Lokassamastassukino bhavantu

Just a brief report on week one to let you know what our bodies and minds have been through so far. Wednesday 28th Nov kicked off at 6:30am with a pranyama class with Keshava, educating us on best methods of controlling (yamas) our energy, the vital life force (prana). On an individual level, this is epitmosed in the act of respiring most successfully. Simply inflating the lungs with deep, shallow breaths, does our incredible diaphragms an injustice and wastes the absorption of oxygen at our alveoli. With air pressure of 1.03kg/cm² on Earth, it's just a case of dynamically contracting and expanding the abdominals to create space and allow the greatest volume of air to flood in and offer us life. It also makes you a bit light-headed, which is fun. 

This technique comes in very handy during sunrise astanga practice. We run through a complete, and hectic Suyanamaska A series, or sun salutation, of which I have only completed in increments over many weeks at previous yoga schools... Practicing it in its entirety is a different kettle of fish. Cue a multitude of progressively difficult asanas (postures) and bucket loads of sweat... But it has been inspiring to work at high pace, completing a cycle in 2 hours. All this before 10am. 

This is remedied by the discovery of Salisbury based, eloquent and mellifluous toned, Rachel, sister from a different mister. She is the fricking balls. We haven't officially gone as far as facebooking our relationship, so she may not see this for many a moon. When you do: you da bomb. I've never met someone with such dapper received pronunciation and such a preposterous gangster impression.  Although she studied Classical Music in Bristol, I am as of yet unsuccessful in forcing her to serenade the class despite several awkward public attempts. I do however, get a sense of her vibes during morning mantras, and I'm sort of hoping we can get her pissed enough during our momentous graduation (fingers crossed, we have mid-terms next week...) and I can initiate a sing song. In true  British style we've flocked together like birds of a feather in the face of adversity, to talk outrageously fast, quite posh, and laugh at the French.

 

Another banana pancake fiend. Match made in heaven? 

I didn't give much thought to the clientele of a Goan yoga retreat, fearing more the physical aspects in the preceding months, but the group is full of such epic people from all over the world, I feel blessed with luck and love! But safe to say, Rachel is a flipping diamond, is supportive of my awful blog (although she's yet to see it) and has been tenaciously working out my abdominals further still both in and out of class in hysterical laughter. During our lunch break my course mates and I saunter smugly into the sea, and gorge gargantuan meals along one of the many beautiful beach places, spending a meager £1-£2 on filling our bellies and finding out about all our wonderful course mates. Boxing professionals, photographers, drama-therapists, lawyers, masseurs, and the off few who have quit their jobs, lifted anchor and sailed East like me. Bliss. 

I haven't, however, sat cross-legged on the floor for any notable length of time since Reception, when we'd coat our hands in PVA glue to peel it off like an unwanted shed of skin during story time. This may have distracted us from the crippling pain. That, or our soft bones. Now, almost all 206 scream out in agony after 5 minutes on the tiled shala floor, where we spend about 10 hours a day. Meditation is unimpressively tricky in such environments to say the least, and without the normal pain-free lapse to the other side, I keep percuiliarly finding myself revereting in my mind's eye to the grassy hill she runs around in during the opening scene of The Sound of Music. I literally have no idea whay, but there are worse places to be getting RSI in my knees I guess.

 

Course cash. Each note is the equivalent of about 10p. Makes you feel like a big don though. 

On Saturday, to celebrate an imminent Sunday off, we decided a walk to the 'best restaurant in Agonda' , a cheeky half hour jaunt out of town. I contracted another 1,000 or so mosquito bites of course, despite bathing in Jungle Juice prior, but the sights were worth it, I think. Innumerable and huge eagles soar above the jungles like common crow, I really can't get used to the scenery. Cows wander idly down the road like royalty, in sublime ignorance of the agitated horns of passing vehicles. I'm sure they rankle the locals, but they can do nothing about it as they're sacred creatures and as a Sampoorna Yoga student astutely pointed out: ॐ Ooommmm is  simply Mooooo backwards - making them the World's certified biggest chillers.

 

Mansion. India style.

 

   Another cow.                           Best Shop in town.

The food was insane, literally the best vegan slop I've ever eaten. Much of the time I was'nt entirely sure what the pallid slop actually is, but the juices were vibrant and delicious and the food was outstanding. We ate to near ruin for about 3.50.

On Sunday I met an amiable German on a stroll who guided me through the thick jungle to Butterfly Beach - a secluded cove several stops round from Agonda accessible only by boat. Or, one treacherous trip through the thickets. After several thorn bushes in my hair, a formidable scrape to my right knee; the final furlong was in sight. Walking down a wider stretch  of semi-hospitable path, feeling slightly deflated to have not spotted any spiders from afar. Then, suddenly, in front of us we spot (almost too late) an enormous Giant Wood Spider hanging terrifyingly about 2ft abut head height across the way. Nephila maculata is found from Japan all the way down to Australia and throughout India. Although not lethal - it's bite is poisonous and apparently painful due to it's deplorable fangs.It belongs to the golden orb weaver family, which is why its silk is yellow, and this silk is the strongest of any spider. Their disgracefully large webs sometimes catch small birds or bat. Makes me miss the cockroach. 

Banyan tree belnoging to the fig family - National tree of India. The branches take new roots and keep on living and regenerating for thousands of years.

Thus ends week one, in utter exhaustion, sheer panic, and stifling heat. 

I am loving it way too much.