If you are coming directly to the blog and not through Facebook, you can see the picture by going to my Facebook page. I met with my assistance that is helping me with a new blog platform form Sunday afternoon. She is currently working on this to update my blog's ability to accept pictures.
Hopefully, sooner than later.
Please excuse my not writing and posting last week as I usually do. The third week of the Yoga Teacher's Continuing Education Program that I was participating in was quite intense with very little time for me to write. I also experienced very deep and significant emotionally shifts that I will share soon.
What has it been like as I have lived at Satchidananda Ashram? I would like to take you on a descriptive tour of my experience living in an ashram from the senses point of view.
What do I see, hear, smell, taste and feel all around me?
I equate an ashram as a parallel to an abbey or monastery where nuns and/or monks live, but in an ashram they are called swamis. An ashram is a place where groups of men and women live together, pray, serve and worship God. The science of ashram life and culture is an ancient culture planned long, long ago that evolved in India. It is a place where you can go for a short or long period of time in order to accelerate your spiritual growth, such is the atmosphere created there. After living in an ashram for a period of time then one returns back to their normal householder life and sees the world from a better perspective and manages life in a better way. An individual's peace of mind and strength grows in greater alignment with equanimity. (balance).
What do I see?
Being deep in the woods of Virginia, I see the beauty of nature no matter which direction I look. Here is a beautiful, uplifting, exciting and enchanting world. It is a hidden paradise of wonderful gifts steeped in nature and filled with adventurous spots, scenic landscapes, colorful flowers, green plants, bushes, lofty mountain ranges, picturesque dense lush green forests and sapphire skies with a few fluffy white clouds slowly passing by. Definitely a mesmerizing sight! As I am walking around the grounds, I often see swamis, both men and women everywhere wearing flowing pants and long tunics or regular shirts and pants in different shades of orange with facial expressions of peace and joy on their faces and within their body language. Some people are in white pants and shirts. They are the ashram staff members, yoga teachers for the ashram's yoga classes for guests or nearby local people that attend the ashram's yoga classes, Integral Yoga Academy teachers and staff assistants, and sometimes teachers from other Integral Yoga Academy and Ashram workshop offerings. All clothing worn on campus is required to be modest and not revealing at all times. I see lots of people walking with a water bottle in one hand and a yoga mat in a bag or a strap on their shoulder heading to or coming from a yoga class. There is a quad of buildings that surrounds a grassy area with trees on the outer edges that seems to me to function as a park. I see people sitting on the grass or on the benches under the trees talking, singing and/or playing guitars. These buildings include the Integral Yoga Academy, Guru Bhavan - a meditation hall, two dormitories, the library and a boutique underneath stocked with gently used clothing for those who may need them, and Sivananda Hall (often called the "Gathering Place") which houses the gift shop, mail center, communication wall area, the kitchen and dining hall, meeting rooms and at the far back is a large room that is used for multiple purposes, including serving as the venue for the weekly spiritual gatherings, known as “satsang," a spiritual congregation of people who participate in devotional activities with chanting and singing in worship to God. During the satsang there is a viewing of a video taping of Swami Satchinanda speaking or answering questions that were written on notecards by seekers of his guidance and spiritual teachings. There is also a speaker sharing his or her offering of their expertise or life experiences during the satsang. I frequently see people hugging one another, smiling and always happy to greet each another. There are walking trails through the woods for pleasure and to get from one place to another; LOTUS Arches, LOTUS Temple and LOTUS lake with a swimming section, and the organic farm - food is grown with the traditional soil preparation, planting of seeds, nurturing their growth and harvesting the rewards of the process which makes up the bulk of the food that is consumed in the dining hall. There are camping sites, summer cabins, different sacred sites, Integral Yoga Distribution - a primary source of books, DVDs and other yoga studio type supplies and spiritual products for natural food stores, the monastery, Ananda Kutir - the home place where Swami Satchidananda lived when he was alive, the James River and two Lotus Guest Houses - private individual rooms like hotel rooms. Down the road a little from the main quad area is a full functioning garage to meet everyones's car needs. Upon entering each building everyone immediately takes their shoes off and places them on the shelves just inside of all the buildings. The grounds and all the buildings are lovingly crafted and maintained in a neat, orderly and pleasant way. I see deer, mommas and babies with the white speckled dots on their backs frolicking at the wood's edge, squirrels scurrying from here to there and on a rare occasion I have seen a chipmunk. I see lightening bugs dotting the woods with twinkling lights as soon as dusk settles in for the approaching darkness of the night.
What do I hear?
I hear people talking politely and joyfully. I hear lots of music from people singing songs as they go along their merry way or in unison with chanting and singing accompanied by musical instruments; drums, guitars, harmonium - a piano-like accordion instrument used in Indian music, cymbals, bells, tambourines and shakers. I hear birds chirping, frogs croaking and the wind flowing through the trees. I hear crickets as they make their natural finely tuned song unaware that people around them are welcoming this sound into their ears. Crickets produce their music by rubbing their wings together. At the base of the forewing, a thick, ridged vein acts as a file. Though some human cultures revere the song of the cricket, he's not singing for our enjoyment. The male cricket chirps to attract a female mate. The female responds only to the unique, characteristic sound of her own species. Crickets also chirp to establish their territories and defend it against competing males. In China, a cricket singing in the home is a sign of good luck. If I am near the kitchen when they are preparing a meal, I hear people talking, vegetables being chopped as well as pots and pans clanking. When it rains, I hear it rushing in with a loud heavy downpour that urges you to stay indoors, run to the building you are heading to or I hear the pop of many umbrellas opening and people's feet sloshing and sprinting to their destination. When it rains, I also hear a gentle failing as it comes from the sky above to greet the ground. I like both of these songs of rain. They each affect me in a different way. The heavy downpours make me want to stay inside, watch or close my eyes and listen to the sound of the intensity. As the rain pours down, I like to breathe in its energy and drink in its rhythm as I focus on this and create a stillness in my mind and heart in the midst of the storm. It reminds me of God's calling me to find peace and stillness in the midst of the storms and challenges of life. When I hear a gentle and slow rain, I respond in a totally differnt way. I like to follow the sound of each droplet as it comes down to softly touch the earth. I find myself inhaling a breath deeply and slowly releasing the breath from my nose in as slow of a pace as I can. It reminds me to remember to slow down the pace of my life and connect to each moment. There are also moments in each day where there is total silence and stillness.
What do I smell?
I smell how fresh the air is and the different scents of the plants, flowers, ferns and the earthy scent of the soil. One day as I walked out of the building where my yoga class was, I smelled freshly laid mulch. As I turned the corner there was the yogi gardener whistling as he worked to put down the pile of fresh mulch from the truck bed snuggly around the plants and flowers. I smell the trees, such a nice woodsy scent. After a rain the air and the woods smell so much cooler, cleaner like they have received a washing and the essense of aromas from the different trees stand out. Depending on the time of day, I smell waffling scents of what's for breakfast, lunch or dinner? If I am not hungry at the time, one whiff of the scent of the food cooking stirs my desire to eat.
What do I taste?
The dining hall serves only vegetarian food. Yogis are vegetarians as a calling to do no harm to living beings and to only consume food that is naturally nutrient dense and pure in order to better support a healthy body, mind, and spirit. Really yogis are vegan except a little yogurt for breakfast and in salad dressings. For breakfast as I walk in the dining room there in the center of the room is a bountiful table of fruit filled with apples, bananas, kiwis, oranges and grapefruit. On the table are two cutting boards with knives for cutting the fruit of your choice. Sometimes I have arrived and there is a plate full of fruit already cut with a sign in front of it saying, "I cut this fruit just for you, Enjoy!" A little to the right side of the dining hall is a station of dry cereals and raisins. To the far right next to the wall is a table with a sign on the wall above it stating, "Gluten Free" that has rice cakes, bread, a toaster labeled "Gluten Free Toaster Only," vegan butter and an area with dispensers that hold natural no additives or preservatives jams and creamy peanut butter. To the far left of the dining hall there is a table identical to this table only not gluten free. To the left of this table is the entrance door to the cafeteria line style of serving with hot steamy food offerings. There is always homemade long cooked full rolled oat flakes (not the tiny chopped up oatmeal flakes in the instant packets which are bad for you due to all the added sugar and other not good for you ingredients) and steel cut oats, a savory brown rice with small cut up vegetables in it and some stewed prunes or other stewed fruit. As I come out of the cafeteria line exit door there is a circular table of unsweetened milk offerings; rice milk, soy milk, and almond milk and fresh orange and grapefruit juices. To the left wall past the milk and juice station is a rectangular table with a variey of naturally caffeine free teas from the Organic India Tea Company. My favorite is the ginger tea and I like to add a liitle honey, "mmmm" so yummy and sootheing. Lunch time is the largest meal of the day. This is the meal that has the most people showing up to partake in its offerings. To the right of the dining hall is a long table filled with a bountiful spread of rainbow colors with vegetables cut up for creating your own salad. The vegetables include green leaf lettuce, bright orange shredded carrots, deep red shredded beets, light green celery, tan mung bean sprouts with little white tails, bright red bite-size tomatoes, light green to white cabbage, forrest green bell peppers, fresh green herbs finely chopped usually cilantro or leafy parsley, white flower like cauliflower, chopped white onions and light green to white spring onions, green juicy cucumbers, circular sliced yellow summer squash and grayish white thinly sliced mushrooms. There are two small condiment tables with a variety of offerings in self-serving containers, ground cinnamon, sunflower seeds, ground flax seed, nutritional yeast flakes, honey and other spices. There often is a salad recipe in a huge round bowl like a mixed vegetable salad or a quinoa salad with tiny cut up vegetables and fresh herbs. There are cooked foods, a variety of mixed vegetables dishes with and without a traditional Indian culture flavor, steamed greens, individual vegetables like small cut up roasted potatoes, beets, yellow or zucchini squash, steamed tofu and brown rice with mixed vegetables. For dinner there is the same salad bar and cooked vegetables like at lunch but a less overall amount of food offered. Dinner is intended to be a smaller meal. There is usually brown rice and steamed vegetables, soups - vegetable, black bean or split pea and stews - chili beans with small cut up vegetables, mixed vegetables with and without brown rice and sometimes leftovers from lunch. For both lunch and dinner lightly seasoned or zero seasoning vegetables are cooked for those individuals that their bodies prefer more simple tastes.That would be me. I have learned that my body does not like strong seasonings. When I do eat highly seasoned foods the MS symptoms increase with a very unpleasant attack. The same drinks that I described for breakfast are available at lunch and dinner.
What do I feel?
First off, it feels like a a hidden paradise of outpouring love and kindness. The atmosphere here feels calm, relaxed, and smooth. I always sense a happy energy as well as a peaceful energy. I feel arms wrapping around me in loving embracing hugs multiple times each day along with an occasionally gentle kiss on my cheek. I feel joy and peace from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I feel a unique quality of true holiness all around me as I walk from one place to another.
Thursday, July 9th, 2015, I taught my last feedback/test class critiqued by a Master yoga teacher and passed which now means I successfully met the credentials for the continuing education program adding more hours to my overall yoga teachers credentials. Yes! Now I have 400 hours of teaching instruction. In the yoga credentialing world your initial training is kinda like an undergraduate degree and when you reach 500 hours of instructional training it is kinda like a master's degree. There was a beautiful and filled with love graduation ceremony Saturday, July 11, 2015 where my classmates and I offered an expression in connection with the theme of yogic life practices that you take with you off of the mat into your daily life. People offered singing, readings and guitar playing with a song by one person or a group. I shared a reading from my daily devotional book. On the day of graduation my devotional reading from the book, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young matched what we had been actually discussing during our spiritual class session just two days ago. The devotion states that we need to not get caught up in the sneaky subtle idolatries of the world of today like people, possessions, status and self-aggrandizement - the action or process of promoting oneself as being powerful or important. Here is a quote from this devotional reading from Jesus Calling, "When you seek Me instead of the world's idolatries, you experience My joy and peace. The glitter of this world is tiny and temporal. The Light of My presence is brilliant and everlasting. Walk in the Light with Me. Thus you become a beacon through whom others are drawn to Me."
Below is a statement that was given to the Integral Yoga Academy from Swami Satchidananda - the founder of Satchidananda Ashram and Integral Yoga Academy to pass on to their yoga teacher students as they pursue yoga teacher training programs:
"What are the most important qualities for a Yoga teacher to develop? The most important quality is to know that you are not a teacher. You are still a learner. In the name of teaching, you should know that you are learning from the students. That will make you quite a humble person. Humility is the best quality. You are not teaching them anything. You are sharing what you learned, what you know, and you tell them that there is much more to learn. And the best gift you can give to the students is to make yourself an example of a good yogi. Then, you are practicing what you are preaching. That is the best gift you can give them."
“God bless you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.” (shanti = peace)
Swami Satchidananda
Sending love, peace, joy and light to each of you,
:)
Lisa/Bhakti
Sending love, peace, joy and light to each of you,
:)
Lisa/Bhakti
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