Let It Be

In what feels like another lifetime, but was really just a year and a half ago, I was driving to Hinson Lake 24 Hour. I had a few CDs I had with me, and one of them was a Beatles anthology. Suddenly, when "Let It Be" came on, I began to bawl. Bawl out of control. When the song ended, I hit the back button. And again. I listened to it on repeat for the rest of the drive.

I got to the race and felt shattered, and sat in my car before moving. What was I doing with my life? How could I go on, completely overcome with misery and sadness? How could I spend my days feeling awful and put down and undervalued? How could I do this?

Running loops with K, I confided in her that something was really wrong, very off. She told me that had happened to her too, but then "she divorced him." (Gotta love her sense of humor!) I thought about what I needed to do, really knew what that was...and wondered if I had the courage to do that, or how I was going to do that.

I ran some of the race, but my heart was not in it.

And two months later, I did what I needed to do: gave notice to a job that was no longer serving me, and plunged into the trip of a lifetime, four months in India.

And when this song came on Google Play again today, of course I had a flashback, and feel so happy with where I am today.

Yoga Journal Conference

The Yoga Journal Live Conference in NYC was pretty amazing. It was wonderful to be surrounded by other yogis. While some of the workshops were misses, most were amazing. The students were primarily yoga teachers, though not all. The teachers were phenomenal. I am so inspired to carry my teaching to further levels.

Bombay, Bombay

So when people say, "Bombay," the generally mean "Mumbai," but none of my friends, not those that live there or elsewhere in India say Mumbai. Every time I did, they'd gently correct me, "Oh yes, in Bombay, they do have amazing restaurants." 

So Bombay.

I only had a super short visit here, but I planned on doing as much as I could.

I arrived at night, and basically, checked into my room and crashed. Or that was my intention. Instead, I arrived there, and room number one was noisy and the lock was broken on the door. Room number two smelled like cigarettes. Room number three I just accepted. The chain was broken, but the deadbolt worked, and they upgraded me to a fancy suite for my trouble. Oh well.

I crashed out completely, then woke up a few hours later to meet Amit for a run. The head of Unived, India's first running nutrition company, he's super friendly and interesting. His wife Monica, who I also met last visit, was in America for a visit. He complained of being sore and I told him how my goals were not to poop in my shorts, and we ended up running slow and easy and relaxing. We followed our run with some walking, and then got some coconut water to drink straight out to the coconut. Nothing more refreshing....

Then a shower (obviously) and food...And I went off to a yoga class. It was a fantastic traditional hatha class. I went to YogaCara last time I was in Bandra, and loved it. The teachers are excellent. It was probably one of the best classes I had been to: discussion and questioning and asana and the teacher was great. Ganesh is phenomenal, and so is Radhika.

After, I hopped in a taxi across to go to Colaba. I ended up buying a zillion more bangles that I had no business buying, and went to a bookstore to try to find a book I've been dying to read that I can't find in the US. No luck. 

Hopped back into a taxi and went back to Bandra....ahhh....had a quick shower in my room, dumped off my stuff, then got in a tuktuk to head over to Juhu to the ISKCON temple. Here I was at home, chanting, "Hare Krishna, Hare Rama." After chanting and watching for a while, a monk began chatting me up. He spoke excellent English and knew the Bhakti Center and was a student of Rahadnath Swami. We began talking abt his book and it was a pretty interesting conversation. He gave me some pamphlets and books and his email address (yes, Krishna monks have email addresses).

I had dinner after the buffet opened and the food was much more than I wanted, but pretty good. I needed less than normal because I had been so hungry that I indulged in two samosas before. Yum.

Another tuktuk back to my room....repack my bags, shower again, and omg, I have to leave for the airport in a few hours.

I slept fitfully and got up too early - and was off to a journey back home!

My heart feels like a part of it will always be in India. I know it's not for everyone, but it's for me, and I truly love it. I want to go back before I've even gone. And I constantly say, "Next time I'm in India...."

Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training in India

I had been wanting to do a prenatal yoga teacher training for a while, but had trouble finding one that would fit my schedule. And then - found this one at Kaivalyadhama Ashram in Lonavla, also known as Gandhi's ashram. But it wasn't really his ashram; it was just the ashram where his teacher was, and some actually say that Gandhi's ideas were his teachers. But a true guru shows the light within - and thus, Gandhi was merely shown the ideas he had in him all along. But, alas, I digress.

There were only eight women in my program, which meant for lots of time for all of us to ask questions, speak our mind, share, and get to know each other. I have heard of teacher trainings with 100, 200, more people in a yoga teacher training program. In my YTT200, we had five. I found that perfect. Everyone gets to share, grow, connect, explore.

In the program, there were five Indian women, a Russian woman living in Bahrain, a Romanian woman, and me. We all had our own styles, our own ideas, our own energy. The teacher was VERY theoretical - perhaps too theoretical. She was a yoga therapist, so came from quite a different background, but we all learned a ton.

Days were intense, as they typically are in these sorts of programs. 6:45 we began with a little chanting, meditation. We'd move into lecture or practice, depending on the day. There were guest speakers: Ayurveda doctors, Indian OB/GYNs, naturopaths, meditation instructors, chanting experts. It was nice to get the flavor of India...even though our teacher had lived in the US for 30 years.

There was also a yoga college at the ashram. The students seemed very focused, but at night, in there rooms, you'd hear them giggling as they chatted on their phones, hanging laundry washed in buckets on rickety rusty drying racks ready to soak up any sunlight that would hit them come daytime. There were also lots of people there for different courses. And some just came for "the rest." They would see Ayurveda doctors and practice yoga and eat the sattvic food.

Speaking of...I don't like sattvic food. I find far too often that it completely lacks flavor, food tends to be overcooked. I know, I know, some people love it and say it's great for you...but I was sad. The food in India was wonderful. My WhatsApp messages to Ash were full of complaints of the food.

Ashram life isn't for me. I'm more of a "study yoga on the beach in Goa." I don't want to party and drink and etc in Goa, but I like being around different things, like beach and bikinis. I was told by my classmates that I was "pushing" things by wearing leggings and tank tops. They didn't know that I really just wanted to wear my short shorts and sports bras because it was approximately 1000 degrees every single day.

One night, we all went to visit a local temple. It was amazing because my classmates were Hindu and taught me all about who each god/goddess was, why we were given certain Prasad, what the priests were saying...It kind of gave so much more meaning to everything. Pretty incredible.

After getting soaked with holy water, buying extra batches of the cookies they gave with Prasad, we went to the temple for dinner. For 100 rupees (about $1.30), we feasted like yogi queens. Everything was incredible, full of flavor, spices, even spiciness. I was in heaven.

Our final morning, we did a hike. It was beautiful and always special to be in India. There was a lovely view at the top, and then, we went to the cave where Guruji himself meditated. A lovely energy.

The last day was a typical ceremony of yoga in India: flowers, certificates, photographs, sweets. There was crying. The assistant was super sweet and told me, "You must come back! You must! You must! You are most welcome here in India!" We did a bit of crying and a lot of hugging.

And then we all went to the market. There was a flurrying in helping classmates arrange train tickets. I bought samosas for us to eat on the street. We bought random things: stainless steel plates and pitches and statues of Ganesha and armfuls of glass bangles and sweets we couldn't pronounce and grapes that tasted like nothing we ever had before. The chaos of the streets was a shock after being in the ashram for a week - and I loved it!

And then we went back to the ashram for one final dinner. I was so relieved to be leaving the next day, and eating delicious food w Ash. We all hugged each other and swore we would stay in touch...and for now, I must finish my final paper on Fertility Yoga.

What to Pack on Your Yoga Retreat (or Yoga Teacher Training Program) in India

Before I went to India for the first time for my yoga teacher training, I was a little clueless about what to pack. The bulk my trip I spent at my yoga teacher training and other yoga intensives. My second trip was spent at a prenatal teacher training, and traveling to see friends. And of course, I still didn’t learn, and packed poorly, and oh well. I’ll survive with a heavy poorly packed bag. That’s life, I guess.

Yoga retreats everywhere require slightly different packing lists. Feel free to read this if you’re going somewhere else, knowing that much of what is on here is specific to India.

• Yoga mat. Most places have mats, but a lot of the time, they’re dirty, falling apart, and/or smell terrible. They’re heavily used. I brought a Jade Travel Mat, and stowed it in a Gaiam bag. The Gaiam bag has two pockets, so I stored mat cleaner and a rag in one pocket, and a strap in the other.
• Mat cleaner. No one had any but me in my training program, and I was glad to share with my group. You can make your own. Get a small spray bottle and put 10-15 drops of lavender and tea tree oil each. Fill it up ⅔-¾ of the way with water. Top it off with witch hazel. Cap and shake to mix. I brought little bottles of tea tree oil (great also for pimples and bug bites and a good antiseptic) and lavender oil (you can sprinkle it on a dank pillow for a pick-me-up) so you can make more as your trip goes along. I used a very small spray bottle so I used less lavender and tea tree oil and didn’t use the witch hazel when I was on the road.
• Anything to make your practice special. I like to put my mala beads and a crystal off the corner of my mat to provide focus.
• Face wipes. I wish I had packed these my first time, when I was sweating like a pig. These would have been nice for times I wasn’t able to wash my face in between practices. You are rushing around a lot, and odn’t always have time for a shower like you’d wish.
• Sweat towel or bandana. I wish I had packed this. Some training programs provide, but most don’t. If it’s miserably hot like it can be in India, this makes practice easier.
• Sports bras. Comfy good ones.
• Yoga tops. Depending on where you are, a sports bra might be all. But bring baggy loose non-revealing short sleeve tops if you are in certain ashrams, and tank tops should work elsewhere. Bring long sleeved shirts for night practice so you don’t become dinner for the mosquitos.
• Yoga bottoms. Depending on where you are going, shorts might not work. In Goa, shorts were so necessary - it was miserably sweaty grossly hot and short shorts for yoga (I love my Athleta ones) were great. In some ashrams, dress is sattvic….so baggy pants. You can buy the harem-type baggy yoga pants for pretty cheap in India; in some ashrams, even yoga tights are not okay. You will prob sweat a lot and they will be gross.
• Scarf. It will cover you during savasana, provide coverage if a top you have is a bit revealing, keep you warm, and they’re fashionable in India.
• A sarong. You can sit on the beach with it, it can work as your top sheet (Many places do not have a top sheet - just a bottom - so if you’re grossed out like I am, a sarong is great), it can be your blanket on a plane, it can be a cover-up. Sarongs are indispensible.
• A reusable water bottle. While you can’t drink the tap water in India, a lot of places have purified water (for free or for a smaller cost than buying a bottle) that you can fill with your own bottle. You also might buy large botles of water and refill from there.
• Snacks. Think about things that won’t melt and that will travel well: different bars are great, small, and take up little room in your bag. You can buy things like nuts and dried fruits in many places, but if you’re going to an ashram straight away, you should pack some of these too. Many retreats and yoga centers only have meals at certain times, and you might starve until breakfast, or in between. Also, the food might not be so delicious. Snacks will keep you sane.
• Melatonin. Helps you sleep at night and helps with jetlag.
• Sleep mask. Ear plugs. Who is your roommate? Maybe it’s some bugs...just ignore them.
• A journal to write yoga notes in. For neat sequences, taking notes during lectures, etc.
• Soap to wash your clothes in. I just use body wash or shampoo, saving on space, but this is critical. A lot of ashrams and yoga centers are in the middle of nowhere. You have to wash your clothes by hand in buckets and hang dry them in the room. Also, it makes more sense to pack only a handful of yoga clothes and wash them repeatedly. With the extra space in your bag, you can buy more mala beads and bangle bracelets.
• Sunblock and bugspray. You might not need either of these things, but especially if you’re in the middle of nowhere, you’ll appreciate it.
• Extra soap. You will be showering more than you planned.
• Any kind of lotions or essential oils that help you relax. Practicing asana for long hours every day is exhausting...Some lavender essential oil mixed with almond oil (carrier agent) will be nice to rub on your wrists before your savasana. Or Tiger Balm for sore muscles can be lovely.
• Kindle or books to read. While you’re in class nonstop, it might seem, on those rest times, you probably don’t want to be reading yoga texts. Pack something else.
• Unlocked phone. You can get a SIM card at various phone shops. If you have an Indian friend, they can get you a SIM much faster; otherwise, you might need two passport photos. It depends. But you need an unlocked phone (or you can buy a cheap one).
• Slip on shoes, ideally flip flops. In India, you can’t enter many meditation halls, restaurants, or shops with shoes on. Flip flops (cheap ones) are best to leave outside in the front. I specify cheap ones because so many people get their shoes stolen...it’s best to not be too attached (aparigraha) to anything, and if you are, leave it at home.
• An open mind. Not everything in India is as pretty as the pictures. Be prepared for trash, horrid smells, and mind-blowing poverty. But also be ready for kindness and warmth, vibrant colors, diversity, and so much fun.

What I'm listening to....

You can get the girl out of India, but you can't get India out of the girl...

I'm teaching yoga!

Join me in practicing....

Weekday mornings at 7am at Makara
Good morning yoga!
(The next two weeks, it will be every morning; after that, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursday mornings. Subbing on occasion.)
Weekday morning classes begin with an intention and theme, gentle opening (Hey, it's 7am!), an open-level vinyasa flow, and savasana.

Every Tuesday at 7:30pm at CrossFit Bridge and Tunnel
Yoga for Athletes
A gentler yoga class, we work to release areas especially tight for CrossFitters (and anyone): hamstrings, hips, and shoulders. We have lots of warm-up, lots of stretching, focus on releasing tight muscles and lengthening muscles.
Only $10 drop-in.

Yoga for Runners: An NBR event
July 6th at 8:30pm
Especially crafted for the runners of NBR, this focuses on areas runners need to release, open, and relax.
Free.


There will be future donation-based yoga classes in McCarren Park on weekday mornings. Stay tuned.

Patnem, Goa: YOGALAND!!!!

When I was googling yoga intensives, the Yoga Intensive at Kranti Yoga in Patnem, South Goa came up. I didn’t really want to go to go Goa again (especially in April!), but I liked the sound of school. While the intensive was costlier than other intensives, I really am glad I went - it was so worth it.

The yoga intensive was great: you are busy from 7-10 a.m., generally with one pranayama and meditation class, and one yoga class (ashtanga primary series or modified ashtanga primary series). Then you get an hour and a half off to eat breakfast (which was amazing, really; all their food was pretty wonderful and if you wanted something different, you can just go into the kitchen and ask for it. WOW. Opposite of the overboiled bland food at Sivananda Madurai.), and usually, I might catch up on emails, reading, or just relax in one of the swinging mattress and journal or write V a letter. After, it’s 1.5 hours of alignment and adjustment; then lunch. After lunch, we usually had a big break (though on certain days, there are lectures; I went to one on ayurveda), during which I’d go on the beach and relax. The waves were usually pretty crazy mid-day and swimming was almost impossible, so if I couldn’t dunk it, I’d sit in the shade and occasionally rinse off in the beach shower to cool down. Then class again 430-6, and then, time for a quick run or relax before dinner at 7. Most nights, I was so tired that I went to bed between 9 and 10, especially since I got up at 530 to go running.

There was a big group doing their YTT at the same time, and I have to say, I’m glad I did it with our group, who was way friendlier and most inclusive. (Most of them barely acknowledged me. It was totally weird.) I talked to them about what they learned, and they did some slightly different stuff than me, but I think I went to a really good program that fit my needs well.

On weekends, there were only 2-3 classes a day, and some people went off on excursions and adventures, but I spent most of my time relaxing on the beach, studying yoga, chilling. I didn’t feel the pressing need to run around and see more stuff. I’ve learned on this trip that seeing stuff doesn’t fulfill me; experiences do, and also, time to myself. So writing, reading, meditation, yoga….that’s what I need now.

The routine was nice, and I grew to appreciate the bright spots; all the learning I was doing in yoga; the amazing food; the gorgeous sunsets; the friendly locals; the six different kinds of tea that I could choose from. My little hut was cozy, and I’d chant with my mala beads at night, even saying hi to the ant festival that was taking place in my bathroom. It was okay.

And then I left, just as things were getting good, as some rad yoga holiday peeps arrived. But life isn’t about staying put, at least, for me, it’s not about staying put. It’s about moving on, and I’m almost home.

Sivananda Ashram: Definitely Not "Eat, Pray, Love" Ashram

You think, “Ashram,” and you think, “Enlightenment! Learning! Meditation!” My ashram experience wasn’t exactly that.

My friend Barbara recommended Sivananda Ashram; she had visited another one years prior, and loved it. I went to a different branch than the one she had visited, and didn’t exactly have the same experience.

I started my first day by arriving before the morning satsang; I wanted the full experience. The days were full and I thought it might be best to integrate by arriving first thing.

Here’s what a sample day at the ashram was like (or any day of the Yoga Vacation):

6-7:30 a.m.: Morning satsang (meditation, chanting, listening to a reading from a spiritual text)

7:30-8 a.m.: Tea time

8-10 a.m.: Yoga

10-10:30: Brunch (though def not like in NYC!), served while sitting on the floor. South Indian sattvic food - no onion, no garlic, no spice, vegan. Served with herbal tea and buttermilk.

10:45-11:45: Karma Yoga. Basically, you clean as part of your selfless service.

11:45-1:00: Free time. I used this time to draft emails, read, shower, do laundry

1-1:30: Optional coaching. You could bring an asana you struggle with, or a question about yoga, and get one-on-one help, and watch others and practice asanas.

1:30-2:00: Tea time, again.

2-3: Lecture or movie. Geared for beginners, with a hint of brainwashing.

3-4: Free time. I used this time to shower (again, yes, again), do laundry, have a snack, or on one occasion, go for a run wearing pants.

4-6: Asana

6-630: Dinner

6:30-7:30: One hour of wifi. Everyone would turn off and just focus on their computers, catching up nonstop over the hour and ignoring everyone and everything else.

7:30-8: Free time, used to shower, relax.

8-9:30: Evening satsang.

10:00pm: Lights out.

It sounded like an intense but awesome experience. I was excited to immerse myself, and couldn’t wait to focus JUST on yoga. How lucky was I?

Not very lucky, it seemed.

While some love this experience, I didn’t connect with the Sivananda Ashram. There was an energy I didn’t connect with, and I noticed it almost immediately. When you asked questions, like, “What does this chant mean?” You got vague or annoyed answers. Or the, “There’s a book on the bookstore on this.”

It was a sattvic living: sattvic food (We all complained about craving sugar, cheese, and alcohol!), wearing sattvic dress - you had to wear loose-fitting, well-covering clothes. So no yoga tights, no tank tops. It was boiling - days would get in the 90 F, and we were all sweaty in harem pants. (And - for those of you who know yoga, you kind of suffocate when you do asanas like plow when wearing these pants! Ugh, it’s like curtains over your face….) I would change my sports bra and clothes several times a day, hand-washing everything. (Luckily, it was so hot, things dried rather quickly.)

I went to one lecture on meditation that was so basic, but only focused on one way to do it. “You must meditate with your eyes closed.” While this is how I meditate, I know there are traditions that keep their eyes open. Everything was like, “This is how it is.” Even asanas were practiced in very different ways.

My yoga teacher, Hannah, from my YTT, told us that it is very dangerous to do backbends right into forward folds and vice versa. “It can disorganize your spine,” she told us. I’ve always noticed that yoga helps alleviate back pain, but here, possibly because we were constantly doing backbends into forward folds and vice versa, I was possessed with an achey back. Others in the program complained of the same issue. “I never have back pain back home…”

Another lecture I went to presented some basic yoga concepts and theories that I had recently studied in my YTT….but some of what she presented was just wrong. I began getting frustrated, and shut up.

And then I knew: I don’t belong here.

I had also gotten into an argument with the director about running; he refused to give me a pass to let me leave campus to run, and if I ran on campus, I needed to cover up. Pants while running in the heat? No way. I would get heatstroke. Then, the last straw was when he told me I had to pay for a single room for one night of my dormitory arrangement (I had paid up front for three nights of a single; after two nights, I moved to the dorm to save money. I asked if I could transfer the deposit to my dorm room and pay the dorm price; I was told yes. They refused and made me pay for the dorm bed at a single room price.). I just got so annoyed.

I got in a cab and went to Madurai. I felt a weird sense of relief, and I was sad. I had so looked forward to an ashram experience; I thought it would be peace, learning, yoga, meditation, and love. It was rules, acceptance without questioning, and a weird energy. I was glad to be gone.

Good for some people, but not for me.

Rishikesh Again & A Kundalini Retreat

In January, I visited Rishikesh and liked it okay. Interesting, good yoga, cute town, gorgeous Ganga. I found a kundalini retreat, and said I'd do it. After much discussion of detail, I signed up.

After a long day of travel (1 hour in a bus, 45 minutes in a tuktuk, 2 hours in a plane, 1 hour waiting around for my awful taxi driver, 7.5 hours in a taxi with a maniac), I arrived in Rishikesh. Deepak met me, despite the super late time (after midnight) with a flower, a bottle of water, some biscuits, and some chocolate.

The next morning, we began our retreat at Braham Yoga. It was $300 for the week (with accommodations and food; you can do it $100 cheaper if you opt out of those), and structured in a way to give you a great focus to kundalini living, pranayama, meditation, and kundalini yoga - and it was def not recommended for the beginner.

Every day, we met in the morning for 2-3 hours, and from 4-6 or 7. Mornings were spent with in-depth discussions of the chakras, chanting, pranayama, and specific asanas. Afternoons were usually focused on pranayama, meditation, and strange meditation activities. One of the teachers had a background in Osho ashrams, so we did some cool activities. One day, we spent 15 minutes shaking, the next 15 minutes dancing, and then 30 minutes meditating. Another day, we spent 30 minutes laughing, 15 minutes crying, 15 minutes in silent meditation, and then 30 minutes in a guided savasana. Each day was different, illuminating, tough, wonderful, struggling...a lot of things. I'm grateful for every day.

I loved my teachers; Deepak was kind and compassionate and full of knowledge and patience. Our other teacher pushed our edges. Unfortunately, he really pushed people over their edges....one of my classmates stormed out. Another classmate cried. He was trying to break us open - to let the light in, I assume - but it was really, really tough. I liked the process a lot, even as it challenged me. Unfortunately, it led to some really weird energy in the class. The guy who left our class really only spoke German - and left because of language challenges, and feeling like the teacher ignored him. He was often angry at the class. The classmate who cried felt a little weird but got over it. Another classmate got upset when he felt he was left behind and skipped class for a day.

Yet despite the weird energy at times, I got a lot out of the class. I learned SO much about pranayama, further into the chakra study, and into my own meditative study. I got ideas for teaching, ideas for my own practice, and opened myself up. I loved it. Some days, I was on such an amazing high...it was unreal. It was like I was on drugs. I was so alive and free and happy! 

I was completely sober, eating good food, porridge for breakfast, fruit for lunch, veggies for dinner. I went to bed early, got up every day to run for an hour or two on some hills, feeling great. On our breaks, I wandered the streets of Rishikesh, buying jewelry, shawls, yoga books, yoga cds, talking to people. I hung out a lot at the Juice Bar, eating their bomb fruit salads, talking to whoever sat at my table, journaling, writing letters to my bestie. One day, when they were closed, I sat at The Office, eating a good-but-not-as-amazing-fruit salad, when I met an amazing kundalini yoga teacher and sponged a lot of knowledge from her.

Holi fell in the midst of our retreat. We had class early so we could throw color at others. It was insane. It was so fun, so alive, so much. We were all loving and covered in colors. The streets were nuts. People were dumping buckets of water out their windows. I didn't like the buckets of water and people shooting others with water....but it's all part of Holi. I tried to avoid it. We danced in the square and then went to the ashram for sweets, prayers, and paint. It was pretty amazing.

After, we hiked up to a waterfall. It was amazing to stand under the blast of pressure of water and have most of the colors come off. (But not quite....a week later and I still have some pink from Holi in my hair!!!)

Rishikesh is a special place. I spent it filling my heart, filling my mind, filling my life. Learning about nonattachment, the chakras, breathwork...it was a special week. Everywhere I went, I ran into friends I knew from Arambol, met new people, saw more cows...

I'll be back. I know I will. Maybe even next year. There's more time I need to spend in Rishikesh...so I should head there and study more yoga, eat more fruit salads, and OM just a little bit more....

Arambol, Goa

I spent a month in Aramabol for my yoga teacher training program. I didn’t really get to fully experience the town because I was constantly in class and studying; evenings, while I wanted to dance, I was usually so exhausted I would just collapse at the end of the day.

I stayed in the Love Temple. My only complaint is that with temporary beach huts (and that’s what there are mostly in this area), you often get unwelcome friends (lizards - though I liked them, others didn’t, cockroaches, spiders, rats, etc). But it was a great location, super close to the drum circle, not too far from town, close to lots of good food.

Arambol town is mainly one long narrow street with heaps of shops, some great restaurants, a good bookshop, lots of great live music at night. There are some electronic music parties, but I didn’t go to any. Just too tired!

The beach is where it’s at. It’s relatively clean, you can swim, and it’s pretty. The touts can be annoyingly persistent. You can sit under an umbrella in front of any restaurant and just order a juice and relax.

The drum circle is pretty amazing. Every night, just before sunset, lots of people gather with drums and other instruments. Dancing accompanies the drum circle, and it’s a really great vibe. Lots of local artists sell neat stuff in front of the drum circle.

The ATMs are far from the beach, and don’t always work. There’s no big grocery, but a few cute grocery shops that also carry things like essential oil, incense, and pie.

It’s a great relaxing beach, and not too expensive and crazy like other places. We went to Vagator for dinner, which felt very upper class and clubby and not at all like Arambol, where i defintely am more at home.

Hippies, yogis, health food freaks, artists, burners, and those looking for a nice place with a good vibe will love Arambol.

My Yoga Teacher Training Program: Three Weeks in Heavenly Arambol with Hannah Harpole and Amanda Capobianco

All yoga teacher training programs are somewhat different. I’m lucky I stumbled into one that allowed me to combine and learn the spiritual sides with the alignment side of yoga. I had a truly amazing experience. Even as some of the other girls complained about all of the homework and reading, I was on a high, learning about these amazing concepts and philosophy and excited to learn even more. This was why I left my job, and I’m so grateful I did for such a neat experience.

Our days were all different, but were all pretty intense. I was sick for both of our “days off” so I just used that time to catch up on my studying and reading.

Our training program was at the Love Temple in Arambol, Goa. Arambol is one of the cheaper towns in Goa, and is the most hippie. The nightly drum circle took place in front of the Love Temple, and it was really fun to be in such a great locaiton. Many of the places, like the Love Temple, Magic Park, and Cheeky Monkey, treated their raw veggies and fruits appropriately, so you could eat a salad. It was really wonderful. The sunsets on the beach were just gorgeous as well.

Our days went something like this:

5:50 a.m.: Wake up. Chant my mala beads with a mantra. Go running for 30-40 minutes. Quick shower and change before class.

7 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.: Meditation, chanting, morning asanas. Typically, our hardest of the practices.

9 a.m.-11 a.m.: Breakfast while discussing Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.

11 a.m. - 12 or 1p.m.: Break to get lunch, drop off/pick up laundry, run any errands, study, read one of our five books for class, prepare for presentations.

3 p.m. - 5 p.m. (on most days): Afternoon practice or workshop - discussing things like Ayruveda, yoga for women, injuries and yoga, assessing flexibility.

5 p.m. - 7 p.m.: Break to shower, study, peek in at the drum circle

7 p.m. - 8/830 p.m.: Evening practice - usually something gentle, like restorative, yoga nidra, yin yoga.

8:30 p.m. - 9:30/10:30 p.m.: Dinner with discussion - sometimes the lineages of yoga, types of yoga, business of yoga, etc.

After - study or read and pass out.

The days were long. As the month went on, it got hotter and hotter. Some girls wore pants, and I found them too hot to wear to our daily practice. During out 7p.m. practices, I learned to wear pants, lest I become mosquito dinner.

Our space was “Temple 3” - which was open air. It was lovely to hear the waves crashing, birds starting their day, seeing palm trees. It was difficult for asanas where we wanted to practice with our legs up on the wall (like full-arm balance or sirassana).

We ate a lot because we were hungry from practices, but mid-day, I’d usually opt for something like a fruit salad with curd - anything much heavier and I’d taste it during our mid-day practice.

I began to appreciate how awesome shawls were. I’d wear it during meditation and chanting in the morning practice when the night air was still a bit cool, and then cover myself with it during savassana. It was good in the evenings when you didn’t need a sweater but needed something, and I found them lovely and stylish.

We read the Yoga Sutras, and I really understood them. I reread Healing Mantras, and picked out a mantra to chant to inspire creativity. (Three days later, I wrote my first short story in over a year.) We colored in The Anatomy Coloring Book as we learned about the bones and muscles. I read Chakra Yoga, and discovered which asanas and pranayama opened which chakras. We consulted Iyengar’s Light on Yoga, treating it like our bible for every bit of instruction.

We met other yogis and doctors and learned from their perspective. I sent the occasional email, but barely went online and didn’t do any other reading (besides the required reading) - we were so busy.

I knew Wayne was coming at the end of my training program, but I was so focused on the awesomeness and intensity of the present moment that I couldn’t even anticipate that much.

The program taught me alignment, asanas, mantras, how to create a home practice, and so much more. It also taught me that this yoga training is helping me to heal my stressed body. It taught me what I really want in life. And it taught me it all through yoga.