Anja's yoga article

Dear Friends and Family,

Trust you are well and enjoying autumn. I can't believe it is November and here I am in warm sunshine in India!

I am really enjoying my ayurvedic placements. I am learning so much - I have been away for just 5 weeks and learned more than being at university for 3 years! It is very intense. We are observing/practicing/learning 12 hours a day 6 days a week - minimum... But it is so inspiring.

We are now in Hassan at a very popular and large teaching hospital/university. Our day start at 7am with yoga. What a great way to start the day! So I am still practicing though not teaching. And I do miss teaching. One of my lovely friends has kindly scanned and emailed me the attached article which is published in the new yoga magazine Om Magazine. I wrote it before I went to India so it is very exciting to see it in print! Hope you enjoy reading it.

Apologies for the group email - not very personal I know... To the lovely staff at Headway: please forward my regards to the other staff, volunteers and attenders... Thank you

Warm Wishes

Anja

Anja Brierley Lange

Traveling yogini...
my blog

Update from India

I have now been in India for nearly 6 weeks. And time is a to relative. In some ways it feels like I have been here for a long long time: I have experienced so much and learned tons of stuff. On the other hand it is only just over a month!

I am now in Hassan at a large Ayurvedic teaching hospital. We are having quite a busy schedule here. Starting with yoga at 7am. I love yoga – I love practicing on my own and in classes; dynamic, vinyasa flow and more meditative practices. And I love teaching yoga in classes and to individuals: This I have been missing while I have been away. The yoga here is often taught by doctors of Naturopathy and Yoga. They have a training which also include massage and acupuncture and lasts for 5 years minimum. The style of yoga is very classical in the sense that they practice an asana for a short while and then relax either standing or in shavasana before going to the next asana. There has not been so much emphasis on alignment which may reflect that yoga asana here is a regular part of a daily routine and people are used to listening to what their body can and can not do. For example our teacher instructs us to practice matsyasana (fish pose) in padmasana which I would generally think is rather advanced! However it is great being taught and I enjoy our morning classes.

After yoga we have placements in Out Patient Departments. Ayurveda has various branches including paediatrics, surgery, psychiatric, women's health and general practice which includes ear, nose and throat, digestive and skin disorders etc.

The hospital has a great Pancha Karma clinic where we learn to do procedures such as vamana (vomiting therapy), virechanan (purgation), basti (enema), abhyanga (oil massage) and other treatments. We have practical sessions on how to prepare the herbs and medicines as well as how to perform them. Most of the in patients have some kind of Pancha Karma treatment which is generally a combination of various treatments leading up to the final cleansing procedure. It is amazing how they use these treatments and how effective it is on so many ailments from diabetes, sciatica, skin problems to insomnia, IBS and arthritis.

We have lectures and discussion as well as research time so our day at the hospital rarely finishes before 7.30pm – 6 days a week! But we enjoy it and we learn so much. It is very inspiring.

One of our main teachers and coordinator is in manasa roga (psychiatry). This hospital is one of the only Ayurvedic Universities to offer a PhD in manasa roga and which also have a psychiatric ward. Here they deal with depression as well as addictions.

And while I am here in India London has seen the yearly Yoga Show and the launch of Om Magazine. I am very excited to be part of the first issue. So if you have a chance have a look in the magazine please read my article on a healthy digestive system and how to keep it in optimum conditions during the festive season!

Namaste

Anja

Week end in Belguam

Today we have seen a little bit of sun. And it is the first dry day since Monday. And it is Sunday, our
only day off during the week! Time for celebrating...
Saturday night was spent watching a movie, The Karma Sutra. Beautiful costumes and stunning
scenery filmed in India. We had freshly made crisps made of banana and potatoes – a proper girlie
Saturday night!
I slept in today though not by my usual London standards. The whole week I have been getting up
between 5.15-5.30am to get ready for our clinical placements but today I only got out of bed a couple
of hours later.
It was time for a good clean in the flat. It seems like it is always dusty and dirty on the tiled floors – no
matter how much you wash them. We go through a few cloths every time we do the cleaning... The
hospital is adamant on us getting a cleaner (which we declined – we all just clean in different ways) and
a laundry wallah (probably from tomorrow). However I was really excited today when I found a
laundrette which claims to have a washing machine. What kind I have no idea. But it sounds promising.
It has been so wet and damp that even washing light and small bits takes days to dry.
On my venture out to explore our part of town I had breakfast on a really lovely and very smart cafe
where all the young and trendy students from the Engineering and Science University goes, a place
where they rent out DVDs in English too and on my way back I found Indian Vogue Magazine. Bliss.
So now I have been soaking my rather dirty feet and given them a good clean while feeding my soul
with the beauty of fashion (from a yogic point of view there was an interesting article by Deepak
Chopra on Indian women and spirituality including yoga)!
Now it is soon time for lunch and it is just wonderful to be able to walk outside without getting soaked
from the constant showers.
Back from lunch... And we got caught in the rain – again. We had lunch at the trendy cafe. Very tasty
and not too spicy at all but by Indian standards rather expensive; two vegetable dishes, vegetable
biriani, two breads and a freshly made pineapple juice for nearly £3.
One of our doctors had recommended us to go the Rama Krishna ashram for evening bhajan. We
arrived quite early and had a look around the grounds. We found the bookstore... and if you like books
and if you like books on anything to do with spirituality then India is your place. I came back with 5
books and many more I want to purchase. I love books... and here they are very cheap! I think the
Royal Mail will find a lot of book parcels coming back to my home in London!
Well, now it is time for our evening ritual. We usual end our day with hot milk – or milky herbal tea
before bed. And tomorrow is another day at the hospital.

Lessons in trust and surrender.

Yoga teaches us steps so that we can achieve ishavara pranisad Surrendering to Universe or God.
If you have traveled in India you may have experienced the frustrations due to the lack of obvious
organisation and structure. Try crossing the road for a start...
Hmm my lessons started before this trip. I am now in India and feel very peaceful amidst the seemingly
noisy and busy bustle of rickshaws, cows and people. But the organisation back in the UK leading up to
this trip was not so peaceful.
I am here as part of my degree in ayurvedic medicine. And it was challenging waiting for our itinary for
our placements and advice regarding visa.
We finally did get our tickets... Then our next challenge were to apply for visas. We were all refused a
student visa with some getting 6 months entry or tourist visa and some (me) just a 3 months visa – not
long enough to finish our placements or time for a bit of travel.
Reaplying for the visa was slightly nervewrecking. I handed in my passport yet again on the Tuesday
planning to leave Friday. In that time I learned, or started seriously to learn, the lessons of surrender to
what is. I had done all I could but however long it may take the Indian High Commsion to cancel one
visa and make another I had no idea... So the only thing I could do was to be present – one breath at the
time. I am still learning but this was a valuable lesson for me in being in the moment. Yes I was worried
about not getting my booked plane or having to leave early from India. But “what is the worst case
scenario?” my very supportive husband asked. And really the worst cases I could come up with were
really not all that bad!
But visa arrived and I breathed a sigh of relief getting very excited about going to the magic land of
India.
The journey could not have been easier. Heathrow terminal 5 was as calm and serene an airport ever
could be. Myself and Sharon had a lovely filling meal at Waga Mama and did our last minute shopping
before boarding our overnight flight to Mumbai. Arriving in Mumbai on schedule we dished the plan of
a 15 hour overnight train to Belgaum and a long stay in Mumbai waiting to depart and instead bought a
last minute ticket for a flight to Hubli. And we got our tickets, did our transfer and our check in just in
time. Absolutely perfect timing (with not a minute to spare). In Hubli we got a taxi for the journey to
Belgaum listening to Bollywood music along the way whilst wacthing the scenery. Ahh bliss.
Our contact was here waiting for us despite us arriving a day early making sure we got settled in each
of our lovely little appartments.
I can not express how absolutely wonderful this experience is so far. How kind and warm the people
we have met are and how helpful. I am at this moment sitting in the shade at 8.30am on my balcony. I
woke up did my yoga practise, got ready and am now waiting for my friend to join me for breakfast.
Looking forward to idli and sambar. And then we are off to the Big Bazaar with yet another helpful
staff from KLE ayurvedic hospital.
Am feeling very blessed!
Namaste

Sharing my thoughts...

I created this blog to keep in touch with you all; friends, family, fellow yoga students - yogis and yoginis while I am away in India furthering my studies in Ayurvedic Medicine.

Having been practicing yoga for more than 10 years now my practice brought me knowledge of yoga's sister science AYURVEDA (Ayur=life, Veda=knowledge). This is the traditional Indian medical system compromising treatments of herbs, lifestyle, bodywork as well as asana (yoga) and pranayama.

It was a workshop with the amazing Dr Robert Svoboda at the Sivananda Centre in Putney that inspired me - it was one of those moments of thinking "Yes, this it definitely what I want to commit to". And that is pretty big for me... Committing to a university degree lasting 3 years. And then the Post Graduate/Masters which you need to be a fully qualified Ayurvedic Practitioner. But now I am a BSc in Ayurveda (and those who knew me as a schoolgirl would probably not have thought I would voluntarily go to school again!). And now I am very nearly on my way to India to start my clinical practice which is part of the Post Graduate Diploma.

I have meet so many wonderful people sharing the teachings of yoga over the past few years. And although I may not personally know many of the yogis who join my classes, your energy and presence have made it a joy to teach. I will be looking forward to come back to the classes in January and will keep you all updated on where and when I will teach.

Stay in touch...

Namaste

Anja