Yoga and the tea party

      Amritsar- The land of Sikhism- and my connection to this place is through kundalini yoga. Kundalini  is the type of yoga I've been immersing myself in for almost 3 years and the mental/ astral journey it takes you on is equivalent to the physical madness of this journey. Now, when I say madness, I mean that in a positive light because in order to have real breakthroughs from the conditions -of societal conditioning- you have to let yourself go... well,  a little mad. Maybe not to the extent of say, the Mad Hatter but the more you're willing to let go the more this game makes sense on a whole new level.  Chanting's weird, turbans are for terrorists, I can't meditate because I'm not capable of sitting in silence. Mantra? Saying something in a language that looks and sounds scary- no way! What if it's something bad that goes against my Christian beliefs? It's best I just stay away from all that. This was my own personal conditioning I came from when I decided to start taking yoga for the asana aspect only (the physical workout of the postures). I labeled it as YOGA like Pilates or spin class- a  new fad for the fitness industry that guarantees a great butt. Perfect, I'm in! I had no idea there were actually dozens of different styles from Bikram to vinyasa flow to Ashanga.  

    Now, I've been practicing yoga for almost ten years and it took me over three years before I finally found a style that resonated with me, which at first was Bikram. Then I discovered Anusara and that was it! I was hooked. I had found the right teacher and class for me. The studio actually appeared to me in a dream, as a lot of my reality is revealed to me in dreamtime, but that's a tale to tell at another time. It was through this teacher's energy and foundation based yoga sets where I was inspired to want a healthy daytime  lifestyle over the  nighttime party scene I was accustomed to at that point.  I found myself way more excited to get up for her early classes than to go to "that bar" with my friends the night before.  As all good teachers do, she lit a spark in me to want to understand more about this unionization of the body, mind, and spirit she so eloquently spoke of and once I dug deeper. I found  that yoga is in fact a philosophy and way of life. Breaking it down even further from the different styles to the differences between hatha yoga, raja, and kundalini.  Those can then fall into categories of Classical Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantric.  All of which are Eastern philosophies  pointing you to a spiritual gateway that is custom-tailored to who you are through the very experience of actually being the tailor yourself! Well hell, break out the tea  and let the party begin. I have sown myself quite a "down the rabbit hole" excursion so far which has led  me to my current status updates in India. And I must say,  journeying into the depths of the unknown inside yourself is quite the trip and it's certainly not meant to be easy or comfortable. 

    This brings me to Kundalini yoga. No it's not some new Italian yoga, though  it does sound like it'd be right next to the tortellini and linguini in the pasta aisle. ;) It's actually the yoga of... ah, let's call it spirientific awareness- it combines spirituality with scientific knowledge of the body on a physical, subtle, and energetic level through the use mantra chanting, breath work and postures. For example,  one pose could have you crossing your eyes to look at the tip of your nose while you breathe in and out through a curled tongue and your arms are extended over your head for anywhere from 11 to 31 to 62 minutes. Yeah, it's intense. It's weird. And it can even be described as flat out mad! But it works. It's the oldest form of yoga and ancient wisdom that leads you to change and transformation the fastest. You literally rewire your whole system. 

    For me kundalini yoga has been like when I went from a PC to a MAC. You can't deny it- everything just makes so much more sense. It's easier to understand, faster, more connective, more fun and overall just looks better.  Not to mention, it's completely unique to its own style and you can't help but feel a sense of pride in owning one. Right? Well that's what kundalini has helped me upgrade my life and sense of self to. And it doesn't stop there, just like Apple's software goes from snow leopard to mountain lion, you will continue to upgrade from strong to stronger. Of course with a couple glitches, bad programs, and setbacks along the way but it's never ending. However,  I would say that's true of all spiritual paths and self reflective journeys...the upgrades/ sense of awareness never stops.  But I've also realized for me- once you go MAC you can't go back- the same idea applies to your own personal path of self-realization. It's like taking the red pill in the Matrix, are you ready to follow your white rabbit? If so... tea cups up! Cheers from the rabbit hole.  

Off the train...

    The train pulls into Amritsar around 10pm. There's supposed to be a driver waiting for us with a sign and he's nowhere to be found. So there we are- two fair skinned, light eyed, redheads (Jillian has reddish tints in her hair) standing by ourselves in a dirty, rundown, creepy train station. And this is my first experience officially outside of the "westernly friendly" retreat center!  There are no other women in sight but men lurk everywhere. We're instantly bombarded by them and their broken English, they all want us to use their car service or God knows what? Now, I can barely hear English due to my hearing problem so I am of no use in situations like these except for the fact that I'm defensively gripping my pepper spray in my pocket.  Unlock. Finger on trigger. Every possible horrible scenario racing through my head... Concentrate on your breath, if fear takes you over, you will only be inviting danger, I remind myself.  Meanwhile in the mind next to me, Jillian is as  unalarmed as say an irritated school teacher in front of a rowdy classroom. She whips out her Indian phone and starts talking to our lost driver in a loud, authoritative voice completely ignoring the crowd we're drawing. Then to take it a step further, she hangs up the phone, looks at the men, and breaks out in full Punjabi!! Startled by the unexpected twist to the language barrier, the men back off a little.  Her boyfriend is from Punjab so she's been studying it for awhile and man can I not even begin to tell you how helpful it is to have her on this journey!  

     Next this older man approaches us and he looks nice, he offers to explain to the lost driver where we are and Jillian gives him the phone. He then ushers us away from the creepy platform we're on and could be an angel sent to protect us. It suddenly reminds me of another first night I had when I was living in NYC. I was waiting to hail a cab by myself and there was this weird guy creeping around. He started to walk towards me with a very determined step and out of nowhere this big man appears and steps in front. The weird guy runs off and another man is now chasing after him. The guy next to me takes out a walkie- all is clear, I got her. They were undercover cops!! There was a series of rapes that summer at the NYU dorms and they were on a stakeout. It was all so surreal yet amazing to be shown such protection from the NYC police but also from the Universe.  

     But back to the situation  at hand, I'm not trusting this guy. However I do follow his lead to the brighter area of the platform only to turn around to what I thought was my worst nightmare. Jillian has now been surrounded by about six men. They were making a half circle around her. But again, she looks totally at ease. She's back on the phone, now speaking in Punjabi to the driver, her voice is still strong and she's actually giving off an annoyed energy to the men who are literally inches from her. I drop my bag and start playing out all sorts of wild scenarios like... Ok the guy on the right is small enough to get a good kick in, I can mace the two closest to me but the guy in the middle's  like 6ft and muscular. Shit, we're fucked!  The older man, she calls Uncleji (it's a sign of respect here to call all men and women older than you  Uncleji and Auntieji) sees this and walks over too. He gets in the middle of the men and now I'm thinking, shit he's on their side. What side is that? I have no idea,  my mind has gone haywire with speculation and accusations at this point. But Jillian continues to keep her cool and firmly tells them we are waiting for our driver, who will be here any second, and we will not be going with any of them! All in Punjabi of course and slowly the men dissipate.  Uncleji leads us to a bench that's a little more out in the open and sits a couple seats away. He is our angel! He continues to wait until our driver comes and we are safe. But before that happens, our next visitor is this crazy beggar who just stands about a foot away staring at us in hopes for money. Jillian explains to me that this will happen everywhere, men will always rush up to us and try to offer us rides, it's just how it is in India. I, in my usual  hyperbolic nature, start speed talking about all the thoughts I had and how I can't believe she was so in control, all while keeping a close eye on the beggar who continues to circle us. She tells me to just ignore him, he's trying to make us uncomfortable so we'll give him money to leave us alone. He was about seventy, no teeth, in rags with the frail body of a fawn, so I wasn't as concerned but still... I was Krav Maga ready! 

     FINALLY our driver comes 45 minutes late. We thank Uncleji and get the hell outta there! Needless to say, we will not be traveling by train at night anymore. It's so interesting how that whole experience played out and my interpretation of it vs. Jillian's vs. Uncleji's. Same event. Worlds of a difference in thoughts, emotions, and triggers. All I can say is thank you God for Uncleji's protection and THANK YOU Jillian for your remarkable ability to hold us at a higher frequency with your energy. 

**I promise the next blog will be back to being light and fun, but I did want to share this experience because it's all apart of the journey. We went to the Golden Temple yesterday and it was incredible! The people were incredible. Stay tuned. Sat nam. Wahe Guru!

Indian Insanity

  Second disclaimer: For all you world travelers whom may be reading my blog I apologize ahead of time for the moments of ignorance. This is my first experience traveling alone and the first time in the East. I am simply relaying an account that is personal to me and my interpretation of this experience and mean no disrespect. 

     Ok, so usually that statement is then followed by something disrespectful or ignorant but in this moment it is my truth so here it is... I'm still on the train and that bathroom experience was absolutely no better than the first.  The walk through the vestibule to get there was an experience in itself as every single Indian stares at you, but when they do, they are looking so deeply into your eyes I can't decide whether they want to jump me or praise me. Haha. It's true, some look at me in awe and want to take pictures and others just stare so intensely for so long it makes me feel better knowing I have pepper spray in my pocket and the  knowledge of Krav Maga (Isreali martial arts) in my back pocket.  Yes, I brought pepper spray to India. Haha, not very yogini  like, I know. I should transcend that fear and vibrate at a higher frequency which I am trying to do. I stare intently back into their eyes running the energy of love but also a little don't fuck with me too. You know the warrior side. This traveling is the perfect place to actually put into use all the energy tools I've learned and studied over the years and it's both love and fierceness- fearlessness.  But I also brought the pepper spray bc I am carrying over 5k of camera equipment so you know, exercising a little protectiveness too. 

    Anywho,  what's amazing that I've witnessed so far is none of the babies cry here. Not even the infants strapped to their mother's chest flying down the street on a bike with 3 other people on it as well! Also most of the dogs don't have owners, they wander the streets in complete solitude, I have yet to hear a dog bark or look at one that doesn't exude wiseness. Their eyes are so bright and they are so happy being free. All the animals that roam free here are respected by the people as they 

 co-exist in their mutual space. I'm serious- the cows, monkeys, dogs, donkeys, horses walk the streets just as humans and they cross the streets just like we do as cars, rickshaws, mopeds, trucks and whatever else may have a motor break for them. You'll see a man, a girl, a dog, and a cow all in the middle of the street waiting to cross. None of them are together nor no each other and they all part ways once the crossing has been completed. It's amazing.  Everything is so alive and thriving here. Every person, place, and thing serves such an inherent purpose to the flow of pure chaos. Chaos makes sense and they're all doing their part to contribute to its liveliness. In a single glance you'll see women emerging from the Himalayas with no shoes carrying massive bundles of leaves on their heads, monkeys grabbing at people's bags- keeping them alert , pigs acting as garbage men, boys bathing, men making chai, and a cow posing for pictures. It's madness in its most authentic form and I've never felt more alive.  Which isn't to say I'm not completely overwhelmed, freaked out, and just flat out flabbergasted by the whole scenario. 

    My first car ride into town can be best described as equivalent to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland. You know, the one where you're in that maniacal dune buggie from hell -making you feel like you're on a bad acid trip- with all the insane characters popping out and the weird electric obstructions you think you're going to hit only to dodge at the very last second...  Yeah, that's Indian driving.  Except for instead of dodging the florescent weirdness,  you're engaged in a full throttled game of chicken with absolutely everything that may come on your path.  

     So here  I sit in the front seat like a deer in headlights  bracing for the collision when the person, monkey, cow, or other car -in fact in the headlights- don't even so much as raise a brow at the wild ride barreling towards them. Nope, instead they just casually step out of the way seconds before impact completely unfathomed by the whole moment I am panicking over.  It's unbelievable, we wind and twist down narrow paths I wouldn't even call roads and I have no idea how were not hitting things. The best part is the only form of traffic control here is the driver's horn. Honk for your green light. Honk for yellow. Honk for red. Honk for everything! You are your own road rules authority with the horn as your enforcer and it works. Practical chaos in motion! Actually now that i think about it, Mr. Toad's got nothing on India. 

On the train

Disclaimer: You'll have to excuse grammar and possible misspellings throughout this blog for the sake of the fact that I am traveling and do not have the time to comb through and fine tune. What you will be getting is stream of consciousness writing. And there is a lot to be written...

It's officially the 11th day in India and I am currently on an 11hr train ride heading from Rishikesh to Amritsar. In my first  "slum dog millionaire moment" I just had to climb down onto the train tracks, cross them, and  climb up to an abandoned train to go to the bathroom which is nothing more than a room with a hole leading back to the  very ground I just left. With the first crack of that door the smell, pungent with the putridity of piss, is enough to make you reconsider the whole endeavor.  Once inside, there are these metal plates shaped in the forms of shoes for you to place your feet on. They are sightly higher than the hole and in front of you is a handle covered in filth. Hold. Sqwat. Pee. Pray.  As I feverishly apply my  hand sanitizer I am realizing for the next month and a half I have to surrender to the fact that I am just going to be perpetually dirty! But here there is no concept of dirty, this is just life and life is beautiful in all its facets. 

     HA, you like that? My first post is of the bathroom experience. I mean it's quite traumatizing to say the least, and I haven't even seen anything yet! You see,  I spent the last 10 days at what I shall label as a  "westernly sensitive" retreat center called the SATTVA Center. Tucked away in Himalayas, forty minutes up a mountain, we were remote of  all city chaos.  We didn't have to use bottled water to brush our teeth and we had laundry service,  maid service, fresh cold pressed juices upon request, and a spa offering every western comfort you could imagine. However, what happened there is one of the most profound experiences I've had up to this point in time. 

    Since I launched onto the spiritual path about six years ago I've read countless life changing books about people jetting off to India on  soul searching quests that usually revolve around the protagonist finding a Guru and studying with them.  Well in the manifestation of a goal of mine, I have officially arrived to that protagonist role.  This place is as timeless in its beauty as the guru is in his wisdom. Whether by smoky bonfire light or crowded under a hut as the rain dances with stillness and every breath is felt in each passing drop, Anand (the guru) blasts us open with his words, meditations, and yoga. There are 11 of us on this journey: from the investment banker to the single mom to the doctor's wife to the gay dog groomer to the girl who works on Capitol Hill, we are all here seeking the same answers. Anand flows with pure intelligence and integrity as the knowledge pours from his lips for us to receive as our own inherent wisdom. Breaking down the notions and conditions of time, ego, and consciousness- the world as I know it will never be the same. In challenging us to deconstruct the fabrics of existence slowly the antagonist is revealed as our own minds. This is crazy, he must be crazy, what are we talking about? I miss my cat. I want Starbucks. What I wouldn't give for pizza...The thoughts come parading in with all their bells and whistles, it's all such a trip! This mental journey into the depths of myself and the Universe is how I've decided to start my pilgrimage and it's so intense that if I had the physical explosions of the madness of India all in one dose I'd probably combust and be on the first flight back to normal.  

     Returning to the train of my present moment, my friend Jillian and I are in first class and thank God for that because it means we get actual seats and not have to share a bench with others for 11hrs! There are vendors walking up and down the aisle selling chai out of metal tins and all sorts of random Indian foods.  We haven't eaten in 9hrs and I'm far too afraid to dare indulge in any "train delicacies." We're the only westerners in our cart and I'm pretty sure  on the whole train. Yep, really pushing the buttons of our comfort levels now, but I can't deny the excitement in it all. However, I could do without the frequent wiffs of human gas, and  unfortunately I have to go to the bathroom again. :( ...wish me luck! 

SHAKE YOUR SHAKTI !

Wow, hello there everyone!

This is my first blog ever.

What is Shakti? And what the hell are the chronicles of a trance dancing yogini, you say?? Shakti energy is the raw power of female divinity and creativity.  She is the wild, uninhibited force of creation that represents the ever-changing evolution of the Universe within, as well as, outside of us. Bottom line: Shakti is power! Namastaic! Boundless. If you want more Wiki it, yo.

And as for the trance dancing yogini, well that's up to your own interpretation... The main picture above was taken in Big Sur on a spiritual adventure of meditation and oneness for 12.21.2012... You know, that whole "end of the world" thing.  My friends and I burned stuff in a giant fire pit and chanted with a Mayan Shaman. Then walked a candlelit labyrinth for change and collective consciousness.  The little picture in the corner is of me trance dancing at a Wolfgang Garner DJ set. I'm in the center of a circle, with rave gloves, putting on an intense light show for people. The symbol in the upper corner is the Shakti Yantra.  So I guess you could say it's a blog about my wild adventures in duality or I'm just weird.

As of right now, I'm getting ready to board a plane to India for 2 months!! Yep, it's my "eat, pray, love thing." I'll be traveling all over the Northern part of India with a Kundalini yoga friend.  We will be going to all sorts of temples and staying at ashrams, doing service, and taking acts of silence. I've never done anything like this before and really have absolutely no idea what I've gotten myself into! We officially only have 2 accommodations booked, and I have ideas of where to travel but whether we get there or not will be the journey. I'll be trekking around in a backpack full of medicine, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer and also documenting my entire experience as well. I'm gonna look pretty ridiculous over there with my red hair, freckles, camera with a shot gun mic rigged to the top and a wire running into a recording device on my belt. Yep, I'm sure I'll blend right in... ;)

Just 6 days prior I was on an amazing 5 star cruise, gluttonously floating through the Caribbean with my Republican- Catholic- Chicago family, in what can only be described as, a hog's haven of continuous feeding and slop drinking.  Cut to, I will soon be living in an Ashram built into the Himalayas, hoping to survive on Cliff bars and one meal a day. A place where each meal alone puts me at risk of severe IBS or worse and "the bathrooms" are apparently just holes in the ground.  Yep, Dorothy we certainly won't be in Kansas no more!

1ST STOP- RISHIKESH- WARRIOR OF WISDOM IMMERSION WITH GURU ANAND
* What does that mean? No idea. When I emailed them for an itinerary their response was:

There isn't a day to day curriculum - the Warriors of Wisdom Immersion moves with the flow of grace, and with Anand's inspiration.  He guides the experience in response to the needs he senses from those in the group.  So we will all wait to see how it unfolds.  We'll welcome you into the fullness of the experience when you arrive.

Well, ok then! Let the spiritual raving begin! If interested in following, I will do my best to continue to blog my journey as it "unfolds in the fullness of this experience."

See you on the flip side,
Shane King