Picture the white light inside your...heart.

The night ended with a glorious performance from a local Keralan drummer...he plays two drums neatly tucked between his two legs. One large deeply toned and one smaller more lightly toned drum with a tambourine resting around the circumference of the smaller drum...he started by hammering each drum edge with a hammer to ensure the tune is on key and then lubricated the top of each drum with a red coloured oil to ensure his hands would slide over the top of each drum and hit the darker circle in the middle of each drum sounding like a deeper thump rather than a rhythmic beat. He really felt the music...raising his shoulder with each beat and looking up with his eyes closed to the heavens. His two young children sat along the side of the wall looking at their father in admiration and love and deep respect for his love of music. He was trained by a man named George when he was a boy and now plays for the love of it, as he cannot make a living producing these beats that he loves so much. When asked what he would do without his drums, he said in Malayalama (the local language), "I will die without my music." His 10-year-old daughter danced to the drum rhythms spinning around and around in a tiny blue dress with bits of sparkle attached to the bottom...she seemed so light and free. It made us think about childhood and being free from the shackles of adulthood...despite such hardships we have seen in India and how challenging it must be to be a woman and a child here, there is still a playfulness in this girl that was so moving to see. Before that, Al, our new friend Audrey (from Canada) and I spent the day gallivanting around Kovalem like 3 schoolgirls, giggling and chatting about our yoga experience! Our first stop, Steve and Mary's house of course! Steve and Mary are a lovely couple from England...Steve from the North and Mary from London. They came here on holiday almost 7 years ago and saw the strife of the dogs and animals in the area...they haven't left since. They live in a huge house near our yoga retreat and have 11 dogs and 1 puppy...oh and 2 cats Dennis and Doris. We went there for a few hours to talk about animals and our love for them all and the Animal Rescue Kerala sanctuary that we visited yesterday and today to feed each animal Tiger Biscuit treats and snacks and took them for walks. Then, we all retired to the puppy room and instantly went to our favourites and cuddled them mercilessly. Alex has fallen in love with a baby Husky type mutt that looks at her with these eyes and just goes limp in her arms. Of course, she is the dog whisperer and they all howl and long to be near her...it is truly amazing how connected they feel to her...she is touched. Our friend Audrey has befriended a black dog named Colonel, or should we say he has befriended, as his "red thing" or "lipstick" comes out every time he sees her. He was hit by a car and not longer has the use of his back legs so he just drags them behind himself through his urine and feces and whatever else is on the floor at the time. Each time she comes up the stairs to the puppy room, Colonel is waiting for her to give her a kiss and chase her around the room. I have fallen for the sickest puppy in the room and have named her India and think of her each time I practice my yoga and meditation. She is my silent partner in my practice and helps me stay calm and focus. I don't think that she will live much longer, as she has a liver disease and jaundice, but I will cuddle her everyday that I am there. We also saw our first dead puppy...she had been strangled with a wire and was really sick...it was hard to witness and we all discussed it later at the coffee shop/art gallery that has become our respite sanctuary. Rewind even further, and Alex and I went with Mary, Steve's wife (who is a local celebrity, as she is a singer and a actress in several Bollywood movies), to the school she volunteers at...and wait for this...it is called SISP! Can you believe it!?! I come all the way across the world to leave my work life behind and end up at a school in the middle of a remote tiny village in southern Kerala called SISP! What are the odds...I cannot escape! The kids in the school have varying special needs that are mostly undiagnosed and the school caters to their learning needs. The side of the van says the school caters to the poorest children...they are very to the point here in India...no candy coating! They are all taught a trade... jewelry making or bag making, as well as regular lessons. What a beautiful little school it is! Before that, Al and I did our daily 50 laps in the swimming pool...I am now obsessed with the breast stroke, as I am pro thanks to Ally's tutelage. And rewind even further, you would find us in our daily 6:30am yoga practice. We are really feeling connected to yoga these days and will continue our practice throughout our world travels. It is becoming more of a spiritual experience than one of exercise and fitness, which has always been difficult for us both. It is hard to explain and would probably sound very contrite and a bit cheesy to explain. This place and the people who work here and built this retreat follow a guru named Amma. She is in her 50s and has been touched since she was in her mother's womb, and she has been connected to all God's creatures since her birth. She sat with animals and cared deeply for others over herself. She spent all of her pocket money on the poor...there is story that a skeptic brought a homeless man suffering from leprosy to Amma (who is also known as the hugging guru). He had open oozing wounds all over his body and there was an odor. Upon seeing him for the first time, Amma hugged him and with her mouth sucked all of the puss from each of his wounds and spit it on the ground and then kissed him gently. This skeptic fainted at this site and became one of her most devout followers. Luckily this place does not preach or force you to convert, or suck puss-filled wounds of lepers, but it is interesting to see how so many people here in India follow gurus. There are about 10,000 in the Kerala area and each has a following of their own. You can see shrines set up everywhere...I suppose we all have "gurus" in our lives that take us from darkness into light and ignorance into knowledge. We have had many discussions with our yoga teacher throughout this week about spirituality and the spiritual self and although we may not have 1 guru that we follow or pray to, we have had mentors...family...friends...people who have touched us and changed us or pulled us through when we have been weak.