5. Relaaaahx.... yoga in India

As a devoted yogini and yoga instructor, one of my objectives for this trip was to experience yoga in India. I think most yoga practitioners in the U.S. have a romanticized notion about yoga and India (something perpetuated by the official India travel website "Incredible India") but I had been disabused of that notion before heading out by Desiree Rumbaugh, a leading Anusara Yoga teacher, who told me that she had been disappointed by the level of yoga practiced in India and believes that we have gone so much further with the practice here. There is "health club yoga" available at most western hotels and, of course, numerous ashrams that cater to westerners who want the whole spiritual experience. But like most things that we take for granted here, my guess is that majority of people in India are just trying to survive on a daily basis and while they may worship their Hindu gods religiously, asanas are probably not part of a daily routine. There was an interesting pro/con opinion piece in the India Times about whether or not yoga is a spiritual practice: one side claiming it is just for health and excercise and the other saying it is spiritual. This was in response to extremist Muslims in Indonesia who want to crack down on the practice there.

So my one yoga opportunity was on our last morning at the White Sands resort. Peter and I signed up for an hour class (about $14/person) and we headed out to the yoga lawn, a circle of close-cut grass under some cashew trees near the beach. Truly an idyllic setting! Our instructor, who had spent four years at a Shivaananda ashram in Kerala, was very pleasant and serene and dressed in white tunic and baggy pants. Another staff person accompanied us ... he was dressed like a gardener or a maintenance person. After a brief Sanskrit chant, we ran through a number of sun salutations and a few elementary poses (never once did he use a Sanskrit term for a pose; all was in heavily-accented English). Towards the end of the practice he asked us (it was just Peter and me and the gardener) to lie down on our mats face up and he began to chant relaaaahhhx in a om-like chant, focusing on body parts, starting from the head and moving towards our toes: "relaaaahhx the face", etc... listening to his well-meaning but somewhat tedious drone, I was finding it hard to relaaaahhhx and I pretty much lost it when he said "relaaahhhx the buttocks", trying hard not to giggle out loud. Peter said he enjoyed the hour and was really relaxed. I enjoyed the experience for different reasons. I make no claims to be an expert on yoga in India and we could have found an "Eat, Pray, Love" ashram and really experience it fully if time and circumstances had permitted. ...well...at least I can say I did practice yoga on the beach in Goa! That's good enough for me for now!