This adventure is over

Being back nearly a week its time for the last blog of this adventure. I integrated Ashram life and habits in my every day life after TTC last year and after ATTC I stick to it for sure. As mentioned in my starting blog Yoga messed up my life. And this experience increased it as expected ;-) . So here is my little Ashram life plan for home:

04:30 a.m. Yoga practice 1,5 hours
Morning walk with dog, trying to to walking meditation
08:00 a.m. Satsang in my car or hearing the Gita on my way to work
Lunch break, Pranayama practice and, or reach out my Yogi friends to make sure this world still exists!
Driving home chanting, happy to have a car, would be wired in a train.
06.00 p.m. Eating
Walking the dog
Teaching, practising www.yomga.com
Working on yogarten,  www.yogarten.com
Meditation
10:00 p.m. sleep

While doing this I try to not forget the Atman during the day :-) and instead of cursing I chant my peace mantra. I can't walk barefoot so I wear woollen socks, yes even in the office. I also managed to sit in Lotus on my chair, when I wear skirts. When I wear pants I can practice the headstand ;-). Have not found office cloth to do both...

What is normal anyway?

But I don't care this life is so good and to previous to waste, even when I have a couple of rounds for sure!

Until we meet or meet again!

Forever a student of Yoga!

See the Ashram from heaven!

Leaving for Atlanta we flew directly over the Paradise Island. Look how pretty it is!

The cruise ships look big even from the sky...

Pancakes, Pirates and Donuts

The Bahamas are very American and I had such a good diet since my TTC that I decided to have a little taste of America. Hello Donuts, Pancakes and for the Carribean feeling I added some pirates.

Bye Ashram! Hello Transit zone!

Bliss absolute!

My diploma!

The explosion

I decided to pack during my free time. This little tent was my home for over 4 weeks, I could hear the ocean every night and will miss sleeping in it.

It is time to pack. I thought that I kept my home neat, but when I cleared everting out I discovered that I had the whole beach in my tent...

My tent and I will part on Paradise Island, it travel with me for such a long time that it will not stand European weather anymore. Hopefully it will provide a good home for a fellow Yogi.

Oral exam yes or no?

We had to wait from 3 hours if they would call us in for an oral exam! So we just waited and waited and waited.

The 3 hours passed and no one called me in, meaning I made it!!!!!  Everything falls into place like the puzzle I did before I left :)

I was "free" and I actually don't know what to do with 3 hours of free time.....

Warrior, the written exam and waiting for the results

Written exam! I got up at 03:45 a.m. and continued my studying in the temple.

We had our satsang as usual at 06.00 a.m. and at 07:15 a.m. we had our breakfast. The exam took 3,5 hours and i used every minute of it!

Now I am waiting for the result....

Study break...

So the sun did come out and I could wear my summer cloth :).

For the lunch break I went to the Nassau and had an awesome Pizza! Our group planned a study tea party so I brought some Donuts from Dunkin, not very sattvic... But we had just 12 for 30 people :). Yummi.

Besides the treats there was continues studying until satsang.

Studying with a woollen hat and leading a chant

What a day! The temperature is still low and everybody wears all the cloths...

This morning I lead a chant in satsang :). I choose Bansuri and it made me really happy and energised me for the day.

It is the final day before the exams and we all study. Luckily it is getting warmer and I still have hope to continue my reading at the beach.

The revelation!

I always sending you pics with beach, sun and the ocean. But I have to admit the weather is not always as we expect the Caribbean to be.

This morning it rained and it was not the first time. I am wearing my Yoga uniform plus a jacket, an extra t shirt, tights under the pants, woollen socks and a scarf. And the funny thing is, I had all this on during the whole Asana class...

What will I do in week when I am back winter?

How is it going?

The fourth and last week started and we are on the peak of it. Many of us are tiered because we sleep less than 6 hours every night. But the group energy is balancing the lack of sleep, what is good. And I nap on the beach, hoping the books on my face will give me the wisdom during sleeping :).

In Pranayama we are working with the Bandas since a while and we practising the more advanced. In Kabalabhati we retaining the breath for up to two minutes. The Anuloma Viloma goes up to 8, 32, 16 and we practise the Bandas with it. It is quite challenging, on good days its working easily and others not so good. You really have to relax and listen to your body.

The Asana classes are fun and the philosophy classes are really interesting and mind blowing. Furthermore we have speakers from all over the world with interesting programmes during the satsang.

I keep try to keep in the flow, bending and studying :) not thinking about the exame...

Sanskrit, sanskrit, sanskrit on my free day...

The third free day! Those of you who did TTC remembered learning the initial prayer, Gajananam. Singing it takes more or less 3 minutes. I know it now by heart and sing it every day. And I thought it would not hunt me after I could sing it. Guess what our Sanskrit homework was! Writing the whole song in devanagari, meaning Sanskrit. Instead of 3 minutes singing it, it took me 3 hours to translate it.

Next week all 50 letters have to be in my head for the exam, so this task brought me a step forward. And it looks pretty!

Anyway I still had time to enjoy fries and a virgin pina colada :) with view on the big cruise ships and private Yachts in Nassau. 

Snacks, snacks, snacks

I will reveal my secret Ashram Snack plan to you :) As you know there are 2 meals one at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. As I am getting up at 4.15 a.m. and we have so much input in the classes both physically and mentally that I need more food. If I am hungry I get really grumpy, so for the peace of the community I snack!  For the Caribbean the fruits choice is rather limited :( and I had to find new resources.

What can you eat in between that is healthy, fast and energises you? Basically I eat raisins, nuts and before Asana class in the afternoon I have a protein shake. For certain I am not loosing weight this time :-)

Sometimes I forget where I am...

During the daily schedule I sometimes forget where I am. It is the third week and every opportunity in the free time is used for studies or eating. And yesterday I totally forgot that I am actually still on the Bahamas on Paradise Island. So I went to the beach and studied there.

Here is an overview. You can see our spot for the silent walk where we sing and the Atlantis Hotel. The beach is really beautiful and you can walk quite a long distance. So greetings from Paradise Island!

Veggie Burger

My free day, already a couple of days back, was just awesome. I went to Nassau and had a vegetarian burger at the Hard Rock Cafe AND I had a chai latte at Starbucks :). So all in all 3 full meals, yippie! It felt good to be back in the not Ashram world.

After I took the picture, I realised that I am wearing my uniform colours even on my free day just the other way round. Bottom yellow, top white.

A totally new type of uniform!

I love the washing machines in the Ashram it saves me at least 30 minutes everyday! But what did I do I wanted even to save more time and made one washing instead of two. And what do I have pink pants :)

On the wings of Ecstasy...

So the second week is already over and I just realize that I have not posted. I am now 100 % absorbed in studying Sanskrit, learning Philosophy and doing lots of Asanas. We had another Puja and a concert series called on the wings of Ecstasy. Singers from different traditions come and present their devotinal music what is pretty awesome!

So I fly on the wings if Ectasy through the second week :) 

The beach platform

Just wanted to introduce to you the beach platform. It is a real challenge to keep the senses inside when you practice on that platform. It is just so pretty that you simply don't want to close the eyes. That might also be a reason why they keeping us on the garden platform :). Cant wait to get on it...

A more or less free day :)

The first free day arrived yesterday. We had to attend Pranayama at 05:00 a.m., morning and evening satsang as well as Karma Yoga. So I had free time from 08:00 a.m. to 06:45 a.m. which was awesome.

I decided to go to Nassau to do some shopping for bars, protein shake, and dried fruits for snacks. I found in the supermarket the most amazing vegan ice cream which was just perfect because we had to stick to our Yogic diet. This means no eggs, onion, garlic, meat, caffeine etc. The ice was made out of dark chocolate and coconut milk. Its amazing how many vegan and vegetarian food you can get in the supermarket those days.

I wont mention that I had my Chai Tea latte with soy milk at Starbucks....

Fire ritual to remove obstacles and gain wisdom

Today we had a fire ritual performed by our Indian tantric priest. We asked Ganesha to remove all obstacles for this course and we asked Sarasvarti to gives us wisdom.

We formed one line and each of us put wood and gee in the fire, then we put a flower on the picture on the floor which the priest made out of sand. It was great!

The daily schedule and a pic from our classroom

So after 4 days I get the daily schedule and the locations :), and here is a picture of the class and Yoga room. We even have a little altar!

04:15 wake up, shower
05:00 - 06:00 a.m. Pranayama, Uniform
06:00 - 07:30 a.m. Satsang, Uniform
07:45 - 08:45 a.m. Asana class, Casual
09:00 - 10:00 a.m. Anatomy and Physiology, Uniform
10:00 - 12:00 a.m. Lunch, homework
12:00 - 01:30 p.m. Sanskrit, Raja Yoga, Uniform
01:30 - 02:30 p.m. Homework, study
02:30  -03:45 p.m. Vedanta, Bhakti, Karma, Uniform
04:00 - 06:00 p.m. Asana class, Casual
06:45 - 07:45 p.m. Karma Yoga, Casual
08:00 - 09:30 p.m. Satsang, Uniform

Yogic diet and peanut butter?!

So let me tell you about the food. We do have two meals per day one at 10 a.m. and one at 06 p.m. We do have a buffet for brunch and for dinner which is unusual for an Ashram. And we are allowed to sit on benches and tables which is even more unusual AND we can talk and choose where we sit while eating. When I have my food I sit directly at the ocean :). The food is different everyday, we have greens like salad, and carbs and we do get even fresh bread every day. It is really European except for the peanut butter that is American :). Ah and we have Almond, Soy and normal Milk. So it is sometimes really hard to keep a Yogic diet......

I have to say I do miss the Indian food in spite of this pure luxury and to be honest it kept me much longer full.

Learning Sanskrit

Doing homework. I cannot even read my own handwriting when I write English or German on paper and now I have to draw Sanskrit..... Wish me luck!

Getting in the flow, Karma Yoga assignement

Today we started to get in the routine. The schedule did not yet materialise but it started to.

So I received my Karma Yoga task and you wont believe what I got! I am allowed to work in Swami Vishnudevanandas House, what a blessing. I mean I do have to clean dishes and the toilet for the guests but I will have tons and tons of good vibration. And it gets even better, I work there in the evening so I can study at daytime at the beach!!!! Thank you Karma

It has begun...

So we all have been initiated, from now on it is white and yellow.

It is now 09:30 p.m. and it is still going on. But we don't have the Pranayama class at 05:00 a.m. tomorrow :-).

Welcome to Ashram life, I am soooo happy to be back! Waited one year for this moment :-) .

The calm before the storm...

Today is the official first day of ATTC. But it has not started yet. So I went for silent walk, yoga class and a loooong walk on the beach, where this palm tree inspired me :-)

Forgot my cup :(

Very important thing to take to the Ashram is a cup for your tea and the best cup is a thermo cup that you can close and carry around. I refused to buy a Starbucks cup and bought instead this beauty which I can find and see among 100 cups. I am sure nobody wants it as well. ;-)

Silent walk, in a movie scene of a Caribbean movie!

Its like walking in a movie. Full moon, warm air, sand under your feet and the ocean breeze.

Sunday morning seems to be the silent walk morning. Our route is so beautiful. We walk over the beach in silence, than we meditate, sing and watch the sunrise and then we walk back. We have full moon today! But see for yourself.

The only way to leave is the boat...

The last free day before ATTC starts!. So I used the "freedom to go" and made a sightseeing tour in Nassau. There is plenty to see, huge ships, tourist and Starbucks (basically Maya :) everywhere) in a way the exact opposite thing for what I am here.

I am really happy that ATTC starts tomorrow. My jet lag is nearly gone thanks to 4 hours Yoga every day and I already wake up at 04:30 a.m.

Received a new name

I admit it I sneaked out! But it is not ATTC  yet, so I took the risk and I received a new name now I have 3:

Janine - my Christian name
Janaki - my spiritual name
Chine -my Starbucks name

Yes there is a Starbucks. Since I don't drink coffee for over a year anymore, I had my Chai Soy Latte. Not as good as the Indian Chai at the bus station where we sneaked off in Neyyar Dam but totally worth it!

No text just a photo...

:)

Happy New Year, Happy Birthday!

We Yogis definitely know how to party! For this special evening we had Satsang and two Pujas one for Swami Vishnudevanadas Brithday and one for the new year. Furthermore there was an amazing live Bahkti singer. So it was huge feast. And from Nassau were amazing fireworks at midnight

And as TTC graduate this evening as well we had PIZZA :).

The best part was that the wake up bell did ring not at 05:30 a.m. but 06:30 a.m ;)....

Pitching the tent, home sweet..

Luckily I received a single room for the first night, so I could set up the tent at daylight.

I can hear the ocean... Excited for the first night!

Arrival at paradise beach!

After over 16 hours travel I arrived at Naussau, Bahamas in the evening.  The best part of the journey was jet to come. The boat ride to Paradise Beach.

Travelling from the airport with the taxi to the harbour the Sivananda boat waited for the new comers. We set over under a clear sky, stars shining and warm air. As it was dark I could not see much from the surroundings but the Ashram Energy field could be felt everywhere!

I went straight to bed exciting to see where I actually  was :). So here are the pics from the morning!