Update

Hi Guys,

It has been a crazy schedule here I have had very limited time off. The time we do get off is often spent visiting local places as we are so busy with our yoga practice every day. So much has happened since my last blog I feel overwhelmed as to where to start??? I have lost of pictures and videos that I want to upload but the computers are so slow here and it is a huge hassle. I will see if I can come up with some solution ASPA.

So the training is AMAZING. Nothing I could have imagined. There are days I just want to walk out of course but everyday I realize we are just going deeper and deeper, Kundalini Yoga uses the breath of fire techniques and special Kriyas that just "cut to the chase" with detoxifying the body and mind. I have never experience some of the emotional and physical experiences that I am going through here before. I can definitely say that it has a stronger impact than Hatha yoga has had on me. Though I love Hatha yoga as well, it is just a different experience and they are so vastly different techniques. I feel I am floating half the time after classes and often have euphoric feeling like I am on a high. Then we do another Kriya later in the day and all of a sudden I am completely downing in emotions but more so in a cleansing way than depressed or sad way. I really lucked out that I have a very sweet roommate Marta from Canada but that has a studio in Thailand. We get a long great and have supported each other quite a bit through the ups and down of this training. The irony is that I wanted to go to Thailand on this trip but since my friend Aruna is not there and not sure if my friend Tida was going make it I thought I would do it next time instead. Some how the universe manifested not only that I can go to Thailand to visit Marta, but also that I can go and teach Kundalini yoga and Hatha yoga there on their resort. I have to see how things play out noting is for sure.

On one of the days off we went to a local orphanage and it was incredible to see what this American woman who came to India 30 years ago has managed on her own. There are 169 kids that she takes care of and they bring in an income through running a restaurant and then run the orphanage with those funds. She also takes donations and what ever help they can get. It is an inspiring story. Marta and I are going over there in the next few days before the training is over to do yoga with the kids and make DVD of it and sell to people all over the world to help raise funds so she can keep the place open and expand the facility. If you guys are interested in reading more about the place check out on Google "Rishikesh ramana gardens" or http://www.friendsramanasgarden.org. Once the DVDs are produced I expect all of you guys to buy them...ha ha no pressure. Seriously the kids stories are amazing. Once of the kids was sold to the Maoist, to be used as human shield for the solders, by his dad and step mom and sent to Nepal. Some how this kid found his way all the way back to India and Rishikesh and he was only 12 years old at the time. He served us lunch the day we were there and he was the sweetest kid ever. I could tell that he was so appreciative of his second chance in life and that he does everything he could to help out. The food was amazing as well all organic and healthy which is a treat for being in India.

A few days ago we got a new teacher Teg, also a teacher from golden bridge yoga, as Gurmukh had to leave. She is also great in her own way they have different teaching styles so that makes it great for us students to get different perspective. I feel overwhelmed will all the information but do love it most of the time. I am not completely aligned with all the philosophies and "rules" of the linage but I know that it is incredibly effective form my own experience these last few weeks. I have lost of practicum that has to be finished which I will do in Thailand if I go there or you guys will be my victims when I make it back home. I have put on the turban a few times and noticed that the mediation is very different with the head covering, so now I have compromised and have a semi turban or more like a scarf during the yoga practice on my head. It is challenging though some days to always be in white. Many of us as soon as the day is over can not wait to put on some color. There is a reason for the white... it reflects all the energy rather than absorbs it. I can agree to wearing it for classes and actually like it during the yoga practice.

During the evenings we also go to the fire yagna ceremony that is held by the Ashram that we are staying at and I have been fortunate to talk to Swamiji after. I asked him just a few days ago another question about what I should do for the next few days to ensure that I kept moving forward with my growth. He replied "just surrender completely to God while you are here and the Ganga and go deeper in to your personal silence." I had a great opening about 10 days in to the training when I did during the yagna just go to the Ganga and poured water on to me as well as swam and took several dips in the Ganga to wash of all my impurities. I did then say to the divine "Ganga" to take all my ego, insecurities and fears and not to let me escape God this time. Not to let me make this trip, training, people, India nor me wrong so that once again I did not show up what I know I have to start showing up for in my life. I was experiencing resistance for Yogi Bhajan, the master of the Kundalini yoga that brought it to the USA. I felt his ways were abrasive and crude but I knew though that the teachings worked since they are working on me since I have been here. Well once I gave all of my "issues" to the Ganga it was as if the veil was lifted and the signs became so much more clear to me. I am on an amazing journey and it scares me as well as excites me.

Rishikesh is so beautiful and our "beach" experience was so rejuvenating and replenishing of our energies. I could not believe that it got warm enough for us to swim in the middle of the winter in the Ganga River. The water was of course cold as ice. Most of the days we do not even leave the Ashram as there is no time. We just go to the banks of the Ganga for the yagna and then dinner and off to bed. I LOVE Sadana (4am daily spiritual practice). I made the vow to continue the Sadana for 1year and I hope that after that it will be so much a part of my routine that I would not want to give it up. I am certain that my quest to be one with the divine is only possible through Sadana and daily yoga practice. India is such a powerful teaching ground for how life is so complicated and yet so simple. So many people have nothing here and yet they are so content and smiling all the time.

Ok have to run it is now 9pm and I have to get to bed... Love all of you and miss you...I wrote in a hurry so sorry if not all of it makes sense but thought you would want an up date even if it was a bit fragmented...

Rishikesh

Wow! I can not belive I have only been here in India a few days. The experiences I have had in this short amount of time are just all over the board. The day I arrived to Rishikesh I was overwhelemed with the energy vibration of this place. It is evident that this is a spiritual city to India. I found out later that it even legally has that title designated to it by the indian government. There are basically 2 major streets in this city that go along the banks of the Ganga, the holy river. These streets are filled with shops selling anything from yoga and chant CDs,food,clothes and soveniers. You can hear spiritual music from every shop and there are lot of sages in organge roaming the streets. You can also see Indians from all over India that have come here to pay their respect to the Ganga river and the local Ashrams.

I am staying at Parmath Nikethan Ashram and the days I have been here swamiji has been here blessing us with his wisdom. I was fortunate to spend some time with him yesterday alone. I asked him if he ever has doubt and what he does when it occurs. He replied that he uses his internal GPS and just goes within to listen to find the answer to move away from the doubt. I could see it in his eyes that he was so sincere with his reply and that he has nothing but love for humanity. His love was pouring all over me and I tuely felt safe. When he addressed the group he kept asking us to make sure to surrender to the divine and to know that by us just coming to Rishikesh we have already taken the biggest step in ourlives that will speed up our spirituall progression. He said that the seed for growth was in us and that by us coming to India and Rishikesh we had given ourselves the best spiritual gift we could. It felt comforting to hear him say that as the first few days have been a bit crazy with over 100 participants from all over the world and a yoga practice that I am completely unfamiliar with Kundalini Yoga.

Gurmukh our teacher for the yoga traning is also amazing. She wears only white clothing (like all Kundalini yoga teachers) and she has a white light about her. Her speach is so soft and tender but the postures are anything but gentil. They are very challenging and evoke lots of emotions and energy that moves through us. I am not used to this style of yoga but am very fascinated by the effects it has had on me in only a few days. I can feel that this is the right style of yoga that uses spirituallity and awakeing of all the chakra energy to deepen the individual's experience with the inner self and the divine. This style is about creating and experiencing the union between the two and to be one with God. As I hear Gurmukh and Gurshabad say it is about "plugging in" to the divine.

I have to run...our break is a short one and we are not encouraged at all to get on the computer and the internet. I have lots more to tell but I may not be able to get on the computer until Sunday which is our first half day off. This is a very intensive program and I can tell we will be busy for the next 3weeks.

I Love all of you, Jasmine