Reentry

The Lotus Shrine on a foggy morning and lit up at night

Satchidananda Ashram, Yogaville, Virginia

I am so happy to be home!!!! This morning, I met Uma at Starbucks at 6:30 and we practiced with Bethany at 7. I have missed my friends so much! Seems as though i lost a bit of weight, my body felt light. My husband and i are still on luna de miel. :)

Omward Bound

On my last day at Yogaville, I meditated in Swami Satchidananda's tomb, Chidumbarum. It sits atop a hill with panoramic views of the Blue Ridge mountains. During the lectures on chakras, the instructor talked about how part of the process of healing the chakras involved balancing the feminine and masculine energies in each energetic center. Swamiji was a living example of this balancing of the natural polarities. He possessed many feminine qualities like the ability to be nurturing and accommodating and he possessed qualities associated with masculine energy like being an exceptional leader and being strong. One of the teachers who knew him for 30 years said that she had never seen him embarrassed. I found this particularly inspirational. How amazing to be so sure of oneself that we no longer care about what others think of us. Swamiji was the opening act at Woodstock, played at Carnegie Hall, met with several US presidents and many world leaders, yet considered himself to be a simple monk.
The morning Hatha practice was an international class! 8 teachers taught asanas in 8 different languages and 3 students sneezed during the practice and received bless yous in 3 different languages. Those 8 t/t's who are now t's completed the program with the added handicap of English being a second language. Part of the graduation ceremony at Yogaville is an interfaith ceremony. Prayers and chants from most of the world's religions are spoken and sung in a beautiful ritual aarti- light ceremony. It was actually my favorite part of the 2 weeks.
Retreat is always multifaceted....at times arduous, at times sweet with the nectar of clarity.....
Some things I will take home with me: During the lunch mealtime, a reading is read from Swami's vast writings and during this time, everyone is silent. There is always a table in the cafeteria where one may choose to eat that is silent. I sat there one meal by accident and liked it so much that I sat there many other times by choice. I find that I enjoy eating mindfully in silence. Also, when I received the name Shri Devi at my t/t I abbreviated it to Shri because I thought people might find it too strange and with my abbreviated last name- it is a mouthful, but after being called Shri Devi for 2 weeks, I find that I love the name and have embraced it. The Hindu holiday, Diwali, which is dedicated to the Goddess Shri Devi, was celebrated Saturday night at the ashram. It was a reminder of how auspicious the name is and what a gift it was to receive it. I also love the ashram practice of wearing whites when teaching Yoga and for satsang. White is the color of purity and it made teaching special. I think I will continue this habit on Full Moon practices.
Today, Sunday, my family celebrated my father's birthday in the usual festive Hamilton way, and tomorrow I begin my drive home.

The Final Countdown to Exiting Yogaville

I have nicknamed Yogaville the place of perpetual carpet. Though I have tried with passion and perseverance, I cannot find a private spot here with some even surface where I might practice Ashtanga. Therefore I am practicing without the vinyasa method and I am missing the metronome effect and the sense of play I feel with each jumpthrough. My meditation practice is 30 minutes longer here each day so in that realm I am very happy.
When I last blogged it was right before our Halloween celebration. At first it felt like I had lots of free time, but the schedule is quite full and when I have breaks I do not feel like writing. Sorry. Halloween here was so cute! The houses are very far apart so they do tailgating trick or treating. All the cars park in a large parking lot and all the kids go from car to car collecting treats.
Thursdays here are optional fasting days. The master cleanse recipe of lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper is available all day. Last week, I found I was a bit cold so I will try some warm broth this time.
Last Friday was Kriya Cafe. Right after the 6 am meditation , the t/t's practiced some of the traditional purification techniques if they wanted to. Dressed in silly costumes to add to the festive mood, they drank salt water until they vomited and/or used a netti pot to clean the sinuses. A good time was had by all! The purification techniques are therapeutic and can make one feel exhilarated.
Yoga legend Lilias Folan was here over the weekend with a group of senior Yogis. She led the ashram in some beautiful songs at satsang on Saturday evening. There was a Sanskrit professor and author here that night as well. His name is Graham Schweig and he has written a beautiful translation of the Gita. I really loved his talk- he was very funny and very profound. He talked about looking at the world with the eye of love- Prema Netra. I love this as a lifelong practice. My day off was Sunday and I went to see my parents who live about 30 minutes away. One the way , I stopped to get gas and the owner of the convenience store was an Indian man with his young son behind the counter. It was Sunday morning and everyone in line except me was buying beer. When I came to the counter, I saw the man notice my Ganesh necklace and a look of understanding passed between us. I knew intuitively he felt there was common ground and that we were on similar paths. I looked at him with Prema Netra.
Yesterday, the t/ts had a class on Bhakti Yoga with swami Mataji. She spoke of Bhakti Yoga as the Yoga of love, faith and devotion which inspires us to commit to something fully. As we dedicate ourselves to some auspicious goal, love grows. She taught us the art of the puja- a ritual act of devotion. We watched her perform a puja and had the opportunity to place flower petals of the altar and to receive holy water and prasad- food infused with the energy of the puja. The t/t's received their new spiritual names at this puja and it was lovely to be a part of the ceremony. Tears of joy were abundantly flowing.
Photos of masters from many different traditions are everywher here. I love that- seems like one is on their best behavior when perfected eyes are watching.
I am missing Stan, our dogs and the Bliss Yoga sangha! I begin my drive back on Monday am after spending Sunday with my sweet twin sister. I am very excited to be back to teaching at Bliss On Tuesday night.
Peace , Love and Om!
Shri Devi