the people at the ashram, the ones like me who came here to endulge a bit in yogic life, there is i big variety really!
most ones are for sure here for the asana practice, that is quit certain..
not all were already familiar with this style of yoga though. that was interesting.. quit many who got surprised over the way "we" do especially the asana practice. since relaxation is a big big part of this tradition for example and also the slightly more time you spend in each asana, especially if used to vinyasa forms of yoga that most western people are.
yes there were mostly western people there, but also some Indian naitives,
of course the Indian people have a total other fee here, I thnk perhaps 1/3 of our rate, but that is understandable I think and still for us it is not much money the amount we pay..

I met this one indian guy who stayed for 3 days, his name was [I think] "Lala" and he was the Indian national champion in "memory" or someting like that.. that ment they read or shown 500 objects in a row, and then he had to resay them afterwards, he got all 500 right and in the quickest time.. that is amazing! crazy really ha ha.

quit many here seamed to have this stay as a short part of their "doing whole India" journey, so stayed here for the 3 minimum days and then continued on, quit a few went to the ashram of "Amma", wichwas not to far away apparently,  you know the woman who is famous for huging everyone and in that way bliss them or something.
also some were regulars here, and quit a few were students of one of ther TTC's and some thinking of staying to the next uppcomming teacher training.

maybe it was my dorm but it felt like a lot of germans here, wich really surprised me at first, then I realized how big yoga is in germany and also that this form of classic hatha yoga is much wider known there then in Sweden.
I met only one Swede here, a girl that I talkt to a few times, they said though that there were a swede here who left just before me, ooh and there was this sweish woman there with her danish man, but she have lived in Amsterdam for many years.

  
there were I few that I got to know a little bit more, and some I didn't talk to at all. 2 guys who were both from Uk who styaed for just a few days, and the kind & über social italian/german man who I talked the most to he is a person I could actually see having contact with in the future, a danish girl who I found out she was an actress in her country I liked her somehow, her energy probably.. she did a shatkarma cleansing so she had a few rough days.. another german man who I talked some to, he was more of a quie person opposit the rumanian girl that felt like she was almost flirting around there and like a trendy person in hte ashram with her sunglasses on and tight clothes ha ha,
also this girl form australia that was "allways" next to me in asana class, there was something special with her we tlaked some also on one of the trips to the holy mountain [wich we did twice, 1 in the darkness for the Kali puja as I have written aready, and once more to see the BEAUTIFUL sunrise up there and morning meditation].
just one of those persons that you somehow feel connected to without knowing why, we realized after a few days that we didn't even know each others name.
the funny thing is for her I was "the scorio king" and without her knowing [I didn't tell her either actually ha ha] I refered to her in my mind as "the Scorpio woman"..
our first and many contats were in asana class during headstand variations when she was trying to manage to do the scorpio and I tried to help her in various ways.
in the end before I left she managed to do it and held it for quit some time, awesome!
she seamed like such a kind & humble person and her eyes were very dark and calm. she just gave an impression on me..
our energies connected or something. one class she was feeling weak and it actually felt strange not having her next to me during asana practice ha ha.
interesting how some people affect you in different ways without you actually knowing this person.

but also at the ashram there were quit a few "lonewolfs" that hardly even said hello when you met them, some of the felt like they were a bit.. what most people would have felt like "special" if you know what I mean,
but I enjoy that. I love it when people are themselves and are not acting and trying to be mainstream,
as long as they dont overdo it and try to hard to be NOT like others..

there were also some families there, there was this one family wich were Indian but they lived in Singapore, and they were really devoted and had spent much time with I think a school of another disciple of the Guru of this ashram. so they were very much into studying the vedic scripts.
on talent night the young boy 10?!? years sat on the stage and sang out many shlokas form the baghavagita in sanskrit, it was amazing to see! he was super smart tough that we had found out already on some of the lectures ha ha.
the even more great thing is when his father came up asweel and started to explain the meaning of some of the shlokas [shlokas are like poetic phrases / verses in sanskrit that are usually chanted], then he said to the young boy "do shloka number 52" and the bouy recitated that one and then the dad explained it ha ha. it was almost weird!

only after one day I started to skip using my sandals at the ashram,
I just loooove being barefoot! it can not be compared to India generally, because inside the gates of the ashram it is very clean..

I think about the 5th or 6th day at the asram I booked a appointment at the ayurvedic clinic for a abhyanga massage, this was actually my first. and it was an experience ha ha. there was this man who did the treatment since only men can give massage to a man here at the ashram.
he was short in his sentenses and almost like ordered me what to do, I felt a bit dumb actually at first..
you strip out of all your clothes, then you get like an cotton cloth jockstrap wich has only a string in the back. then you have to lie down on this bench witch felt like to many others have been lying naked on and glided around ha ha, need to say also that in the spartanic enviorment not everyone are super hygenic & clean either..
then he drenches you in oil and gives you this full body massage,
it was quit nice actually, but I had expected something more "harder",
this was kind of mild and more stroking style.
I really enjoyed the steaming he did towards the end and the highlight of the whole thing was actually the hot "bath/shower" you are allowed to take afterwards ha ha

I am not sure though but after this massage I got some reaction, but also at the same time I got a bad stomach, so I am not sure wich was what..
but it felt like I started a real detoxification of my physical body,
one class suddenly it literally poured sweat out from ever part of my body, from each and ever cell it felt like, interesting! I asked some others if tody was extra hot or something during class, but now one had noticed that so..
also since then during the rest of my holiday AFTER the ashmram experience I had a bad stomach now & then, wich I have never had before travelling around south east asia.
hm..

I have forgotten to write anything about karma yoga,
everyday if you are new or your duty is done at 11.00 am you meet up in front of the boutique, there came one of the 3 head teachers [Satyam I think he was called] everyday to hand out KarmaYoga to everyone, karma yoga is selfless work you can say, it is when you do a job or help someone with something without gaining anything for it personally, so it is suppose to be a kind of spiritual unselfless deed.
I was lucky I guess, I got to do my karma yoga in the ashram boutique, so I spent about one hour a day, folding pants, filling up the shelf with toiletpaper, cleaning som shelves, and unpacking products & walking to the store getting more yoga mats etc.
there was one lady there wich was the manager of the boutique, she was from Israel and everyone there knew she was kind of though & strict.
maybe when being in this kind of enviorment with new people all the time and new karma yogis chinging quit often so you have to teach them things needs a person like her? but I personally [and she liked me since the others told her I was one of the best karma yogis they have had there for a long time ha ha] thought it was a bit to much, not to humble really wich for me is more fitting in a place like this.. hm..

I rather quickly understood how fortunate I have been to have
1. a great teacher [rest in peace Sivaram]
2. to learn in such a small group as we did.
- there was a lot of things you could notice when a bit less experienced teacher got to teach at the ashram classes. 

and my god, I have been sweating so much theese days here ha ha, you are su getting used to feel dirty here, and there is only cold water showers of course..

suddenly one day I realized the kind Indian bearded man who helped me the first day, that I havent seen him.. I then heard they had found out he did a lot of "ganja" so they had to trow him out of the ashram, so sad.. I really liked him and he knew all peoples name almost even though people are not all here a long time..

so everything we do & experience will have such a different outcome depending on how our characters are..

I slept like a baby, when the morning bell rang at 05.20 and then again 05.30 I felt really not that tired at all. if I had managed now to get into the right day rythm already that would be great!

today it is christams day and instead of satsang i Siva Hall we had a silent monring walk, we walked to a lake nearby where we did morning meditation & some chanting watching the sunrise over the lake, it was beautiful..
then back at the ashram it was tea time before morning asana class.

here is the schedule they expect you to follow if staying at the ashram.

05.20 morning - wake up bell
06.00 Satsang, wich includes meditiation, chanting and a shorter talk or read from the guru's books.
07.30 tea time
08.00 asana morning class

10.00 breakfast/brunch [all vegetarian meals of course]
11.00 Karma Yoga
12.30 optional coaching class if you wanted extra support or time to practice or learn asanas or so, mostly people went here to learn sirsasana/headstand
13.30 tea time [herbal tea]
14.00 lecture
15.30 asana afternoon class

18.00 dinner

20.00 evening Satsang [wich this period was a lot of perfomrmances so shorter chanting]

22.30 lights out, good night

I must admit that after awhile I really apprichiated tho have a schedule for the whole days, there were some short breaks here and there, but otherwise full schedule he he.
no need to think, allways before each new "activity" they rang the bells..

today I felt a bit more social and talked to some, but I am really not here to mingle..
so I have no stress about meeting people here

in the evening today they had arranged a special christmas Satsang that will go on until midnight!?!? many felt a bit irritated about this, since many like me comes here because they are not that interested in christmas ha ha
any way the evening ended finally after christmas carols sung by som participants in their naitive language [actually a girl who I think was from Poland sang such a beautiful song from her country and with a great voice, it felt so sad.. I actually think I shed some tears, beautiful!] with an Indian santa claus they had arrnaged, and we got some christmas gifts and some sweet cake, but the director said to be careful eating to much cake since all the food here is very light and easy digested so the stomach can react if eating to much "other things" he he

for me theese days my salvation was eating the nuts I have found out that they sold in the ashram boutique..

just before the lecture of Vedic Mathematics it was tea time again, twice a day : )
the morning tea time was a more regular milk tea chai, you could choose the regular sweet version or the unsweetend, but most took the "true" version ha ha.
the afternoon tea tmie was herbal tea if different kinds, not allways equally good but still nice, usually during the afternoon teatimes we also got some fruit or bisquits.

I was actualy planning to take the intermediate class this first afternoon since I felt a bit stronger after my food & nap, so I went up to the the Siva Hall this time [the first class I was in the lower hall, wich is underneath the main hall, but they are equally big just nit as much height.. after a while I got a bit worried, there was this youn indina guy teaching this class, and it was so calm and easy and I startedt to thnk my teacher training must have been really hard since the classes here are not even half or a third of the classes I was tought and also teach myself ha ha. the morning class I actually had the director as the teacher, he is running this ashram since a long time and he is from italy but lived most his life in Zimbabwe someone told me. He used to be a Swami, but then suddenly he married this woman from the Delhi center and now he is living in sin? there was a lot of talk about how he could still be the director, but I guess he was so good at it? I really liked him and his approach, very calm and humble, at least the parts I saw of him.

anyway, after class I found out that I had managed to take the beginners class again, that they switch halls ha ha.
but I guess it was quit good for me to take it easy the first day anyway.
after class it was dinner at 18.00, then a small break until eveing satsang.

satsang is interesting, this was a part that my teacher training didn't do almost at all.
at least not the kirtan/mantra singing/chanting part.
so it began with a 15-30minute meditation, then the chanting, in the mornings they did more maybe about 1h? but in the evening this time of year it is a bit shorter since they had a lot of cultural shows with indian guests playing sitar, dancing, a christmas special, temple music etc.

but this my first evening satsang I was almost falling [litterarly falling ha ha] a sleep a few times and todays special topic was vedic astrology, wich was not that interesting at all.. I could see many participants left or wsnt there at all wich confused me.
and to sit this much on the floor as you do during the days here is taking its part on stiff backs ha ha.

so you start the day with sitting in meditation & for chanting during the morning Satsang about 1,5 hours
then you sit again in asana class for the mantra & pranayamas maybe 30 minutes?
then again when eating for 20minutes at least. 
in the afternoon you sit about 1-1,5hours during lecture,
and then again for mantra & pranayama in the afternoon asana class, ending the evening with sitting first thru dinner on the floor again
and then conclude with 2-2,5h for the evening satsang.

tomorrow it is christmas eve..

I decided to try to get som sleep, so I lied down on the bench in the closed reception. now it was when dawn became sunrise, and I right away started to get some mosquito bites of course, they just looove me!
I was so tired, I had slept some during the journey to get here but just a few hours lighly here & there so n real & deep sleep.

suddenly I heard a person sing out aaaaaauuuummmm and after getting just maybe a third of his long AUM the rest chanted along, I felt like goose bumps all over my body, and from that moment I lied there enjoyed maybe 20 minutes of chanting at least. the leader chanted first and then all the yogis & yoginins answered by repeating his chant. the also started to play some drums and other hand-cymbal like instruments that you shake with your hand [dont remember the name right now ha ha].

then from nowhere came this indian man and he had with him a young western girl in, and he said loud and clear "sit up" to me, and he knocked on a door, apparently there was someone lways there if you enter ha ha I had no clue I thought it was closed.. I got to sign a lot of papers and pay for upcomming 3 days wich is their minimum stay.then I got a bed sheat, a cotton cloth sheat, a pillow & a mosquito net. then a quit bored indian boy showed me the way to one of the mens dorms. I looked aorund and took a bed wich had a free bed next to it, and I started to make my bed and look around.

one elderly grey haired & bearded Indian man came and said hello to me, and some others that passed by also said hi. but this very kind indian man explained to me a bit about the dorm and so, and then he said that I should come and meet everyone since no it is "tea time", then I could go and sleep if I wanted. He also helped me to get a water bottle since they dont sell bottled water here and I didn't bring a bottle either.
after tea time I washed my cup in the sink as all others, then I felt a bit energized and thouhgt that maybe it is better to do a yoga class and then I might sleep better and also my body will feel better from all travelling and sitting still to get here.

so I decided to take the begonners class for a soft start, nd that was a good decision, not at all very tough and since I know "all" I didnt have any trouble just letting my body slowly awaken.
after the 2 hour class it was brunch [or actually breakfast since no meal is taken before the 10am meal.

when entering the eating hall they were all singing mantras, "hare, hare rama, rama rama, hare hare" "Krishna, hare krishna, krishna krishna, hare hare", then the "priest" [not sure what he his title was really, he also did the Aarti every evening to end up the day before bed time] said "one last time" and after that he told all who was serving food "please, no serving during prayer" and he did the prayer.
then we all could eat, here you eat sitting on the floor on mats made of some kind of Bast fibre, you eat in silence and only with your right hand.
people who had got karma yoga in the kitchen were serving the food.
I could see some girls mainly that had brought their own spones ha ha.

after food I had a good nap, it felt kind of empty in the dorm but I later realizied this time was when many did their karma yoga.

todays lecture was "Vedic Mathematics" wich was a bit tricky, and also with a tired mind understanding the Indian english was a bit hard, but it was still a rather interesting lecture.

to be continued...

some about my experiences in the ashram I vistied in southern India.

I arrived quit tired after a long flight with 12h transit waiting in Doha, Qatar.
the small Thiruvananthapuram Airport was were my short India trip started.
from there I took a pre-paid taxi towards the Yoga Ashram.
it was about an 1 hour drive, and I was planning to sleep along the way mostly.
but...
when driving thru the small villages on the way out in the countryside at 05.30 in the morning there was a ridiculously loud sound of mantra/praying songs screaming out from loud speakers hanging in the trees. how can people live here?

someone at the ashram later on explained to me that the temples of certain areas put up speakers so they are sure everyone can hear their prayers, here they were lucky because some places there are more temples and then that they also start to "compete" about beeing heard and it is even louder and on top of that 2 or more different mantras songs playing loud at the same time all day long.

anyway after the our drive the taxi stopped, it was 06.05 am.
he said the ashram should be open all the time, but on their web site they stated that you should check in after 14.00 in the afternoon,
but I was so tired and had no will to go somewhere else first so I took a chance.    

standing outside the gate my driver suddenly pressed the electric doorbell ha ha ha, it was quit loud and you could hear someone running to open the gates wich seamed unlocked if I had just had the time to try opening it before he rung the doorbell..
I wispered if I could come in, the young indian boy said yes, and pointed towards the reception.
I went towards the reception just a few meters from the entrance, there was a really quiet and calm feeling and you could here some crickets and a strange sound from a distance wich I will tell you more about later..

but suddenly I heard a cough, I looked sideways and realized that next to the entrance was also the Siva Hall, the place for all asanas, kirtans, Satsang & meditation..
I hadn't realized it until now that 3-4 meters in the darknes [because this was about time for the dawn], from me sat about 150persons in their morning meditation,
I felt so bad since the taxidriver had rung the door bell..

good start?!

just want to recommend Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
I am not that interested in old buildings and ruins etc, but this was special.
it was very "grand" and mighty, and all the details on top of that..
just amazing

we took the "short" version wich means a one day trip, that was aneough for me and you get to see the most popular sites in the area.
for me personally for sure the "Ta Prohm" area was the greatest, this is the area were the huge trees [spung tree] are growing ower the walls like you might have seen in the movie "tomb raider" with dear Angelina ha ha. Here I felt like a child running around with my camera

  
I decided also to do the Angkor Wat the natural way, barefoot! that was a interesting feeling and I got quit a few looks from all the other tourists ha ha, and needless to say afterwards my feet was mighty dirty : )

We also took some lovely pictures there, I have put them [and some other from my holiday] on my facebook page if anyone wanna see..!! click here