Heart of Yoga…complete.
Now as much as a completely adored being surrounded by all of my new friends in Chennai…I truly needed to be alone with my own thoughts to digest everything that has just occurred in this experience at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. Over the years I have learned it is very important for me to comprehend and process my experiences fully and purely…I typically need to do this in my own silence. So this is what I did…I shared my precious send-offs to the beauties in my class the night before as we all boogied on the dance floor in a different light.
The next morning I packed my things up swiftly and surely and stuffed a few necessities in my back-pack…shared my sweet tearful good-bye to my dear roommate, Kanae, from Japan…and may she still be shining and discovering bright lights to fulfill her life.
From there I had gotten a rickshaw driver to pick me up and haul me off to the bus station where I was going to venture off to Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu…on my own?! Okay…just to inform you…bus stations can be quite overwhelming, especially in a foreign country where English is not the mother language…but I always tried my best to get by.
When in doubt…ASK somebody…and if they don’t know ASK another person and another and the next…soon you shall find your way. Ask people as well as trust your intuition, always. Read these two sentences three times…just do it. I shall instill this into your bright, intelligent self. Be firm and ask…or at least try to be firm and pretend you know what they’re saying…sometimes you may just run into another foreigner who happens to be looking for the same bus and this person may be a fantastic travel companion, or not too. Well in my case…this was one of the most spontaneous, perfect occurrences at the bus station in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Now, I would like you to meet Irene…my new Russian ‘girlfriend’.
Yes she and I were both scrambling around calmly in Chennai seeking…as soon as I spotted her speaking to one of the Indian bus coordinators I was trying to flag her down from behind…”Misss!! Excuse me miss..Hello…Hey Miss!!” Finally she turned around and I do have to add she gave it away with the bright pink yoga mat strapped to her backpack…I knew she had to be safe. I asked her where she was headed and we both stumbled over the destination “Tiruvannamalai” and suddenly we fully and
So excited we both were traveling solo and came upon each other which was so wonderful. Irene and Jenna…Yoga instructors off to explore the spiritual village, Tiruvannamalai. Irene has just traveled 14 hours on a bus from Goa, India to Chennai…and now we will be on this bus for approximately the next four hours. The buses in India…full, air conditioned (“fresh” air), no windows, no doors…only bars over the windows and anybody can hop on or hop off at any given moment.
Here is a serious snap shot I took…As much as I adore taking photos of anything, anybody and every destination…I sometimes felt very inappropriate taking photos in India. Only for the fact that I know some people clearly dislike getting their photos taken and I just didn’t want to seem like some nosy tourist. But this is the footage I snagged of the type of experience you will get on a public bus.
Once we reached Tiruvannamalai…the sun was quickly setting and it was going to be dark in a matter of moments…and this is where I was thankful Irene was by my side. We hopped off the bus and grabbed a rickshaw driver to take us opposite of the Sri Ramanasramam because we both had known a few guest houses nearby. My goodness…we ran around this little town going in at least seven circles…or at least it felt like it. Ha! We had looked at a handful of rooms to stay in…but didn’t know what we were going to come across especially at the hour in the night it was. At this point it was pitch dark out…we were hungry, sweaty, sleepy, and slowly getting to the last nerve. As little of a history Irene and I had we were decent travel buddies…and were forming quite the little relationship…calming each other down as we both would huff and puff in hopes to finding a place to sleep for the night. After much frustration and laughs we were recommended a place by our new dear friend, Siva’s, brother, Shankar’s place just opposite of the famous ashram with a delightful restaurant right outside our rooms.
Let’s just say we needed to experience all of the single dirty beds and one master exclusive queen bed for two on the rooftop…before finding this simple gem. Oh what a hoot!
There’s more where that came from! ; )
Xo. Stay tuned. –Jenna Margaret
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