Vipassana Meditation - the experience through Twy's eyes

We had tentatively planned to head north to Ladakh and the Himalayas after the US, but we realized a SCUBA trip to Malaysia and then a trip to the US was enough money to spend in one summer. So, in Tim and Jill's kitchen we began to research and to think about alternative plans. Neither of us wanted to spend two weeks in rainy Mumbai. I looked at some yoga retreats, which Greg was only luke warm on. He had his mind set on meditation. He came across Vipassana meditation, which I had done nine years earlier when I traveled to Northern India. There are several centers in Maharastra, but they were all full except a center in the south eastern part of the state. We both put in an application and were accepted. My brain, "what am I doing?! I already went through that torture once. Yea, it was a great experience, but twice!" I made train reservations and we were all set before we left the US.

When we arrived in Mumbai we had four days to recuperate from jet lag and I had developed a cold. For those of you who don't know, I've been struggling with allergies and colds consistently since January. The sickness was a reminder of what I was returning to...and I had yet to see a doctor for any of it due to my denial that it would last this long. So, on the day we were suppose to board an overnight train, I was having breathing issues and finally decided to see a doctor. I went to a respiratory specialist ($12), got some meds and a blessing to go on the meditation course. It was at this point that I finally committed to going. My brain: "Alright, I'm doing this. I know I can do it and it will be a growing experience. Plus, I want to see how Greg does."

Luckily, the first class compartments had been available when I booked, so we got a door and shared with one other person. He was a businessman in textiles and the area we were headed was known for textiles. Still dealing with jet lag, a cold, and Greg had hurt his back earlier in the day at the gym, we headed to bed pretty early. At 6:30am, we got off at a rural train station at Hatkangale. We had most of the day ahead of us. Our first task was finding breakfast. We negotiated a little with a rickshaw driver to take us to a restaurant (luckily one was open that early) and then onto the meditation center. The ride there was 6km through lots of farmland. It was quite beautiful and peaceful. Registration wasn't until 3pm and it was now close to 8am. No one was at the office, so we ditched our packs and walked over to the huge Jain temple next door. That kept us busy until 9am, when we wandered back and thankfully someone came up to help us. We were given some breakfast and keys to rooms. Pretty much we just relaxed most of the day, met another person who wandered in early, also from Mumbai, and watched people slowly appear in the afternoon. I was wondering if I would be one of the only women, but there ended up being over 30 of us, with one leaving after day two. 70 men started and 65 completed the course. At 5:00pm, we had dinner, a discourse about the next day and at 8pm we were in Noble Silence. The course had begun.

So what the heck is this Vipassana meditation??! The technique was discovered by Buddha, who found his way to enlightenment through this meditation technique. He taught it to five of his friends and then suddenly, everyone wanted to learn. When Buddha started off, his teachings were this technique and encouragement to continue the practice. It was not about a certain dogma or worshiping him. Those things really flourished after he died and his teachings were changed into a religion. This technique expanded in India for 500 years and then faded. Luckily, monks had traveled to other countries and it was practiced in its pure form in Burma for 2500 years. Then S.N. Goenka came to India to teach the technique to his sick mother and others wanted to learn...he did not leave India and Vipassana centers are now located all over the world. That's the history in a nutshell.

The technique is observing sensations in your body and remaining "equanimous" to all sensations. Basically not being attached to positive sensations or attaching hate to negative sensations. Just acknowledging them for what they are and moving on. So simple, yet it takes much practice, young grasshopper. There is this thing called "The Mind," that is like a gerbil in its wheel. It keeps going and going and going, distracting and getting you no where. So practice has a lot with training this wild beast.

The course itself is a great test in determination and discipline. Ten days, no talking, the sexes are separated for everything, no reading or writing or cell phones or internet, two meals and an evening snack, and meditating for ten hours a day. That's sitting for ten hours a day for ten days. It's sooooooo painful at first. Quote from Greg,"I just kept thinking, all these Indians who sit and crouch all the time are struggling, so its got to be hard!" The first three days we learned Anapana, which is observing the natural breath and the sensations between the nose and upper lip. Then, day four, you learn Vipassana and it is announced that three times a day you are to sit for one hour without moving anything. Goenka had a great way of putting this: "First you are thinking this is so wonderful, feels so good. Then 20 minutes you are thinking there is pain, I can deal with this. Then at 30-40 minutes you are thinking there is just too much pain, I can't sit here any longer. One minute feels like an hour. Surely the teacher has lost track of time. Then the chanting starts and you are relieved but you still have five more minutes." I think I made it to one hour about one third of the time. I rolled a few cushions, sat with my legs folded under me and the cushions between my calves and butt. To get out of this position I had to peel out the cushions from under me, flop to one side, slowly get on my butt, and then it took several minutes to get my right ankle to flex. Finally I would manually straighten my legs and shake them out. But I was proud of myself for having the determination to stick it out and then I'd try it again later on in the day. And, yes, by the end I felt pretty happy. Just happy and giggly.

This being my second course, I knew what to expect with the logistics. I did not worry about the lack of food as I had the first time, my mind went on shorter jaunts this time, and I had felt more unpleasant sensations this time around. The environment was much more pleasant this time. We were nestled up against a large hill in a lush, green landscape. There were many flowers and loads of birds. I tried counting the different bird calls, but I lost track. The one that made me laugh the most were the peacocks. They were everywhere along the hillside and loud. Day three I thought of calling this blog, "Distractions of the peacock, a meditation experience." I was the only female to maintain Noble Silence, which was annoying at times (good practice for non-attachment to emotions) and also weird. I'm not sure what was up, but I stayed away from it.

On day ten, both Greg and I had Indians, curious, descend upon us, asking many questions. The women dressed me up, Mahrastrian style, in a sari. then I was paraded around, shown off to Greg and made to pose for many pictures. It was fun. The course officially ended the following morning. Greg and I went for a walk up the hill to the top where there were many Jain statues all over in different building stages. We wandered down the hill on a road and ran into a Shiva temple. We didn't go inside because we were so muddy from our hike. Instead we headed back to the meditation center and helped clean rooms. We decided to walk the 6km to the train station since we had time. Half of it was along many fields and villages. Once we got to the main road, it was busy and we tried to get off it as quick as possible. After an hour wait, our train appeared and to our astonishment, the same man we shared the compartment with last time was sitting there with another business man. The three of us laughed at this. We talked and shared food. At least food was shared with us, which was wonderful and another example of Indian compassion and caring.

I've meditated for an hour every day except for two days since returning to Mumbai and just notice I'm slightly more calm, don't always react to situations unless it's with a rickshaw driver. (Don't ask me why). At least I can recognize those situations a think of another perspective. So, I will continue along with practicing yoga since they go right along with each other. My future will, hopefully, involve a teacher training course with my teacher, Prasad. I'm enjoying this path...

Iowa, Colorado and Boston

We were able to see some family and friends in Iowa, Colorado, and Massachusetts during our three week, stateside visit. In Iowa, outside the wedding, we spent time with Greg's parents, Grandma and Grandpa Tibboel, the Schulers, Aunt Donna, and Mr. D. We stayed with Tim and Jill in Denver, always a wonderful place to be. Friends we saw on the front range were Jenny, Ryan, and little Zoey, Juan, Ken, Dine and Nate (Iowa and Boulder, we were lucky), and Lizzy (thanks for coming down from Fort Fun). We were fortunate to have a chance to see Susan and Collin twice, once in Denver and once on the way to Marble. The stars were aligned and we were able to stay with Rory and her parents in Westcliff and get in a little hiking.

Our time in Marble was spectacular, as usual. I think this is our favorite place in Colorado. Beautiful scenery and great company! There was still quite a lot of snow, so our plans to hike up Treasure Mountain at just under 14,000 feet were not realized. We did get in a hike up to Avalanche Pass (12,000 ft) with Ann, Krissy, and Tikka. We saw a huge herd of Elk make its way up and over the mountains, plus saw the backside of Mt. Daly, which we skied two winters ago. We also hiked to an amazing waterfall and Mount Marble when Amy joined us. Amy was a trouper and had her first experience with glissading. A little bit of the Himalayas made it to Marble with vertical prayer flags that Ann, Mike and I put up. We even had true American culture with ATVs and playing around on Pete's dirt bike. (Krissy loved this soooo much she know has her own). It was wonderful. The two sad pieces to our trip were missing Beatle and Sweet Buns being sick (and being put down the day we left). Both are such big parts of our thoughts and memories and will be in our hearts.

Boston!! Jake!! Need I say more. We had a lot of fun with our nephew, Jake. He's growing so fast, learning new things all the time, and just so darn cute. He really got into growling while we were there, to which we laughed at to no end, all the more encouraging him. We extended our stay and went to Cape Cod to spend more time with Jake, Grady and Laurie, and met Laurie's family. Jake has three older female cousins, who we had lots of fun with. One of the highlights was getting to be with Jake in his first pond experience. He LOVED it. But who wouldn't love to be in their b-day suit, enjoying warm water and having everyone oogle over you? It was also wonderful to watch Grady and Laurie be mom and dad...whew! We left the Cape via ferry. It was the most choppy boat ride I've ever been on. Quite a few sick people.

Here are a few pictures:

Lauren and Dennis got married

In April, Greg and I made the decision to make a three week trip to the US so that I could try to obtain a business visa. Other employment opportunities were not happening and being able to set up a private practice seemed to be the best option for me to bring home some bacon while in Mumbai. Once we made that decision, I told Greg that I wanted to make it during Lauren and Dennis’s wedding in Des Moines, IA. We would be flying into Des Moines anyway since Greg’s car was parked at his parent’s house, so I figured it was meant to be. In this day and age, Facebook is both wonderful and a curse. I found Lauren’s mom’s page and sent her an email. A week later, after not hearing from her, I emailed Lauren’s brother, Adam, and he was on it. (I found out later Lauren had set up her mom’s page for her and she really never uses it). The second item on my list was the hotel rooms. Now, maybe I over thought this, but I wanted my bases covered. I was worried if Greg and I made a reservation at the Marriott, where the reception was to be held, Lauren would somehow see that reservation. Plus, it’s more fun to share rooms during these occasions. I thought of Nadine and Nate, but I was worried about telling Nadine. It would be a heavy burden to bear and I knew she would be in contact with Lauren a lot, so back on Facebook, I emailed Nate. He was onboard with the plan. Later we found out he had to remain strong when faced with a questioning Nadine as to why he needed to make the hotel reservation for her friend’s wedding and why they couldn’t share a room with others. He faced her down and the plan was successful.

The curse of Facebook is the Wall. It’s very hard to coordinate showing up at a wedding unannounced and plan other parts of our stateside trip without having people make wall posts. All in confidence were strictly advised no Facebook wall communication. Before we left for Malaysia, Lauren and Dennis were blocked from viewing “friend” posts since Greg’s brother slipped and wrote he couldn’t wait to see us. Plus, Lauren became increasingly interrogating with our last few contacts. “Tell me EXACTALY what you are doing this summer. I want the details.”

We arrived in Iowa at 8:30pm on the 18^th of June. The rehearsal dinner was the following evening. We made it through the morning, but had to take a nap in the afternoon to combat jet lag. Getting a little lost on our way to the winery, we got back on track. Just as we were pulling in I was worried the Cavalier would be recognized, so I had Greg park behind a white van. We got out of the car and my heart was beating and I wondered if Lauren had figured it out. We walked up the walk way to the entrance where people were milling about. I saw Nadine and Julia look at us in a weird way and Nate smiled. Julia let out a scream and she, Nadine, and Corrine came running up to us. They were in disbelief and totally surprised. All the sudden I noticed Lauren standing next to us with her mouth open. “What are you doing here?!” I gave her a hug but she remained stunned. We all agreed she finally left her state of shock by the time food was served and she came over to talk with us. Our mission of surprise was a complete success!! MANY thanks to Judy, Adam, and Nate.

The wedding as the next day, on Father’s day. We pulled through the jet lag, which was becoming painful at times. The ceremony was very nice and the Rabbi’s explanation and humor were wonderful. It was a lot of fun to see and catch up with friends and dance the evening away. Lauren looked stunning and Dennis had a grin on his face most of the night. I’m grateful we were able to attend and support the two of them. Some of Lauren’s parting words, “I don’t know how I’m ever going to top this one.” I told her, “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Malaysia

Our first excursion outside India in ten months was to Malaysia. Malaysia had never really been on my radar until we started asking other divers where they recommended going SCUBA diving in Southeast Asia. Everyone replied Sipidan. Sipidan is an island located near the town of Semporna in the state of Sabah. The Malaysian government turned the island into a Marine reserve to protect it from being fished and to keep hotels off the island.

We jumped on an overnight plane to Kuala Lampur, then had to wait seven hours to catch a flight to Tawau, where a taxi awaited to deposit us in the small fishing town of Semporna. As we flew into KL, I noticed neat rows of palm trees covering the landscape. I pointed them out to Greg and we both decided that they had to be planted. I couldn’t think why palm trees would be planted in such abundance. I re3ceived my answer from an English traveler who shared our taxi to Semporna. Malaysia has cut down 70% of its forests, most of them rainforests, to plant palm trees for palm oil. This country has such an amazing diversity of flora and fauna that is rapidly disappearing due to deforestation. The state of Sabah is known for its wild orangutans and probiscus monkeys.

In the KL airport, I was stuck by the lack of people. I kept saying this throughout our trip, “there are no people here.” I discovered on our US trip, again, that there are no people. I know that there are a lot of people in Mumbai and in India, but it took leaving the country to really understand this. I have gotten so use to crowds and lines most places that we go, that in order to understand the sheer number of one billion people, I had to spend time in Malaysia (where the total population is less than the 22million that in habit greater Mumbai) and the US (all its students combine is the same number as India’s top 1% of students). The fact that there are such fewer numbers of people made my body slow down when walking around.

The diving on the islands we went to over five days, including one day at Sipidan, was spectacular and amazing. The islands where made of white sand and the water a beautiful turquoise blue. It was overcast most of the time, which saved us from getting sun burned since all the dives we did were boat dives. Greg and I took our Advanced Open Water certifications, so that most of our dives ended up being between 75-100 feet deep. We saw big marine life: white tipped reef shark, a leopard shark, many green turtles that were up to a meter and a half long, a school of huge barracudas, Napolean Wrasse, blue-spotted rays, lots of giant moray eels, several cuttlefish, and hundreds of tropical fish species. W saw small marine life: nudibranchs, frog fish (8 of these), coral pipe fish, cleaner shrimp, scorpion leaf fish, and more nudibranchs. We did not get to see hammerhead, which can be seen at Sipidan and were seen the day after we dove there. And there was the coral. The variety and colors were unbelievable. At Sipidan, the coral was a thick blanket with schools of fish dancing around. I had never experienced such a healthy coral reef and it was breath taking. We dove two days with a couple from the UK who had their Dive Master certifications and took diving trips every year. They both had cameras, so hopefully we will receive a link to their posting so we can share what we saw. All the photos we have are on the surface.

We dove with Scuba Junkies and stayed three nights with them on Malbul Island in their bungalows. Beautiful place, friendly and fun staff, and we’d go back in a heartbeat. Even if you don’t dive, the snorkeling is spectacular and Sabah has a lot to offer on land as well. We hope to get back to explore both land and sea before we leave this side of the world.

Seven day yoga retreat

Saturday morning, eager and nervous, I left our flat and headed to the train station. Two stops north at Santa Cruz, I got off and headed to the East exit to unexplored territory. Just a short walk through a relatively quiet neighborhood, I found the Yoga Institute. After registering for the seven day course, I waited in a large hall, sitting cross-legged on the hard tiled floor with just a thin mat separating my skin from the cool floor.

As Greg and I were preparing to go to India, both of us were excited about the opportunity to explore yoga more. Over the past year, we both attended class once to twice a week with Prasad (yogaprasad.com) at the American School. I’ve really enjoyed Prasad’s classes a lot, with his focus on breathing and opening the chest. He’s been doing yoga since age nine and now teaches classes all over the world. I walk out of his classes feeling relaxed and calm. Then I step out into chaotic Mumbai and I struggle to hold onto that calmness.

Some of the ASB mom’s I’ve spent time with have been taking various yoga teacher training courses, which are all about a month long. I enjoyed hearing about the courses but couldn’t fathom finding a month to do something like that. Around April, I realized that I have spent so much of my time focused on finding work and contributing financially while in Mumbai, that I had pushed aside my goal of learning more about yoga and trying to deepen my practice. I thought to myself, “I’m in India! What am I doing, I need to take advantage of this.” So, I went online and found The Yoga Institute (www.theyogainstitute.com), which is about two neighborhoods north of where I live. Their teacher training courses are 3 months and 7 months, which I was not ready to commit to. Then I found they had a seven day Basics of Yoga course and I decided that I could figure out how to make that work. So, while Greg was finishing up teaching, going to graduation, and attending end of the year parties, I headed to the Yoga Institute at 6:30am and came home at 8pm for one week.

Our day started off with asanas. This is the part of yoga that is practiced in the western world, the physical aspect. The Institute teaches basic poses with the focus on full concentration and presence, and breathing while doing each asana. It was such a wonderful way to begin each morning and I was reminded of my morning class I use to attend in Jackson. Energized and calm, I was ready to face the day.

All meals were provided by the Institute and were vegetarian. Food is an important part of maintaining positive attitude and non-judgment. Food that is fresh, not processed, and flavored with non-spicy spices is called Satthvic. It’s easy to digest and gives the body nutrients it needs. After a week of eating this food, my body felt wonderful and my taste buds were happy. My other classmates, most were Indian, were curious about how I liked the food. I don’t think all of them were as happy with it as I was. Of course I bought a recipe book, so I can try to incorporate some of the yummy food into my diet.

There are eight parts to yoga called the eight fold path. Asanas are one part. The other parts are Yamas (social behavior, how you treat others), Niyamas (Inner discipline and responsibility), Pranayama (control of breath), Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (uninterrupted meditation), Samadhi (ultimate goal of bliss). The course focused on the first five parts with daily classes in each. All of the classes and techniques are to help a person lead a life that is filled with positive attitude, non-violence and non-judgment, and help obtain inner peace.

My task now is to continue the practice in daily life. I appreciated being told by each teacher to start with small steps. Choose one or two aspects to start doing each day. What I usually do after courses such as these is try to do it all and then when I can’t I just stop doing any of it all together. Travelling for two months right after this course also presents a challenge since I won’t have a routine. But, so far I’ve been able to do something every day.

Lastly, part of yoga is remembering to have some sort of recreation each day. Our last day, we had to give a performance of some sort. I ended up doing a dance with two other women. I was Krishna and one of the women dressed me up in full costume. It was great. All my other classmates were taking pictures with me and were so excited about my outfit. After my performance, they were impressed that some of my moves matched the lyrics of the song. The song we did was in the movie Laagan, an excellent Hindi film that you can rent from Netflix.

Swimming with One International

One International is an NGO that I've been volunteering at this year with several other women. It's a school that was founded ten years ago by a Canadian women who rounded up some street children and started teaching them. It's grown into two different schools now. I go on Wednesdays and help teach English to the children. The American School's second grade also partners with them and does three different events with them during the school year. When I found out that 40 kids from One International were going to ASB this week to swim, I immediately volunteered to help out.

Coming to ASB for these kids is like commoners going to the queen's palace and getting to spend a few hours there running around. Most of these children are living in make shift structures and the only meal they eat is the lunch they get at One International. I couldn't wait to watch them.

ASB provided the swim suits and towels for the kids, or rather I believe the second grade donated them. Now, India is not known for it's swimwear. When at the beach, most Indian women go in with their saris on. Showing skin is just not done. So, the girls and boys were split up because the some of the older girls were nervous about what they were going to be wearing and being seen. The teenaged boys were fore warned about girls wearing bathing suits and Tania, the founder, told the boys if they were caught gawking (Indians win the gold medal in this event), they were done and would have to leave the pool. Luckily this was not an issue.

The girls went first, so we corralled then into the locker room. First, we had to get them undressed, into their swimsuits and showered. There was much hesitation, but as soon as the showers were discovered (they are the kind that rain straight down from the ceiling), it was hard to get them out. ASB didn't realize they had a water park right in their locker room. It was wonderful, all the smiles and squeals of delight. Finally they were all ready and we headed out to the pool. They were all required to wear a life vest in the pool. Most of the kids started out in the kiddie pool and the taller ones were in the main pool. Some of the girls were naturals and had no problems putting their face in the water and swimming around. Others were more content to hang out in inner tubes or in the arms of volunteers. When the kids switched it up, the boys were completely different. Most just jumped right in and the only ones clinging were four and five year olds.

ASB students were also swimming with the One International kids. I wonder what their impressions were of this experience... Some of the ASB girls wanted to jump off the starting blocks with OI girls. We were able to round up some brave souls and they all had a blast.

After swimming and changing back into clothes, the kids had lunch and then headed back to Khar fishing village. One of the things that I like about ASB is that each student will work with many NGOs over the course of attending the school. It's a good experience for such privileged kids to experience that the majority of people living in India don't even have half of what they do, but still are just humans like they are. The joy in a child's face is the same no matter where you are.