Om Shanti

September 21
10:45 Am
Today is Sunday our day of rest. Sunday a day to rejuvenate and recharge our batteries. This was our first week of yoga school, and what an incredible week it was. We arrived to the bustling town of Coonoor, well I guess I should say city since 1 million people reside here, at 3 pm. The bus from Bangalore to Mysore, to Ooty and finally to Coonoor was quite an experience. We took an overnight bus from Hampi to Bangalore. The ride was going to be approximately 9 hours. 9 hours of rocking to and fro in a sleeping berth the side of a refrigerator box. Lynn and I end up holding each other fiercely for both our safety and peace of mind. This bus was not air-con though, which ended up being a blessing because the first bus was so cold that I ended up getting a head cold. Around 1 am the conductor comes around announces “TOILET TOILET” which will be your only stop for the bathroom. The toilet is usually just hanging your rump off the side of the road, but this is totally normal. Once in Bangalore we were shuffled off the bus onto a side alley and shooed into a tuk-tuk or mini taxi and then charged an exorbitant amount to go to the bus station because the taxi driver refused to turn on his meter. After bargaining with an angry taxi man time was running out and we needed to quickly find our bus to Mysore. We were in luck though, the next bus left in 5 min! So we rushed with our 4 bags and hopped onto a government bus, the whole back seat was open!! Little did we know that that was the area of the bus that shook with fury, and jumped up and down and all over with the bumpy Indian roads. One bump I flew up and almost hit my head on the top! In Mysore we found a little hotel that served good hot chai masala and excellent dosas, so we rested our weary bones. In the early morning we caught another tuk tuk and went back to the bus station for our final leg to Ooty. The bus was quite full, and surprise surprise the back seat was open! This ride was BEAUTIFUL (and bumpy); we rode through an elephant and tiger sanctuary. Up and down the winding mountain roads we were able to see the Indian landscape. Once in Ooty we scrambled off the bus. You see, you need to hurry and grab your bags and scurry off before the new horde of people bombards you. The people fight to get a spot on the bus, the push and shove, and make their own way. No luck this time, we had to wait until the bus filled up, shoved against the driver seat with our huge packs strapped to our back, only after it was full did we walk out of the bus. The next bus to Coonoor was the most interesting. The bus made about a thousand stops before our city, and each one seemed to add more people. I was doing a quad strengthening exercise trying to balance one butt cheek on my big pack, and Lynn was standing with his pack pressed to the window. A man sat down next to me making it even more important to cling to the edge of my bag in fear of squishing his head during a sharp turn. There is a comprehensive honking system here, Indians honk at all possible opportunities and if you weren’t acutely attuned to the reasoning it might be a bit overwhelming. But the honks mean, “I’m passing on the right, I’m behind you, Attention! I am stopping! Hello! Goodbye! I am from India!” There are 3 honk signals, 4 honk, 5 honk, special sound honk, repeated honk, long drawn out honk. It is quite incredible.

And then, with a burst of sunshine from behind the clouds, we arrived in Coonoor. Beautiful, bustling, full of life, shuffling up and down the market streets. Lynn and I sat on our bags watching life go by waiting for our bus to the Ayurveda retreat, reminiscing on the last couple of whirlwind days.

The retreat is one of the most serene places I have ever been, and certainly more than I imagined. The pictures on the website didn’t do it justice. The colors! The sounds! The air! There were birds singing, and trees whispering in the wind. There was a crisp clean mountain air that felt soft against your skin. The green lush tea plants growing magically against the sides of sheer vertical mountains. The white puffy clouds settling like soft cotton whisps in the valleys below. The shades of green and yellow contrasted to the deep red color of the soil, almost as if we were witnessing the earth’s heartbeat. The whole place was pulsing with energy. My ears were ringing my head was spinning, I felt like all the turmoil and stress of our journey was desperately trying to make sense of this peace and cling to my brain- but the atmosphere refused the stress, and a few hours later my ears became adjusted to the silence and stopped ringing.

I exhaled….

The stress melted off my body, my muscles relaxed, my heart smiled. My dream was coming true.

Yoga literally means union. Union of the body mind and soul. Bringing unity to your whole being, finding your innermost energy, your sources of life. Union of your soul to the Supreme soul. Yoga means “yogah citta vritta nirodah” or yoga is cessation of thoughts in the consciousness. Imagine being given the tools to calm that inner voice that is always critiquing, almost trying to find flaw, over-analyze. Yoga is the present, not past or future.