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I preface this blog post with a disclaimer that it may be a bit ‘graphic’ or gross for you. But I have to write it how I see it tonight.

Yesterday I was in beautiful Rishikesh, meditating on a rock by the Ganges River. The world and my place in it felt expansive, breezy, and bright. Within 14 hours, I am doubled over with painful stomach cramps and severe nausea in a decent, clean (Indian standards) airport hotel. I am in Delhi, sick again with awful throwing up. My travel group had to proceed on to Agra without me, as our 9am departure time found me paralyzed with painful stomach cramps, sure to vomit again soon. And so it happened. I kept throwing up in Delhi and they left on a 5 hour bus ride to the Taj Mahal. I am a little bit sad to not be able to go with the group, but really just dealing with my current state of health in this moment. There are lots of tools like yoga and meditation that whip us right into a state of awareness of NOW. Being desperately sick on the wet floor of an Indian bathroom (because most showers do not have curtains and the floor level is the same throughout the whole of the bathroom) snaps me into the present moment. All I can do is say, ‘inhale, exhale, and oh God’. And I mean it. I know that the Lord is with me, holding me. And I know I will be OK. With each breath I am grateful to be alive and I feel blessed. Then I throw up again. Seems odd to feel blessed in such a moment. It was really a disgusting and pitiful scenario.

At The Yoga Fest, in one of the spiritual lectures, the subject of distinguishing between pain and suffering was discussed. Sadhvi Bagavati said (and I summarize) that ‘in our lifetime of embodiment there will be blood, we will fall and break bones, we will get sick and experience pain. These things happen and we do not have a choice in the matter. But the prolonged suffering of these situations and events is a choice.’ It might be like while I am violently sick I would exacerbate it by trying to blame someone or something for my sickness, or to be angry that my body is reacting a certain way. Blame and anger would only make the already painful and unavoidable situation worse. Why would anyone choose to make it worse? But that happens often. In retrospect I look back a few hours on my wretched morning and feel good about where I am in my relationship to God and Self. Maybe it is because I have been at an ashram for a week practicing yoga, singing mantras, and meditating so near to Mother Ganga. Who knows….

Back to earlier this morning….As soon as I start feeling a little better I arrange to move to a much nicer hotel down the street that is geared toward international business travellers. And as all things in India are done in a round about fashion, I have a travel agent book the room, who then faxes a voucher to my current hotel. The voucher is what I use to check into the next hotel. Current hotel books a pre-paid taxi. I miraculously pack my suitcase, dress myself, and even manage to apply a tiny crystal bindi to my forehead. Interestingly, I find that if I dress more in the way of Indian customs, folks are more eager to help me. As I leave the DeeMarks Hotel, which our travel group has used as a hub in Delhi, I admittedly am happy. I am looking forward to the gleaming marble floors and vast high ceilings and the spa and the Western restaurants at the Radisson. The driver informs me that we will drive the wrong way down the 3 lane service road (to the 10-lane highway) since the hotel is only a mile away. Otherwise we have to go very far in the wrong direction to turn around. So we drive for a mile with rickshaws, cars, trucks, bikes, and pedestrians coming at us head-on. It is total horn blowing, dust flying chaos, but doesn’t phase me at all and actually makes me spontaneously giggle. It’s ‘just India’ to me now. I feel slightly better as I enter the hotel. I thought I might faint at check-in but made it through and have a beautiful room with all the creature comforts of Western luxury. Spoke to my mom and my husband and ate some French fries and had a 7up. After speaking to mom, I am encouraged that I will return to India with her and see the Taj Mahal (have been twice now and haven’t seen it). Haven’t been sick again since I arrived which is a good thing. I am so grateful for this life and every experience that weaves the tapestry of my existence. And I am very happy to be on my way hOMe tomorrow.

 

It is day 4 of the International Yoga Festival in Rishikesk. Iyengar Yoga classes with Manouso Manos and Marla Apt have been excellent experiences of asana–super challenging in the physical and subtle realm. I love Iyengar Yoga! . It is really interesting how Anusara and Iyengar language differ but come together at the essence of the teachings. Yoga Nidra and Kriya Yoga (chanting) with Sadhvi Abha Saraswati (the Mother of the ashram) have restored and cleared me deeply. I feel like japa and chanting are practices that i am gravitating toward as my practice evolves. Singing with the harmonium is so much fun! The satsang lectures with world famous spiritual luminaries from Hindu and Hare Krishna lineages are interesting and enlightening. My favorite parts being where religious and spiritual practices overlap- mainly in the realm of ‘Ishvara’ or devotion to God. Harmonium lessons have been an awesome foundation to start having some fun playing around with it. The good news is I can open and close it now and play a few scales! This trip has exceeded my expectations and is like a dream for a yogini. As if it couldn’t be any better….One of the coolest experiences of my life has been a visit to the ‘Beatles Ashram’ where they spent time in 1968 ‘yogi-ing’ and writing The White Album. It is the old crumbling, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram just down the River Ganga from Parmarth Niketan Ashram where I am staying. It’s deserted now. The structures, small houses, apartment style buildings, a concert hall, and several odd stone geodesic meditation pods still stand. John Lennon’s house is full of wild graffiti. The concert hall buzzes with strange rock-n-roll karma. The history of this place encompasses the writing of The White Album and Abbey Road and more. This rocks the planet and electrifies me like nowhere I have ever been. It is so clear to me that music is my ultimate inspiration. We all dance to the beat of a different drum. We all have a different yoga. I have rock and roll heart. Music is in my blood. It courses through my veins. As does the yoga. All week at the Yoga Fest we have been hearing various discourses on the origins, history, and definitions of yoga. Yoga must be defined on an individual basis of what method each human uses to merge with Spirit or Nature or God or Guru in order to have the meaningful life experience that we are supposed to have. Yoga is prayer, asana, meditation, pranayama, satsang, studying scriptures, sports, painting, weaving, dancing, singing, entertaining, enjoying the company of friends. What makes it yoga is that you put your heart into it, do it everyday, give it importance by making it a ritual,
do it for the betterment of the planet or mankind, and do it for a long long time. Make it a path. The important thing is that we respect the paths of others and remember…I know you, you know me One thing I can tell you is you got to be free. Come together Right Now! Peace Love Yoga and Rock-n-Roll from India.

We take the heart of the mountain into our own hearts as we leave Dharamsala today. On the way out of McLeod Ganj, there is a flurry at the entrance to Dalai Lama Temple. He is on his way ‘home’. People line the street on both sides as we leave the village. A quarter way down, our cars pull over per police direction. Outside the cars we cross the street in just enough time to make way for the motorcade. In a flash the Dalai Lama passes in his car and waves to us. Giddy. Star Struck. Elated. Just plain Happy Buddha. We are SO lucky. I can’t believe it! To see His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala is really a dream come true.
By 9pm we have arrived back in Delhi. We visit my friend Inni Singh at Delhi Music Store where the group buys 3 more harmoniums. We are a group of 8 carrying a total of 4 harmoniums. Beautiful Music!! We are totally a band. Currently we’re on a bus to a one night hotel near the New Delhi Railway Station and head to Rishikesh for the yoga festival tomorrow.
I haven’t mentioned that I have been sick with ‘Delhi belly’ since Norbulingka 5 days ago. The violent worst part only lasted for 12 hours but the last 4 days has been a strict diet of banana lassi, toast, and plain rice. My stomach can’t handle anything else. The good part is that I feel ‘cleansed’ and ready for 5 days of yoga and singing. Love & Peace to All. Om mani padme hum.
P.S. The photo of H.H. Dalai Lama was taken by William Gilbert who is traveling with our group.

It is a bright sunny day in McLeod Ganj. This is the Himalayan mountain village in Dharamsala that is home to the Dalai Lama residence and temple, and the Tibetan History Museum. Since I visited here last year, I made friends with a guy at at a pashmina shop (a whole other story) as well as a monk, both of whom I have been able to reconnect. It feels like a small world to have friends to revisit in faraway places.

One of those friends, Tibetan Buddhist Monk, Lama Bagdro, author of A Hell on Earth, visited us and shared his incredible story of working for freedom within Tibet and then his escape from his homeland to India in the late 80’s. He also performed Buddhist chanting for us. It is a rare talent for a man so young. Taking vows as a monk means dedicating your life to prayer and study. Because of his experiences and his apparent dharma working for the liberation of Tibet from Chinese rule and constantly touring to educate the world about the situation in Tibet, Bagdro does not have as much time as he would like to study. There is a part of him that would like for his life to be that easy, but he knows in his heart as well as from the encouragement of the Dalai Lama, that he must continue to do his work. His is a very hard road and he has survived so much unfathomable suffering. He works tirelessly and selflessly, he laughs as heartily and he has a most generous smile. Bagdro is a true luminary. Yesterday was Tibetan New Year, which he was not celebrating due to the recent deaths and escalating awful state of the human rights situation in Tibet. Instead, he joined us for dinner, and because we are such a small group this year, it was an intimate experience with him. Bagdro is three years older than I am. He is bright, funny, charming, and cool. I asked him if knows of the Beastie Boys, and MCA, and their career-long support of Tibet. Bagdro was kind, and sort of like …”well yes I know them. Adam Youch is his true name and he is married to a Tibetan woman.The Free Tibet concert in ’97 was a huge deal”. Among other national and international speaking engagements and constant political meetings, Bagdro is currently collaborating with a German hip-hop group who are using samples of his chanting on a cd, and in turn he is making more contacts for speaking engagements throughout Europe to raise awareness to save his home country. If Bagdro weren’t a sweet sweet holy man and fearless human rights activist, he might be hipster before hipster was hip.

This morning I taught yoga in the sitting room where he chanted for us last night. We dedicated our practice to Lama Bagdro. The theme of the asana sequence was to model Bagdro’s kindness and courage in our hearts and balance it with his mountain-like fortitude in our bodies. This equipoise of energies is Yoga. Beautiful Lama Bagdro teaches us well.

If you are interested, please educate yourself on the situation in Tibet. PEACE PEACE PEACE

http://tibetanhistory-20thcentury.wikischolars.columbia.edu/A+Hell+on+Earth

http://www.commongroundsproject.org/

http://www.savetibet.org/

 

 

Days 4 & 5 in Varanasi

No Internet connection has been available for the last two days. So, the blog posts are maybe a day behind. Oh well. C’est la vie. No really..It is good to be completely unplugged for a bit. The computer compulsion is completely exposed. Oy vey!

These two days have been jammed with activity which reflects the frenetic buzz of this Sacred River City. The highlights are … teaching yoga in a palace called Jukaso on the banks of the Ganges, visits to Hanuman Temple and Durga Temple, a classical Indian singing and harmonium lesson followed by a rocking concert at The Music Melody House featuring Sitar, tabla, and sarangi. At the ‘concert’ which is more like sitting in in a jam session, we have chai, and clap, and sit and listen. The room is super cozy and we are so close to the musicians and their exotic instruments that it feels like a big bowl of rich music soup. We all just swim in it. We walk home through the Burning Ghats where the funerals of men happen all day and night. I can not believe these experiences are not dreams, but the weight of carrying the harmonium through Varanasi keeps me connected to reality. Before bed last night, sitting for meditation on the steps at the River I internally chant my mantra MaranathaMaranathaMaranatha…’Come to me Lord’. Sleep comes easy…

In the morning, I skip the group activity to the Golden Temple (I went there last year) to have sunrise meditation on the roof of the palace and some quiet time at the hotel. There is a full fledged monkey invasion on the terrace outside my room. I watch in awe as they almost wreak total havoc on furniture, light fixtures, and plants. While on the phone alerting the front desk, one smart monkey checks every door knob to the rooms on the terrace to try and enter. Total mayhem! Monkey business here is serious.

After reconnecting with the group, we visit Sarnath which is a 5km field trip out of town which takes about an hour travel time. Sarnath is the ‘birthplace of Buddhism’, called such because it is where the Buddha gave his first sermon. Deep huge historical significance here. Today I learn that Hindus worship the Buddha, along with all of the other deities. Buddhists follow Buddha only. That is massively oversimplifying. But the most important lesson for me once again is that It’s ALL connected and we are all ONE.

Finally, the end of the day takes us to the house of a highly revered Sanskrit grammarian, teacher, writer, artist, and musician named Vagish Sastri. The audience with him has opened up new worlds for me in thought, feeling, and awareness. It’s a whole post’s worth of reflection. More on that later. Peace and love and music from the Motherland.

 

Day 3
4am rise and shine. My inner clock is sill figuring out India time. Easy trip to Delhi airport and a ride on SpiceJet to Varanasi. Today is Maha Shivaratri, a Hindu festival and national holiday that celebrates the anniversary of the marriage of Shiva which is symbolic of the union of the Spirit and Relative worlds. This is YOGA!!
Varanasi is the holiest of all Hindu cities. On any ‘normal’ day, the energy here is electric. There are Indian pilgrims bathing in the river. The labyrinth of ancient alleyways are teeming with the hustle and bustle, twists and turns of the living. The Ghats – stepped terraces that line the banks of the river – are both seats of ancient ritual honoring the earth elements and cremation grounds to begin the transition to Spirit world. Mystics and religious call Varanasi a tirtha, or crossroads, where man has a portal into the realm of the gods, and where the gods descend to be among man. Here, the ‘veil of time’ is thin all the time! It is as if the Ghats are a seam between the chaotic maze of material living in the streets and the natural ease of letting the river take it to the next realm. In Varanasi, humans literally walk that line between life and death. Not in daredevil or sad ways, but as witnesses, even spectators to the ultimate reality. Some of the images are very intense and disturbing to Western Brain. But here in Varanasi the sick, dying, and dead are as much a part of the scene as the living. It’s a stark reminder that we really are all in this thing together. Varanasi is INTENSELY WONDERFUL. Not for everybody. But, as it is my second visit here, I know in my blood it is not the last.
That today is a celebration of Shiva, it is extra wild here. This is Shiva’s city! It is Mardi Gras at home. That we are all on the cusp of celebrating Spirit manifest in Culture… There are no coincidences only auspicious unions!
So many crazy incredible unplanned events happened today. A boat ride on the river bc ‘it’s the only way to get there’….a newly renovated boutique hotel in an ancient palace with th most breathtaking yoga room overlooking the river…a sweet sweet small group of fast friends. And the tangible buzz of ‘the shakti of the Universe’ which my friend Michele Baker calls the Ganges. This has been a long beautiful day and now it must end. MAHA SHIVARATRI! HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!

Today is an un-structured, no-plans day. Perfect for Sunday. Still a bit jet laggy but actually it is only affecting bed and wake up times. I feel like a band dude… Up til 3, sleep til almost noon. Kind of fun! Around noon the ‘Nirvana Wellness Spa’ catches my attention. Still kind of in a dreamy state, I stumble into an hour-long Thai foot massage. Which was awesome on about a million levels and made me super hungry. My room mates and I walk about a mile down a very dusty and dingy road (which is more like a highway) to a swanky hotel where we have read has a great restaurant. I am not usually one for a buffet (that it is the most common mis-spelling of my last name is very annoying, and also it’s usually just too much) but this is a most exotic and vast spread of South Indian, Continental Indian, and Chinese food (Indians love Chinese food like we love Mexican food). Plus soups, breads, nan, and so many tiny desserts. This has been a super Olympics for my taste buds and takes ‘Indian Buffet’ to a whole new stratosphere. Our further adventure outside led to the massive (like 5 stories tall) Shiva Murti. A murti is a sacred symbolic statue, usually for an altar. Apparently the Indira Ghandi airport had to reroute flying patterns to accommodate for this Shiva Murti. It is massive, and a great reminder of how the Spirit world is woven into the fabric of the culture and manifests as larger than life temples on street corners and roadsides everywhere here. This particular expression if Shiva is said to have a blue neck because he swallowed the poisons of the oceans on behalf of the gods. He holds a trident and his favorite city is Kashi, also known as Varanasi. Which is where we travel tomorrow. Om Namaha Shivaya!

Entry into Delhi and reaching the hotel has been way less complicated than last year’s Mumbai odyssey. Immediately as I de-plane, I become aware of the faint hint of incense that seems to permeate the atmosphere and it hits me that I am here. Incredible India. The Mother Country.
The hotel Dee Marks is near the airport, not in the heart of the hectic huge filthy city, but convenient for the trickling in of adventurers arriving for the first leg of the trip. Dee Marks is a huge wedding resort. From afar it looks like Las Vegas with zillions of lights strung up everywhere. Traditionally a Vedic astrologer is consulted on all phases of marriage from assisting the arrangement of partners to reading birth charts to determine the exact day and time the sacred ceremony should take place. This possibly explains why there was a wedding happening on the terrace at 2am, the first of three ceremonies I’ve seen in less than 24 hours. It totally feels like Mardi Gras around here! Once the sacred fire and chanting ritual is complete, something in the way of a second-line happens. Women decked out in jaw-droppingly ornate saris and suit clad men make their way in procession with ecstatic drums and music to a resplendent Indian buffet steaming hot waiting in the wings. This is a major party! All that’s missing are the white hankies! Apparently if a foreigner ‘crashes’ a wedding it is looked upon as auspicious and very good luck for the couple. I am so tempted.
My main mission on this trip is to purchase a harmonium and receive some lessons to learn and start to practice playing it. Bahkti yoga, devotional singing and chanting like what we do in Kirtan or even in church is so fun and interests me greatly. I often read that every great yoga shala (or studio as we say in the West) must have a ‘house harmonium.’
I am happy to report that I am in possession of Yoga Birds’ harmonium! After months of research I found DMS a music store in Delhi that makes and sells Indian instruments as well as guitars. Burke, whose fave store is naturally Guitar Center asked me recently if DMS is like the ‘Sitar Center’ of India. Hilarious, right? Anyway I met the owner of the shop, Inni Singh, whom I am friends with on Facebook and also to whom I emailed a few weeks back telling him of my forthcoming visit. He has made custom instruments for Krishna Das and other notable musicians. He is the 2nd generation owner of DMS. His mother who opened the shop in 1970 was there and made steaming chai tea for us to enjoy which made the whole experience superexcellent. Inni hooked me up with a small sized portable harmonium handmade by craftsmen in his workshop right here in Delhi. The sound is rich and full and heavenly. I have absolutely NO IDEA how to play it. In fact I can barely open and close the thing! I am just staring at it thinking a lifetime of potential beauty sits in that box. My heart’s intention of learning how to unleash it, channel it, and harmonize with that SHRI is what this trip is all about. Mother India will let it unfold in her mysterious ways.
Today Holbrook our Redback Travels guide arrived. We have the detailed trip itinerary that tells me when and where I will be teaching yoga for the next two weeks as well as the schedule of harmonium lessons Redback has arranged per my special request. I smile inside and out with great gratitude for my life. Really, I am pinching myself constantly.
Love Music and Shri to All! JAI

T minus 3 days until my departure for a second adventure to India. My tasks and to do lists are almost ridiculous in their reality of ‘getting done’. I have vowed to enjoy every minute of this week. Jai India!

Read this! I am a yoga injury survivor. It is what makes me a better teacher. It is why I do not teach headstand in general classes. And it is why I do not allow shoulder stand without blankets. It is why I sometimes raise my voice in class. It is why i give challenging feedback to teachers who teach at Yoga Birds. Its not because i have more training or experience, it is because i have been severely HURT by inappropriate yoga practice. Student-oriented teaching– meaning it’s not about me when I am teaching, it is about the safety of every student who comes to a yoga class under the roof and on the floor of which I insure. Safety FIRST. This responsibly does rest with teachers but also with students. Be a responsible yogi! The asana (poses) are meant to SERVE the student, the student is not meant to conform and contort beyond safety and into pain and injury to ‘get’ the pose. The benefits of yoga outweigh the negatives. That is why I am still doing this–practicing, teaching, running a studio, and marketing the hell out of yoga. But it is only with GREAT RESPONSIBILITY that I or you should endeavor in yoga. Yoga asana must be practiced and especially taught responsibly with skill, awareness, and utmost attention to the feedback from the PRISTINE INFINITE WISDOM of the inner teacher. That is our essence, our guide, our Light. Yoga holds great power…positive & negative. We must respect the negative to experience the positive. Yoga can often be challenging, BUT yoga should never hurt. I will shout this from rooftops until the day I die. -Melanie Buffett, January 3, 2012

Full NYT Article is Here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html