Monday, March 14, 2011

First Class view vs. Local immersion in the end Love

First Class ride & view of the countryside.

Here are the outskirts of New Delhi to Haridwar. Final destination point was Rishikesh.


I was served coffee, tea, water, breakfast, more tea and then fruits. I sat in a comfy air-conditioned cabin as I looked at the poverty, hunger and homeless from a clean window. I sat next to a businessman from the UK. I tried to make conversation on the who-what-where-why... he didn't want to be bothered.

Look closer...



If you look closely you will see people squatting alongside the railroad tracks (:18 mark) Do you know why? They are using the 'bathroom'. They are those who are homeless, and sleeping among the muck you see. The Indian government does have a trash/waste service, but they're so far behind it'd take billions and whole army several years to clean it all up. The people here who beg, are really, truly, begging for sustenance...for life. This brought me to tears deep in my core.

Local Class ride & view of the countryside. On my way back from Rishikesh, I took a local car out of Haridwar back to New Delhi because there were no seats available in First Class. Here I discovered India, it's people and its Soul.



We shared the food all around us. The beautiful woman sitting in pink, across me, shared oranges with us. She was fasting that day. She fed us all.




This group of friends on their way back from Rishikesh became my instant friends. Pamma near the windo, Viky (Davinder... he is a doctor). They have the better videos by far. They bought me peanuts when we boarded and then a rish dish of food at a later stop.

















These people became my friends. These guys made themselves remote protectors of me... they email every day asking me where I am and how is my trip is going. They want to see photos. And they pray it is good for me and I am happy and safe. One is instructing me he says, how to approach things in the right way... he says... not because he's a fan of yoga, but because: " i'm your frd not fan and frd guide right way "

I am crying at thoughts of leaving this place. I shared this with Vicky on my last night in Delhi via email, and he said that he is crying with me and said: "and one last word again for you.. you are a good woman and your heart is indian and you are one only one."

But he is just one representation of everyone I have met. The families I have stayed with.
All have been guiding me along this journey.

They are texting me every day asking my whereabouts... passing along prayers for a safe and enjoyable trip; being punctual about having me message them when I arrive.. wanting to know every step of my way... how it is going and thanking God for it all.... just over and over and over again... blessing me over and over... saying hello in the morning and wishing me good night.

Living India.... sometimes like a Local, others like a curious tourist

...sometimes like a Local...



taking an auto-rick (motorized rickshaw) to the airport because it's least expensive... and afterall, you gotta experience it full speed.








others like a curious Tourist.. the Mehendi Art experience in which I got 'schooled'
Read: Streetside Education



Lisa Frost behind the camera lens... she's hired!

DELHI TRAFFIC is for everyone... locals and tourists alike.. can you handle it?



The traffic in India is insane... I call it complete Order in Chaos.... it's absolutely mindboggling and takes a day or so.. maybe never... to get used to. It doesn't bother me any more... so I guess I passed "Go".


Oh, oh, ohhhh there's Video!!

My Mom in Patiala is the best chef in all of Punjab!




It is well known that the Punjab's.. and also in the Northern part of India-- has the tastiest cuisine in the country.







I

was blessed with a Punjab (Sikh) family who took me in as one of their own and fed me til my belly burst. And they laughed because I was hardly eating.
I now have a new Brother, Harsh, a new Sister, Harmandeep and a Mom and Dad... and in this case... my Dad's awesome for his rank within the police force, possibly even equal to CIA because no one really knows 'what' he does, but all I know is he got me a 4-man escort to my train on the way out of Patiala back to New Delhi... kinda felt like the President with Secret Service around me.

Photo: Jasjit Grewal, Harmandeep, Dad, Mom










The smallest backdrop expert I've ever seen. Lodhi Garden (New Delhi)



The law in India is that all children up to the age of 14 should be studying, or in school.
It is provided for free to most. Officially, they can not work, but this child was performing for money. His older brother alongside with a drum.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Enter

Whirlwind trip(s) since I left Rishikesh.
Auto-Rickshaw, Bus, Train, Train, Plane, Bus and good ole Pedestrian skills.


From Rishikesh Took a local train to Patiala. DID NOT ever make it to Amritsar.. but stayed with an amazing family.... adopted a Mother, Father, Sister and Brother and got fed some of the BEST INDIAN FOOD on the planet... apparently the Punjabs do it the best, but I didn't know it at the time.. I was just in heaven. And I'm proud to say, my Mama makes the best Saag hands down.

Stayed in Patiala for a few nights (wish I had those photos here to upload), and then went back to NewDelhi for two nights... Stayed back with Lisa Frost, whose been the most amazing U.S. connection here... soul sistas for sure! She took me directly to a small gathering w/ wine and appetizers and a barrel of laughter.
A DAY LATER... I'm in the most serene place imaginable.

From New Delhi, flew to Bangalore where I am wrapping up work with my team on finalizing the AnitaYoga retreats or rather... the Experiential Transformation Weeks in collaboration with the Life Transformation Research Foundation. Got back to Naveen Varshneya, my retreat partner (founder of the LTRF) and super-duper healer's house for a brief session and catch up on the work stuff... then he sent me to the Pyramid Village do some meditations in 'the pyramid', of which he said would have a triple compound effect.

Uh... whoa! Yeah. It happens.

OH... BTW... you know my friend, Lucky, whom I met in Rishikesh?? Well during our conversation I told him about Naveen, his research, and his incredible gift... and I'm on the train to Delhi and get a call from him ON A TRAIN to Bangalore to come meet me Naveen on the day I will arrive back in Bangalore! So, I send Dave aka Lucky to meet Naveen.... I arrive... and we do our work and then Naveen sends us both to the Pyramid Village.. and wa, wa, wa, wa Wow!

This place is truly magic.

Wasn't there only two nights. Did a full day of morning meditation, another remote therapy session w/ Naveen, another meditation and then again meditation before dinner... by evening, I wasn't sure if I was really in fact, inside my body. Like seriously.

The place is like stepping into just a teeny tiny morsel of heaven. Everyone there just speaks with smiles and penetrating eyes and you feel something... mostly love and joy and it is very surreal.

Of course this is MY experience, but this felt to me, like deep in the heart of India.. among the people without the chaos of the city and the noises and in the middle of nature and walking the 1.5 km in the dark night with NO lighted roadway only black sky and bright stars and the sounds of crickets and dogs... and walking throug the stip of neighborhoods, and seeing the people along the way enjoying their evening sitting out on the porchfronts, feeding their goats, or sitting side by side their cows and children just felt like walking down a driveway to a palace with the reminders of pure humanity and simplicity.

At this writing, I'm back in Bangalore for a night.. then off to Goa to meet Lisa, again, who's the most generous and gracious hostess, truly. She's invited me to join her. She runs the spa and fitness center of Leela Palance-New Delhi, so her hotel business connections allow her amazing opportunities. My bonus, is because of her, I'll stay at The Taj, a 5-Star resort... when I think of the extreeeeeeeeeeeme polar opposite of places I have had to stay in on occasion on this journey. ALL have been so wonderful, and the best part is being able to be among the people, as the people truly live here... without a whole lot! So... this end of my trip at a swanky place in some repects may pale in comparison the the treasures I've had in the less than opulant surroundings.

There are plenty of giving people in this world, and Lisa is at the top of that list. In life, when you find a gem like this, you can only be grateful and then know it's your turn to give back with the same heartfelt, genuine intention... just keep that energy flowing.. keep it flowing and going and moving and manifesting only in this kind of light and love. Motivational giving will not serve you in the end. This is how it works. And so... give... that is all.. give.. and give... nothing is yours to keep, just pass it on... and what you get in return is always more than you can even imagine or handle...

Saturday, March 5, 2011

PHOTOS, Photos, Clicks, clicks!

LODHI GARDEN ~ (New Delhi)


FIRST Opportunity to upload photos.
Been in cyber cafes, but not w/ my own computer to share the pics.. or clicks, as they call photos here.


Leaving Denver, CO


Sunita... my first Indian Mother who adopted me. She sat next to me on the plane. Made me put my feet on her lap so I could rest comfortably on the 14.5hr flight. She is so beautiful! We shared food and stories and then big hugs and tears, tears, tears upon departure at the baggage claim. Sunita refused to let me carry my carry-on into the airport. She said I was a guest to her home. And when we set foot in the airport she gave thanks and said: Welcome to my home, our Country!




Mudras greet you when you descend on the escalators to Immigration Counters



My first bedroom in New Delhi


View from my bedroom


Lodhi Garden~












There are countless photos of this place. It's like the central park of New York.


























THIS IS A LOCAL BUS.. and the food service. Then there was my first class train ride from New Delhi to Haridwar and the meal: egg white omlet, bread and butter, some tea (chai) andBus station in Haridwar... took a local bus to Rishikesh for 22Rs- which is less than 50 cents for a 25km trip

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Downloaded the Upgrade. Moving Onward and Upward

Rain came this afternoon. Guess it's time to leave Rishikesh.
Funny, as the rain has been the sign for me upon each arrival to a new place, and upon my departures. I had just finished booking my train ticket to Patiala (in the Punjab State in NW India) when the afternoon rain began.

So I'll reconnect with my friend, Jasjit and his family and go to Amritsar, of which you see pictured here.

This morning, I was still wondering about all I've been experiencing here ( in Rishikesh) and absorbing with and without my knowing and now I know. As I walked across the bridge at Laxman Juhl to meet a friend for dinner... I realized, I didn't want to hike up in the dark to the organic, Ayurvedic restaurant that's supposed to be really, super nice... and instead, I turned around and went to this local place that I saw some ashram volunteer walk into last night. I figured it has to be the local favorite.

And I got LUCKY.... yes, very lucky!! I met Dave "Lucky", from Israel... and we shared an amazing hour or more... ((who's counting the time, as there is none)).... and now I know why I was supposed to come to Rishikesh. It was to have this conversation with him. Nothing more.
He was just sitting there, waiting for me. He had already eaten. How to explain this meeting of an unknown, but all too well known. ??

I was wondering earlier in the day why I was here in Rishikesh.. I came under the idea I'd be attending the International Yoga Festival. I will not. The festival is now officially underway. The team of people I had planned to work with to help do a documentary and interview yogi teachers... did not go as planned, and with that, I decided to move on, even though I could stay in this nice little haven along the river and the mountains, just a skip away from Nepal.

Nothing is by accident. I keep noticing. And now, again, another confirmation. You are always where you are supposed to be. The timing is perfect. And what you need you get. So stop 'wanting'... heh.. that's what I'm discovering more and more.

Yes, Dave and I met.... again... but for the first time. And he will meet me in Bangalore when I arrive there to work with the team that has miraculously come together as well. Seems like, the network is weaving itself. Very cool. And well.... some things are just so precious, they are better left unsaid.

---It is now Morning-- The rain Poured the bring in the day. I just finished an Ayurvedic/Swedish massage by a young man named Suno. I feel great! Ready for the trip to Punjab.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Energy Central: Rishikesh


Day of Enjoying it all.....
Lunch at the Pyramid Cafe with my friend, Greg, whom is just finishing his second book and I got a preview of what's to come... cool. He's wanting to spread Gratitude and Positivity. Got to catch up with him and let him know how my yoga retreats and workshops will debut soon and how I'll be working w/ the Life Transformation Foundation. We enjoyed the view and then...
...the monkeys! They are everywhere! And brave. Watch your food on your table, they'll literally come grap your roti off your plate! Feeling much rested after a long day of travel just to get here.

Had the full morning experience: yoga IN SPANISH.
. which was the first for me... and then a teaching with Prem Baba, whom apparently goes to Boulder, CO all the time, and I had no idea... he also does discourse in Spanish (w a translator) and I'm meeting lots of people from Spain and Argentina.. so I'm talking in Spanish in India.

Watched the sunset atop a balcony sippin on Masala "full power spicy" chai w/ my friend, Greg. We sat there in silence in a sorta waking meditation watching the sun go down and feeling the energy of this place. Very cool.

The International Yoga Festival begins March 1 and the documentary team I will meet and work with is arriving soon, so it'll be interesting to see how we all work together.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Transformation HAPPENS. It's not a path you follow.



Wow... dunno even where to start... the trip to Rishikesh has had such a profound effect on me, I think I've experieced the extremes of all emotions the human being can... and seen the fullness of this world all in 24 hrs in the same extreme dualities in every possible situation.

Took a train from Delhi to Haridwar today.... then a local bus from Haridwar to Rishikesh
The 25Km trip cost 40 Cents. It was jam packed.

What I just learned is it is not doing yoga that makes transformation happen. It is being aware in every moment. Moreso, is when things switch within, it is from experiencing things... and so... you can't plan it. You can only practice being aware of the REALITY... not what you THINK is the reality. So it wasn't chanting or popping into bakasana that has given me insight today...
the rest I'll have to get back to later when all is assimilated and I'm not traveling and absorbing so much at once.


Now, I rest along the Ganges River... in the mountains... a bit of singing and teaching. I'm in Lakshman Jula... see the bridge above?? Very cool. Tomorrow:
Yoga at 8a a teaching in the morning, then lunch, then waterfalls... then... then... who knows.
AND!!!
I met my friend here at the internet cafe, Gregory (lucralover) Etherton.. whom lives in Paris, but because I jokingly asked him to meet me in India in February.. he is here... and has been for 3 weeks... but we didn't know when or if we'd really connect, and I just arrived and thought to myself "I'm gonna run into him" and BOOM! Meet him... he happens to be staying in the same area... what are the chances??

LOVE it that the UNIVERSE DELIVERS!!!

More later.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Going with the flow, means Being in the Flow

Getting ready to roll.
Leaving Bangalore for Rishikesh via Delhi. Headed to the International Yoga Festival where I will meet up with a few friends. One, from South Africa, former model and actor, Brett Shuttleworth and his buddy from Belgium, Bert Corsius, a documentary filmmaker. Brett teaches Consciousness Training, and cares to help shift the consciousness of the masses like myself, and Bert is also a trainer and lover of life. So we're all peas in the same pod.

I'll also finally get to meet my friend, Mahaveer, who has been helping me coordinate the vision of yoga retreats in India.

As things go... things were planned, but one must also be open to Grace and to follow the course that is divinely planned for you, whether it was your idea or not... SO... that being said... the original plan was to hook up with this group... interview the yogi masters there at the festival and then trek to a tropical forest land.

I have changed my options due to some amazing goodness that I've found in this internationally diverse city of Bangalore. I love it here. Such life! The retreats that I had planned just got insanely, unbelievably BETTER. But, how could they not??
I am here with my meditation teacher and he introduced me to an amazing seer and healer and we are soooo all on the same page, that I am combining forces with their business vision for Shifting Consciousness and Yoga retreats and voila! So it is. YOU WILL HAVE AN EXPERIENCE... not just a trip to India, not do a bit of yoga, not just see some sights or two.. you will DISCOVER a world all your own, that exists deep within you. We have figured it all out!


I will return to Bangalore to crank out the work end, while they prepare it during my visit to Rishikesh and I will hang with my other team... do a bit of documentary work, of which, thanks to Brett's contacts and his star status.. Oprah, Ellen and the Discovery Channel have expressed interest in this film and this combined journey. I will go back to my old profession and be an anchor/reporter to talk with some of the top yogi masters at the festival and enjoy the festivities while there. Very cool. Then I'll come back to Bangalore... start some training with Naveen, so that I can also learn and be able to adminster the vibrational therapy that he has
discovered and teaches quite effectively.

The way divine intervention works,
is that it simply places you in the right places with the right people at the perfect time, when you are ready for it and all you need to do is be awake enough to notice that this is the opportunity and then grab it! During a session with Naveen, it was clear that we can work quite effectively together and further says that I can do what he does, all I need to do is tap in a bit. We don't 'talk', really.. we experience... so if this sounds a bit like mysticism to you...well, ok. But it's one of those things that you just have to be 'in' and experience to actually know what the heck is going on. There is no explanation for it. And so.. I fell onto his lap, on purpose, but unbeknownst to either of us. He was supposed to include me in a session with others then take me sight seeing and we have also further learned that everything I have been working on for the past 2 years and written out.. he has also been researching and doing and the concepts are exact, only he's more prepared to take it to the next level. And well... I'm already clued in because I wrote the same visions out for myself, I just wasn't as 'organized'. ha!

So.. off to making films and doing tons of yoga and going with the flow. You have no idea what is about to unfold... and you don't need to. You need to know NOTHING, and in this place, you receive everything and somehow you know it all too.

How Disease or Disorder is formed in the Body


1. Any disease or disorder is formed due to the imbalance of the electro magnetic field in the body

2. The Electro magnetic field is made of Yin and Yang
  • Yin is the magnetic field
  • Yang is the electric current
3. The Human body has an automatic process to keep the electro magnetic field always balanced through alternate breathing of both nostrils
  • Breathing is PRANA (lifeforce)
  • Breathing is effected by events, thoughts and emotions
  • Emotions have motion. It is the language of your Spirit or Soul
  • Emotions travel through your body
  • i.e. if you are angry with high voltage anger, in which your whole body is vibrating and you try to stop the flow (hold it in) where does it go?? It is there stored in the body and a specific organ is affected. You are then continuously angry (whether you feel it or not), and it disturbs your breathing, it disturbs your electro magnetic field PERMANENTLY and your electro magnetic field then finds another point of balance, which is not healthy. It is out of order or not at ease... hence in dis-ease.
And this is how disease or disorder is formed.

The treatment process is simple.
  • Balance the electro magnetic field.
  • Raise the vibration of the body which has been damaged.
  • Restore breathing to normal
Once you have been returned to normal and in balance, the job is to heal the pattern which caused this disorder in your life. i.e. so you never get angry again over the same issue.
This is can be done through therapy and coaching sessions to break the pattern(s).
Hence you will not get out of order, or you will stop attracting this same scenario(s), thus you are not in dis-order but in balance. In true health. This is what I call a LIFE TRANSFORMATIONAL experience.

These therapy and coaching sessions are what AnitaYoga will be offering both in yoga retreats here in India and the US and at corporations during 2-day seminars once I get back. I'm here to not only experience firsthand, the therapeutic wonders of such sessions, but to make sure YOU will get what I have chosen as a path to help shift consciousness and transform the lives of everyone who is ready to roll!

Rock on people. More to come.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Give me a Hug. Healers don't charge Healers.

LOVE HEALS
This I have known deep in the core of my heart. And now, I have actually experienced it. There is a difference in knowing about something, like reading it in a book. But without experiencing it, you just only know it exists. It's the same with Faith. Just believing in something.

I had the opportunity to meet a new friend, and a fellow healer, Naveen Varshneya.
He's the Founder of the Life Transformation Research Foundation.
((soon their new website will be up))

Naveen cures people suffering with mental disorders and behavioral disorders using energy as medicine and having results within 21 to 63 days. Things like ADD, bi-polar, depression, schizophrenia, and even things like infertility, for example of which he has cured. While he works with mental imbalances, as you know any dis-harmony in the body is just blocked energy, so his mastery of skills is energy-flow based.

Naveen is-- who I will call-- Deepak Chopra with an extra bag of armor. He provides one missing link that can shift the consciousness... shift the dis-ease in people, shift the old patterns ingrained in our DNA so that we do not have to carry this into our lives, into the future, or leave it for our children to inherit ("it runs in the family") into their future generations. He is a powerful healer, if you are open to receiving. What he is doing is scientifically sound. He can tell you from that point of view. He has been researching this for years and now is practicing this quite effectively with success and soon his book will be out to help the masses. All you have to do is follow the program.

He lives down a few streets from my meditation teacher, Natesh, with whom I am staying with. Their families have been friends for some time . So I go to met Naveen, and the plan is that he will incorporate me into a Vibrational Therapy* he was doing with others and then take me around town and visit some sites and do some meditation together. This didn't happen. As Divine Intervention is always at the helm.

The cliff notes of my session: after the initial session we began to talk and another session began in which we were open to work together to unblock some energy still trapped in my body, but of which I had released on an emotional and mental level. (There are 3 states of Being: emotion, spirit, physical)

And in one hour, everything just melted away. He had to have me look in the mirror to see my eyes. They were diamonds sparkling! Very cool.

Granted, he said, that this doesn't happen with everyone. And the level of Consciousness One has and where their vibrational frequency is churning has a lot to do with it, but, in an unprecedented execution, we both rolled with the session that had arrived to greet us and I opened up to receive this healing gift he was offering. I was able to recount a traumatic event step by step as he poured love into and around me. I felt this release physically, but I could also feel the transition energetically overtake the space within my body.

This is what I call 'experiencing' the love. It was ONLY LOVE... that was working through me. It is something you can physically, energetically, soulfully, intuitively feel taking place in that moment. There is no question. And then... you are free. And if you don't know what I mean by that... being 'free'... here, again, I will say, it must be experienced. And you must have no fear to go there.

This was my experience. I want this for you. This, actually is your right. And the purpose of your journey in life.

So.. the top secret weapon for the AnitaYoga retreats and the 'cultural immersion' aspect of making these yoga trips is the opportunity for you have peace in your body.... But mostly to have an 'experience'. One of which will change your life on the inside, as well. This is just one of the gems waiting for you. The journey that you will experience to trek from Mangalore to Yelneer is another. The yoga is another, the tropical forest is another and in another week or so, we will go there. Please stay tuned.

I was so floored by the experience that when I was leaving Naveen, I felt I needed to offer him payment. He said, "Healers don't take money from healers. Give me a hug." And this, is the bonus. A new friend, of whom I love dearly.

*to balance the electro-magnetic field (yin/yang) of the body and raising the vibration of the part of the body which is suffering with disease or disorder (out of balance)
.
the electro magnetic field is made up of Yin/Yang: Yin= the magnetic field and Yang= the electric current

Monday, February 21, 2011

Bang-a-Lore! I'm here with Lakshmi

I'm in Bangalore right now and super STOKED!!! Bangalore.. the Silicon Valley of India.

My teacher, brother, friend, Natesh, picked me up at the airport. Two years ago we met on FB and said 'one day' we will meet in person. But we knew then, we already knew each other for lifetimes. Love him. So when we met today, all we did was laugh and laugh and laugh. We are still laughing, he can't believe I'm here and neither can I.

So.. Bangalore.. What a BANG.. and much folk LORE to be told for ages., I'm sure.

I'm at Natesh's house.. a Jain Temple across the street is blaring--b-l-a-r-i-n-gggg Bhajan's as the band is practicing for some celebration tonight. He lives on Lakshmi Street... wow.. LAKSHMI... Abundance.. what an omen. The Goddess of Wealth and Beauty. Perfectly Awesome.

I'm supposed to be 'resting' or taking a nap.
((everyone here, BTW, is always telling me to 'rest'))

Uh... how? Music is so loud, it's great! Feel like I'm in India now. He lives in the center of the center of Bangalore and it's buzzing. I FEEL like I'm somewhere different. There is a puja room (home temple) outside my bedroom door with my favorite Yogi on the wall: Shiva. He's the ultimate Yogi, cuz he destroys in order to transform. Kinda like Jesus said: Gotta lose everything to gain everything. Love that.

My room is awesome too. Just over the headboard of my bed is the Buddha in padmasana (lotus seated position) sporting mudras; the weather is WARM on the verge of getting hot.. I'm walking on marble floors barefoot and it feels great... I'm in heaven.. I feel home, in a way... finally.... ready to rock and roll and open up... I love being here.. just love it...

Met his two beautiful children. Ate a new dish for lunch: rice, cilantro, green grapes, cashews, golden raisins, jalepenos, cumin and curds. It is mighty tasty. Still eating here... still eating... Lord help me.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Price of a Streetwise Education-- 400 Rupees




Today, I got my hand tatooed in henna! "When in India..." you just gotta do the things that look cool and this just looks cool. I have a video and pics of the process that I'll upload soon. I left my camera cord across town. Came home to hang at Lisa's again tonight. It's too much fun having a Boulder girl show you around her New Delhi digs and favorite places.
Henna Art
, is an Indian custom, most often tied to a wedding tradition pretty much like a bachelorette party, of which is calleda Mehendi Celebration.
Mehendi or henna motif is not only the adoration of the bride it is meant to epitomize her transformation from a virgin girl to a temptress for her husband. As per Kama Sutra, henna is one of the sixty four arts of women.
Price of the artwork is the cost of Education!
The cost of streetwise education.... Apparently I paid way, way too much according to my native friends. They say I got ripped off by paying 400 Rs for something they would not pay more than 100 Rs for... and in most cases even 50Rs would be too much. It's 45 Indian Rupees to One Dollar. So I figure I paid about $9 for a cool looking hand. AND THAT was 1/2 of what the guy asked for! He charged me 800 Rs.. but I talked him down.
Lisa, who is an ex-pat here says, this is just the custom. This place is like negotiation central. Even the Taxi's are negotiable. You have to ASK FIRST what it costs and fortunately, I've been with people who live here, so I know what they pay and then when other drivers want to charge a higher rate, I tell them what I will give them, rather than what they ask for. The only thing you can't negotiate your way out of are public places, for example. The museum entry fee is 10 Rs for natives and 150 Rs for non-residents... a significant difference. Took my fine art and had a latte at Cafe Coffee Day.. kinda like the Starbuck's of India/Asia... good, but personally, no one makes a latte like they do in Italy! But Lisa and I sat outside and enjoyed the warm evening.. both being NEW to Cafe Coffee Day... pics, again.. on the way.

Monday I leave for Bangalore.


Friday, February 18, 2011

Seeing All Things Differently

Saw the most amazing art exhibit of Anish Kapoor the National Gallery of Modern Art (New Delhi).. his landscape sculptures are rad! You can check out his by clicking his name above, but you really need to get up close to experience this multi-dimensional artwork. It totally distorts your reality. Very cool. This photo on the right is a depiction of one of his works in New Zealand.



Started the day with a run around Lodhi Garden. Here's a video worth checking out. It's like running through a museum. Guess you can call it a cultural day. It's like the Central Park of New Delhi. There are so many birds there, you can't even hear the city buzz humming about on its exterior. It's amazing the birds sing so loudly. In this park are temples and tombs... all deserted... just the old structures, but people are walking and jogging like crazy and doing exercises and yoga or meditation. A cricket game was going on there yesterday morning. I walked around it early yesterday, as the fog was just barely lifting, so it had this mystique to it.

Thinking of heading to Bangalore on Monday and beginning some of the 'work' to bring you some really cool yoga retreats and cultural immersion tours. Do need to see the famous Taj Mahal this weekend, though before I go. Thanking Skype for my ability to see my Son eat breakfast today. Missing a few thing back home... most definitely. But not my Kangen water... brought the portable machine, and it's a real hit with my hosts and my body is very happy. Only one brief day of jet lag, of which a 4 hr nap got it all under control. Very, very cool.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

NEW DELHI is Delicious!

Food. Kinda like Italy... where it's all about the food... the family... and the socialization around it. And good gosh, all I'm doing is eating so far!

Finally online for the first time since my arrival on Tuesday night. My camera is across town, so no pics to accompany this first account, which means you must VISUALIZE with me as I write.

Tonight we're eating at some fancy restaurant that is owned by a family member. It's kinda like the Frasca of New Delhi.

Food here is like being in Italy. They do it well... it's a huge family and social event and it's a focus... at least for those who can afford it. So meals at the place where I'm staying are 10a Breakfast; 2p Lunch; 9:30 Dinner.

Duality just outside the doorstep.

I walked passed a man eating out of a garbage bin this morning on my way to Kahn Market. He was so skinney. In 7 min, I can walk to Kahn Market. It is like Rodeo Drive in CA... where all the shi-shi shops are and if there were a Whole Foods... it'd be there. Instead they have all the boutique food shops. Although to see this place, you'd think it was some forgotten alleyway in Harlem or something. The only thing nice about it is the L'Occitane store because of it's signage. I can walk to the Taj Mahal Hotel in 15 min. Very cool. But I haven't done that yet. Perhaps tomorrow!


MOST INTERESTING NOTE:


Today I met my girlfriend, Lisa, for the first time. She's a former Boulderite, who moved to New Delhi to open and manage the Fitness and Spa center of the Leela Hotel I'm working out of her snazzy, marble floored apartment right now. And I got in with my own key made at Kahn Market.

So we go to get a key made (to Lisa's apt. for me) and were told we could get it done next to the flower shop. So we see the flower shop and electronics store, a bakery, and a deli, but no Key Shop... we look all around, find some electrical looking shop close by and ask if they make keys there and they say: "No, go to the Flower Shop."

So we're like.. "Oh great. Need a key made?? Go to the Flower store. Got it!"

So we go to the flower shop and Lisa says: "OK... shift your eyes.. here it is... Look down."

And there, sitting cross-legged, down on the sidewalk, (yes.. on the ground) just before the doorway is a man with a thousand keys at his side.
And Lisa says: "Do you make keys?" And he nods. And voila! we are at the KEY STORE.

And get this!! he 'hand cuts' the keys with a file. He clamped the master and the mold together and we saw him file the metal into form like a manicurist.

Took him forever... and Lisa was like: Geeez.. you think they're going to work? And I'm like: Duh... he's sitting in front of the most expensive flower shop in town and everyone sent us here, of course they're going to work. She's like: Oh yeah, it's the one's from Ace Hardware that you have to take back.

And sure enough, we came to her place and my keys were perfect.

So far all's well. Namaste~

Monday, January 31, 2011

My Tears

Inside I have a well of tears about to explode from my heart and fill up this Earth with the moisture.
I'm crying in such Gratitude and unbelief at the marvelous wonders that are falling unto my lap.. into my life and surrounding my Being.

I am leaving for India in about two weeks. On Feb. 14, I will fly to New Delhi.
The trip itself, and how it came about is a miracle onto itself. But tonight, my heart is full.
I just got off of a Skype call with my dear friend, Brother and future business associate, Mahaveer. For almost two years we have been friends with dreams of organizing Yoga retreats in India. I want to offer true 'cultural' immersions. He wants to supply the accommodations, tours and organize them as his own business (and teach yoga) and he needs people like myself, from the West to bring the people there. All he wants is to teach MASSES... and change the lives of millions.
Today he quit his job at Thomson Reuters because he said: "so that there are no distractions in our journey. This is a very big major major decision. I hope our journey together is going to be the most memorable journey in the world for ages to come."
HIS PURE 24yr old HEART is so dedicated to Yoga and believing in this dream and offering these retreats, HE QUIT HIS JOB to meet me.. and make sure this works. I'm beyond myself in shock.

I just spoke to him via video/computer and he was crying it was so hard for him. Torn to lose friends and a family at work. But not fearful. He told me that this is God's work. And in fact, it is.
This inspiration... this Will to serve... this Desire that comes from the Heart, not reason.

I looked into the eyes of a young man, through the video lens on my computer and I saw this pure Soul and I felt his heart and I fell in love with this Being. This is God's essence in form. He said to me: The time for Change has Come. And indeed, it has. He says he is looking forward to this journey, of which will be transformative for millions in generations to come. I will spend a day or two at an orphanage and teach them yoga. We plan on subsidizing this orphanage with some of the proceeds of these Yoga cultural immersions.

He quit his job so he can have all month to take me around India. Wow.
I'm in awe.
I'm taking a few friends along with me on this trip. They have no idea what is in store.
Do follow along as I post.

Love.
Anita