Caleb's Ashram Notes

My ashram experience.
Caleb Cohen

This is the schedule:

5:20(am):Wake up call
6:00:Satsang (meditation, chanting and discussion)
7:30:Tea
8:00:Yoga
10:00:Lunch (basically rice and some vegetables)
11:00: Karma Yoga (chores around the ashram)
12:30:Optionall Coaching class
1:30: Tea and fruits
2:00:Lecture
3:30:Yoga
5:00:Dinner (Chapathi, or some other bread with vegetable curry)
7:00:Satsang
9:00:Go to bed (believe me everyone slept soundly right away)

The first day was the most tiring because of the yoga.. The yoga was very hard for Mark, Artemis and I because we don’t usually do yoga. We got to the ashram at about 3:00 so we missed the first lecture but we went to the yoga. Dinner was vegetarian and we sat in a big room on the floor and we had to eat with our hands, but worst of all there was no talking. Satsang was very boring and very odd singing all these songs. I was expecting it to be a lot easier to sit still with your eyes closed and your back straight sitting cross legged for 20 minutes. Well I was wrong. It was quite difficult.

We met a girl from new York who was said that she wanted to leave because she didn’t understand the chanting. And we where all thinking that it wasn’t about knowing what the chanting was it was about putting out all your energy into what your singing and trying to feel the energy in the room. But obviously she didn’t think so because she left the next day. With her friend. And we met two other girls who thought that it was too much like school so they left too.

Getting back to yoga, Mark, Artemis and I did the beginners and mom did the intermediate. She said that it was way harder. They had to do a headstand for 3 minutes and then go into a scorpion which is where your in a headstand and then you curve your back and try to touch you toes to your head. But once you’ve gone as far as you can without falling over then you move your hands from under your head and bring your neck up so your balancing on you arms! Its really cool and I did it! Here’s a picture.

>Scorpion

If you don’t know what the “yoga” version of a headstand is then here’s another picture!

Headstand

The food was not very good at all but I guess when you eat 2 meals a day then you will eat what you’re served. Fortunately most of the time I wasn’t hungry. We met some nice people but most of them left early because they didn’t enjoy it. The rooms were very basic and the beds where very hard. It was like sleeping on granite. But after 5 and a half hours of yoga you were so tired you could sleep on hot coals.

After the ashram we actually needed a couple of days to regain some strength because we where so tired from all the yoga. All in all we had a great time and I would love to go longer some other time when I’m older and I’m going to try to continue yoga.
Caleb