My typical day in Auroville

As many of you can tell from my emails and previous blogs, I'm loving it in India.  I have managed to find places and people that really suit my nature especially here in Auroville where I am surrounded my lush, tropical greenery, easygoing people from all over the world who are united in their quest for greater peace and serenity through selfless service, ie, work!

Each day starts quietly - well not really so quiet because the temple nearby blasts chants from 5.30 or 6.00 am but some days I cannot hear them from my room depending on the wind.  Then I am up and making a pot of tea (a wide variety of organic blends, all from here in Auroville, provided by the guest house) and time for a little sit outside looking at the greenery all around me and sipping a wonderful tasty blend with honey.  Then I'm usually going to the Matrimandir, the spiritual centre of Auroville, for meditation or biking or walking through the forest to the yoga centre for a class.  I have a good variety of classes and teachers in this lovely serene building surrounding by tropical trees and plants, then back to the guest house for a fresh fruit breakfast.

The rest of the days are spent biking around to see small settlements in the forest, stopping at roadside cafes and shops, visiting with people that I have met since I have been here or new ones, some massage or other bodywork, classes in the philosophy of this community (established by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother in 1968) to learn more about the Aurovilians and sometimes just relaxing and reading and having time to try to think about very little.

I have always been interested in intentional communities as many of you know so this is a real experience for me, I am in awe of the work that has gone into Auroville by so many thousands of people from all over the world.  Auroville is owned by no one and no one here owns anything ... they are paid a "maintenance salary" for their work and most of their daily needs are met.  The entrepreneurial spirit is strong here and there is a very strong European influence -mainly French, Italians, Germans and some British.  There are 10 Canadians living here but I have not met any.  Much research into so many aspects of sustainable living is conducted here.

I'm happy but must leave this Saturday and will post again soon.

Kind seasonal wishes to all who are reading this ... enjoy!

Auroville Life

I arrived here in this idyllic international, spiritual community (since 1968) just over a week ago.  It has been wonderful, peaceful and like a little oasis in the middle of the noise, smells, garbage and sometimes (well, most of the time!) the chaos of India.  I am staying in a little guest house called Creativity with 5 bedrooms.  We are an international house with residents from France, USA, Italy, Denmark and myself and my friend Theresa from Canada.  The house is overseen quite capably by a Belgium woman who is a real den mother and looks after us in a most compassionate manner.  It is quiet and well maintained as we have a cleaner who keeps things lovely for us (right down to flower arrangements) 6 days a week, including our clothes washing.  My room is lovely with a bright orange painted wall, double bed, desk and little outdoor sitting area.  Dogs and cats and cows/bulls roam wherever, whenever so I never know when I will be visited.

Quite an incident last week when I was walking through the forest on the way to the yoga centre, a bull and a cow were standing by the path, I walked by carefully and as I was passing by the bull, I was head butted in the arm, a nice bruise in green/purple greets me these days.  The great thing is that I was en route to the yoga centre/healing centre and they took wonderful care of me.  However, no one expects such a thing and I was in a little shock for a few minutes after.

I have been biking all over the huge complex for the last week now - many people ride motorcycles or mopeds but I am quite happy with my bright pink bike - and getting to explore all the little nooks and crannies of this fascinating place.  Most of the roads are hard packed, a few are paved but the pavement stops quite randomly so I usually only bike during the day.  It is incredibly dark at nite here so evening times are usually spent preparing a meal and relaxing.

We are served a lovely fruit, homemade yogurt, tea and bread/jam (homemade right here in Auroville) breakfast outside near the garden of the complex (the weather has been lovely and warm and sunny every day) and then usually I attend a yoga class or another event.  Last Saturday was a half day workshop on Consciousness as Medicine given by an Indian doctor, it was wonderful and I learned a great deal and got to practice techniques which I am still practicing. 

It is easy to be relaxed and joyful here as most people seem to enjoy their life and many Aurovillians have been here for many years, some since the inception of the community in 1968!  It is so fascinating to see an international complex like this utilizing compassion, spirituality and kind communication to operate a community of more than 2,000. 

The yoga classes (Iyengar so they are quite precise and a good challenge for me) have been excellent, usually 1.5 hours long and so reasonably priced.  And I have had a facial massage/treatment and plan a craniosacral session later this week.  There are many many therapists from all over the world here offering all sorts of treatments.

The most famous place in Auroville is the Matrimandir complex, too much to explain, suffice to say it is a huge structure that is absolutely magical to enter and meditate in.  Check it out online for more info.  I did my preliminary visit there last week so now may go any morning after 10 am.  But there is so much to do here I have not been back yet.


I am really enjoying this leg of my journey but am also planning my return to Canada late December, briefly, between Dec 28 and Jan 3/4 before moving on to Sivananda retreat in Nassau, Bahamas for 3 months.

My dear son Christopher has also had some changes in his life during my absence and will be leaving Kingston to move to Calgary to accept a job next weekend.  Please keep him in your hearts and minds over the next few weeks as he settles into his new life in Calgary!  Burrito Amigo will remain open and day to day operations will be passed to the cook, Ben, who has been working with Christopher since he opened in May.

Thanks to all of you who stay in touch through email or FB; it's great to know what people are up to.

Namaste from India ... more from the Gypsy at 60 - plus!

Since Rasa Ayurvedic ...

I have been super-negligent about posting to this blog since I left the Ayurvedic healing centre but have been having a wonderful time travelling around.  First I went to a beach called Kovalam Beach where I had a lovely quite little room way up a hill from the beautiful beach - right next to a yoga centre - and on the other side a lovely small hotel owned by an Italian couple who served nutritious and delicious breakfasts.  I had a quite time reading, walking on the beach, chatting with locals and planning the next phase of my journey.

After Kovalam Beach (which was a little more touristy than I was wanting) I teamed up with a new friend from Rasa and we travelled by train to Fort Cochin which was a bright star in the journey ... quiet, cleaner than much of India, relaxed and full of other surprises!  Including a homestay (like a B&B) where we each had beautiful rooms, mine was bright yellow with a huge balcony overlooking the parade ground.  The shops were very posh indeed and we had a real shopping spree.  So much of India is colourful and great prices it was hard to resist.  But I'm conscious I'm trying to travel light with one small bag on wheels and a light knapsack. 

After Fort Cochin we travelled together to the hills where the tea and coffee is grown and we had a very very very special 4 days with two top of the line hotels ... first the Windemere Estates for two nites - overlooking the tea plantations - quiet and very elegant with the best bathroom yet!  Then we had another nite in a different hotel because Windemere was booked and we stayed in our own little chalet at a place called Tall Trees.  You can google these and get a real taste for the elegance.  We were both unwell unfortunately with little bugs but made the most of the rooftop restaurant and lovely food and furnishings in our little chalet overlooking yes, the tall trees.

I am thoroughly enjoying all the variety of exciting travel experiences since I left Canada on Oct 15th as both India and the UK have offered a wide variety of sites and sounds.  But India is the best for both!  The people in the south have been warm, friendly, gentle and slow moving.  And very very willing to do whatever they can do to make the ferenghi (foreigner) happy.  Even the frequent power cuts have not bothered me too much.

Now I'm in the southeast of India near Chennai and will post very soon!

Stay tuned for more adventures ... life is warm, humid and always fun on the road!  Check out my facebook page for some photos as/when I remember to upload them.

Travelling as a woman of a "certain age" ...

It has been interesting to be travelling around India as a mature woman.  I find because I am not in a hurry, have no desire to do a great deal of purchasing, and dress as Dr Geetha, the Ayurvedic physician reminded me, in a "respectful" way, I am given a great deal of respect.  I am not nagged into coming into every little shop and both men and women seem to be very comfortable chatting with me about life in India, especially in the South, which is quite a bit more relaxed and easy than the North (where I had travelled in the past).

Life is relatively (for India!) quiet in Fort Cochin, really a "haven" compared to the heaving noise and dirt and congestion and pollution in other parts.  I have been here the last 4 days and have visited churches, monuments, museums and countless shops while basing myself in a "homestay", a large stately home right in this small town where the family rents out 6 rooms for bed and breakfast.  I lucked out and got the best room with a bright yellow theme and windows all round and a front balcony to sit on.  I've pretty much got used to the Indian systems of bathing and eating and travelling and using rickshaws (taking one's chances on getting to the destination in one piece).

Yesterday was an eventful day and one of the highlights was being dressed in a traditional cotton sari and I will place the photo on Facebook ... it was such fun but took quite a while to get it looking just so.  Two lovely young Indian women dressed me up and waited patiently as we took photos and I explained gently that no, I was not buying the sari.

Took a ferry over to the mainland today, a pretty rickety vessel, but I got there and back and had a wonderful Keralan lunch (not too hot food, again unlike the heavy food of the North of India) with lots of coconut milk.  I am eating excellent food and drinking lots of fresh juices, teas and bottles of water.  The food here is quite good and very very cheap!  Lots of fruit and fresh vegetables and much, much basmati rice.

Tomorrow I'm off to the mountains to Munnar for a 3 day stay at another Homestay.  The mountains are full of tea and coffee plantations and wonderful views as well as much cooler than near the sea.

I continue to enjoy every day, every minute of this journey.  India is not easy as a traveller and much patience and good humour is essential!  It is good that I don't have a tight Itinerary and can move around relatively easily.

Am flying to Chennai on Satuirday and will post from Auroville, my next stop for three weeks.

The treatments at Rasa

It has been 20 days since I arrived in Kerala to begin this Panchakarma journey.  I have not regretted it for one minute!  The staff - from the driver on my arrival to the cooks, cleaners/washing ladies, to the treatment young women - and even the owner who lives in the US - I spoke with her through Skype within a few days of arrival - everyone is truly kind, gentle and feels it is a privilege to assist us here at Rasa in any way possible.


The entire experience has been orchestrated smoothly and gently.  From the daily schedule (arising around 6 am, but the music and chanting from the temple starts at 4.30 or 5.00 am), treatment timings (each day morning or afternoon for approximately one hour) to the meal times (three meals, all delicious vegetarian according to our Dosha (or constitution which is determined by the Ayurvedic doctor who talks to us each day except Sunday) ... everything is well tuned, smooth and easy to enjoy ourselves.  I could probably stay another week but leave tomorrow.


The treatments have been especially interesting. It was determined quite quickly by Dr Geeta that I have a Vata imbalance - very very common - and would need to begin with some oil massages, head massages and steam baths.  Lots and lots of oil, slipping and sliding all over the treatment table.  The treatment area - because this is a very traditional experience - is on the rooftop with a thatched roof and four small rooms - two for treatments, and one room holds the steam bath unit which is constructed from thatching and we sit in there with our head popping out.  Ayurveda does not support head getting too steamy.

Other treatments have included hot compresses of herbs being pounded all over my body and then rubbing andmassaging with the herbs, followed by a quick oil massage.  I have also had an oil bath where the oil is dribbled all over the body (we wear little cloth g-strings which don't protect much!, one cannot be shy here) as well as a hot rice bath where the rice is held in a gauze bag and rubbed and dragged all over the body.  I have also had steam for the sinuses before bed, special medicines for sleeping and helping with overall rest along with the delicious food,daily fruit juices, herbal teas, water that is boiled with 7 different herbs for sipping throughout the day as well as lots of medicated ghee (clarified butter) through different orifices.  All very relaxing - lots of time to sleep, lie in the hammock and on one or two occasions I have had a taxi take myself and another "patient" into Trivandrum to see temples and do a little shopping.

The effects of this entire Panchakarma (deep cleansing and healing) are continuing for the next 45 days so I will be especially careful not to overexert myself in India - I had not planned on this being a marathon tour anyway as I was aware that after Panchakarma one needs to be cautious about sun and too much swimming in the sea.  It has really been a challenging experience - my body, mind and spirit feel very relaxed and grounded now.   Yoga and meditation each day has helped as well; we do our own practices in the morning usually.

But I have chosen to come back to Rasa for 2 days before I leave India so I will be here from Dec 22-early on the 25 for a few more treatments and consult with Dr Geeta.


So tomorrow I'm off to Kovalam, a seaside resort south of here (I will stay at a quiet place called Tree Tops) and relax for a few days before taking the train north to Fort Cochin and lots of sightseeing and touring.  It is a busy place and promises to be exciting.


More to follow ...

Kickin' back in India

After an arduous journey from London Gatwick through Dubai Airport (beautiful place but after 7 hours lost its lustre especially with my flight departing at 0415 hrs).  Travel is sometimes overrated I say to myself.  Anyway, after two long flights, arrived safely in Trivandrum and a driver and car were waiting to whisk me away to Rasa Ayurveda Healing Centre for Women (called a private clinic here in Kerala).  30 minutes in the back of the car through Trivandrum reinforced for me that even after 20 plus years since I have been in India, nothing much had changed - at least in mymind - just as frantic and noisy and colourful as it was back when I was travelling 'round in the past.  But at Rasa it is all calm and cool as I expected it would be.  A warm welcome, a warm bath/shower (hot water is brought to the room by one of themany attendants here), then a lovely vegetarian meal (Kerala was once known as the Spice Coast of India) and a long oily hot oil massage in the afternoon, followed by a sleep, I felt pretty good.  And have continued to feel wonderful here, the hot humid weather punctuated by regular monsoon like rains at around 5-7 pm all contribute to it.  The greenery is magical and the birds/crickets/other unknown types of noisy critters outside my window at nite lull me to sleep.

Yesterday was a big day, the previous several days working up to it, when I had the actual Panchakarma treatment.  A hot oil massage at 6 am was followed by light steam - this is not a spa ladies and gentlemen - everything is done very traditionally and usually seems quite antiquated from our Western eyes!  But it works as Dr Geetha, the Ayurvedic physician here, tells me - and that's why I came, to sample the real authentic Ayurveda that has worked for people for thousands of years.  And it worked yesterday, after all the massage, steam and medicine at 7.30 am, I spent the day - I won't get too graphic here folks - but let's just say I had a nice calm cleaning out through all orifices.  I have an overhead fan but no AC and it was a hot day, good for sweating toxins says Dr Geetha.

So today is more relaxing, lots of nice food, another treatment from the lovely young women therapists here, then we are having a Divali celebration this evening.

There are two other patients/guests here now, a woman from the UK and another woman from Texas, US.  We have lovely chats over the wonderful nourishing food that is specially prepared for us.  And there is a great little library to choose reading material from.

I'm planning the next leg of my journey as we speak as I leave here on the 21st and will probably either go south to the sea at Kovalam and/or north to Fort Cochin.  Both are appealing and I would like to visit the very southern tip of India.

Loving my time here, it is such a rich place - colours, foods, spices, lots of caring and love, people are warm and thoughtful, can't do enough for us!  I know I chose the right place to do my healing journey and am looking forward to another 10 days here!

More to follow.  Hope all is well with everyone who is reading this!  Health is an attitude Dr Geetha tells me as we discuss growing old with Ayurveda.

Thanks and Gratitude

Nearly 3 weeks in the UK has flown by ... or has it?  So many wonderful adventures from juicing and raw food and interesting conversation and touring round the lochs with Lilian in Lochwinnoch/Glasgow (thanks for hot water bottles and wooly jumpers).  Then a long, sunny train journey to York where Hilary arranged a homey Bed and Breakfast just outside the gates of the lovely walled city of York.  Many thanks to Hilary for such a warm, kind gesture.  Spending nearly a week with Hilary in the lovely Minster City of Beverley and touring round the Yorkshire Dales was a treat.  Thanks to all the kindness of strangers in Beverley from the tourist information lady to the coffee gals who chatted with me about the beauty of Canada and my lovely soft accent (they oohed and ahhed, so sweet).  Off for another train journey on a glorious sunny day (the sun always shone when I was on a train trip, every single time, in between it rained a lot, o well, we don't come to the UK for the weather, now do we?), this time down to Bath Spa for the weekend.  I have always said, going back to the days when I lived in the UK, that there is no more beautiful countryside than that country when the sun comes out and I was truly blessed with sunny train trips to enjoy it, thank you!  Bath Spa proved to be one of the many highlights of my journey to date - I love the City.  I managed to have a lovely room in a spacious flat owned by a friend of a friend (the very special Barbara whom I have known for many years since my days of living in the UK).  What an incredible location overlooking a huge park with the trees still in their many fall colours.  I walked down to Bath each day and enjoyed the little alleys and shops and the newly renovated Spa with the healing waters of ancient Roman times.  The food and the people were welcoming and kind in Bath Spa ... I cannot wait to visit again.  Over the last few days I have been in Somerset visiting the lovely and very special, Barbara and hubby Phil.  All my friends here have been super special and I am so grateful to all of you/them.  We reconnected after many years ... it was just like I had only been away for a short time, relaxed conversation and laughter!  Phil is an accomplished chef and provided us with a delicious pasta/veggie dish ... thanks to Phil for a veggie delight.  Now I'm here at the Airport Sofitel Hotel ready to tuck into a selection of salads picked up at M&S at the airport ... fresh and delicious ... M&S has come a long way from underpants ladies!  I'm so excited about my flight to Trivandrum tomorrow and know I will have a great sleep tonite.  Hi to all my friends near and far and I will try to be more frequent with my posts ... my phone has not cooperated well in the UK ... we'll see how I manage in India.