Busy as a bee with Isabelle now here! Backtrack to last Monday, before her arrival...
Yoga with Ashish the morning after my virechan (intestinal cleanse) was definitely more demanding than usual due to my low energy, but I made it through. Juice House after class for a Healthy Himalaya: banana, mango, spirulina, tulsi and tahini, topped with pomegranate, chikku and coconut flakes. Perfection. That afternoon I hopped on the scooter with Ashish #2 (owner of the Ayurveda clinic where I took my Panchkarma course) who was taking me into Rishikesh market to have my custom-made shirodhara pot ordered (for the treatment where a constant stream of oil runs down on the forehead). It was a balmy day, yet he drove into town wearing cowboy boots and a leather jacket - it was quite the sight. And he drove like a cowboy too! That night I went to a fancy (by Indian standards) Italian resto in the next town over with a few friends for Philo's last dinner (before heading south to the beaches and scorching heat of Goa the next day). So my day-after-cleanse dinner was pizza and Coke... not exactly what the doctor recommended, but surprisingly my stomach didn't seem too angry with me :)
Tuesday morning I went for a farewell cappuccino with Philo at the bakery, and it was so nice to be able to say, See you in Montreal! Our paths are sure to cross again... Then I walked over to Laxmanjula for satsang with Prem Baba, but it was cancelled that day so I gathered my courage and went next door to Shanti Mai. And soon remembered why I don't go to her. I had been a couple times on my first trip in 2012, but never returned until now. She has this strange habit of picking on people in the audience in a rather harsh manner, and I was afraid of being one of her victims. Luckily, it wasn't the case, but others weren't so fortunate. It's a very bizarre atmosphere in there, which may be what some people are looking for, but definitely not my cup of tea. Hurried out as soon as it was over (was tempted to leave before, but terrified she'd yell at me!). Much more peaceful feeling when I went to Children of the Ganges that evening on Swati's first night back to teaching after her 2-month maternity leave. The kids were precious as always, with a few familiar smiling faces from my last visit 2 years ago.
Wednesday was my last day and night at Swati's before moving to Narayana Kunj Hotel after Isabelle's arrival the next day (one friend leaves, another arrives!) Not much to say about Wednesday, just got things organized and took a nice afternoon nap (which is unusual for me, but had been happening every day since my final cleanse - energy needed some time to completely restore itself).
Thursday at 11am I got into a taxi (first car ride since I've been here) for the 1hour drive to Dehradun airport. I told Isabelle the taxi driver would be at the exit with her name on a poster (which was the original plan), but seeing as the cab was leaving from right near where I lived, I figured, why not hop in and be there to greet her? So that's what I did and she was very happy about the surprise :) Hadn't planned much for that afternoon, just walking around, showing her the area and few cool spots.
Friday the busy schedule started. First things first, delicious street chai to start the day. Then a tough yoga class with Ashish, which Isabelle took a couple days to recover from (as had been the case for me a month before, when I was more sore than after running a half marathon). Reward for our hard work was the famous gigantic bowl of muesli-fruit-curd-honey at The Office. Then it was off to the Beatles Ashram, one of the funkiest places in Rishikesh. No longer used for any purposes besides attracting visitors, the old ruins are spread out on a few acres of eerie foresty land. We ran into Pan Trinity Das, a Canadian "graffiti-with-a-message" artist who has done some amazing work in various halls and structures of the ashram. Really cool experience to meet him and watch him work. Here's a great piece on him by Yoga International - https://yogainternational.com/article/view/bhakti-street-artist-pan-trinity-das-and-the-political-message-of-love
Saturday we started our weekend with the beautiful words of Prem Baba and the heavenly sounds of his musicians and singers. Then it was over to Maa Yoga Ashram to say hi to my friend Amrit, the ayurvedic doctor I met on my last trip, after which we were supposed to meet Swati and the kids from Children of the Ganges at Mahatma Yoga Ashram, where they were spending the afternoon on a special outing and fun activities, but we never ended up finding the place...
Sunday started with another satsang, this time with Mooji, after which we met Swati in Rishikesh city for some market shopping, lassi drinking, and lunch at her mother's followed by watching the neighborhood kids play makeshift cricket on the rooftop (so much goes on on Indian roofs!). That evening we booked our readings with a nearby astrologer since I never ended up getting a hold Prateek. Interesting reading, but was disappointed not to be able to meet with my regular astro-man.
I'll end this entry with Sunday as usual, but it's now Wednesday night 11pm, and we just finished packing for our train to Delhi tomorrow. Gotta hit the sack, the alarm is set for 4am! Next blog will be from Delhi, or maybe from home, where I'll be in just a few days - and which, as always, makes me sad and happy at once... Night, night. Namaste.
Yoga with Ashish the morning after my virechan (intestinal cleanse) was definitely more demanding than usual due to my low energy, but I made it through. Juice House after class for a Healthy Himalaya: banana, mango, spirulina, tulsi and tahini, topped with pomegranate, chikku and coconut flakes. Perfection. That afternoon I hopped on the scooter with Ashish #2 (owner of the Ayurveda clinic where I took my Panchkarma course) who was taking me into Rishikesh market to have my custom-made shirodhara pot ordered (for the treatment where a constant stream of oil runs down on the forehead). It was a balmy day, yet he drove into town wearing cowboy boots and a leather jacket - it was quite the sight. And he drove like a cowboy too! That night I went to a fancy (by Indian standards) Italian resto in the next town over with a few friends for Philo's last dinner (before heading south to the beaches and scorching heat of Goa the next day). So my day-after-cleanse dinner was pizza and Coke... not exactly what the doctor recommended, but surprisingly my stomach didn't seem too angry with me :)
Tuesday morning I went for a farewell cappuccino with Philo at the bakery, and it was so nice to be able to say, See you in Montreal! Our paths are sure to cross again... Then I walked over to Laxmanjula for satsang with Prem Baba, but it was cancelled that day so I gathered my courage and went next door to Shanti Mai. And soon remembered why I don't go to her. I had been a couple times on my first trip in 2012, but never returned until now. She has this strange habit of picking on people in the audience in a rather harsh manner, and I was afraid of being one of her victims. Luckily, it wasn't the case, but others weren't so fortunate. It's a very bizarre atmosphere in there, which may be what some people are looking for, but definitely not my cup of tea. Hurried out as soon as it was over (was tempted to leave before, but terrified she'd yell at me!). Much more peaceful feeling when I went to Children of the Ganges that evening on Swati's first night back to teaching after her 2-month maternity leave. The kids were precious as always, with a few familiar smiling faces from my last visit 2 years ago.
Wednesday was my last day and night at Swati's before moving to Narayana Kunj Hotel after Isabelle's arrival the next day (one friend leaves, another arrives!) Not much to say about Wednesday, just got things organized and took a nice afternoon nap (which is unusual for me, but had been happening every day since my final cleanse - energy needed some time to completely restore itself).
Thursday at 11am I got into a taxi (first car ride since I've been here) for the 1hour drive to Dehradun airport. I told Isabelle the taxi driver would be at the exit with her name on a poster (which was the original plan), but seeing as the cab was leaving from right near where I lived, I figured, why not hop in and be there to greet her? So that's what I did and she was very happy about the surprise :) Hadn't planned much for that afternoon, just walking around, showing her the area and few cool spots.
Friday the busy schedule started. First things first, delicious street chai to start the day. Then a tough yoga class with Ashish, which Isabelle took a couple days to recover from (as had been the case for me a month before, when I was more sore than after running a half marathon). Reward for our hard work was the famous gigantic bowl of muesli-fruit-curd-honey at The Office. Then it was off to the Beatles Ashram, one of the funkiest places in Rishikesh. No longer used for any purposes besides attracting visitors, the old ruins are spread out on a few acres of eerie foresty land. We ran into Pan Trinity Das, a Canadian "graffiti-with-a-message" artist who has done some amazing work in various halls and structures of the ashram. Really cool experience to meet him and watch him work. Here's a great piece on him by Yoga International - https://yogainternational.com/article/view/bhakti-street-artist-pan-trinity-das-and-the-political-message-of-love
Saturday we started our weekend with the beautiful words of Prem Baba and the heavenly sounds of his musicians and singers. Then it was over to Maa Yoga Ashram to say hi to my friend Amrit, the ayurvedic doctor I met on my last trip, after which we were supposed to meet Swati and the kids from Children of the Ganges at Mahatma Yoga Ashram, where they were spending the afternoon on a special outing and fun activities, but we never ended up finding the place...
Sunday started with another satsang, this time with Mooji, after which we met Swati in Rishikesh city for some market shopping, lassi drinking, and lunch at her mother's followed by watching the neighborhood kids play makeshift cricket on the rooftop (so much goes on on Indian roofs!). That evening we booked our readings with a nearby astrologer since I never ended up getting a hold Prateek. Interesting reading, but was disappointed not to be able to meet with my regular astro-man.
I'll end this entry with Sunday as usual, but it's now Wednesday night 11pm, and we just finished packing for our train to Delhi tomorrow. Gotta hit the sack, the alarm is set for 4am! Next blog will be from Delhi, or maybe from home, where I'll be in just a few days - and which, as always, makes me sad and happy at once... Night, night. Namaste.
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