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Day 1 cont…
Sharad’s driver took me to see Baha (church) and some ancient ruins from the 13th century. That evening I decided to come early to Rishikesh to learn Reiki before my yoga course starts. The bus ride up was very memorable. To get the best experience I chose the native bus system instead of the 1st class tourist bus. It was a cheap way of getting to hang local style! I paid Rs 175-which is equal to about $3. If I would have taken the tourist bus, it would have been like $50. First of all, the bus was very dirty and did not have much room. I can tell that they have never washed it! There was puck on the outside from previous times….which I now understood why someone would vomit on the ride; it was like riding a rollercoaster for 6 hrs! I flew off my seat 3xs due to bumps and thought that we were going to flip a few other times. It took us 6 hrs to travel 250 km. because of bad roads and traffic congestion. If you want to know what I mean, I suggest searching youtube for traffic in Delhi or India.
Day 2
After I arrived in Rishikesh, I called my yoga instructor. I rode in a little taxi (15 min) to a huge bridge that extended from one side of the Ganga river to the other. I paid Rs30-$0.75 to get there. I put my heavy pack on and crossed the bridge to Ramjulia (don’t know how to spell it). My instructor met me on the other side and took me to the yoga studio. It is 3 stories high in the middle of the city with a phenomenal view of the Himalayan mountain range. I watched the 500 level class and arranged to meet with a reiki instructor. The instructor told me that he can see my aura and it is very powerful. He allowed me to stay in the ashram, even though I am 6 days early, at no additional charge! He offered to pay for my meals (made to order) and room for this week Again…I am blessed! To my surprise, I got a room all to myself with a kitchen, bath, balcony, a toilet and not just a hole in the ground(see pics later) and filtered drinking water from the Ganga river. They say that the water from the river is magical because if you take the water and let it sit for a week in a glass and compare it to any other river water in india, it will not stink. It is always blue and pure from the mountains. We ate dinner at 7:30 then went to the ashram class to train. He taught me one on one. First he was getting a feel for me spiritually. He told me that he sees purity and honesty in my heart. Someone with drive and who is open with a higher level of consciousness. He says he can tell that I am a fast learner and will do well. He offered for me to join the 500 level class instead of the 200 level. (500 hrs is more advanced). There is a price difference of course, which he says he will wave for me. His purpose is to allow me to grow spiritually and invest his time in me. Again…blessed I am! We chanted and crossed our legs Indian style and held hands while meditating. My hands started to tingle almost instantaneously! It felt almost electrical! He asked me what I felt and I told him. He said good! That is very rare that someone feels that on the first try. He says it was all me that caused the electrical feeling on my hands. After assessing me, he concluded that I have a lot of potential, he kept going on telling me spiritual things that were very true of me, kinda scary to some extent, but exciting! He taught me about the 7 shakras (muladhara, swadishana, manipura, anahata ect) and that I do not have many blocks between mind and body that keep me from growing and reaching a higher level of being. After my one on one lesson, the other students came in from the class. We chanted, meditated and did breathing exercises for an hour while burning incents and candles. I received my first reiki session from a student…quite amazing! Reiki is a way of healing by using universal energies and channeling them. Almost bed time…I took a shower back at my room and went to bed…but did not sleep well…it gets COLD at night in the mountains!
Day 3
Every morning a loud horn with Indian chanting music gets played at 4:30 and 5:30 to wake everyone up, kinda like an alarm clock. Throughout the day, you can hear Indian chanting music throughout the city being played at each ashram in the village. It kind of adds to the spiritual vibes of Rishikesh. I awoke at 4:45 this morning to practice with Swami, my yoga instructor. He wanted to see what I had in regards to my potential and to give me extra lessons free of charge so that I can keep up with the 500 level course that is now finishing up their last few days. We stretched and chanted. He says I have great flexibility and posture for yoga. He also talked about opening up a yoga studio in the USA and put me in charge after I teach for 6 months (for practice)…and yet another opportunity…Swami assigned a chant word to me; he said that I am an OOHMAA chant. Everyone is a different chant depending on their energies. At 7 am the other students joined in for a yoga session. After yoga, we ate breakfast and we were then free for the day to do whatever we like. I decided to walk up the Ganga River to the next town (laxman jhulia) and checked it out. I saw a lot of monkeys along the way I would like to upload my photos, but the internet is way to slow here! I spent an hour trying at an internet café…no success! As for The weather, its dreadfully cold during the night and early morning and hot during the daytime. Focusing on local scenery, as you walk through the streets you see beggars and merchants trying to get money from tourists. They even go as far as following you down the street harassing you until you give in…I also saw a monkey attack a mother and a child today. The monkey won and ran off with the child’s bag of chips! They are aggressive little things!
For anyone who needs to call, I have an Indian cell phone: +91 (0)971 723 4320.
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