was.. I grew tense at some points and he told me I need to relax and not think and soon I found myself drifting away. The last thing I remember was that he put something cool on top of my eyes and left the room.. He came back later and did more things and told me to open my eyes.. WOW.. that felt good. He showed me to a mirror and i kind of jumped back because I looked and felt all fresh.
I paid my bill, thanked him, and went off on my way.
I came back to the center and took part of a group chant. Every teacher took turns singing a spiritual song in which we all participated. My upper body swayed back and forth as I could feel the vibrations running through my body. After that I had a nice dinner that was cooked by the cook at the center. It was simple and healthy - felt like homemade food.
After my first healthy dinner in Chennai, I chatted with the teachers and they told me that I should head over to the large Ashram in Kerala if I want to stay for a long period of time.
I tried out yoga and meditation the next morning from 5 - 8:30am. I was blown away, it all felt just right. Convinced that I wanted to spend my last couple of months in India doing yoga and meditation I've now booked my train ticket to Kerala to join the ashram by the sea. I'll be heading there an the 30th and will stay there for 41 days. There is a saying that it takes 41 days to develop a healthy habit. It's funny because I think it takes just a couple days to develop an unhealthy habit..
Anyhow - the point of all this is that I'm shutting off all my technology heading off. If you don't hear from me or see updates on my site for a while - that means I'm doing just fine...
We struck a conversation and he was telling me about this clothing material he makes in India for his business and how it is based on biodynamic farming founded by Rudolph Steiner (google it if you are interested...)
Anyhow, I'd been working quite hard in India for more than a month on a few projects I needed to catch up in. I was burnt out, unshaven, sick with long hair. I asked him if he knew any nice yoga ashrams. I've been looking for a nice place to do yoga and meditation for the last part of my India trip with no luck. A person on the next table tapped on my shoulder and told me that I need to go to Sivananda (www.sivananda.org). I listened with a skeptical look in my eye..
"Is it any good?" I've found many places in India where either the yoga was meditation or it was taught by people who really didn't know yoga. He gave me a firm look and told me he's been doing yoga for 35 years and I won't be disappointed. I felt humbled by the firm, confident look in his eyes.
So instead of leaving to Pondicherry, I decided to head over to the Sivananda center in Chennai. The ricksha driver took me through the crowded streets of chennai and veered a left. The breeze felt cooler and cleaner as we headed towards the ocean. The crowded and dirty streets of Chennai seemed less crowded and less dirty. I had a good feeling...
I arrived at the center and paid for a room to stay in for a few days. The payment included all food with meditation, yoga programs, chanting all in the package. The funny thing is that the center was really small and there is only 1 room! So I was the only guest...
I was hungry when I got it and asked about food. They told me they were headed to a wedding and asked me to come along. I hopped into their jeep and went to a fancy hotel where I had fancy food and had my picture shot with a bride and groom I didn't know.. And that was my first experience of yoga at Sivananda!
Anyhow, after we headed back I had them drop me to a salon for a haircut. I looked horrible - unshaven, weak, and very tired. I'd been sleeping around 3am everyday and eating very little. I felt more tired and weak than I have ever felt before. The barber took me in and cut my hair and he looked at me shaking his head.. He told me I needed some sort of oil thing on my face and relaxation. I didn't quite understand and was too tired to argue so I said okay. Next thing I know he takes me in an isolated room and examines my face under some sort of large microscope. He tells me that my skin is healthy but he knew I was using the computer too much and could see the darkness under my eyes and bla bla bla.. He then gave me a choice of different treatments such as some weird fruit mix thing to put on my face. I felt all weird and declined. He somehow managed to convince me to stay and lay down and told me to trust him. So I laid down on the table and closed my eyes.. He told me to relax and for the next 45 minutes he did all sorts of things to my face.. He put layers and layers of things and some fancy movements with his fingers that felt nice on my face. I have no idea what it was.. I grew tense at some points and he told me I need to relax and not think and soon I found myself drifting away. The last thing I remember was that he put something cool on top of my eyes and left the room.. He came back later and did more things and told me to open my eyes.. WOW.. that felt good. He showed me to a mirror and i kind of jumped back because I looked and felt all fresh.
I paid my bill, thanked him, and went off on my way.
I came back to the center and took part of a group chant. Every teacher took turns singing a spiritual song in which we all participated. My upper body swayed back and forth as I could feel the vibrations running through my body. After that I had a nice dinner that was cooked by the cook at the center. It was simple and healthy - felt like homemade food.
After my first healthy dinner in Chennai, I chatted with the teachers and they told me that I should head over to the large Ashram in Kerala if I want to stay for a long period of time.
I tried out yoga and meditation the next morning from 5 - 8:30am. I was blown away, it all felt just right. Convinced that I wanted to spend my last couple of months in India doing yoga and meditation I've now booked my train ticket to Kerala to join the ashram by the sea. I'll be heading there an the 30th and will stay there for 41 days. There is a saying that it takes 41 days to develop a healthy habit. It's funny because I think it takes just a couple days to develop an unhealthy habit..
Anyhow - the point of all this is that I'm shutting off all my technology heading off. If you don't hear from me or see updates on my site for a while - that means I'm doing just fine...
