My Sivananda TTC experience

Beautiful view of the valley from Swamiji’s patio A little breather during my Karma Yoga My fellow Karma Yogi-Hitomi Swinging during a break in between lectures Happy

View of the Vrindavan grounds from my hammock - during a little break between classes; we don’t get many  Swamiji’s house Swamiji’s house- where I go everyday for my Karma Yoga Relaxing on the hammock

Woke up at 4:50 a.m. and the day was a regular schedule. I was able to do Sirsana independently today - 3 times. I am gaining confidence in doing it. In the evening, attended a talk by Benoy K. Beh l - an art historian who has written and photographed Indian art as it exists in Ajanta Ellora caves, Brhadeshwari temple and many other places. Was so awestruck by the level of detail and technique used by Indian artists at that time. Did you know there is a book  - Chitrasutra - written in the ancient Indian times - which is a treatise on the art of painting. The techniques in that book were used in the Ajanta Ellora cave paintings and the West didn't know about such techniques until the Renaissance Age. Again, I am awestruck by our rich cultural heritage. We must not let it get lost. A thing on my to-do list now is to visit the Ajanta Ellora caves with kids and also some temples of the South. The cat wanted to learn Bhagvad Gita too. All the animals here roam freely and look div...

Ardha Matsyendrasana - Half spinal twist Matsyasana - Fish pose Happy to see the beautiful moon outside my room Marveling at the Ardha Chandra This is Buddha under the tree right outside our Yoga Hall Back home- Ariv and Krisha went to play laser tag at Liam’s birthday party Woke up at 4:50 a.m. and got ready. It was a regular schedule day. I kept toppling over in Sirsana and sprained my neck a bit even though I fell very safely. Shakti taught me how to fall safely:). I didn’t push myself and skipped the headstand workshop. In the afternoon, when there was little time between lectures, I swung on the swing and practiced Surya Namaskar gathering all of Sun’s energy by the Krishna temple. It was an amazing experience. The moon outside my room is beautiful and looks like the Ardha Chandra on Shiva’s head.  

Today I could - for the first time do the headstand independently, with all the proper steps. Teaching Assistant Shankar's tips really helped me. I enjoyed basking in the sun and taking the swing during our little break before evening Asana class. Rest of the day was regular schedule. Rajas, Sattva, Tamas - learned about that.

It was our day off but we had to do the morning and evening Satsang and Karma Yoga. I also did the morning Asana class with teacher Arjuna. So my free day actually started at 1 p.m. because Karma Yoga ended later than usual today. I updated my blogs and washed my clothes by hand. Enjoyed my half day off. At Swami Sitaramananda’s house Her sun room. It’s so peaceful and happy Sunset by the Vrindavan pond

Today we started the day later than usual again, because last night we ended the Satsang late due to Diwali ceremony and the concert. We started at 6:30 a.m. but the rest of the day was regular schedule. We held Asanas for longer periods of time than before - so held Sarvangasana for ~ 5 minutes, Halasana for ~ 3 minutes. I enjoyed the Bhagvad Gita class with Swami Vashishtananda again. One concept I really enjoyed. He said in English, big I is written as the number 1. So I and The One are the same. As soon as ego comes in, I, separates from one and becomes small 'i' (where the 'zero' on top of the one is symbolic of what the ego does to us). We had our philosophy class with Swami Jnaneshwarinanda and she tuaght the definitions of Brahma, Brahman, Atman, Jiva, etc. With each day, I find similarities between Kathak as taught to us by Dadaji and the philosophy and beliefs I'm learning here. Our invocation Shlokas, their meanings  - all resonate with the Vedic phil...

Morning hike up to the Durga temple Durga Temple Me at Durga's feet We did Yoga on the deck Yoga outside on the deck Saree for Diwali Mary Ellen wanted to try a Bindi on. All smiles:) Shikha and me. Daniella and Stephanie Swami Vashishtananda doing Lakshmi Pooja Placing a diva near Lakshmi (my dadi was Lakshmi too) Chanting during Satsang - Anuradha next to me  Swami Sitaramananda and Swami Jnaneshwarinanda Lakshmi ji Uma, me, Hitomi and Anuradha Lakshmi coin given by Swami Sita Lakshmi coin My room-mate - Uma Woke up at 5 a.m. and got ready. Our morning meditation was in the Krishna Hall after which we hiked up to the Durga temple for our morning Satsang. Again, a very beautiful experience and loved seeing the sun-rise with the Durga temple and chants in the background. One of these days, I want to go to th...