So I guess I have alot to update. Considering I'm now sitting in an Internet Cafe in New Dehli, and 24 hours ago I was near the southern tip of India in a Yoga Ashram.. 2814 kms later and here I am.

So where should I start. I was not really enjoying the Ashram, between the strict rules, the early mornings, bland food and lack lustre yoga, I was quickly growing tired of the place. On top of all those reasons, I had continued to feel worse in the Dehli Belly department. My sore stomach, unsettled bowels if you will, and just generally feeling weak made doing yoga or any activity for that matter not much fun. I struggled though a few days, and gradually did feel better, not 100 percent but able to do the classes and follow the program.

Let me tell you about the typical day in the Ashram life before I get into my insane day of travel to Dehli.. The morning bells ring at a sobering 5 am, a second "snooze" alarm sounds at 5:20 and we are expected to meet in the main hall by 6am. The morning program begins with a group meditation. Satsang they call it. 30 minutes of silent thought, or should I say lack of thought. The idea is to close your eyes and focus on the breath, clear the mind, and calm the thoughts. A silent mantra, holy or sacred words can be repeated to help focus thoughts in one place. By calming he mind, and using this disipline, one can ultimately have greater control of the mind, and some believe you open your soul to the higher powers, the brahmin, the ultimate, God. This is the path to immortality, to bliss, to blah blah blah. Sorry I wasn't really into all that. I like the idea of disipline, the idea of calming the mind to be able to think clearer and focus better. But when you start talking about god and spirits entering my body when I meditate, I start to clam up a bit. I dunno. Maybe one day I'll have more patience for the spiritual world, but for now, I think its more about personal gain, and the pursuit of happiness. And God, in my opinion, has nothing to do with it.

Anyway, back to the shedule. After we meditate for some time, the chants begin. Ancient sanskrit chants are sang as a group. They have a nice musical quality, drums and symbols, even though I have no idea what i'm saying I sing along or bang a drum. This process is thought to tune each person to the same vibration wave lengths. Once we are all in tune, the leader makes some announcements and reads a section from our founders vast collection of literature.

I'm happy that the leader, priest, or guru, whatever he was called I don't remember, he mentioned that it doesn't matter what faith you believe, that these practices are the same. He wasn't trying to convert anyone to the hindu belief system in which the ashram was founded. Thankfully, because I might not have stayed past the first day otherwise. It was very inclusive and open to many ideas.

Following Satsang, we have tea. I found the name satsang funny, because litterally we sat, and we sang. Annnyway, tea takes us to first yoga. At 8am. By now i've been awake 3 hours and with only tea in me i'm starving, I do the yoga thinking of breakfast when i'm supposed to be clearing my mind.

The Sivananda style of yoga is not my favorite. Its only 12 poses. A great series of breathing exercises starts, but the same poses are repeated with gradually buliding variations. I was bored of the yoga after the 2nd day. I think I've come to be a yoga snob and only like my fast paced, very physical, hot yoga that I do at home. I do this yoga more for exercise purposes than for the true yogic benefits of ancient times. But I don't care, I like it. Its a great workout and I feel good doing it.

So breakfast is served at 10am and by now I'm ready to eat my arm. When its served, I might rather eat my arm. This food is Satvic. No Spices. Its philosophy lies in the idea that spices increase the heat of the body, and so does yoga, so the avoid over heating, spices are banned. Geeze. The food wasn't actually bad, just not good. Basic vegetarian meals, with weak sauces and plain rice. Clear tea. We all sit along the floor in rows. Long rows of 60 or 70 in each, a total of nearly 250 people in one huge dining hall, eating from large metal platers with sections pressed into them for each different sauce. We eat indian style, with our hands, cross legged and in silence, shoveling the food as best we can. We wash our own plates and cups, some volunteer to help clean, and then are left for the afternoon for free time. People often go into the small town near by to use cheaper internet or the phones, a nearby lake is nice to swim, despite the warning of crocodiles. I chose to just rest and read most days, really not feeling well.

Another tea and small fruit snack is served at 1:30pm and then a lecture about yoga or the history of the ashram is given. I missed most of the lectures, one day I was sick, so I just slept the whole day, another the lecture was cancelled, and the one lecture I did attend just spoke about what the chants are supposed to mean.

So another yoga session begins at 3:30. The same boring 12 poses are done again, with little variation. I did have the opportunity to work on my hamstrings and they do lots of abdominal work, so I got some benefit. Just got bored fast.

Yoga ends and dinner or lunch? Anyway, the second of the two meals for the day is served. Same deal, same food.

Wow I sound pretty bitter here. But it wasn't all bad. I liked the disipline of getting up early. I challenged myself to sit through the meditation and found I was gradually able to make longer attempts at clearing my mind. I didn't like the food, but i'm sure that the simple diet was the best thing I could have done for my poor belly at the time.

But after gradually feeling better, I woke up at 6:15 yesterday, I slept right through the morning bells, I was stiff and sore, feeling weak again and generally crappy. So I said screw it I want to go home. And thats it. I changed my flight and flew to Dehli.