First day off!

We get one full day off a week, and today is that day! even though it has not been a full week yet, I am still so grateful. I am getting used to the schedule, but I just feel like i need time to absorb everything!

But what an amazing day off it was. I got to nap, go to the beach, do laundry, talk to my mom, and I got a massage. I think the massage was the real game changer. I have felt nearly euphoric ever since. A lot of people who saw me after remarked that I looked brighter. Oh what a good massage can do. 

I am hoping to carry this feeling into tomorrow. Tomorrow we begin reading the Bhagavad Gita. It's interesting to feel so immersed in Hinduism, when most of the people present are not Hindu. This morning we participated in a puja (devotional ceremony) to Ganesha. Ganesha is the elephant-headed god, and in the puja we called upon him to remove any obstacles that we will face. In India, elephants have been used in clearing the jungle and in wars to trample down the enemy's settlement. I guess that is the connection. We did some chanting, and then we all got in a line to make an offering and burn incense. I felt a bit uncomfortable, not knowing exactly what was supposed to happen and what I was meant to do. I don't think I bowed enough. Oh well. Swami Saroopananda explained it after we were finished. It would have been nice to get the meaning before. It kind of felt like pretending. 

The way the Hindu deities have been explained to us, each god that we call upon in our chants is an avatar of one true god (Brahman). But you call upon the different deities or manifestations of god depending on the situation. Swami Sivananda said that all religions are the same at their essence. There is one true god, one ultimate supreme reality, but we can worship him/her/it in all its names and forms. There are symbols of different religious traditions all around the ashram. So gradually I have accepted that I am not here to be converted to Hinduism, but there are a lot of things to be learned from Yogic philosophy (which I am not even sure is the same as Hinduism). So I can participate in the Ganesha puja not because I believe in Ganesha as a god, but because I am asking a higher power for some support in clearing the crazy jungle of my mind so that I can truly benefit from the TTC experience. 

First day of teacher training

The Yoga Teacher Training course has officially begun. We had our orientation yesterday and then a formal initiation ceremony, in front of the whole ashram at satsang. The ceremony involved making an offering of a flower with the priest, and then getting blessed with some coloured powders by the swami. It was a lengthy ordeal. 2 and a half hours of sitting cross legged on the floor and chanting. But it was really a cool experience to be a part of. I took one picture, but I am having difficulty posting photos directly to the blog so you can see it in the photostream.

There are 55 people in my class. Mostly women ages 25-35, with about 10 men. This morning, we had to stand up in front of the whole ashram at satsang and introduce ourselves. We had to say where we were from, what we did, and why we have come to the ashram. I had such a good thing to say. But then I got up there in front of 250 strangers and I freaked out. I was going to talk about my accident and how I sort of see this teacher training program as a last step in my rehabilitation, in order to work on the emotional and psychological side of things, which I really haven't done much of. I want to learn some practical skills for dealing with the emotional challenges of life. But I panicked, so I just said that yoga helped me after my accident and now I want to learn "more". 

We received our uniforms. Mom, I will match your house. Our uniform includes a yellow tshirt and white pants. Yellow represents knowledge and white represents purity. We have two sets, and we have to wear them for satsang and lecture, but not for yoga asana class or free time. Or karma yoga!

Part of the program is to do an hour of service to the ashram each day. This is called karma yoga. My karma yoga is to take the roll call for half of the students in my class at the beginning (and end) of every class, satsang, or lecture. It is a little bit stressful, but its also nice to say hello to 25 people 12 times a day. With a bit of reflection, I can understand why it was my karma to get this job. Crowds and busy situations make me anxious, and I don't like people being mad at me. So it will definitely be good practice.

Today we had our first experience of the schedule that I mentioned. It was rather hectic and exhausting. Its definitely not going to be a chill month of lying on the beach and doing yoga. I didnt even go to the beach today! We had two yoga asana classes (the physical practice of yoga), and two lectures. One of the lectures was on meditation, and the other was about the 4 phases of life that people go through, or at least the ones people went through in India 3000 years ago. They are not really applicable to modern life, but the take home message was that we will not do the same thing our whole life, our lives will change, and change is inevitable. Wow look at that, I just did my homework! For our philosophy class we have to write a 1-page summary of the day's lecture. We will occasionally do that for our other lectures as well.

This course is a lot more sitting than I thought. That is the worst thing so far. I am fine with waking up at 5:30, I am fine with two meals a day. But right now my knees are screaming at me because we sit cross legged for 7-8 hours of the day. I wish I had some powerful painkillers. But that wouldnt be very yogic of me. Maybe there is a black market for that sort of thing... Just kidding.

I hope it doesn't sound like I am whining. But thats how it is with everyone right now, we are all whining. The majority of the class is struggling. With the scheduling, with the discipline, with the lack of food and sleep, the sitting... but I know we will get used to it. One of the first things  they told us in the orientation was that we had to just surrender to the process. So I am making a resolution now to all of the world wide web. I will not whine any more. It is distracting me from really listening and absorbing all the great things that I came here for.

Paradise Island

Actually, thats the name of this island, I'm not just saying that!!

I have been in the ashram for 2 days now. It is a beautiful green jungle garden with several wooden platforms, small buildings, and tents scattered throughout. The island Paradise Island is located just across a bay from Nassau, on the larger island of New Providence. The ashram has some glamorous neighbours including the gargantuan Atlantis Resort and Nicolas Cage. 

The ashram is very full, Rumor has it the total population is 250. My course has 55 students, most of whom are here already. Lots of people to meet! New friends!! 

The teacher training course starts tomorrow, so I have been taking it easy thus far. From all reports, it will be very intense. Even though it hasn't started yet, I am still attending morning and evening satsangs. Satsang is a gathering of the whole ashram. We meditate for half an hour, chant mantras for half an hour, and then listen to a guest speaker or one of the swamis speak about yogic scripture, philosophy, or other related subjects. I think they are meant to speak for an hour, but it is often more. It is pretty hard to sit cross-legged on the floor for all that time and stay focused, but I am sure it will get better. I think I will sing more in the coming month than i have or will in the rest of my life. Maybe I will actually become a half decent singer. Top 40 here I come. Haha if sanscrit chanting made the top 40. 

The lacto-vegetarian food is delicious. They don't really use spices or onions or garlic (or salt) so its all quite bland, but my taste buds will adjust. I have gone to two yoga (asana) classes so far, just the open classes. They follow a different style of practice here, so it is an adjustment. When the course starts I will be doing 4 hours of yoga (asana) a day. Here they are quite emphatic that the physical practice of yoga is a tiny part of the yogic life, so the Teacher Training course will of course involve asana but also so much more. I am a little nervous, but everyone I have spoken with says that the course is really amazing and also really challenging.

It is a little rainy right now, which is why I am on the computer instead of at the beach!! I was a tad worried about my tent, but I think it will be ok. I put a tarp on top of it for the rain. I have been sleeping really well because of all the fresh air, I think. My skinny thermarest is more comfortable than I would have expected!

Click the link to my photostream on the right side menu to see pictures. The ipad app for blogger is not great.

Adventure Plans for 2014

If you are on this blog, you probably have some idea of who I am and what I am doing over the next 5-6 months. First, I am going to the Sivananda yoga ashram in Nassau, Bahamas. I will be there until February 5, when I will return home to Canada all blissed-out (and tan). 

Two short weeks later (Feb 18), I will be flying out again to Mexico. From there I will begin my journey south through Central America. I have been busy reading guidebooks and establishing a route. You can see it if you click the link on the right 'Central America Travels Map' or get to it here. 

I have figured out how to get an icloud photostream album set up. This way, any pictures that I take will automatically be uploaded when I am connected to wifi. You can get to this album by the link on the right 'Kelly's rogue adventures photostream' or here is the link. Hopefully the wifi connections will be strong enough for this to work... Right now it has some beautiful pictures of my sister that I just discovered on my ipad. Don't worry Kendra, I will take these down. Soon.

I will also be updating the section in the footer of this blog titled "Stay Tuned For" with my future plans as they are established. Right now, my general plans for my Central America backpacking trip are as follows: 

Feb 18: Fly to Cancun  
End of February: Mexico (Tulum) 
Early March: Belize, for Caribbean cayes ('keys'), and the western jungles and caves 
March: Antigua, Guatemala for spanish classes 
Early April: Honduras - Bay Islands for scuba diving 
April: Pacific coast of Nicaragua for surfing & volunteering 
May: Costa rica, for everything there is to do in Costa Rica
June: Panama, flight home in early June from Panama City 

For my friends and family reading this blog, if you would like to join me on any portion of my trip, please let me know! I am kind of nervous about traveling alone, so it would be great to have someone to share these awesome experiences with!!!

Preparing to fly away

Crow, eagle, pigeon, crane, heron, peacock... I think the ancient yogis had a thing for birds.

I'm not sure how many birds I will see in the Bahamas, where I am going for the month of January to do a Yoga Teacher Training Course at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat!! Sounds nice right?

I have been practicing yoga on and off for several years, and consistently for the past year. I picked it up a year ago to improve my strength and balance, as I was still noticing some unsteadiness related to my brain injury from skiing in Dec 2011. I have greatly improved my strength and balance since then, and I have noticed some other great benefits from doing yoga including less anxiety, deeper sleep, better focus, and peace of mind.

Now, it may seem like I am just going to stretch on the beach for a month, but yoga is so much more than the physical asana practice. Of course, I do hope to be able to stand on my head for 10 minutes and bend my body into various contortions, but I am also going to be meditating, chanting, attending lectures with various invited speakers, and doing karma yoga or selfless service. I will learn about the anatomy of various postures, and a bit about ayurveda, or traditional indian medicine. Its going to be busy! Here is an idea of the daily routine I will be following:

05:30 am Wake up Bell
06:00 am Meditation, chanting & lecture or Silent Walk
08:00 am Asana & Pranayama Class (your own practice)
10:00 am Brunch
11:00 am Karma Yoga
12:00 pm Bhagavad Gita/Chanting Class
02:00 pm Main Lecture
04:00 pm Asana & Pranayama (teaching)
06:00 pm Dinner
08:00 pm Satsang

Yogis believe in reincarnation, or samsara (look I know sanskrit already!). So welcome to reincarnation of my travelogue, Certified Rogue, where i will share my experiences doing my own thing, deviating from the norm, and not being like Sarah Palin.

If you are curious and want to be jealous, check out the ashram's website:

http://www.sivanandabahamas.org/page.php?page_id=22

Here is the curriculum I will be following:

http://www.sivanandabahamas.org/files/Curriculum3.pdf

If you are new to this blog, the other posts you see are from my Eurotrip/WWOOFing adventures in Europe with my friend Sarah the summer after we graduated from McGill.