1st photo: Ganges, 2nd: some locals chilling by the river, 3rd: me on Lakshman Juhla, 4th: view of Ganges from bridge, 5th: monkey eating banana, 6th: my yoga room/instructor, 7th: Himalayas and Ganges. This is the view I get to see every day!
Today, I woke up bright and early for a yoga class! As I walked up three stories, I entered a quiet room, windows open and breeze flowing, with two yoga mats laying on the marble floor. Little did I know, I paid $4 for an hour 1/2 one-on-one "Himalayan Yoga" session! This is unheard of in the U.S. I told my yoga instructor I was a beginner, and he proceeded to teach me everything. He first taught me how to meditate and one of the mantra's they repeat before beginning. It was so relaxing. Then, he taught me many stretches and moved my body to increase the stretch. During the poses, he did the same thing. I learned so much, and felt so comfortable and relaxed with him. Afterwards, he performed acupressure on my hands and then massaged my back repeating, "you will be quite sore tomorrow. this may help some." I was so pleased with my yoga class, and felt so lucky to have such a wonderful teacher all to myself!
I also walked across Lakshman Jhula (which is spelled a variety of different ways, I've noticed). This is a bridge across the Ganges that is often surrounded by monkeys. This time, I only saw monkeys at the end of the bridge, but they were eating bananas that someone kept giving them. It was so cute! I'm still amazed that every animal in India just wanders around as people do. The town was pretty cool, and I bought a gorgeous wrap around skirt that has two sides to it for Rs.125 (less than $3)! I love that!
At 5pm, I had an ayurvedic massage for an hour for $6! In America, professional massages are about $60/hour. I'll admit, though, that the massage was not as good as the ones I've had in the U.S. The bed was on the floor, and the woman just stood in the room watching as I undressed. When I lied down, she poured oil all over my back and started slapping it. While there were some good rubs here and there, I was mostly uncomfortable. Then, as I turned over to lie on my back, there was no blanket to cover! My chest was completely exposed, which is something new for me during a massage. Thankfully, it didn't seem to phase her as I am sure she sees a few chests a day. This made me a little more comfortable. However, all in all, the massage did not meet my expectations. I have another massage scheduled on the 16th at a different place, so let's hope there's no slapping involved!!
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