Yoga in the Himalayas

A year ago I was living in Paris getting ready for my next professional move across the Atlantic Ocean, 6 months ago I was wondering how to get myself out of that situation and quit the corporate world and now, I'm having lunch on a sunny terrasse of  Mc Leod Ganj, on my break from Yoga Teacher Training... Thank God I finally decide to use my right hemisphere - my left one could have never come up with a better plan... Mc Leod Ganj is this sweet village right above Dharamsala, hanging along the Himalaya slopes. Here, the air is light and crisp, the temperature and weather perfect for yoga practice (after the heat and humidity of the south - my energy level is back to full capacity!) and the bells always seemed to ring in the background... It doesn't exactly feel like India here... Mc Leod Ganj is this interesting mix of Tibetan monks, spiritual seekers, conscious tourists,  masala chai and chat street vendors, yogis, hikers, vedic astrologers and perhaps the nicest people I've met here so far. Sanjay, who's been working 24/7 at Kunga Guesthouse restaurant for over 12 years, welcomes you with the same warm and humble smile every time you walk in for lunch... The old Sikh who runs the supermarket behind his till and big turban always has a kind word to say on the way out... The internet cafe manager gave me dhoop (incense cone) as a gift when I told him I loved the smell of his shop... And of course, let me not forget my yoga teacher! How could I best describe him? As a Rock-and-Roll-Yogi! Flexible, wise, spiritual yet unconventional, caring, funny and... hairy (see pictures below) - what more could I ask for? We start the day on our own with kryias (cleansing practices) and pranayamas (breathing exercises then meet with Yogi Sivadas at 7am for sanskrit mantra chanting to tune in to our true nature and inner cosmic vibration (oh yeah). We then proceed with 2 hours of Ashtanga Yoga and resume training with our 2pm lecture - topics as diverse as the concept of India, Hindu philosophies, Yogic cleansing and diet, Ayurveda, Patanjali Yoga Sutras.... tout ce que j'aime! Then off to another 2 hours of Hatha Yoga and a whole lot of studying in between! My brain is eating up this new knowledge, my body is happy to move and getting strong, my mind is getting still(er), my ego (who's spoiled brat) takes the whole thing for granted every now and then but when I pinch myself  and remember that all this is not a dream, my soul smiles...
PS: Where will I be in 6 months? That is a very good question that I could not care less to answer that right NOW...

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