5:30 wake up bell goes
I think I am sleeping rather lightly because I wake up immediately when the first bell goes. Or maybe I am just well rested...nah doubt it. For a few days I was worried about missing the bell, even thought that would be nearly impossible. They ring 3 different bells around the ashram, each of them about 4 or 5 'clangs', and then someone blows a conch shell. Regardless I woke up several times in the night thinking that I had overslept. I have now set my alarm as well. I had the best sleep last night.
5:50 be at the garden platform to do roll call for satsang
I have to take attendance for 1/2 of my class upon their arrival at satsang, so I am prepared with my headlamp so that I can see the list, because otherwise it is usually too dark.
6:00-7:45 satsang
Morning satsang is usually on the main garden platform, but occasionally we do a walking meditation on the beach. We did that today. It was really lovely. When we congregate down at the beach the sky is still dark, and the moon is just setting over the horizon (full moon tonight!). Then we walk east towards the Atlantis hotel complex. Walking meditation is much easier for me than seated meditation, because when you walk you get to focus on the action of walking. It is also much easier on my sore joints. I am still in a lot of pain from sitting cross-legged all the time. A new development on the pain front is that my mid-back has decided it just will not support me any more.
When we do a regular satsang, it begins with a half hour of silent meditation, followed by 20 minutes of chanting, and then 45 minutes of a speaker or a reading from one of Swami Sivananda's 200+ books. They call it meditation, but as I am learning in my philosophy class, what we are doing is not actually meditation. We are instructed to sit up straight (like a HUGE mountain), close our eyes, and follow our breath. Then they tell us to choose a focal point, either the space between the eyebrows or the heart centre, and focus our attention there. Then we are to repeat the mantra OM in our heads with every inhale and exhale. I know this sounds like enough different tasks that you should be able to keep your focus for at least a little while, but its really, really hard. My mind doesnt like concentrating. It prefers to wander. And my body likes to move. And my ears like to pick up on the sounds coming from the 200 people around me. So, I have to work to do if I want to be a pro meditator by the end of the month. Next we chant, usually the same set of mantras repeated 3 times each. I am a terrible singer, but I think I might actually be getting better. Chanting is not really singing though I guess, since we are always repeating the same rhythm and melody. By the time the chanting ends I am very fidgety and really just waiting to get out of there, so I haven't had much luck with listening to the morning speaker. Because of this I decided that morning satsang the opportune time to write some reflections, so I get my journal out and jot a few things down as they come to mind, even though I'm not supposed to do this.
When we do a regular satsang, it begins with a half hour of silent meditation, followed by 20 minutes of chanting, and then 45 minutes of a speaker or a reading from one of Swami Sivananda's 200+ books. They call it meditation, but as I am learning in my philosophy class, what we are doing is not actually meditation. We are instructed to sit up straight (like a HUGE mountain), close our eyes, and follow our breath. Then they tell us to choose a focal point, either the space between the eyebrows or the heart centre, and focus our attention there. Then we are to repeat the mantra OM in our heads with every inhale and exhale. I know this sounds like enough different tasks that you should be able to keep your focus for at least a little while, but its really, really hard. My mind doesnt like concentrating. It prefers to wander. And my body likes to move. And my ears like to pick up on the sounds coming from the 200 people around me. So, I have to work to do if I want to be a pro meditator by the end of the month. Next we chant, usually the same set of mantras repeated 3 times each. I am a terrible singer, but I think I might actually be getting better. Chanting is not really singing though I guess, since we are always repeating the same rhythm and melody. By the time the chanting ends I am very fidgety and really just waiting to get out of there, so I haven't had much luck with listening to the morning speaker. Because of this I decided that morning satsang the opportune time to write some reflections, so I get my journal out and jot a few things down as they come to mind, even though I'm not supposed to do this.
8:00-10:00 asana class (yoga postures)
Next we have the asana class. I can't really call it yoga because everything we are doing in this course is yoga! We started out with the main series of 12 Sivananda postures. The Sivananda series is mostly about working the spine and the muscles in the back. So there is no warrior series or standing balance poses. The idea is that the asanas prepare you for meditation. They allow you to focus your mind on the posture, to focus your energy flows (prana), and to strengthen your back so you can sit for longer periods of meditation practice!
This week we have done a number of variations on the main series, particularly in shoulderstand (sirsasana) and plow (halasana). I can't quite do a proper headstand yet, but I am getting there! I am also making progress with crow and peacock, which are pretty impressive arm balancing postures. Not sure if I will be able to do them by the time I leave.
10:00 brunch
This is my favourite time of day! I am all nicely stretched out, I'm relaxed and feeling good, and I get to eat!!
I have a strategy for brunch. For my karma yoga job, I have to sign out everyone upon leaving the class. This seems unnecessary to me, but I guess we do this because in the past people would skip out early. Anyway because of this I am the last to leave, and by the time I arrive at brunch the buffet line is incredibly long. So I just grab a bowl and spoon and head directly for the yogurt and granola. It is really, really good. The kitchen staff make both of them from scratch. If you know me, you know I love dairy. Particularly cheese. Dairy products are few and far between here, but yogurt is a daily feature. So I am very happy when I am eating my yogurt, sitting in the sun on the beachside yoga platform. By the time I finish my yogurt the line has died down, and I go back for real food.
11:00-12:00 free time
If it is a nice day, I gather my homework and head to the beach. I try not to do too much for homework. We are required to write summaries of our main lectures every day, plus the occasional morning lecture or teaching class. But I figure that we are not graded on them, so I might as well write as little as necessary. The teachers have encouraged us to be concise, because they have to read all of them. I like being concise. Though you wouldn't know it from this posting. After I do my homework I try to nap and swim in the beautiful caribbean sea. This also might be the best time of the day.
12:00 - 1:00 morning lecture
The morning lecture is in the temple with Swami Ridiananda. She teaches us about meditation, mantra, chanting, and the Bhagavad Gita. We are not reading the entire Bhagavad Gita, she is going to read us the key passages. We are only on chapter three, but I think it is fascinating. She is a great story teller. I am also enjoying the chanting, to my surprise. We haven't learnt too much about mantra yet, but we will soon. Apparently we will have the opportunity to be "initiated" into a mantra. We can then use this mantra in our meditation, rather than reciting 'OM'. We will also be given a "spiritual name" to accompany it.
1:00-2:00 free time/asana practice
I often go to the asana practice session in order to work on some of the tougher postures and to get some help from the teachers. After this I might shower or write emails, or talk to somebody.
2:00-4:00 main lecture: Yoga Philosophy
I have mixed feelings about these classes. On one hand, they are fascinating. On the other, they deal with very "high level" topics, so sometimes I am just not in the right headspace. Our teacher, Swami Bramananda, is usually very engaging, but there just isn't enough time for questions or discussion. So we just listen. Because the topics are complicated, he often repeats himself several times, but in different words. Sometimes this helps, but other times no. I need some way of digesting the information. Maybe I will blog about it during my free time tomorrow. That will be a good way of studying I think. Yeah, I have to study. There is a final exam!
4:00-6:00: Asana teaching class
I think this is what most of the people in my class thought they had signed up for. Not all the philosophy or karma yoga or sitting 8 hours a day! In this class we learn how to teach a Sivananda yoga class. I have been taking Sivananda classes in Hamilton for a few months now, so it is familiar to me, but for a lot of people who have done mostly the ashtanga/vinyasa style, it is quite different. We get to practice teaching our classmates. We had to lead the the sun salutation for the whole class! I just imagined my teacher and the commands she would give, and I did ok. A lot of people had a hard time with it. There are many people doing this course in their second language. I am really impressed by them.
6:00 dinner
By dinner time I am starving again! Another buffet style vegetarian meal awaits us as we emerge from our last class of the day tired and ready to eat.
7:00-8:00 free time
In this time I try to find people to interact with. Its so strange to be surrounded by so many people all day but not really interacting with anyone for most of it. I often spend this time writing emails or using skype, if the connection is string enough. I might also do laundry, or if I need some alone time I will go walk on the beach.
8:00-10:00 evening satsang
This is the same format as morning satsang. Half hour of meditation (or concentration for most of us), 20 minutes of chanting, and a lecture or performance by invited guests. The guests have been great. First we had the neuroscience and world religion symposium, and now we are doing a festival of devotional music from many different traditions. It is really fun to have music, and all of them have done a form of call and response, so we get to sing along.
10:30 bed time
Depending on how lively the evening satsang was (like tonight, a sufi musician), I typically get to sleep around 11.
Then it starts all over again!!
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