I just left the yoga ashram yesterday morning, but it already feels like forever ago. It felt like another world in a way. It was quiet, isolated, and I was mostly surrounded by fellow foreigners. All the food was prepared for me. All I had to do was show up to places on time. I'm now in Mumbai, back into the real world of hustle and bustle, where I have to go places, apply for visas, find my own food, and make friends with people who will leave in a day or two and I'll never see again. Instead of falling asleep at 9:30pm and waking up at 5am for two hours of yoga, I'm kept awake until 1am by two drunk 50 year olds, traveling the world in search of themselves. But that's life in a hostel for you.
So now I can officially teach yoga, says the piece of paper they gave me after 30 days. That's a cool thought. Though I don't plan on it anytime soon. It's just funny to think about, something random that makes sense in my current context and doesn't seem out of the ordinary, but will probably feel different when I'm back in the States.
Speaking of things that are out of the ordinary, but don't seem like it to me in this Indian context, there was a train wreck in India yesterday. In fact, it took place just a few kilometers from the train station I was at just then, waiting for my train. I found out because the train I was about to board was cancelled. The derailed train, in which dozens were injured or killed, was blocking the very tracks I would have been on 10mins later. I was with 6 other foreigners trying to get back to Mumbai, but none of us were concerned or gave much thought to this tragedy that was so close to us, that might have well been us if things went slightly different. We realized we needed another way to Mumbai, and quickly booked a taxi. And that was that. I find myself wondering if this is something owed to spending extended time in India, where less value is placed on human life. Or maybe it's not that at all, but more universal, a product of the pace and impersonality that characterizes modern life. Or maybe I've just become less empathetic. That's probably part of it. And definitely something that needs work. Though India is a difficult place to exercise that emotional muscle.
Anyways, the big news was the completion of the yoga retreat. I learned a lot about yoga postures, theory, and philosophy. And I'm really happy for that. I think it will be really useful in my own life, and in helping others, whether informally or related to Tourette's, communication, etc. But honestly, what I most enjoyed about all that time was getting to know the other students. I was lucky to have 3 great roommates who I clicked with, 2 from Dubai and 1 from Thailand. They had very different personalities, which made for a hilarious time. One was super sarcastic and blunt, which is something I love to be around. Another was very serious about the yogic/mindful lifestyle, and was always pushing himself and others to go further. All of them were extremely intelligent and we spent most nights staying up much too late, having conversations about love, philosophy, religion, all the big stuff. I think we all fall on different ends of the spectrum, on almost all those issues. It made for a really good dynamic, having to reconsider most of the big framing points of my life. I'm really grateful for those kinds of challenges to my beliefs, forcing me to step out of my comfort zone for a bit. I'm hoping to visit all of them during my travels. There were lots of other people as well, several of whom I got to practice my Spanish with, which was awesome.
One of the things I liked most about the course, which I thibk I got the most out of, was the practice teaching. For my final, I instructed 6 other people for one hour. I think my experience teaching as a TA helped a lot, because it felt great. It requires a much different teaching persona than teaching public speaking though. In this, I developed a much softer, calming voice. I also had to find a fine line between encouragement and corrections, which I think takes time. But it gave me the opportunity ity to incorporate some meditations, such as one on co passion I really love. In this, you visualize someone you love dearly, and keep them in mind as you recite, inwardly, the following phrases: May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be loved. It always has positive effects for me, and everyone else loved it as well. That's one of the things I'd like best about teaching if I did it, the meditations.
There are a million things I could write about the experience, but I'd be here all day, and it's time I go out into the city! We can chat more individually later, or I'll write more later. It's one experience onto another again. Part of me already misses staying a while in one location with a stable group of people, but traveling around frequently has its own joys :-)
So now I can officially teach yoga, says the piece of paper they gave me after 30 days. That's a cool thought. Though I don't plan on it anytime soon. It's just funny to think about, something random that makes sense in my current context and doesn't seem out of the ordinary, but will probably feel different when I'm back in the States.
Speaking of things that are out of the ordinary, but don't seem like it to me in this Indian context, there was a train wreck in India yesterday. In fact, it took place just a few kilometers from the train station I was at just then, waiting for my train. I found out because the train I was about to board was cancelled. The derailed train, in which dozens were injured or killed, was blocking the very tracks I would have been on 10mins later. I was with 6 other foreigners trying to get back to Mumbai, but none of us were concerned or gave much thought to this tragedy that was so close to us, that might have well been us if things went slightly different. We realized we needed another way to Mumbai, and quickly booked a taxi. And that was that. I find myself wondering if this is something owed to spending extended time in India, where less value is placed on human life. Or maybe it's not that at all, but more universal, a product of the pace and impersonality that characterizes modern life. Or maybe I've just become less empathetic. That's probably part of it. And definitely something that needs work. Though India is a difficult place to exercise that emotional muscle.
Anyways, the big news was the completion of the yoga retreat. I learned a lot about yoga postures, theory, and philosophy. And I'm really happy for that. I think it will be really useful in my own life, and in helping others, whether informally or related to Tourette's, communication, etc. But honestly, what I most enjoyed about all that time was getting to know the other students. I was lucky to have 3 great roommates who I clicked with, 2 from Dubai and 1 from Thailand. They had very different personalities, which made for a hilarious time. One was super sarcastic and blunt, which is something I love to be around. Another was very serious about the yogic/mindful lifestyle, and was always pushing himself and others to go further. All of them were extremely intelligent and we spent most nights staying up much too late, having conversations about love, philosophy, religion, all the big stuff. I think we all fall on different ends of the spectrum, on almost all those issues. It made for a really good dynamic, having to reconsider most of the big framing points of my life. I'm really grateful for those kinds of challenges to my beliefs, forcing me to step out of my comfort zone for a bit. I'm hoping to visit all of them during my travels. There were lots of other people as well, several of whom I got to practice my Spanish with, which was awesome.
One of the things I liked most about the course, which I thibk I got the most out of, was the practice teaching. For my final, I instructed 6 other people for one hour. I think my experience teaching as a TA helped a lot, because it felt great. It requires a much different teaching persona than teaching public speaking though. In this, I developed a much softer, calming voice. I also had to find a fine line between encouragement and corrections, which I think takes time. But it gave me the opportunity ity to incorporate some meditations, such as one on co passion I really love. In this, you visualize someone you love dearly, and keep them in mind as you recite, inwardly, the following phrases: May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be loved. It always has positive effects for me, and everyone else loved it as well. That's one of the things I'd like best about teaching if I did it, the meditations.
There are a million things I could write about the experience, but I'd be here all day, and it's time I go out into the city! We can chat more individually later, or I'll write more later. It's one experience onto another again. Part of me already misses staying a while in one location with a stable group of people, but traveling around frequently has its own joys :-)
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