Ashram Life

Well, here I am. After a long, brutalizing day of travel, I have arrived at the Ananda Seva ashram in Santa Rosa, California. I hope to have some pictures to share with you soon. We are located on a hill dotted with oaks and palm trees (an unusual combination for the Canadian eyes!). Our daily schedule involves rising at 6 am to rinse with cold water (our hot water heater is acting up) quickly, as there are 20 of us sharing 2 bathrooms! Meditation starts at 6:30, followed by asana practice on the deck overlooking the valley below. Meals are cooked by the ashram owner himself and are plentiful, fresh, vegetarian, following a sattvic diet (I'll share more about that later). William made some tofu at lunch today that was to die for, and I have the recipe! Our afternoon was spent in class... today's topic was yoga history and philosophy. Whew! I miss home terribly, but a few weeks of this fresh air, wholesome food, meditation twice daily and rubbing elbows with these amazing people should propel my own practice, and therefore my teaching, into a whole new realm!

Here's something we learned in asana practice this morning that I would love you to try. It's so simple, but it really felt wonderful. It is beneficial for digestion and lower back tension in particular, but all will appreciate its benefits.

Lie down. Relax. Inhale, then hug the right knee to your chest as you exhale. Hold the knee and try to rest with no breath in your body. We rested for 8 counts, but that might be too stress inducing for some or on some days. As you inhale, stretch out fully; then exhale as you draw the left knee into the chest. Again, pause as long as you can, experiencing the stillness in the body with no breath. Inhale, stretch out fully again; exhale, draw both knees into the chest. Again, rest for several counts. Inhale, stretch out. Repeat up to 8 rounds. When you have completed knee to chest pose in this manner, allow yourself to come to stillness and look for areas in the body that are still experiencing the pose.

And for those of you that want a big physical challenge today, try coming into tree pose with your standing leg on a block! We did this today, and held each side for 4 minutes! Luckily, our carpeting at the studio produces such a challenge in balancing poses that the block was nothing.

Om shanti!