On the road in Kanyakumari

Greetings from the southernmost tip of India, where three oceans meet and where, if you're lucky, you can see the sun both rise and set over the ocean. We left the Sivananda ashram this morning and are now on a 10-day roadtrip or 'yatra' to see some of the most significant temples in South India.



Internet access has been much more problematic than expected. We weren't able to get a wireless modem for our laptop, so we won't be able to upload photos to the blog. We also haven't been able to blog as much as we hoped.

The boys at Swami Tatvaroopananda's gurukulum

I wanted to post a note titled "Pancake Soup" after one of the meals we had at Swami T's gurukulum last week. The Keralan food has been fantastic. The way they eat here really agrees with me (Ian). Lots of savory grains, dals, coconut chutneys, dosas(!!). If you like Indian food, it's worth a trip here just to eat!

South Indian thali (prior to getting the rice). Yum!!

I'm going to let Mark describe the ashram experience in detail, as he had a such personal connection and history with the people and the place. We participated in a homa (fire ceremony) to Vishnu last night. Definitely the most powerful experience at the ashram for me (although getting to know Swami T and Swami N was the real treat).

With Swami N and Swami T

Swami T cracks a coconut

Tomorrow we'll spend the day in Kanyakumari, visiting the Vivekananda shrine. Then we'll head north.

More to come.

Love from Ian, Mark and Lenka

Kruisin in Kerala

Hi everyone,

We're here, safe and sound, in Kerala, South India. Lenka and I arrived two days ago, and Ian turned up yesterday (minus his bag unfortunately). We're hoping it shows up today!

Lenka and I spent some quality time wandering around Trivandrum yesterday. Though it's a fairly mellow capitol by Indian standards, it's still a pretty intense experience. Lenka really dived in to the full experience--by stepping her nice clean foot into a black bog of goo by the bus station! But she was a trooper, and a little water and laughter did the trick.

We've already started eating our way through the wonderful south Indian regional menu, twice now at our favorite local restaurant the Hotel Arya Nivas. Yum! The fresh local flavors are amazing, and wonderful to taste again.

In about an hour we'll be heading to our friend's gurukulam, and spend a couple of days there. I promised my swami friend that I'd bring Italian food for him, and a bunch of treats for the kids. After that we'll be heading to the Sivananda ashram in Neyyar Dam for 4 days... hopefully our internal clocks will be reset to Indian time by then. Lenka and I were wide awake at 1am this morning, and didn't get back to sleep until about 7am.

Blessings to all, and more soon! Oh yeah, I guess we should take some photos too... ;-)

Love,

Mark, Lenka and Ian

The Tetris Syndrome

Here's a quick peek at our gear. We're bringing video and still cameras, some microphones, a laptop, and some things to help with natural lighting... and of course lots of treats for our friends at the school and ashram that we'll be visiting in our first week.

It's always a balancing act to figure out how much gear to bring—especially so much technology.  But part of this adventure is to meet, interview and learn from some spiritual masters, yogic scholars and ayurvedic doctors, and to share that with our friends and customers.  Stay tuned for more as this adventure unfolds...

Off to the airport in an hour!

Mark, Lenka & Ian

Getting Ready to Go

It's Monday the 17th, and we're getting close to our departure.  My wife Lenka and I will be leaving tomorrow night around midnight, and Ian will follow the next day.  We'll be taking opposite routes around the globe to India: Lenka and I to the west through Asia, and Ian to the east through Europe.  We'd like to think we're giving the globe a big hug.

We're all excited about this trip, as it's been a long time coming.  Ian and Lenka have never been to India before, but have always wanted to go.  In fact Ian and I had planned to go in 2005, but a death in the family postponed the trip, and we've only now gotten enough projects done to allow us the time off.  

This will be my 4th trip, and I don't feel my last.  India is one of those places that gets under your skin, and inspires strong reactions.  People seem to love it, or they don't go back.  I knew from my first trip there 10 years ago that it was a special place, and that I would be going back.  You can see some info on that trip by visiting this (very old) website.

I returned a year later, this time doing some consulting for one of the large Indian movie studios.  I spent two months outside Hyderabad, the capitol of Andra Pradesh.  You can read some funny tales from that trip here.

Then in 2004 my friend Claire Rudholm, who graces the cover of our Anatomy for Yoga DVD, was diagnosed with stage-4 cancer at age 32.  She was told that she had a short time to live, and chose to spend her last weeks at her favorite Sivananda ashram in Kerala, southern India.  Her remarkable story, which serves as an inspiration for our return trip there now, can be found here.

So, we'll be traveling somewhat in Claire's footsteps, and exploring some new places with eager, fresh eyes and open hearts.  Thanks for tagging along—we hope you enjoy the ride.

Blessings,

Mark

Pranamaya Goes to India

Big News #1: We're announcing the official release tomorrow of The Secret Power of Yoga 6-CD audiobook by Nischala Joy Devi. This is 8th title that we've released in the last thirteen months. Amazing, if we do say so ourselves!

And that leads us to 

Big News #2: Pranamaya goes to India!

After thirteen months rarely leaving our computers, we're heading halfway around the world to recharge our batteries and regain some perspective on life, yoga and our little company.

We'll be bringing our video cameras to document our travels and to interview some of the swamis and scholars that we plan to meet with. If all goes well, you'll see some of this footage in future Pranamaya projects. 

Check back here for occasional updates from India, including as many photos as we can. Please leave us comments. We would love to hear from you.

Namaste,

Mark and Ian