Namaste y'all

What a difference a day makes...and 4 back to back yoga classes taught by the loveliest most peaceful yogi, Surinder Singh. The first day was truly unbearable and the feelings I had inside were those of a very negative and violent nature, but I think checking in with Wendy and Alex and processing through them, as well as meeting some locals who call these man/boys "son of a bitch pygmies," certainly lifted my spirits. We also hiked up a mountain path to the Swarg Niwas Temple (where Shiva spent 1000 years) to receive a blessing (a bindi - a small red or orange dot painted on the forehead, which quickly rolled off our faces down our noses due to the sweat) at the tippy top of this mountain where an orange and white, slightly dilapidated temple is situated overlooking the whole of Rishikesh and the tree covered mountains surrounding it. Once you climb up the mountain, you then have to climb up several flights of stairs, barefoot, through the temple passing various platforms/balconies with other relics and statues of the various Hindi G-ds displayed for prayer and comfort. That was a relaxing treat, as there were no Shiva Festival freaks to bother us. We spent our second and third days in Rishikesh practicing 4 hours of yoga a day (2 hours at sunrise and 2 hours at sunset) and trekking through the various tree covered mountain sides to hidden temples. Yesterday, we took a 4 hour hike after our morning yoga class and before our evening yoga class through a police barrier to another small town...well we almost made it to the other side, but had to turn around to make our sunset yoga practice. The trek began in the crowded and overwhelming city, which we were told is the most peaceful quiet place throughout the entire 355 days per year minus these 10 day in August that we happen to be visiting...of course! We push through the hustle and bustle of pervy mountain people dressed in all orange, as this is Shiva's favourite colour and they are calling for him. It is so loud with all of the Bum Bum calls to Shiva (I don't think it means your butt like it does in England) and the unsolicited and unwanted photo snaps on various mobile phones and cameras from the late 1990s, as well as the constant starring and giggly commentary make it almost unmanageable, but we finally reach the path that will lead us to the Neelkantha Mahadev Temple (a 14km round trip hike). So we look up at this tiny dirt path surrounded by gorgeous trees and plants with butterflies figure-eighting from one side to the next leading us to this temple directly up and through the mountain (thought littered with an ocean of orange clad man boys) and the concrete paved road that winds around the mountain branching off to the right with a few local commuters and some police regulating the road blocks. Which one to take? Now, I know that Robert Frost speaks about taking "the road less taken and that it made all the difference," but I don't think Mr. Frost ever travelled to Rishikesh in the middle of the Shiva Festival nor do I think that Mr. Frost is a woman so with that said, we opted for the road less taken (at least on that day) and took the concrete road on the right side of the mountain. We thought it would be safer and offer a bit of respite, which it did for about the first 5km, despite the ever present sun hung directly over us shining down! It was a gorgeous walk and there were only a few harassers along the way...it is funny though, how one becomes so jaded and on guard when in these types of surroundings. A group of Shiva Festival revelers passed us by saying something to us in Hindi and I very sternly said, "we will not be talking to you today," and carried on walking by. Alex and Wendy noticed that they were actually severely dehydrated and asking for water, which we had 4 bottles of, and we quickly gave them some. Good karma is always needed...when then one of them tosses the empty water bottle into the forest on the side of the street. Alex likes to teach by example and is so much more peaceful than I, so she just sternly walked over to the bottle and picked it up, while I like to use my mouth (as I am sure we are all aware) and I said, "shame on you! Beautiful India!" This was accompanied by a wag of the pointer finger in his face and two very evil, yet disappointed eyes glaring at him. He sheepishly said, "I'm sorry," and we carried on our merry way. Wendy was horrified by this callous display of littering and was rendered speechless...it is only her first week so she has not been broken yet! Eventually, we realized the time and had to turn around to ensure we would not be late for our sunset yoga so we carried on backtracking to the hostel to change and get centered for our practice. I must remind you that we have already taken the sunrise yoga and done 4 hour hike so my bones are aching (mostly my hips), Alex's shoulders are sore, as the yogi focuses a lot on her posture in class and Wendy's sprained ankle is feeling a bit funny, but we all keep calm and carry on, as we are in the yoga capitol of the world after all.
Our yoga class is such a special and safe place set a top a hotel in a mostly glass yoga/meditation studio cleverly situated to let in the sunrise and the sunset seamlessly. Our yogi is a calm smiley Sikh man with long black hair and a full black beard which covers his chin and touches the top most part of his chest. He does look like my stereotypical image of a yogi from India with a heart and soul to match. His voice sounds like a recording and if you close your eyes, it feels like you are listening to a recording while doing your practice (kind of like those How to Dance recordings you could buy in the 1950s). He spreads his teachings and support to each and every student in the class and never misses one...even if there are 30people taking the class. Alex has impeccable standing postures (in particular the Warrior pose) and he has pushed her to her limits in this one and always gives her a thumbs up. He also spends much time with her regarding her shoulders and posture and pushes her so hard that she has tender trapezoids at this time, but well worth the effort. Wendy is very strong and her strength takes her through the sun salutations effortlessly...it makes me very proud that she is my sister! I think it is all the work she does on her upper body in her NYC gym that is really paying off in yoga and Surinder (the yogi) smiles at her and points to her for others to copy during these salutations. I have unusually and freakishly flexible and open hips, which means that I can bend my body in half from the hips either while standing or sitting and these postures come quite easy to me. Our yogi comes around and maneuvers himself in such a way against my body to pull me and twist me into even deeper hip stretches to ensure I get the full benefits of these poses. I was even picked to do a special pose on the floor in class the other morning, which was a real treat. I think this is why so many different people from varying athletic backgrounds love yoga so much. It truly does not matter how tall, skinny, chubby or stout you are, there is always one or two postures in the yoga dictionary that you will excel at and others that you will have to work on...even others that will be your nemesis pose! Each class begins with the Namaste mantra and a calling to the sun and ends with a long Shavasna (or rest) and a closing Namaste mantra. It is peaceful and relaxing, yet physically and mentally challenging. Such a delicate and blissful mix. So, we bid you all a Namaste and good health until we meet again.