Hare Om

I've arrived at the Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram in Tapovan, Rishikesh. We got to spend a few days getting settled into the routines (silence from 9pm to 9am, get up at 530am for yoga from 6-8am etc etc) and then the teacher training kicked off on Monday and there was not time for much more of anything from then until Saturday lunchtime. We do 4-5 "classes" a day, on yoga philosophy, posture technique, kiirtan (~singing), anatomy etc and in our "free time" I sleep, read, do laundry or practice sanskrit words (have ways of remembering most poses now, like sitonyourfatasana or "easy pose"). All very exciting stuff. However, yesterday and this morning we have ventured out of the ashram though. Yesterday for an evening "Aarti" or a sunset ceremony by the river and this morning we went for a walk along the Ganga, that culminated in a

breakfast on the river bed and then a dip in the Holy Ganga... something that apparently washes all your sins away.

Anyway, gotta go, have to practice teaching Sun Salutation and three more poses of my choice by tomorrow and have a load of other studying to do. The first exam is only a week away now!

Oh and Hare Om means "it is what it is" (or really anything else you want it to mean). It seems to be used for most things here. Interestingly, when my roomy and I had some problems with ants in our room they came to spray it down... and when I asked my teacher, Yogi Viskvketu (who has a Ph. D. in Yoga (!!)), "What about ahimsa (or non-harming)?", he giggled, waggled his head and said "Hare Om"... :-)