August 14, 2013:
· Yoga –
Tom enjoyed
yoga in Udaipur so much that we decided to get up early and attend Coconut
Lagoon’s yoga class. Our teacher began
the class by taking a few minutes to get to know each of us.
“What is
your good name,” asked our instructor.
“Tom”
“And Tom, how
long have you been practicing,” asked the yoga instructor.
Tom held up
‘1 finger.’
Pleased, the
instructor said, “one year – that is wonderful.”
Tom quickly
corrected him, “No. One time. Earlier on this vacation in fact.”
“Oh,” he
said disappointedly, “well, you should practice everyday,” our instructor
advised pleadingly.
He then explained
that the style of yoga in Kerala was all about relaxation. In this class, we worked on sun salutations (or
Surya Namaskar) and tree pose. Sun Salutations are a
common series of flowing poses that are typically performed in the morning or
at the beginning of a yoga class. Our
yoga teacher explained to us that the most important component of yoga is the
breath. He further elaborated that the
transition from posture-to-posture is facilitated by inhalation or exhalation,
and this is what is critical to your practice and not your level of
flexibility. He encouraged us to slow down out movements, perform our movements
smaller, and watch our breath closely.
He encouraged that same with tree
pose, which requires
a sense of rootedness and centering down through your core.
Tom
and I both agreed that this was an amazingly relaxing yoga class and a great
way to start our day.
· Boat Ride
through the Back Waters
The part of Kerala we stayed in is called Kumarakom, which houses a
renowned bird sanctuary that spreads across 14 acres, making it an
ornithologists’ paradise. Our boat
driver – assumed that like most visitors to the area, we were bird-folk – thus,
on our relaxing cruise through the backwaters, he pointed out every egret,
heron, wild duck, and kingfisher we encountered.
Our driver was incredibly sweet; however, the birds were not the
highlight of our backwater trip. Rather
from the
boat, you have a front-row seat to the real-life stories of locals. Huts and houses line the river along with
rice fields.
As you ride along the backwaters, you see women chatting
while beating their laundry on stones; men scaling trees to retrieve ripe
coconuts; people bathing in the river; fishermen pulling up their nets to
examine the day’s catch; and goats, roosters and various animals wandering
about.
And
the absolute highlight came as our boat passed by an elementary school. As we passed, several of the students (with
their teacher’s permission) ran onto the front porch to wave and smile feverishly
to us as we passed. They were absolutely
thrilled to see us there. And for us,
the sight of their beautiful, smiling faces was absolutely adorable.
To
further explore local life, we took an afternoon stroll through the local
village. Kerala is truly amazing and has
been coined “God’s own country” for a reason.
But as
far as I am concerned, Kerala’s true beauty is found in its villages and
in its people.
The people in Kerala live humble, serene
lives. They emanate warmth.
The people live off the water and off the
land. Each small home has waterfront property with three or four steps
leading into the water. The people bathed in the water, did their dishes
in the water and even did their laundry there.
Everywhere we walked, the people looked at us, nodded and smiled. Everyone made us feel welcome, safe and appreciated.
Our
initial apprehension about our time in Kerala proved to be the furthest thing
from the reality of our experiences there.
Tom, Emily, James and I all absolutely loved Kerala and were sad to have
to leave.
Other Memorable Moments in Kerala:
Emily and I decided to get henna while in Kerala.
Practiced
mainly in India, mehendi, also known as henna, is the application of a
temporary form of tattoo. Henna paste is
applied to the skin using a plastic cone. After about an hour, the henna paste will dry
and begin to crack. When the henna paste
is removed, the henna design is pale to dark orange in color; this color gradually darkens through oxidation,
over the course of 24 to 72 hours. The final color is reddish brown and can
last anywhere from 1-3 weeks depending on the quality and type of henna paste
applied, as well as where it was applied on the body (thicker skin stains
darker and longer than thin skin).
Tom, Emily and James also spent many memorable hours in the pool, while I made frequent treks to the Butterfly Sanctuary in hopes of getting some photos for GG!
