http://www.bombast.org/omshantih Yogic Spirtuality in India Sat, 09 Jan 2010 01:05:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This is my closing post for this blog. Below is my essay for the Dale family, who sponsored my trip to India, as well as some pictures of my life back at Princeton.I know that nobody really checks this blog anymore, but this experience meant a lot to me and ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=106 It's really late, and I'm typing this in between packing to keep awake to catch my early morning flight. I'm leaving Shanghai today for Princeton, bringing to conclusion a summer filled with experiences that I can scarcely believe I've had -- memories I know will inform the decisions I make ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=104 The last week has floated by in a rather uneventful, rapid haze. My days seem to fall repetitively into each other, planned begrudgingly around this LSAT prep course. Nonetheless, they're offering me a chance to reacclimate to the life I occupied before going to India, and I'm starting to realize ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=103 I've been back in Shanghai for a few days now -- and am trying to sift through my memories to make sense out of my experience this summer. It feels a lifetime ago I left the ashram, those endless acres of rolling green hills and waterfalls and the peaceful ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=102 Hi Everybody, Our yoga journey has come to its end, and I've finished uploading all the photos to both the Flickr repository and to Facebook, available via the links at the top of each post. While it's been exhausting writing these entries and recording the past weeks in photos, I know that ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=101 All too soon, our yoga course has come to its end. Many friends have already left the gurukul – some to travel more around India, others to return directly home. Album here. I’m going to be in India until early Sunday morning. Tiziana and Belinda are flying out ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=100 The last few days have flown by in a flurry of final exams and activities. After four weeks of intense practice and work, our journey here is nearing completion. I find myself wondering exactly where I’m supposed to go from here – whether I’m emotionally ready to ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=99 The last few days have been extraordinarily busy with preparation for our final exams. To receive our teaching certificates, we have to complete an advanced asana exam and lead a one-hour long class. Albums here and here. Over the last few days, I’ve come to discover that the ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=98 Hi Everybody, It's the end of another week of our journey, and we're quickly nearing its end. As the entries evidence, it's been filled with self-discovery, trials, accomplishments, difficulties, and happiness. Once again, I've spent all day posting my thoughts and images. My Sony camera broke earlier in the week, but I ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=97 It’s the end of Week Three, and while I can’t believe how much has gone on in the last several days, it’s even more surreal that our training course is over in little over a week. Album here. As I look back at all the photos I’ve taken and all the ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=96 Our practice has moved into an advanced stage. The asanas and pranayama we have to do have increased greatly in difficulty, preparing us for our exam in three days. Albums here and here. Lucky for us, Mr. and Mrs. Sharma bring an infectious positive energy. We start the morning ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=95 The last few days have been somewhat unusual. I don’t know exactly how to interpret them, so I think I’ll just start writing and see what comes to me. Albums here and here. Our course has taken something of a different direction. With Gandhar-ji, Sanket-ji, Kate, and Cassie away for four ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=94 Dearest Readers, Another day off spent uploading these thoughts and reflections. I hope that reading them brings you closer to what I'm seeing and feeling. I apologize in advance for any typos -- there's hardly any time to write at the ashram, and I try to put these together very quickly ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=93 At the end of our second week, we had to take another written exam – this one on yoga theory. It only took about 40 minutes to study for, so James and I decided to take a walk across the paddyfields to Trimbak. Albums here and here. For ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=92 They say that the muscles are filled with memories and emotions – the joy of seeing your newborn’s face for the first time, the nervous excitement of the first kiss, the fear experienced upon internalizing the reality of death, the pain of withdrawal from life-killing addictions -- ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=91 I’ve grown up a lot in the last two years or so. It’s a curiously uncertain task – becoming more fully yourself and less yours parents’ child, the severance of a link once essential for survival, which cannot be reattached once broken. Despite this, the man, ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=90 Hi Everybody, The first week of our yoga course is over, and I've spent the day in Nasik uploading photos and entries. A lot has happened in the last week -- and the posts are mostly filled with insights I've gained. For those of you who have family or friends in the ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=89 We spent most of today preparing for our first of four written exams. Complete album here. Gandhar-ji admits that the process of examination isn't particularly yogic, but these are administered ashram-style -- very different the tradition back at ye olde ivory tower. We have all day to look ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=88 To get up in the morning, it is necessary to possess some guiding principle -- a faith of sorts that people wear around their necks, like an arrowhead or military dogtags. I'm discovering that that belief is essential -- and can inspire even the most unexpected changes. After ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=87 When we think about yoga in its Western incarnation, the first thought that comes to mind is often of pretzel-like contortions performed in a heated room. It's become fashionable to roll out the yoga sticky mat hoping to drop some pounds by jumping back and forth ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=86 Hello, world. Today is my one day off this week, and I've spent almost all my free time haphazardly uploading these blog entries and photos. I've written entries every other day while at the ashram, which are posted below. They make most sense if you read them from the least recent to ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=85 The Ayurveda course wrapped up a few hours ago, and I must say -- I've learned an incredible amount in just a few days. Photo albums here and here. We've done a lot of different types of therapies, ranging from oil massage to hair washes, using a lot ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=84 I wanted to write last night, but the electricity went out a bit early. I had a very powerful conversation with Pournima Tai (who I'd been calling Mrs. Guruji) today, which I think may change the way I look at things for the rest of my life. But I'll get ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=83 I am sitting beneath my reddish mosquito net alone in a four-person shala I have to myself until next week. The bitter wind is howling outside, but in here I'm nice and warm, reflecting on the past 24 hours. With little exception, I'm think I'm actually enjoying myself so far. ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=82 My yoga program starts tomorrow with a five-day introduction to Ayurveda. I honestly don't think myself emotionally ready. In the first place, it'll take me away from the outside world for at least a week -- no Internet, no email, no blog -- complete disconnect from the comfort of virtual ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=80 I've been staring at my LSAT prep books for the last couple of days, afraid to even open them. Traveling around Nasik has been lots of fun, but my conscience is getting to me. I spend hours and hours every day traveling to beautiful places, photographing them, ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=79 This is Javesh. While I was wandering down the main road away from my hotel in search for the bus station to hitch a ride to Tribakeshwar Temple, he found me shuddering in the cold rain with my backpack strapped to my chest – and decided to help me out. ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=78 It was raining fairly heavily this morning, and I really didn’t want to go outside. CNN-IBN reports that Mumbai’s been suffering flooding so terrible that major transportation networks in and out of the city have been shut down -- and several lives have been lost in the undertow. It's not ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=77 My feet are wet and my socks are caked with mud. When you climb the steps to enter a temple, you must remove your shoes in deference to the god worshipped. And so I did -- in order to explore Nasik's heritage to the extent that I could. I spent ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=76 I left Mumbai this morning in the middle of pouring rain to catch the 8:20 train to Nasik. The train was almost 2 hours late, and I waited alongside what looked like 200 Indians as the thunderstorm raged oustide the platform shelter. It turns out that the ... http://www.bombast.org/omshantih/?p=75