Abode of Peace (Jigani, November 30-December 30, 2008)

At the SVYASA Bangalore center, I am told to wait for a ride to Prashanti Kutiram (Abode of Peace), SVYASA's ashram in Jigani, maybe a 1.5 hour drive from Bangalore. In the mean time, I head to a small restaurant and have my first official South India breakfast--idlis (savory rice cakes) dipped in sambaar (a soup of dhal, tamarind, tomatoes and other vegetables). Indeed, South Indian food is spicier than North India food. But I am comforted by the fact that the ashram is supposed to serve South Indian-style sattvic food, or typical ashram food that does not use intense spices such as peppercorns, peppers and garlic. I also get a ride to a nearby bank to take out funds to pay my tuition. Unfortunately, I can only take out half as much as I need.

Finally, two men, participants in a short residential class for business employees, join me, and we all get a ride to Prashanti. We have to stop when we have car trouble mid-way, and then continue on. They are very friendly, and are eager to say "hi" and ask how my program is going, how am I settling in, etc. whenever they see me on campus. It is a good feeling to meet such friendly people right from the start. They had already been at Prashanti prior to their yoga for business program, and they both spoke very positively of the ashram experience. They say it is a wonderful time to relax in such a quite place.

I spend my first day on campus orienting myself. The campus is full of YIC participants who have just finished the November batch. I ask some of them if the program was good. One Indian girl spoke very highly of it. One European yoga instructor said it was just too much philosophy packed into one month, but that you get a feel for what lectures/programs you really have to attend, and what ones you can skip. A performance artist/dancer from San Francisco advises to make the best of it. I meet two girls in the Internet room who will be in my December batch, the 89th Yoga Instructor's Course (YIC) batch. They are Jane from the US (but also a Canadian citizen) and Lisa from Toronto. They also seem apprehensive about the quality of the course and are writing to the Yoga Alliance to see if this course will count for 200 hour certification. But they are committed, and so am I.

After a little mix-up, I am shown my proper room and meet my roommate, Jin from South Korea. I really like her, and it seems like we will get along well. The room is sparse--we each have a bed and a thick blanket. Unfortunately, her bed is damp and she needs to wait for new bedding. The campus is very busy, as there is a youth school group visiting, and the old YIC batch is leaving, so there are not many extra blankets. We also have an attached bathroom. I am happy we have an Indian-style toilet. We have a bucket shower and hot water only at about 4:30 am, and whatever hot water remains into the morning after others have showered.

I remember my first eating experience at the ashram vividly. I walk into the cafeteria, and it is full with people. I walk into a the washing room, where I learn I am to pick up my metal plate, small cup and bowl. I walk over to the women's side of the sinks, and begin washing the dishes with water and damp brown detergent. I then walk into the eating area, lined on both sides with three or so rows of thin straw-woven cloth for sitting. Men and women are separated. My first subji (vegetable) features bitter gourd, the bitter vegetable I tasted during my first Bangladesh meal, and with which I associate my Bangladesh stomach problems. It is so terrible, and I fear I am in for a long month of barely edible food.

Very happily, bitter gourd is seldom served after this. The food is difficult to adjust to at first, but by the second week, I love it. Ahalya is an older woman in our course from Tamil Nadu, near Auroville. She is a mother figure to me and others throughout the course. She recognizes that I love the food and is always telling me what's good and what I should eat. When she serves, she always asks if I want more.

During the first few days of class, we are issued a textbook, yoga mats (thick woven cloth mats, different from the sport yoga rubbery mats found in the US), shoulder bags for carrying our textbook and other supplies, and a uniform. Women get a one-size-fits-all white salwar and light blue kurta with machine-embroidered flowers along the collar; men get black sweatpants and a white polo shirt with a screen printed image of Swami Vivekananda on the back.

I orient myself to the bookstore, a small shop across from the Internet and STD phone booth room. The bookstore has SVYASA's publications, along with yoga publications from Bihar Yoga and others. It also has toiletries, school and yoga supplies. Down from the cafeteria is the canteen, where we can purchase fresh fruits and snacks in addition to the cafeteria food, which is included in our tuition. Near the canteen is an ayurvedic pharmacy. Near the center of campus is the Arogyadhama, SVYASA's yoga hospital and yoga medicine research institution. There is also a library, but it has no card catalog so finding books is a little tricky. YIC students are only allowed to check out one book at a time. Mangala mandir is the main meeting place for the campus and the building in which we have most of our yoga practice, lectures and devotional sessions. There are other smaller classrooms throughout campus. There is also a nice, wooded walking path through campus, and a cricket field.

The first night, I go with Jin, Yung Gu (South Korea), and Victoria (Hong Kong), Remi (UK) and Beena (UK) to a trataka session. Trataka is a kriya (cleansing practice) for the eyes and meditation technique. Yung Gu and Victoria are roommates, and their room is just two doors down from ours. Remi and Beena are cousins, currently living in the UK, but descendants of Gujrati Jains. Remi was actually born and lived in Tanzania before moving to the UK.

The next day, we meet as a class with our coordinator, Padmasri Didi, and assistants, who are recent graduates of SVYASA Master's programs. We are to address all women at SVYASA as "didi" (sister) and all men as "bhaiya" (brother). We fill out requisite forms, and I meet more of the YIC students.

Alan, from Ireland, is in the one-year Yoga Therapy program. Many of the Indian students are in the Bachelor's program. I realize YIC is a requirement for any of SVYASA's BSc, MSc, PhD, or other programs. Suriya Bhaiya works on campus and is attending YIC for the first time. Ravi is the webmaster with whom I communicated via email before arriving, and he will also be in our YIC batch. Julie is from Rhode Island, but attending an international college and spends each year in a new location.