Shivratri, etc.

Just as I was starting to take the weather for granted - long stretch of warm sunny days - the rain and cold returned yesterday for Shivratri, the annual celebration of Shiva and Parvati's wedding. Rishikesh is quite crowded at this time, with hoards of Indian tourists coming here to worship on this holiday.

This past week I had my period, which I was particularly happy about... no, not because I was worried about being pregnant, but because in my tough morning yoga classes, the teacher often says, "Menstruation, don't do." So it was my turn for a break! I got out of a very strenuous chaturanga segment, and was instructed into a comnfortable restorative pose instead. Ahhh, the joys of being a woman!

I'm loving my ayurveda course, halfway through. Learning such interesting and useful things. Bought an ayurveda cookbook for when I get home. (Until two days ago, I had only bought one book since arriving - very controlled for me! Then I bought two more, the cookbook and one on Chakra Mantras.)

Wednesday night I attended the karma yoga lecture at Trika. It's always a great one. Here's a beautiful article I had read a few days before that expresses what karma yoga is really all about: http://yogainternational.com/article/view/the-yoga-of-work-love-your-job-love-your-life

Some Swati wisdom: A few days ago when I was walking home from school with her, she said, "I'm going to go to the temple and then to get medicine," but I understood, "I'm going to the temple to get medicine." I asked, "You're going to the temple to get medicine?", and she said, "No, temple then medicine!" And we giggled. But then she added, "I can get medicine at the temple too - I can pray." I thought that was beautiful. And yesterday when I was at her home watching her kneed the dough for chapatis, I said, "That looks like a great arm workout!", and she replied, "Yes, that's why I don't need yoga!" And later, while doing dishes, she asked me about how exactly a dishwasher works. After I explained in detail, she said, "And that's why you need yoga in the west!" Hahaha. We had a good laugh about that.

Rain has been on and off since yesterday morning, not like last time's endless monsoon. Sun and heat are scheduled to be back in full force to greet Cindy and Loraine on Sunday :) 

Quick updates

- Midweek I switch my morning yoga from Ashish (Monday-Wednesday) to Anup (Thursday-Saturday), and Sundays I give myself a break. Late afternoon, I either go the Trika class or to Children of the Ganges.
- I didn't end up going to the wedding I was invited to, because Swati wasn't feeling well and I didn't want to go alone (though it would have been perfectly acceptable for me to do so). Really, all I wanted to do was see the bride and groom and fill my belly with delicious Indian buffet food. But instead, I practiced - yet again - sleeping through a wedding right outside my window. And I'm getting really good at it! In fact, that night, I had my best sleep of the week! On other nights, I am bothered by barking dogs, mosquitos, and my bathroom door banging from strong pre-sunrise mountain winds.
- On Friday, I ran into a lady who was in my TTC group last year, and an Australian girl I met my very first day here in 2012. Fun to see familiar faces :)
- Weather keeps warming up... soon I will be complaining about the heat. Yesterday I packed away my fleece sweater, tuque, mits, legwarmers, and sleep socks. Yay!
- Studying a lot of Hindi on my veranda in the afternoons... I'm going to make Swati proud :)
- Sunday, my day off from yoga, I went to my first Mooji satsang this year. It was lovely. It was funny. It was sad. It was uplifting. I look forward to being there again next Sunday morning (just before meeting Cindy and Loraine who arrive early afternoon!). That evening, Swati and I went shopping in Rishikesh market (loud, crowded, crazy, exhausting) for school supplies with money donated from a friend. Delicious pumpkin soup and cashew-date ball at the Health Cafe to end the day.

- Words of wisdom from Mooji:
"Allow your mind to fall in love with your heart again. It is a beautiful connection."

Bhajans, yoga, ayurveda & Mooji

So, where were we... ah yes, Sunday night bhajans. They were beautiful. They were led by a British couple I had seen several times at Prem Baba. Christian played the guitar, flute and shruti box (a mini-harmonium without the keys, just wind), and Angela sang angelically. The rest of us (about a dozen) joined in the singing when we caught onto the melody, some also playing others instruments (tablas, shakers). We sang to Shiva to awaken and praise the masculine, and to Matta Ganga to awaken and praise the feminine. What a divine way to spend a Sunday evening.

Monday morning I was back at Ashish's tough Iyengar class. Mornings are still crisp, but afternoons are glorious. On that one, I stopped by the Health Cafe for a fresh Spirulina Lime Revitaliser juice in the sun. This is the life! That night, another wedding in the ashram yard. It took me a while to fall asleep, but once I was out, I was out. The next morning I heard they had been banging pots and pans around 2am, but somehow, I slept through it!

Tuesday morning yoga with Ashish. Went to Swati's in the afternoon and it was my turn to teach Arnav a game today. I had brought along a tiny travel domino set and we played a few rounds. That night, Swati and Amit invited me out for dinner at her favorite restaurant for south Indian dosas (crepes made of rice and black lentils). While the three of us rode there on the motorbike, me squeezed between the two of them, Swati riding side saddle on the back since she was wearing a sari, she jokingly said, "People will think we are kidnapping a foreigner!" Hahaha :)

Wednesday morning I was laughing hysterically in Ashish's class when he had us kick up into handstand with the "other" leg. If you can do a handstand, try it (against a wall). Do one naturally, with whichever foot automatically goes up first, then try one with the the other foot. I felt totally physically incompetent! I finally managed to stay up after about my tenth attempt. That afternoon, I went for my first ayurvedic consultation, where the doctor takes your pulse, asks you a series of questions, then tells you what your doshic constitution is and how you should adjust your diet to balance your doshas. Turns out I'm about 70% kapha. I know the basics of what that means, but will know lots more next week, when I will be taking 10 hours of private ayurvedic theory courses with the doctor who did my reading. Along the same theme, that night I attended my first Trika lecture this year, the one on alternative healing strategies. Always a good one. I make sure to go to that one every year. It's a little different each time, with a different focus depending on who gives it and what their experiences have been. No matter who gives it, they always rave about urine therapy. I think that after hearing about it three times now, I might finally be ready to try.

Random bits: getting by on an average of $15 a day, including food, accommodation and yoga; Weather is warming up, and no rain in the long term forecast; while I'm learning a lot from Ashish, starting my morning with strict and intense yoga certainly sets a different tone for the day than the loving energy from Prem Baba's satsang. I look forward to his return from the mountains. But in the meantime, Mooji has landed. His satsangs actually attract a much larger audience than Prem Baba's (a couple thousand versus a couple hundred). I went to him once last year, and will go again this year, but do prefer the more intimate gathering at Prem Baba's ashram. Prem Baba is Brazilian, Mooji is Jamaican.  

Off for some fresh juice and reading in the sun :)

  

Yoga, Rain, Weddings

After 3 evening classes with Ashish, I decided to switch it up mid-week and try Anup's (Swati's brother-in-law's) morning class. Another great teacher, but tough work first thing in the morning! In the 2-hour class, we did about an hour of surya namaskar (sun salutations) with several difficult variations. When I arrived in class I was wrapped in my blanket and had my tuque on, but by the end of those surya-s, I was wishing for AC. Anup only charged me half price for the class, and when I insisted to pay full, he said, "No, no, you are family."

Difficulty falling asleep that night - the moon was full, the dogs were howling, and there was loud dance music coming from speakers in the distance. Around 11, the rain started, and everything else got quiet. And then it rained, and rained, and rained. Not like last week when it was on-and-off for the day, but full-on monsoon style. It did not stop for a second for almost 24 hours. And didn't even settle to a drizzle. Downpour.

In the morning, I bundled up to run through puddles to Anup's class. Spent the afternoon cooped up in my room, reading, writing postcards, coloring while listening to Echoes: The best of Pink Floyd, and napping. Made it to the Trika afternoon class, before running to town for dinner, which I ate shivering and wet.

Next morning, after studying some Hindi, which I try to do every morning, I went for my 3rd class with Anup. This time, he went around giving everyone a head, face, and neck massage during savasana (the final relaxation). Now that's how every yoga class should end!

That day, the rain was on-and-off, but when it rained, it was torrential. One of those downpours happened while I was visiting Swati, chatting, drinking tea, and getting some explanations for some Hindi questions I had accumulated from my morning studies. The rain wasn't letting up, so I stayed longer than usual and played with Arnav (who has no sibblings - yet - and was thrilled to have a play buddy. First we made clay dice and I used them to practice my Hindi numbers. Then he taught me a board game - the name of which I don't remember, but it was like a cross between air-hockey and pool. Mid-game, I heard Swati call, "Erika! Erika! Come to the window, it's snowing!" What?? But it was hailing! Haha. That night I went for the weekly dance class at Children of the Ganges, and when they were done their Indian dance practice, I taught them a few ballet moves. Even the boys didn't hesitate to try them out. The dance teacher's brother is getting married on Thursday, right outside the ashram where I'm staying, and she invited me to attend... another Indian wedding :) Amit came to pick us up on the motorbike so we wouldn't have to walk through puddles in the rain to get back. We piled on and I held his umbrella over the four of us until he dropped me at my ashram gate.

As I walked up to my room, colder than ever (it was probably about 5 degrees - at night - which might sound good to you guys back in snowy Canada, but that's 5 degrees without heating!) I noticed a lot of activity in the ashram yard, where I had seen festive tents being set up yesterday. Great, a wedding tonight. Attending a wedding is one thing, but trying to sleep through the screechingly loud and pounding music so close to my room is another. It went non-stop from 8pm-4am. So I had to try sheltering myself from the cold as well as the music. Slept with my tuque, scarf, mits, an extra heavy wool blanket over my sleeping bag, my eye-mask and earplugs. Needless to say, there wasn't much sleep to be had. Glad it was Saturday night, and that today, Sunday, is my day off from yoga, so I didn't have to worry about waking early.

Did my first 2 loads of bucket laundry today - the sun has returned! (But it's still quite cool.) Just roaming around this afternoon, stopping to read in the sun and getting fresh fruit juice. Tonight, I will attend bhajans (chanting) in the Trika hall. Haven't been to them since my first year here, and I'm really looking forward to it. Alright, time to get out and catch some more rays!      

This and That

A few tid-bits/highlights from the last 3 days:

- On Monday, I started my yearly Indian sugar-free week. Hardly miss it this time. Except for not having a sweet morning chai to start the day, and drooling a little as I walk by the displays of the many, many bakeries.
- Ordered a plain banana porridge for breakfast, and was pleasantly surprised when it came topped with cinnamon, raisins, cashews, almonds and dates... yum! (Still ingesting natural sugar.)
- Went into a bookstore for the first time this year, and bought my first book... Uh-oh. It has begun.
- Usually, at satsang, the musicians sing, but today, Prem Baba sang. It was absolutely enchanting.
- On my walk back from LaxmanJhula to RamJhula, I bought some street food for lunch to save a few rupees and a few minutes. But getting street food means, well, eating on the street. I was walking and munching on a pakora out of the newspaper bag, when a long-limbed grey monkey jumped towards me and started clawing at my bag, and another joined in. I was impressed with myself for laughing instead of screeching, and I actually managed to twist and turn my way out of the monkeys' grip, wrap the food and bag in my shawl, and be on my way unharmed and with my food intact. I've seen this happen to a few other people, and they usually just surrender and throw their food on the ground to get the monkeys away from them. Guess I could have fed the poor creatures too...
- As I was at internet later that day, the music out in streets suddenly changed from soothing mantra chants to... Eminem! What a strange and unexpected shift.
- That evening, I went for my first Iyengar class by a teacher that was recommended by my British neighbor at the ashram. Holy heck, my body has never been worked so intensely. Iyengar is very physical style of yoga, focused heavily on the understanding of anatomy, how our bodies work, and proper and safe alignment. And they don't mess around! But despite the intensity of the class, the teacher (an unusually tall Indian guy) has a great sense of humour, making for a pleasant class atmosphere. (Unlike Usha Devi's class - she is a very well-known, though I might say infamous, German-Swiss Iyengar teacher. There is no lightness of atmosphere in her class - she is a full-on drill sergeant. She repeatedly hits people, has them hold postures for as long as 20 minutes, picks on people to demonstrate so that she can rip them apart and show how badly they are doing the posture, insults people and is condescending. Yet, her classes are among the most highly attended and sought after in all of Rishikesh. I keep telling myself I should try one just to see for myself what it's like, but the more I hear, the less I want to go. And as a teacher myself, her pedagogy just doesn't sit right with me.)    .
- On Tuesday, Prem Baba spoke of his favorite mantra, Prabhu Ap Jago, which is all about awakening love. The musicians' rendering of it was sublime.
- Went for my second evening class with Ashish (the Iyengar teacher), a little sore from yesterday, but feeling energized and ready for the challenge.

- Wednesday was the last satsang with Prem Baba until March 5th. He and his people are going up into the mountains for a 2-week silent retreat. It was a special and emotional satsang today. First, the musicians played and sang for longer than usual as they were being video-recorded. (This will be uploaded onto his website - I'll let you know when its up, definitely worth a watch and listen.) Then, there was a special dance performance for the One Billion Rising movement (http://www.onebillionrising.org), bringing awareness to violence against women. As the women in red danced with lit candles, accompanied by a spoken/sung poem about this issue, there wasn't a dry eye in the hall. I'm getting choked up just thinking about it. (I hope this performance also makes it onto the video montage.) Prem Baba then spoke about how all that is wrong with our world today is rooted in the disrespect, aggression, and lack of worship towards women, Mother Earth and the divine feminine.
- That evening I went for my third class with Ashish, enjoying it more and more each time, as my body opens up and adjusts to his meticulous teaching.
- Had a delicious thali for dinner.

- Sleep is pretty much back on track, except for sometimes being awoken by the incessantly barking dog in the middle of the night (apparently in reaction to an elephant that has been roaming around in the dark).

- I was getting by on just over $10 a day the first week, but now that I've started yoga classes and doing a little more shopping, it's up around 20.

- Health: so far so good :)

Some words of wisdom from Prem Baba to finish up:
"When you are able to love the earth and all of its creations, then you are free." 

Wonderful Weekend

Wahoo!! Almost a full night's sleep after warming up my soaked wrinkled feet Friday night. At the ashram, there is a gong-like object that is hit every hour from 10pm to 6am, with the amount of hits corresponding to the time. I was asleep by 10, and woken by the sound of the gong... 1,2,3,4,5! Yay!! 7 straight hours of sleep. It's always an exciting moment when I realize I've slept through the night, and the jet-lag is finally dwindling away. Studied a little Hindi in bed, then out for my morning street chai and a quick visit with Swati before walking to Lax for Prem Baba. Today, he spoke of attachment, control, and trust. "Trust that God knows what is right for you. Trust that everything that happens is ok, whether good or bad." I do remain with a few questions about that... While he spoke of connecting with our hearts, someone's cell phone music started ringing in the quiet hall, and he said, "Ah, you see, when we speak of the heart, the music starts!" And then he broke into his beautiful contagious laughter, his whole body shaking with it. Sat in the hot sun at the German Bakery for lunch, then walked back to RamJhula. Along the way, when I was a few minutes from my room, I was maneuvering my steps to avoid a large puddle of water and an oncoming motorbike, and instead, ended up stepping in a fresh pile of holy cow poo. Wearing flip-flops. Flip-flops with holes in them. (Every year, Swati's mother-in-law laughs at me for wearing sandals that were designed with small holes in the soles, and every year, I tell myself that indeed, they may not be the best footwear for India. But they are my favorite ones, and I keep bringing them.) So, with cow poo squished up under my foot, I walked the few minutes to my room, trying very hard to withdraw my senses of smell and touch. Once all cleaned up, I walked down to river in the now very hot sun to write my first batch of postcards. That night I went with Swati and Arnav to Children of Ganges for their weekly dance class. Every Saturday night, a dance teacher comes in to teach them traditional Indian dance. It was adorable to watch, especially the boys! They all danced so enthusiastically. Had dinner with them and then home for an early night.

Decent sleep, 9:30-4:30, when I was awakened by an incessantly barking dog. Then on-and-off sleep till 7:30. Daily routine followed: morning chai, internet, breakfast, Prem Baba, postcard writing in the Parmarth Niketan courtyard, then met Swati and Arnav to head into Rishikesh town for dinner at her mother's. We met her in the market, did a little shopping, walked to Triveni Ghat for Ganga Aarti, then home to her mother's for some chai, a visit across the street to her lonely great aunt's (whose husband died a few months ago - saw him last year when he was very sick), then back to her mother's for a yummy dinner. She remembered my favorite dessert from last year and had made it for me: tiny noodles cooked in sugary milk. (I realize that might not be a very appealing description, but it really is yummy!) And Swati's mother offered me a precious gift: a wool sweater she had knit for me. Wow, what a gem. Who gets hand-made clothes anymore these days?? Amit came to pick us up on his motorbike, and the 4 of us (Amit, Swati, Arnav and I) rode home in the dark.        

Back into a Rishikesh routine

Left off when I was headed out for some morning chai on Thursday. Street chai has almost doubled in price since I first started coming - it was 6 rupees the first year, 7 the second, and now 10... that's 12 cents, 14, and 20... might not be able to afford it soon! Then I walked over to LaxmanJhula, the next little town 20 minutes down the river, to Prem Baba's ashram. For reasons I didn't quite comprehend the first time I went two years ago, but that I am slowly starting to understand, I get teary-eyed every time I attend satsang there. While the uncontrollable sobbing from year 1 has passed, my eyes still well up from the energy in that hall, the sublime and invigorating chanting, and the healing love emanating from that man. Saw many familiar faces as usual: a guy who was at Doha airport, a couple who were also on the flight from Doha to Delhi, a man from the Delhi train station, Gabriel (an Argentinian sailor who lives in Spain, whom I shared the bus ride and tuk-tuk ride with from Haridwar and Rishikesh), Sapna, Laura and Angela (three of my teachers from level 1 at Trika), and Prem Baba's followers, who are there each year (some of whom have children that I've seen grow up).

Walked back to my room for a bucket shower, then to the Trika hall across from my ashram room for the afternoon Surya Namaskar (sun salutation) class that I always enjoy so much. Tom, a Scottish man who was in our group for the level 1 intensive in 2012, was also back for some drop-ins. Like me, he spends a few months here every winter. As we chatted, he said: "I can't think of anywhere better to be." Then I was off to dinner. Decided to try out a more local joint, but was pretty disappointed. First, of course, it was very spicy (unlike the other spots I go that cater to foreigner tastes), and I counted a total of 6 peas in my mattar paneer, which is a dish composed primarily of cheese and... peas! And they were crunchy. Then it was off to internet to start my blog, and home to bed. Jet-lag still hadn't passed: slept from 10-2, in and out of sleep from 2-4, awake from 4-6, dozed off again briefly, then woken by loud rain and thunder outside. Great. Been lying here all night waiting for morning to come, and now I'd be suck in my room for a few more hours by the looks of it.

Around 9am, the rain settled enough to be able to head out. Breakfast at Oasis, a few visits to shopkeepers I hadn't greeted yet, then satsang with Prem Baba again. Back at my room, did a little reading then went out for afternoon chai and cookies. Another surya class Trika, then dinner and blog writing (the one where I was soaked and shivering from the rain and cold).

After a rainy Friday, we've had a splendid weekend of warmth and sun, which I will tell you all about in my next post. As Prem Baba says to close each satsang: "Blessed be each one of you, until we meet again."    

First Days

I'm sitting here with two sweaters, a wet wind breaker, two layers of pants, and soaked socks in my cold shoes. It rained on and off all day, pouring torrentially (that might not be a word) at times. Still had to walk to town because I was hungry for dinner and had no food in my room. The weather has actually been quite nice so far, but today was rather unpleasant.

Back to my arrival...

Tuesday, February 4th - Oddly enough, after 30+ hours of travel and very little sleep, I didn't crash right away when I settled into my room. Unpacked a few things and got changed before heading out to Swati's. Was greeted by frantically barking Maxi (their dog), but no one was home. Crossed her father-in-law on my way out, and he told me she was in Rishikesh city at her mother's home celebrating Vasant Panchami. That's when I walked over to Amit's shop and was welcomed home. Headed back to my room, did a little cleaning - sweeping and dusting. When staying in an ashram, there is no cleaning service between guests. The man who showed me to my room folded the crumpled blankets on the bed, swept some crumbs off the coffee table with his hand, dumped a bucket of water on the bathroom floor, and the rest was up to me! Met my British neighbor, Paul, as I cleaned, and he recommended an great Indian Iyengar teacher that I'll probably try out. Then it was time for a quick bucket bath (no shower head in my cheap room), a little journal writing on my cute veranda, and a nap. I was planning on attending the Trika lecture that night, but sleep won. I settled down for my nap at 4pm, woke at 6, got up just long enough to go for a pee, then back to bed. When I woke again, it was dark, and I was hoping it was early morning and that I got a very long restful and rejuvenating sleep. Checked the time on my phone - 10pm. I knew this was bad. I knew I had a long night ahead of me. Lay awake from 10pm to 2am, slept a little from 2-4, then awake again from 4-6. My eyelids were still heavy, but my body and mind just wouldn't give in. So, at 6, I gave up, got up, and organized the rest of my things.

Wednesday, February 5th - Had some leftover bread and jam from the train for an early morning snack, then headed out for a proper breakfast around 8. Tried out a new little resto that wasn't here last year. I was the first customer of the day, and they were still cleaning. Sat on the cushioned ground as the guy swept the low tabletops with a broom. Over the tablecloths. Very effective cleaning indeed. Hahaha. (Gotta love the 'typos' on menus in India... my fave from that morning: rice pooding - mmm!) Had a huge and very satisfying breakfast, then walked over Swati's. This time, she was home, and we had a lovely reunion chat over yummy fresh chai. That afternoon, I walked down to a bench by the Ganga to read, admire the beauty around me, and soak up the bright hot sun after a cold grey morning. Back in my room, had a little rest, painted my toenails, and studied a little Hindi. Then walked over to Amit's shop to meet Swati and Arnav (her son) and head to Children of the Ganges with them. Had a lovely evening with the adorable kids, then back to my room for an early night. Took out my magazine to read, but eyelids weighed a ton, and I was out in minutes. Slept from 8:30pm to 1:30am, then lay awake till 6. Played a few games of Hidden Treasure on my phone to pass the time (too drowsy to read). A little more sleep from 6-8, then up and out for some scrumptious street chai!

That's all for now, I'll catch up soon...

Again, some final words from Prem Baba: "Life is a mystery to be unveiled with the heart."         

Welcome Home!

That is how I was greeted by Amit (Swati's husband) when I dropped by his stationary shop after unpacking in my ashram room. Truly, this has become a home away from home, and if it's even possible, I think I love it a little more each time I arrive. It was a long journey to Rishikesh this year...

Sunday night, after a departure day as frantic as ever (I thought the third time would be a charm, but I just can't seem to figure how to get myself organized in order to leave in a peaceful state, without it being necessary for me to put to good use my deep yogic breathing), Liv drove me to the airport. Here's what followed:

- An hour at Trudeau airport, where I was selected twice for random drug and security checks... do I look that suspicious?? (The first year I came, I was concerned about the large bag of ashes I was bringing across the border, and this year, I was smuggling several pounds of... cheese. Long story.) Then an hour in the plane before take-off.
- 12 hours in the air. There was an emergency aisle seat left when I asked at check-in (yay!), so plenty of leg room. In fact, I could have done some yoga there was so much space. One Muslim man came and laid out a small mat, but it was to perform his prayers. I managed to sleep on and off for almost 6 hours, between dinner and breakfast.
- Two hour wait a Doha (land of sand and long robes) airport; 4 hour flight from Doha to Delhi (this second - more Indian - leg of the journey is always a little different from the smoothness of the first... people shoving their way down the aisle, people in the wrong seats, people making rude noises, and all of this bathed in some funky smells).
- Usually, I break up the journey by staying in Delhi a couple nights before continuing on to Rishikesh, but this year I wanted to try doing it all in one shot. So...
- Two hour wait on a bench at Delhi airport, waiting for the express metro to the Delhi train station to start running at 5:30am; 20 minute metro ride to the train station. One hour wait at the station (first thing I saw here was a woman holding onto her bare-bottomed son's arm as he squatted over the edge of the platform, pooping onto the tracks... yes, now I know I'm in India), then 4 hour ride to Haridwar. (This train ride is always a highlight of my trip. This year, aside from the regular slum scene out the window, there were plenty of kids excitedly flying their kites. I would later find out from Amit that it was a holiday - Vasant Panchami).
- From there, 5 minute walk to the bus station, and 45 minute bus ride to Rishikesh. Then, ten minute rickshaw ride to RamJhula, followed by a 20 minute walk across the bridge and up the hill to Swarg Ashram, where (thank goodness!) there was a room available. (Hadn't booked anything before leaving, and hadn't slept since my first flight, so I didn't have a ton of energy in store to keep looking for a room. How I was even still putting one foot in front of the other at this point, I'm not sure.)

I've now been here for three days. Already pretty busy and taking longer than usual to get my blog going... but I promised myself I'd try to spend less time on internet this year. So I'll stop there for now, and next time will share a bit about my first few days this time around in Rishikesh - or as Amit would say, home.

This morning, I went to satsang with Prem Baba, and after speaking about music and gratitude, he ended with this:
"Gratitude frees you from judging and complaining. Let's stay with this. Let's sing a little."
And we did. Oh, did we ever.