Yoga practice update : My progress in last few months

Aaah my yoga practice, although all my teachers keep saying my practice has improved, its strong but in my heart I know its not even satisfactory. With yoga, whats most annoying (sorry for a negative adjective in yoga article) is it takes too much time to blend into it. The leg that should be straight in bird pose is still not there. The forehead to knee just happened. I mean its like a snail crossing through challenges that look so much easier in person. My instructors are from thailand which is like the sanctuary of yoga practitioners so when someone points out something I have been doing all the time wrong, it makes me even madder again not the perfect way to describe emotions.

In true sense, changes are visible to people around you. My husband says this is the first time in life he's seen me working for something I actually really love and enjoy. Also, my tires are gone, when I tried a dress last week and expressed how fat I looked, he pointed out it was my ribs hehe silly me. So yeah yoga will change you in ways you will never imagine. Fitness or good looking part will not even matter to you.

My water intake has increased along with more healthier food options so now I don't need emergen c or a sports towel. The heat doesn't really bother me as it used to. As of now, my corner cooling spot stays too. Instructors have been asking me to come to front row but nada my mind starts comparing killing my spirit. Also instructors are business owners so you don't have to listen to everything they say. If your body says its right, do it otherwise wait till you are ready.

I feel more confident, calmer. Previous me would have fumbled talking to people sometimes. I had anxiety issues. Yoga got rid of them. I compliment people's practices, their beauty, open doors , talk about my insecurities and our relationship has improved too. Not that it wasn't great, it was based more on my cuteness and love grabbing ability, now its more like we can discuss for hours, breakfast takes like an hour to finish. Ohh those delightful conversations on life, people, yoga, meditation. I would say there is so much on table we want to discuss. Our relationship matured, we are more understanding and thoughtful about each others' needs.

In yoga practice, its the small improvements that matter. When you get that bind or when you achieve balance in tree pose. Those small accomplishments pave the way for a more strength based practice. I tried yang and turns out it was more on your guts than strength. When everyone was kicking their legs up, my faint heart gave me several reasons not to. The conclusion that I came up with was whatever wherever you put your heart body to , you will achieve it . That simple.


As you advance through classes, practice will get slower rewards because it also gets tougher. Don't give up, keep fighting and profits to body soul are countless.

NAMASTE


Me 2 months ago, its getting colder so I barely step out for pics.

Don't mention the garment maker

Netflix is full of documentaries that matter in the true sense. There is an elite section that focuses on nature, human quality of life, consumerism, vegan culture and what not. I saw them all filling up my mind with crude facts. One of them was "True Cost".

What did you get for black friday? That dress in sale, those leggings you didn't really need, the shirt you might never wear and all of them just because it was cheap. Are you a forever21 fan? Most of the girls are, its is one of the shops where you can buy stuff that you can freely throw away after that party. When black friday sales come, my friends go crazy, they buy wallets for 10$, watches for 25$ giving reasons like it was michael korrs or coach or nike. The need is never really included. Half of my wardrobe just hangs and gets moved from house to house.

Lets see it from my eyes. We lived in india all our lives so when we moved I wanted to buy victoria's secret, get macy's and frankly with all the clearance it looked so achievable. Then you begin to notice  those made in india, made in bangladesh, made in china labels all over your clothes. This is where you go and watch the documentary "TRUE COST". To be honest, indian products like kurta saree have way better quality than this junk being sold in all the malls in US.

So why should you even care? Its not like the cloth looks degraded. Well, do you know that if your clothes are not made with right cotton, you can absorb all sorts of chemicals and get skin diseases. Or  to make that shirt you just bought some 200 people died in hazardous factory conditions in bangladesh. For your leather boots, every other kid in kanpur has hereditary disorder. For that cotton, farmers use loads of pesticides so in a village in india, whole village has retarded kids dying early because their parents can't afford treatment. They work for less wages in bad conditions so americans can buy cheaper products.

Why do they do it? Its not like you forced right? Well, american companies don't pay attention to third world factory regulations. Everytime they have an order, company offering the lowest price of manufacturing wins. To lower prices, some woman in bangladesh has to cut her girl's education in middle. All your nike pepe h&m are on someone's miserable situation to accept and live.

Ohh you are going to say  I do charity, I give away clothes to poorer countries. When I got married, my mother in law took me to this market in gwalior which is like a small town where t shirts were as cheap as 1$, people were buying those not even knowing they are all second hand charity products sold off. That is where your charity lands.

Now you don't want to care for economy people blah blah bullshit. All you care about is looking savvy and smart. I get it totally do. Lets see what might matter to you. You think you are buying cheaper but you are also buying more and its fast fashion. So technically you are spending way more than before for 75% of clothes that will not last.

Hmmm I know I know you can't avoid buying from all the shops. So in that case go to this site, learn more where you can buy freely with no blood on your hands. Like literally. Buy high quality products, don't compromise.


http://truecostmovie.com/

Indians are not cultural fools, their kids are :P

Have you ever realized you do criticize your indian parents a bit too much? I mean seriously we all do and we are not completely wrong. They were not the most sensitive generation with kids. With a lot of struggle and running around, they did get lost losing the concept of paying attention where it was needed.

If you look at it now, every other working couple is doing the same. Time is not enough so we are all on our cellphones all the freaking time. To be fair, we gave kids mobiles too. Everyone if awfully tired at the end of the day and we barely make it.

The point is that is what indian parents did, they made money. In this ridiculous documentary on problems faced by first generation indians, they complained how they couldn't date, the association with any culture was difficult because of parents and indian people are so pushy. I am pretty sure there are awesome first generation indians who never had to use these terms and lived loved like all the other people around. Stop making excuses for your lame inclinations, less self esteem. Yes, your parents can damage you but not after you move out.

You don't know what culture to follow. Hmm are any of us traditional in the truest sense. Only those who actually want to do a full ritual diwali pooja do it. Rest of us even though raised in smallest of towns don't bother. Besides there were a lot of reasons a lot of things were said and done in india, the flaw is our parents didn't explain enough. When you tell someone why you should not eat pickle or be secluded when you are down or not go to temple, the reason shouldn't be because you are down. There is a whole mythrispeaks blog dedicated to this. Its all about energy flow and pickles not good for your body at that time. What we are trying to forget is what others are researching and retaining.

Indians are not cultural fools, when your grandparents fuss about eating at same time everyday, that again is good for health advised by all the nutritionist documentaries on netflix.  Do you have a relative that eats pastry without eggs and doesn't allow you to enter home with meat? Everyone has, now why or whats are never discussed. Now we are all aspiring to be vegans learning how beef pork milk egg has something our bodies can't even digest. The plant food is all we need. Were they wrong? No its just that the reasoning logics are never there. So we tell them you are old you don't know I have to eat eggs to get protein to bulk up.

So kids land in a circle where there are lot of teachings but nothing to back it up. Then there is this different lifestyle that looks amazing and full of research so why not just go for it. Indian kids end up being the most confused grown ups. Parents lack communication skills, they are more scared at the thought of their daughter having sex being drunk so instead of asking they try to command which by the way doesn't even work on newborns.

Did you know kamasutra was not written as pornography? It was actually studied and researched like you study yoga. Sex was never a taboo. When we were attacked by outsiders, in an attempt to guard women's honor, all the parda kind of traditions came. We should have ended when the time was right.
Even early marriage had reasons as it gave enough time for husband wife to have fun before kids. Yeah so indians knew what they were doing. We are old eggs, we have nailed billions of vegetarian recipes not just tofu or salad with dressings.

What can help us right now is to not abolish every tradition because its old. Understand the significance, find the roots of it then if it is not for you, you are free to move on. Don't be a cultural fool. Also, parents out there you did a bad job bringing up kids who feel so out of place. You did nothing for their self esteem. You failed in passing a beautiful sexy culture.

How to be an average human? Alien codes

Well if you just landed on earth and didn't know how to blend in putting aside the fact that in our imagination aliens are these weird ugly creatures who roam around naked, its super easy to be earth citizen. It is we are all functioning cyborgs who think we are all different in our choices our lifestyle when in fact its  a code we run on. We do.

To start with, buy iphone. Get coffee from starbucks.

Hmm lets test the theory, say you have extended weekend. What would you do? So mr/ms alien, if you get an extended holiday, plan it like 6 months before. Go to all the places all the extrovert bloggers mentioned with top reviewed restaurants and cheapest accommodations for your category.


Oops category right, we all humans are in different levels of pyramid. There is the homeless who shout and cross road with a puff of something fishy. Then there are the almost 60% working class humans which are the easiest to fit in. Most of the rich ones are doing what they know best, posing working for more bucks again making them just an affluent working class with more stress and better vacation spots. Would you want to swap life with any of the kardashians? Don't even answer or you might stoop in my eyes.

So what do you do when you get free time that you forgot to plan? You make more plans like when is the next sale coming, when is the next cheap flight to any place, when will you have kids, when will you move, where will you buy house. Get on the sites like forsale, zillow, forrent. You do understand the concept of this post, don't you?

We humans do this thing called first eat so much that your body bloats and then we go on cleansing dieting when we start looking fat in pictures. So unless you are genetically blessed fat, eat all the cheese chocolate sugar oil in this world and then when you have trouble rolling around in sleep, join  a gym. Or even better do crash dieting, don't have any intentions of getting healthier fitter body, this all is just to look good in the upcoming party. This post is getting meaner slightly.

You must abuse an animal in your lifetime because every other stupid has one. Who cares if you do not know how to raise them, who cares if you even value them. Just get one and let him die slow painful annoyed death. Pet suicides are not that common yet or are they.

This is a must one. Decorate your house, get fancy things that come in your budget. Put so much effort, it actually looks full like ikea showroom.

We also do this ritual called feed routines where we invite people to eat and then they have to call us so we all gain weight in mutual numbers. Also its practically cool to go out and eat and you must must order drinks but not get drunk, what home food who cooks at home stupid?

This is a new trend so you might not know but you have to have some people over the weekend and entertain them with some board games yeah some fat geeky nerd designed this to make others fatter nerdier. Yeah so do that. Obesity with brains is cool. Also find that pokemon.

If you want to buy anything new even if its  a bottle, compare in zillion sites so you can save 3$. Also look for black friday all day and run your mind constantly so there is no scope of any reality in you. Just live the human dream alien.

Now, if you ever feel lost or confused, ask any fellow american what they like to do or how they would react to a situation and follow them. So if that american likes to say namaste like fucked up Britisher, you say it that way. Its cool, you know what change your accent too. If your name is difficult to pronounce, change it to an american name like john mike amy clancy. There  you go. Better name your dogs american too.

If everyone turns vegan, you must follow. As long as others don't feel inhuman nazi treatment of animals, don't bother. Your time will come too.

Also, one last tip. Always watch similar shows yes and discuss only subjects with money car food house or fake holiday excitement. I am so happy christmas is here ohh my god lets do thanksgiving.

No matter what, you rule your life rules you are fun you are just so awesome even awesomeness envies you. What a great illusion to live in. Keep saving for when apocalypse comes, it will fund your ride to mars.

Huh this is just a random blabber from my mind. So don't take it seriously or may be you should.

Take care. To gain more insight, see this series and follow people with most followers on instagram, pinterest, twitter and welcome to our moronic world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoFoKZ9HgfQ

P.S. Don't watch nature documentaries at all.

Stuck yoga practice got a push :)

It was happening again to me. All the yoga bliss and talks about kriya yoga were getting lost in routine classes and instructors. Even came to a point where decision to opt out and practice at home was made. This monday supposedly I would have just walked in and told them about upcoming euro vacation, make an excuse and quit.

Thankfully my husband's voice saved me. If you start practicing yoga, you will reach a point in your practice where you will feel you achieved  a lot, you transitioned a lot, you probably learned so much you can open your own class. Illusions illusions moh maya. Its all in your head.

Its the routine, the mundane events that kick us into boredom. We start looking out the glass window losing our focus and then if the instructors are all same, you are not paying attention to them too. Some of the instructors also kind of bail out on telling every little detail as soon as they realize 60% students know what they are asking of them. That is highest level of unprofessional-ism because you are playing with someone's body and its flexibility progress.

In case you arrive at this conjecture of giving up to boredom, try these 5 options first.

Number 1 switch to another level of yoga for some time like bikram or yin or yang any other form to bring your attention and focus back. When you are new to a class, you are more alert to cues and extensions.

Number 2 switch your instructor if that is an option for you. Try other instructors. Today I tried a new one and surprisingly she brought out the best in me. I was on one leg, resting my head on knee of other elevated leg. It is because our mind plays tricks with us. There is less excitement in doing same poses with same teachers voice every day. Find a teacher who explains explicitly every move, how you bend how you go down when you inhale and listen to her.

Number 3 switch your spot. Come on everyone has a spot, the cool side the door side the mirror facing one. Go to a place where you just see yourself and no other person if at all it works. This also raises consciousness in body, it doesn't wander to check how many people are resting how many people did it to extreme level.

Number 4 : Start smiling in middle of practice. Like when you are looking in mirror standing bow just smile and reaffirm all is well. Take a deep breath, hold your position and go in the direction your instructor says. When you lie down for shavasana, calm your breath. Today, i did bikram yoga and not once my breath spiked. All credit goes to our instructor. She was awesome.

Number 5 : Don't expect anything. When you are not expecting, you out perform. When you know what your instructor is going to throw when, you get cocky. A lot of people who go for bikram with me were panting today because they were comfortable with other instructors and this one bowled their routine. We get used to things very easily and quickly, that helps our body to adapt but sometimes it rusts our brain.

And yeah don't lay your mat next to stupid people who just pant or show off. Haha don't let them rob your inner peace. Don't practice with your husband or friend, they are distractions too. Go alone.

Keep pushing till you reach your maximum limitations which don't exist. Have you seen acro yoga videos? They are so inspiring. My husband joined yoga too so may be one day we will be the acro couple.


NAMASTE

Easy indian recipes for lazy cooks part 2

Getting straight to the point, lets start with my recent easy recipes. As usual, I am not going to post recipes, I will be posting links to the ones we frequently eat.

1) Tindora fry : My online vegetable order messed up and packed tindora/ivy gourd in my bag. I am so glad he did. Here goes the recipe

http://our-cherished-world.blogspot.com/2011/01/dondakaya-tindora-fry.html

This is a bitter gourd recipe which is really good.

http://sumscuisine.blogspot.com/2012/02/bitterless-bitter-gourd-curry-hagalakai.html

It takes a lot of time to cook, around 60 minutes so be patient or you can pressure cook ivy gourd first. Its simple and easy, sambhar masala and curry leaves make it authentic.

2) Walnut halwa : This is the easiest quickest form of indian sweet you can make. It uses less sugar, takes more fibrous walnuts. If you want, you can add almonds cashews too in mixer. Add saffron to milk. 

http://www.archanaskitchen.com/walnut-halwa-akhrot-sheera

3) Saffron milk : Just the milk in previous recipe with saffron tastes amazingly royal. Have it when its warm. You can make extra milk, use some of it for halwa and then just drink.

4) Mushroom peas curry : It takes like 15 minutes to get ready.

http://indianhealthyrecipes.com/matar-mushroom-recipe-mushroom-curry/

Just add kasuri methi to tomatoes too. It adds a distinctive flavor.
Try this marathi spinach recipe too.

http://www.exptsinthekitchen.com/2013/05/palaka-chi-patal-bhaji-spinach-gravy.html

This is the brinjal curry that is really good. It takes time but its kind of easy to follow.
http://www.tarladalal.com/Bharwan-Baingan-Punjabi-Bharwan-Baingan-Recipe-38493r

5) Radish leaf bread / Mooli ke patte ka paratha : This one is high on fibre and its yummy. Its kind of tricky to make but if you know how to knead a dough, you will be fine.
There are few tips on how to make a good dough. If you are kneading for chapati, add milk or hot water. It will be softer. If you are kneading for paratha like this recipe, try adding yogurt too. For every dough, rub with oil in the end. Fresher dough makes good chapati parathas. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMHcc19eYiU

Healthy Stoning preparations: Before During

Legal check
Easily available check
Posh shops check
No awkward conversations check
Safe edible options check
Nearby check

After all of these checks, I leapt into the pleasures of getting high. Upper middle class can't go through illegal or unsafe practices to procure drugs. They will lose jobs, they will have to go back to a country that not only fines but also humiliates you judging your life on their parameters of civilized folks.

Did you all see before the flood documentary? Its amazing, do check it out.

So how do you start? Well start with hybrid choclates available in a lot of marijuana stores. If you are a smoker, you got tons of options. For me personally, edibles worked. Now if you do get a hybrid choclate, don't just eat it up. Take a microwave safe bowl, heat for like 30 sec till it melts, coat it around banana and savor it peacefully. Your tongue glands will instantly start giving you the feeling of high buzz.

This phase will keep you busy for at least 5 months. Then to move on to healthier to the point variations, go for zoot candies. Again don't just take them like  a pill, you got to have it like you had those pom poms as a child. It will increase the probability of getting a high fast and it will stay for at least 7 hours.

As you get more experienced, you can try anything they have in store. My personal favorites are sativa and indica capsules. Sativa is for saturdays and indica for sundays. With capsules, make sure you give them at least an hour to hit. I try to avoid Sundays because if the buzz lasts, it interferes with daily activities. The best way to get rid of a buzz is yoga. Yep yoga cured it all.

This should go on for at least an year and will make you much more informed.

Before getting high:

Prepare something healthy so you don't gorge on unhealthy snacks like chips or icecream.
Make meal portions and stick to them.
No matter what, don't order pizza.
Have some fresh yogurt ready.
Buy walnuts almonds cashews saffron
Don't buy sugary sweets
Keep vegetables stocked up
Keep fruits like melons apples banana blueberries whichever your favorite fruits are
Get vegetable chips from whole foods.
Get whole wheat pancake mix from whole foods.
If you really want to indulge, get a carrot cake or your choice, pecan walnut icecream is the best.
Try mango recipes
Make walnut halwa it takes 10 minutes, try almond milk it takes 5 minutes
Drink loads of water, just keep drinking
Try egg cheese sandwich
Have rice lentils with vegetables and pickle
Make your own ramen noodles by adding water in the end of chowmein :P



After getting high:

See sadhguru videos
See psyco fink videos
Try sketching
Try robot dancing
Fuck obviously as many times as you want
Discuss people even closed ones, it creates understanding
Watch animal documentaries
See life on us movie on amazon
Try 3d stuff
Well its  no brainer but see hot music videos
Listen to the song of the butterfly hungary
Try samvad music
Find kpop videos
Try comedy shows
See old pictures, you might just go back in that moment for a while
Slow mo bros youtube
Go for a trail walk next day with lighter buzz
Go for a short park walk and appreciate the beauty of nature flowers trees dogs.

Don't do this

Talk a lot continuously
Play board games
Gather a lot of friends
Exercise
Going pub
Drinking
Watching a whole 3 hour movie
Facebook, twitter, instagram blah blah social media
Taking drugs when you are already tired
Eating a lot

Thats about it, I have added more in my yoga journal posts when I wrote about my days. This is turning out to be more like a reference for me like bookmarks for life.

Thanks. In my next post I will post specific movies and documentaries that are awesome to watch while high.

Be responsible stoners you all :)

Yoga species : Types of yoga mates

A few years ago, my first workout in gym inspired a whole post on indian gym goers. Now comes the second edition in yoga version. I am going places, aint I? To be honest, when you walk in that yoga class you don't really expect a lot of different characters. Its just yoga, people come people leave its all silence and poses. Time communication is not just enough to make out the differences. The power of a woman's observation surpassed all the obstacles and here it goes, my indian eyes see cosmopolitan yoga class with all the species in it. It does take some time to notice as you are crumbling in initial classes. Every person looks like a yogi but are they?


Couples : I absolutely hate couples coming for yoga. Why? Clearly one of them got interested first, practiced till they could show off and then influenced the other one to lay mat side by side. Its annoying, they don't even need to compete with others, they are out there proving flexibility to each other. The energy or should I say aura is so distracting surrounding these species. Its road to divorce or breakup, its harsh but thats how truth is. This particular couple will never attain the peace or stability in class or life.

Oldie buddies : Ohh we have been doing yoga for 20 years now together. They are better than the real couple, there is no competition there is no relationship goals pic motivation for instagram. Of course they can be equally irritating with their before class talks or smiling at each other faces. Again, laying mat next to them feels like you are alone against a team. I might be overthinking here but nah its true.

Hot n not so hot : Well we all know that hot women and yoga go together. Out of 10, at least there is probability of having 1 hot icon in class. Then exist the fake hot girls who wear hot clothes, come with makeup on, hair tied like it took an hour to get ready. Hot or not, if they are not doing yoga right, its just a waste of time and money. Most of these hot and not hot come in pairs. Not hot one making the hotter girl look even more hot and praising her all the time like a follower.

Candy guys : Out of 4 months of my brief yoga encounter, there was just one time one hot guy came to our class. This species is super rare in our suburb of city.

Hippies : They all come with groupons or free classes. Their clothes, their hair and super skinny weed body gives them away. Some of them have weird ponytails with lotus tattoos inked by a block artist or perhaps themselves. Obviously, they are good at yoga or at least trying to be good.

Indians : This species is kind of scarce which is really good. Every class has like 2 or 3 indians. Now indian girls like me who are over dressed give others sweaty arms, also no matter how much we pull our ass in, its always out like we twerked all our life. We are all a little plump in US size standards and as yoga makes you lose boobs, you kind of look not so proportionate. Then there are indian guys who dress up like they are going for wrestling, their short red revealing underwear is too much to handle. When they try specific yoga poses, you just die. There are some moments you just wanna blank up in your life.

Hot girls : Hot girls know they are hot, they know people might be saving seat behind or around them. Some of us might even argue why is this species here? I have never ever seen a hot one following up for all classes. I don't know they might be going around showing off in all the classes and taking cross fit in secret.

Beautiful people : Its not just outer beauty, these people are the true yogis with inner beauty. They smile when you enter class, they acknowledge people, they do whats best for their body. If they lay mat near you, you are going to get all the perfect vibes to practice. When they do a split standing up, its not showing off. Its their practice. With shavasana, you feel them not doing anything like they disappeared. These are the people I want to learn from, be with.

Other asians : Unlike indians, other asians are way more competitive flexible and fierce in yoga. They are sexy, they know how its done. They are the future of yoga. I would never lay mat next to them because of the immense hard working energy around them. It chokes me in my practice.

Old guys : A lot of old people come for yoga just in shorts or sports bra with a short. Its not the kind of view you want to see all that loosening fat gathering for full splits. They sigh longer, they are more open to their body functions, they want to talk sometimes. All the effort makes them grumpy after yoga. They are not here for peace, they are just here for the exercise part.

Trainer groupees : These are the bunch of people who stuck by from beginning of class to now. Their faith is with the trainer, this is the only kind of yoga classes they came for. When a class is full to max, you know they are trainer fans. They laugh at all the stupid jokes he makes, they blend in like a family which frankly is super annoying.

Competitors : The worst category out of all. If you want to compete, go for cross fit or group training sessions, leave yoga. As soon as you walk into the room, there should not be any intention of competition. Yoga was supposed to be a practice that you did with no one but your teacher. Times changed, teachers are less and expensive so we moved on to group classes. If you know it all, save your money, practice at home. If you walk into  a yoga room with the spirit of winning, you have already lost.

NAMASTE

Pets or fashion or just a cool instagram caption :(

An year back when we arrived here the land of dreamers, I actually thought everyone was so great at having pets. They cared there are dogspot kind of places and shelters are amazing. This must be heaven for dogs cats. Well, reality is there is just like 30% of people who genuinely care.

Its become fashion. What triggered this post is this poor small dog left in the car unattended. Well, I didn't complain in the first hour because someone might have genuine reasons to leave and might come back in like 10 minutes. Hmm nah its been 3 hours of that dog shivering looking out. So the animal activist in me was all fueled up and went up to concierge. Guess what its the frontdesk woman's dog. She started explaining how sweet dog is how he is okk with being left alone in cold with food and water. Nope, didn't really explain her insensitivity. I get it, you have to run to a store you can't take your dog everywhere. Would you just leave your kid in car with food and water? Don't animals have feelings?  Lets leave you in car with water and food for more than an hour.

Take a walk in the morning and see all these cribbing dog owners walking dogs. I have seen so many people with small dogs not even looking behind if dog is comfortable being dragged for their rush. People like us who think a thousand times about the implications of leaving them alone or going on vacation never end up with a pet. I hate to be racist but asians yeah like me and other countries that are around us are the worst. They just adopted one because it looks cool here in US. I see so many sulking faces with sulking sad dogs.

Ever been to a shelter, try seattle humane. My volunteering work involved warming up the new cats to shelter. Stories that piled up saddened me to core. Neighbors moved out left their cats behind. Two cats won't eat sleep or even respond to treats. If you can't decide if you really need a pet and you can't provide for them emotionally financially physically, don't commit. Just have a baby morons.

It is an angry post and goes out to all you stupid culprits who just adopted dogs for fashion because everyone in my workplace has one or because they are so cute when they are in the corner by themselves. Educate yourselves be mature and for god sakes stop making new smaller shorter breeds so they fit in your purse. We are altering nature, we are trying to shape it the way we find convenient.

So if you do have a dog, be a good dog owner. Love him how much he loves you, take him for walks play with him , give your time and energy, teach your kids well. If you are not up for it, just don't do it.

Please adopt from shelters, animals there need your love so badly.

Not to end this on a bad note, I have witnessed awesome people with their happy pet friends. Go to any off leash dog park and you will see. Live up to your pet's expectations. They deserve so much better.

There's a thing called "yoga injury"

Yep my first yoga injury is here, it stares and pokes whenever I lean in for those lunges. It feels like a betrayal my body has been put through. I mean come on yoga the slow moving careful relaxing practice why why. They call it runners knee sadly enveloping 2 weeks of my power yoga.

The point here is don't underestimate the risk of pain in yoga practice. Now your instructor might not be able to pay attention all the time. So how do you avoid it?

First of all, while doing lunges warriors, don't over extend, the weight of body should not be just on the forward knee. That is what gave me left knee inflammation. Even when you are in warrior 3, the base should be firm, again not your body weight. Your energy is distributed to hands legs all around so instead of putting pressure on the single leg, feel like you are bound like an aerial performer and feel strength everywhere. There is a whole pdf on where to put pressure in which asan.

Secondly, take breaks frequently. We are all competitive we all want to do it from start to end but rest rest when you do need it. It would be better if you do 4 poses with ease and strength rather than dying fish face.

Thirdly, use foam roller. My husband uses it to get rid of knots in back and thighs. Its super useful. My knee healed a lot faster because of this. Its available on amazon.

Fourthly, switch classes. If you feel like your knee is sore or you feel low on energy, go for bikram yoga. I have been doing it for 2 weeks thanks to my knee pain. Its less intense and uses more basic poses instead of all the power yoga craziness.

Listen to your instructor when she tells you which body part is working here. In bikram for example when you do supta vajrasana your chest is lifted. So sometimes, why not see instructor doing it or perhaps an expert in class. Observe and then follow. Our version of doing it fully and actuality might be far off.

Last one would be unplug for a while. Give your body the rest. We don't feel but our knees our back our balance is all being tested, our rusty body is getting a makeover so take it slow.

Good night yogi :) NAMASTE

Leela Palace Chennai : Royalty Addiction

If you are not an authentic middle class born, you will never know the kind of nervousness that creeps in when we walk in a 5 star hotel like most of which is inhabited by foreigners and NRIs which kind of applies to us too. So with that NRI confidence of a middle class soul, I put my step forward in checking in. We all know those stories where you have to act all formal and classy with a dress to go just because you are in that building. I would never do it, not even if its paid for.

On our first day, frankly we found them a little too sir madam a little too attentive but then next day they understood us, we got the hang of it and it was all perfection from there.  Ever stayed in those city hotels like hyatt or silver cloud in US, they are super expensive and serve cheapest limited breakfast with even minimal customer service. In a few years, all these receptionists will be robots, I do have my doubts if they already are. Hello, what a wonderful day I know right its supposed to rain blah blah cyborg conversation hehe :P


Coming back to leela palace, its a luxury you step into. You are spoiled forever. Anything any hotel any reception area lesser is like an insult. That is what leela feels like. Their breakfast spread is amazing, you can ask for pancakes you can have dosa chutney by the backwaters with an indian music playing in background. Our mornings started with fucking awesome gym, gosh that gym has everything you need. Not that I wasn't working out before but 15 days of that training transformed me. The benefit of training is you can eat as much as you want. So breakfast followed with me gorging on all the south indian dishes I haven't had in an year.  Lunch was burger some days other days it was tomato soup or something. You can try it all. Its amazing. Every time I stepped out of leela other than malgudi savera, it was awful.

Most of the credit goes to staff. Staff is super courteous and no matter what, they will help you out. I love love their swimming pool, its like you are in that palace era where you are the queen and this nice warm pool is yours all yours. They even have a dryer to dry out your swimsuit.

We wanted to try hilton but came running back to leela within a day, yeah thats how much we loved it. The room is like a king's room, the bed the furnishing the double vanity washroom the bathtub ohh life's amazing for billionaires. I wish I was one, where are those lottery tickets that actually work?

Some nights we would hit pub for our JB, its pretty cool there. Not a lot of youngsters come to this one which made it perfect for us oldies sipping on whiskey with peanuts. They managed to hit classy on pub too. Hilton on the other hand had such a non functional small gym with too much noisy pub. I feel like all these western ventures come in with a very minute idea of how india is. They don't want to please us, they just want to make us feel like we don't deserve more than their shitty hotels. But then our own indians are not interested in providing services too. All people want to do is make bucks off our ignorance to a lavish life's right.

It was all in july so this is just a under exaggerated version of experience, if I did write in july it would be like 10 posts on leela palace chennai.

 Its a royal endeavor.

La Belle Vie : Naukuchiatal Bnb : Wonderful Serene Heaven

When we decided to go India for a month, a random voice said why not end it with a mini vacation with family. And this is what turned up.

So came La Belle Vie bnb. Have you ever dreamed of living in hill station in an artistic wooden house? This one is so much more than that. Its located a little farther after nainital. You will find their listing on airbnb. As our trip was coming to an end, with our families we took train to delhi which is really torturous for spoiled people. Then we took taxi to this place, all the while it was raining and I wished it was worth all the effort. Rocks were falling all over the road.

First of all, people who manage this place are super helpful. They will guide you in bestest way possible. As soon as we reached, he showed us the rooms which trust me were to die for. You feel like you have reached a sort of parallel heaven. First look is so impressive, you get immersed in it. Ohh the house is designed beautifully, its like you want to bid and buy it then and there. I am posting some pictures too. Rooms are really spacious although I do wish washrooms were a little more presentable. They have everything you might need. Ohh and the stairs to the upper mini floor with lights, hmm some one really put heart into this place.

The lake is just around the corner. As you can see, its serenic and peaceful as not many tourists come this side of nainital. I do recommend a boat ride just for the fun of it. My parents arrived around 8pm and guess what whole road was full of glow worms. Aha I told you heaven. Then as my husband and Mahesh who will be described in a full paragraph ahead went out, mahesh told us leopard comes out to hunt there. Well, they came back safely so probably leopard wasn't hungry.

Mahesh now ohh god he is the chef of the house. You ask him for anything and he will make it. Of course there is a menu. He is a pahari chef so instead of going for regular north indian food, take his advice. Do try his daal, gosh I so wish I could just live and eat there all my life. His version of omelette is so much better than any other. How can I forget those parathas and khichdi and that kitchen? I am telling you each and every part of home is perfect. Live there to know it. Mahesh is also the caretaker so once a day he cleans up the rooms. Did I mention his pakoras and tea are to die for? Aaaah Mahesh hehe. We wouldn't have survived hotel food, I am so thankful for homemade food there. On our way back, we stopped in some manga dhaba, as soon as we ate food we got stomachache. I would recommend packing food from Mahesh too. Such a fan article. 

I love dogs and this place is full of them, friendly ones. We met and petted almost 6 dogs on the street. I guess hill station dogs are simple minded too. Then there is pasha labrador, ask about pasha when you go. We played with him almost every evening. 

If you are a morning person and love nature with a peaceful quiet setting, you must try this one on your next india visit. Just the taxi ride can be a bit tiring so keep that in consideration. Its so worth the money and time.

So called Arranged Love marriages :P

Wedding season is on. What lead to this post is my hour long conversation with my mil. I don't know how but we discussed at least 6 marriages in the same talk, upcoming ones troubled ones and then those running on compromises. When we were growing up, love marriages were the kind of setups with rebels eloping or convincing parents after years of struggle. It wasn't easy. Then arranged marriages happened all the time with parents' happily spending giving away daughters to some family they deemed perfect with their business kundli logic.

The latest wedding trend is yeah arranged love marriage. Two people fall in love, their parents meet say yes and then begins the process of arranged setting. Even though these lovers want to get married, they don't have the guts to tell parents that girl's parents might not want the kind of extravagant drama. Guys feel overwhelmed with the fact mom dad family agreed. According to them, saying or laying more rules might seem like an insult to their loving relatives. I don't think so. What kind of love is it when you see your girl and her family fighting for money and you do nothing. How can you step back when it comes to deciding the finance part? Chicken indian men. They just do the necessary part and step back. Why not do an arrange marriage when you can demand more confidently? People say gifts a little cash is all part of it. No, its not. If someone wants a gayatri temple wedding, why can't they? Why do we have to listen to guys' parents ruling it? You are doing us a favor by marrying, your idiot son loves our moron daughter. Stop calling it love, call it arranged comfortable money minded pig love. I said it, live with it. And girls fight it, do you think he will stand for you when time comes? Think about it. There are so many friends who did love marriage, their parents agreed and now their husbands' parents are much more taunting demanding than arranged marriage scenarios. Stop interfering one time fuck birth givers. Is it like a life term mortgage these girls pay with their peace of mind and relationships?

Indians are so awesome, we fudged up the love part in love marriage. I know at least 4 friends who are not divorcing their husbands and wasting time age kids lives. Even if your husband was having an affair, did it ever occur along with dragging him to court you are ruining your life. The time you could use in shaping up healthy kids or career or peaceful life is all going in ransacking some ex's present. There is this friend who stalks her husband in gym, then picks up random fights and still wants him back. I feel bad for husband. Moving on with life is important too, why is vindictiveness so important in your insignificant journey. There is another one who in the name of dowry has not given divorce for 14 years. Seriously, what are the chances of living happily with this guy you kept tormenting in court police station for more than a decade. Just because there is a kid in equation, it is not okk. Stop it.


Then of course we have arranged marriages. Couples who eat together, work all the time but their conversations are limited to guests relatives kids household appliances. They are so much into the whole whirlwind of responsibilities they stopped looking at each other decades ago. Now its all work till you die, serve till you drop.


Ohh its not that traumatizing. I have seen exceptional couples who are doing everything right, standing with each other making decisions, accepting correcting flaws and moving on towards happiness. Life's cool, we complicate it with money expectations. My in laws never ever poked in our life. When they did, it was amicable and we drew the line too. They never ask how much where we spend our money or  anything else for that matter. We are not pressurized to be in weddings or call people. They let us be. Still I am pretty sure there is so much scope of improvement to be done on both sides. So instead of going backwards, move in the right direction, if you feel something is wrong, tell it to your parents especially guys. They will understand. Your wife is your responsibility too, she didn't sign up the birth agreement you have with yours.

Traditions should evolve : My "Dandia" perspective

It is or was the dandia season like a few days ago. I have traditional friends and they were going crazy about it. Hmm come to think of it last dandia was awesome for me in chennai. We had a few drinks, wore my stupid chumbak kurta and just danced to every song form south indian kase panna to its time to disco 90s feel. There was no one selling dandia sticks for 5$, no one dressing up to impress. It was pure fun. Ooh chennai I love you so much.

Why do we associate festivals with wasting time grooming up and then learning dance steps so we don't embarrass ourselves. All you got to do is look a little presentable, have super funky music not that step 1 step 2 do i look beautiful step 3 step 4 is my hair bouncy step 1 what was step 2 again. Poor husbands are clicking pics of wives twirling in all the wrong ways.

If I could host a bollywood dandia party, it would be like no dandia sticks just music, people who are over dressed will be kicked out. Wear your comfortable sneakers groove to kala chashma dandia mix. Have drinks ooh indian appetizers again dance then go to jalebi stall. I think I just described an indian wedding for me. If you could have menus on indian wedding cards, it would be so much easier to decide and attend :) In my own wedding, I ate all the goodies waiting for baarat. If you think of it, it is easier for girls, poor guys make fools of themselves riding horse or even worse horse cart seeing sweaty asses dancing and keeping a kid close who they don't even care about. Hehe my guy got backpain and we had the awesomest pics like him not smiling at all and me giving all the vamp auditions.


I have to describe this wedding scene, we all know how much important bride's sisters feel for no apparent reason. You are not the one, let bride have it all. These particular sisters and her friends learned exact 6 steps to balam pichkari. Now every 15 minutes, the song would play and exact 6 steps followed. Haha so satisfying to see people dancing like everyone cares when in fact the only folks looking are those waiting in line to handover envelope and leave or eat or or the paid photographers ;)
Must have been a guy who invented makeup to fuck up our lives.

So my point is don't make festivals dresses dance steps sooooo big that it takes fun out of our life. Don't fret over minute things, life is simple so do the nagin step come on.

How to have a safe hot yoga practice : Before after yoga

Lets add a disclaimer first- All the experiences are my own, it could vary person to person. So under no circumstances I guarantee this will work but it worked for me.


Here's the list of before after hot yoga practice that should help your body prepare and recover from that hot room that makes you haute like seriously victoria secret haute.

Hydrate hydrate hydrate : Wake up at least 2 hours before yoga class. Finish drinking 2 litres in that span slowly slowly. Eventually it becomes a habit and you don't mind gulping all that water. My 500 ml water in yoga class literally drags through whole week as my body is well hydrated.

Emergen c: I manage with emergen c. You can choose any of the products in the category and take it 45 minutes before class. So when you are in there sweating, it will help replenish lost salts.

Chill pal towel : I got it from amazon and it works. It cools you down instantly. So invest in one of these towels.

Sturdy mat : You don't have to buy all the expensive mats and towels. Its cool with just one mat. Basic necessities of life. Its cool but who wants to carry 10 things to yoga class.

Clothing : Before joining yoga, seemed to me people practicing it always wore shorts or like a cool tank top or just a sports bra. I am a shy introvert so even if I turn into a model, my t shirt and leggings would be the outfit in yoga class. It doesn't matter. Everyone sweats, if you are conscious wear a simple cotton t shirt with fitted leggings whatever is comfortable.

Food  before: I go for noon class so sometimes I do eat chapati curry around 10am. If I go for 8am class, I have to have light breakfast. You need energy to pull off the moves in there. Get a jar full of assorted nuts, your favorite ones walnuts raisins figs dates and eat before class after class. Don't go on a full stomach but never starve. Have apples bananas berries. Pretty soon you will be eating for fun. Yoga kind of takes you to a healthier meal too.

Food after : So if you already had lunch, come back start with yogurt which is my favorite. I make it in yogurt maker hehe lazy people. Then you can munch on cantaloupe melons a little toast with almond butter honey. Yogurt helps a lot in cooling down and its good. Have boiled eggs omelette anything that you like. Once in a week, go for those cliche green drinks kale spinach honey and all the weird ingredients.

What else do we need hmm a little motivation okk so what do you think when you do yoga.
I would say don't think anything. Just listen to your yoga guide and body. Never over stretch over breathe, stay calm. If an asan is testing you, give it time. Some days you will do your best, other days you will merely survive. Its not about doing asan, its just about showing up with integrity to do it. That doesn't mean you stop trying. Do it at your pace. People will always do better or worse, find your focus point. I take about 3 breaks which is more than normal. But we are all learning. Instead of dying while doing, enjoy it and relax.

Also keep changing classes and instructors. Once you know the flow and terms, you start going for different instructors and different forms of yoga. If I am a little tired, I go for bikram. If I am all charged up, I go for my favorite instructor who focusses on core workout. When its all average and lazy, its my motivational pushy instructor. Then if you really want to learn, you will find enthusiastic young teachers who do yoga with students. Find empty classes, ohh they are wonderful. In short, try every class every teacher. It brings a change to routine and body.


Force smile and then you will start smiling naturally. Life is not complicated, yoga is not complex, we make it tough.



NAMASTE

Alcohol pyramid : How alcoholics evolve with age

If I could advise anyone, it would be start drinking as early as possible. Haha why because you might have to slow down at a certain age, not because your wife or your kids will do it, your stupid rotting body will regret it next morning.

We started drinking around 23 which is so officially late, seriously its such a sham my parents build around it. At least we were lucky none of us wasn't inhibited about it. As I was looking at all the old pictures, it struck me we did drink it all.

Lets start with the first phase. Every person starts with a cocktail with like 10 mls of vodka. You start liking it for the sweet buzz it gives you. When its the beginning of evolution, its just 3 drinks sometimes, you don't even care for hydration, sleep it off, wake up with the worst hangover, puke here puke there and lesson learned. Eat and drink enough with cocktails. Yep, as if its gonna help the older version of you.

Then comes the dancing in pub phase. I have danced in chennai pubs like anything. What we did was get drunk before you reach pub. Smart strategies. You start making your own cocktails, margaritas, bloody marys, sangrias, pina colada. Still on a more sweeter level the alcohol journey goes on. You order food, try all the restaurants nearby not knowing the future you is going to envy your metabolism so hard.

As the last one starts wearing off, you move on to the rum with coke phase with cheaper biryani to manage home party costs. In India it is so much easier, get pizza with so many  vegetarian options. Some days you have vodka with orange juice. See cocktails are getting simpler now. After some time, you start cooking pasta at home to go with your rum gin vodka tequila. You are still owning it with 6 drinks and still dancing partying ohh what life. You get those disco lights home theatre and life is party from friday to sunday.

Ohh you are approaching the end of an era but you still don't know. Rum coke works but now you are making more home food avoiding all the calories, who can forget old monk n rum. Then your friend takes you to goa and you find port wine.Goa is party heaven of course. Any pub any dance floor is apt. Beach side shacks serve awesome food. We went on a company outing and one of our south indian friends went into a dance battle with britishers. Haha rumba fun matcha. Another group of friends with whom I shared hukka actually had the guts to fight those bulky human gatekeepers. Who can forget random tequila shots. Life's a party. Then comes the wine phase accompanied with rum sometimes. If someone offers whisky, you say it doesn't suit your taste. You are young you are not going to drink whisky. Its for old hairy bearded people in old style pubs. Pakoras cashews now you have your own selection of chakna ( snacks ). You are trying wraps salads everything with it. Save these moments, click pics so you do remember how much you ate drank slept. You have perfected the art of hydration.

Then one day whiskey comes back in picture. You are nearing thirty, you don't want to drink coke or unhealthy snacks that were once your life. So that gives way to wine and salad. Ohh you sophisticated you or should i say old you.  Well, whiskey isn't so bad, you give it a try, in few months you are buying jameson irish whiskey or jim bourbon and gulping it with water and ice. Out of blue you want to have captain morgan krakken spice rum, it was awesome with coke so yeah what happens next kills your spirit. You were awfully careful about drinking enough water, eating healthy sufficient homemade curry yogurt. Still you poor soul wake up in the middle of night with stomachache, you can't sleep because of the sugar high coke gave you. Its not hangover that kills, it is how it irritates your intestine. Next morning you are so regretting those 3 drinks. And you decide I am gonna stick to whiskey. Thats how your body lets you know you are old you are dying your body is losing water so my friend drink less sleep early.

My advice to all the parents who stop their kids from drinking, let them they will leave it or moderate it after 30. Well, I don't have kids so not really my concern if it harms your kid. Don't drink and drive you adults , young people might probably handle it. Hope is not lost, move on to cannabis ;)

P.S. Whether you drink or get high, always end it with awesome f :P

My body loves yoga : here's why

I have been doing yoga for like 2 months and its a pretty short time to even see long term effects. Its not weight loss that took me to yoga, it was kind of an itching feeling of having tried everything to feel fit and relaxed at the same time. You can do beachbody insanity workouts you can do tabata dailyburn or even try your cross fit trainer, nothing will ever compare to the stability and strength yoga will promise from first day. Although I might have to couple together one of these with yoga because abs are not made in yoga studio.

The changes huh the first and foremost change was pms is gone, all my life I had pms symptoms like weight gain bloated tiresome, may be I wasn't a healthy kid didn't eat right didn't sleep right. May be all of that corrected together aligned with yoga brought the results. That problem has vanished, its kind of a cliche when women start experiencing body issues, yoga is eradicating them for me. Its such  a relief, never wanted to be a grumpy oldie. So all chakras activated or at least flowing together is really good for a woman's body. One of my yoga friends said this, she joined gym for a while and then came back to join yoga along with. She said its really mystical how yoga treats us from day one. Its a blessing for a woman.

Second one was noticed by my husband who within a month told me you have to keep doing whatever you are doing eating. In his stalker language, your body is taking all the right curves and burning all the faulty ones and flexibility is a bliss. Okay, haha we know what he wants and he did convey it in the tharkiest way possible ;) Yep, your body is going to burn fat from where it should, it will not even touch the curves you are supposed to have. Your face will not lose fat, the process is really slow though so be patient with yoga. If you had to start yoga, be your fit self and then start. It might not burn extra fat if its a lot.

Third third you feel more confident in general life. Yoga gives you a vision where somehow you start feeling more capable, your conversations with people are more profound, you don't put extra effort where you shouldn't . Perhaps you start seeing minor setbacks as nothing but experience. You are more yourself. I realized a lot of other things like work isn't important, do what you love blah blah. Earlier it was all on my mood energy if I can walk into a coffee shop and talk. I had anxiety issues, yoga is healing that too. It gives you individuality, you feel like everyone else is the same so you don't see anyone above or below. Sometimes I think may be when we practice, our practices of yoga are different, some people bend more some people rest on mat more but we all start and finish together. That is life, aint it. Live your life your version of fullest, not some facebook socialite fullest. Because that my friends is gonna fade.

Ooh I love this one, the posture. You start sitting upright your shoulders that were rounded by loads of work or hours of laziness are looking up. With yoga, you are also always pushing. To this day, I am not doing chaturanga right, hehe my instructors keep saying my name to correct me. I asked my instructor why some days are tough and very wisely she replied its because you expect. Hmmm if you go mindlessly expecting nothing, you do good. Same goes for this world of illusions.

I get embarrassed less. Well, I was the kind of person who would apologize even to a barista for wasting her 10 seconds. It was like I owed something to this world. It could be the kind of insecurities that dwell up when you see yourself lesser. Yoga took care of that too. We are practising and I pop my knee, guide makes a joke about chiropractor and done. Hehe my mat makes weird noise and still its okk. For first time in life, I actually shared a public washroom while camping. So yeah all of these things let you know its all cool, there is nothing to get embarrassed about, just walk up and shine. Be calm be gentle, no one knows you so there is really no need to prove too. Care about your day, be polite to people if someone can't respond its the kind of thing they should work on not you.


I see people as they are. Hmm some of the credit will go to cannabis and sadhguru videos. Even though you might realize, its difficult to accept some people's behavior towards you. Its enlightening when you can be in their shoes and empathize. It must look like a borrowed article from google but its all my experience. One of our relatives always made rude comments or taunts, this time I retaliated and fought back, nah not the solution because if you do it first time, you will always be agitated which is worse. So next time I just sat peacefully and put same thing across in milder words expressing my notion of the situation. That helped. Even if we get angry or shout or worry, its us who suffers, others just mock our lack of control.  So if a sister in law comments on your hair color, just say thanks, don't look into the implications double meaning plots haha, no one is stealing your property. Let them be, people mature at different rates.

What I want eventually to happen would be me loving everyone and not judging situations people places kids. Hehe that is the goal.

NAMASTE

And they said India was safe....

In last two days, there have been two separate incidents of girls being stabbed publicly by their stalkers in delhi. In broad daylight these men decided to punish women because they didn't want to be with them. People passed by as these women got stabbed, to end it the guy hit her with rock and kicked her like yeah I won. Even after getting restraint orders and arrests, they just won't give up. If she's not mine, she's not going to belong to anyone else. I wonder what kind of theories people like them carry. Is it because they got nothing to do in life, its just being unlucky if you get into the eyes of a stalker in India. You get harassed in public and apparently even your death is a public spectacle.

Imagine how much these women suffered, rapes by uber drivers, getting picked up by rich brats or under age kids looking for prostitutes. When will this really end? Is there any justice ? Is there any solution? Are we ever going to be safe to just walk around without being bothered? When I visited India this time, I saw the difference. Here in america no one cares what you wear where you are off to. There in india you are the object of attention. Everyone looks at you at least once. What kind of bollywood crap is filled in our minds. What kind of country endorses this violence. We have politicians standing up for rapists. We have foreigners getting molested by hotel managers. We got religious leaders hiding their shameless forced sexual acts. Are we really modern or just a plastic mask of fake english.

I am really apologetic for my country's behavior towards women. If I could, I wouldn't really allow any women there. Its a sad and pathetic place where losers are bred poor to display their power by ruining a lady's life forever. 

Happy Camping Weekend :) : Vegetarian Camping List

Yay we finally made it, as usual the skeptical me was praying for camping trip to get cancelled or moving it to a luxurious cabin. Some people are rotten spoiled by luxuries of life, it didn't really look like an adventure to me, seemed like a torture I was purposely stepping in. Aint someone glad their procrastination was wrong.

Another couple who always gets us out of home planned this. So all of us packed up with our tents and prepacked food to wilappa bay. Some of the experiences we had were exquisite some of them not so much. My friend chose wilappa bay because of its facilities like clean restrooms, store and helpful staff in koa camping. For newbies in camping, it is advisable to bring along all stuff but be in a place where you can make up for the missing things.  Hmm let me jot down the must haves camping list for a vegetarian indian.

1) Tent : Obviously you need a tent, you can either rent it or buy. We got a rental from REI , our friends bought a coleman tent. Now when you do go camping, keep in mind a 4 person tent can actually accommodate just two people with all your bags. So a 2 person tent will barely fit your needs. If you do intend to make this a hobby, you might as well buy one. My friends practiced setting it up at home but its super easy. See a video or something and it shouldn't take more than half an hour.  Don't go lazy on rain cover. Put it up too. Pull it to back so if it rains, it will not enter your tent. What you can do more is get 2 tents, one for sleeping one to just put up higher to safeguard cooking place and fire pit. It helps a lot. Some people got a collapsible rack to put up spices and sauces. Genius folks.

2) Cooking equipment : No you are not going to cook on fire, you can carry your own grill or stove to heat up water make eggs etc. There is this one model that comes in suitcase, try that in super compact version. It works so well.

3) Picnic table cloth : They have 5$ ones in QFC, so get one with the clamps  so you can fix it on your table.

4) Fire starter kit : I never imagined starting fire would be this easy. Just put the fire starter kit, bring along a lighter or a match box, put in the woods that you can always buy at the camping site and you are sorted.

5) Camp lantern : There is this set of 3 lanterns available for 13$ on amazon. It works really well. Don't forget to buy hooks to hang them in tent. You might need headlamps if you are going on a real serious camping trip. Also, carry a torch and extra set of batteries.

6)  Water : Get at least 3 gallons of water from any store so you have enough water to last a day to cook and drink.

7) Ear plugs : I know you are there to enjoy the sounds of wild nature, trust me when it starts raining and your friend starts snoring you will miss these.

8) Cash : There is always some pit stop that won't take cards so carry some cash with you.

9) Tea coffee : If you do like your morning coffee or tea or cocoa, carry tea sachets milk packs that won't spoil if you don't freeze and sugar. The first sip of coffee on a cold dark morning is a blessing.

10) Mattress : You will need it, take an inflatable one from amazon. We got queen intex.

11) Sleeping bags : Okay so if you are planning to go to colder places, check temperature in the description and then buy. We got 2 from coleman and they worked fine. Pillows too, you don't want a painful neck. My friend carried a throw so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable directly on the mattress.

12) Hammock : If you are going to be on the side of a lake, get one.

13) Cutlery : Carry the kind of cups that are more heat resistant. Take extra disposable plates spoons bowls. Take a roll of tissue paper too. If you want to drink coffee or soup, make sure you got heat resistant bowls. Extra polythene bags might help too. Also take trash bag roll. Get fire roasting sticks too.

14) Chairs : Take your own camping chairs. You get cheap ones in QFC or walmart.

15) Food : I am going to tell you what I carried- bread butter jam eggs readymade soup 2 minute cup noodles mtr dal mix mtr aloo saag apple, banana, peanut butter choclate bar, deep khakra, orange, white wine, tequila, spinach naan, marshmallows. Mtr and deep are indian brands of food. MTR has so many vegetarian curry options. You just put the packet for 5 min in boiling water and you have a curry. There are naans that you can just heat and eat. We put them in roasting sticks and it was amazing. Its so easy to pick snacks from indian store. Carry your salt pepper sugar. We made cucumber sandwiches. My husband liked banana with jam on bread. Hehe you can eat anything when you are hungry so always have options. What we could have done more was may be potatoes onions but this much lasted enough for two days. Our friend carried milk in like small packs and heated them up in boiling water. I had coconut water, god we did pack a lot. Take knife scissor and ketchup . Also, pack something to wash utensils. Take an empty 1 litre water bottle too.

16) Towel : Its a no brainer but still carry a thin one so you can dry it out.

17) LED rotating music disk : We got it from amazon. It looked pretty awesome and no one has to play dj as it kept playing country radio which again went with the theme. If at all it failed, I had a backup speaker with pendrive.

18) Umbrella : If you do see rain forecast, carry them so if its raining less, you can use it to shade lantern and led radio.

19) Flip flops : Carry flip flops along with hiking shoes so if you need to go washroom or just nearby, you can use them.

20) Lotion : Take lotion and lip balm as it might get dry, get sunscreen and insect repellant spray with you. Don't forget to pack toothbrushes toothpaste facewash. Damn, is it a camping trip or resort visit.  Pack bodywash shampoo whatever you might need in small bottles.

21)  Clothing : I packed my baeleaf thermal leggings alongwith rain jacket and 2 sweaters with hoodies. If you prefer something else, pack it. Take socks with you. Sometimes in sleeping bags, its more comfortable to sleep with socks. Get hairbands too if you need them.

22) Games : We got playing cards to pass time in night. You can go with any board games of your choice. Do check reviews of your camp site, it might have a lot of things too. If you like books, take them.

23) Bags : If possible, take a backpacking bag instead of suitcase. Suitcase will always take up same space but backpacking one would free some space up after food consumption.

I think thats about all of it. Happy camping.

Our camping experience was amazing if you keep aside the sleeping part. There is something majestic about living in wild, making fire, cooking under stars. We didn't see any stars sadly as it rained throughout our trip. If the tent rental asks you to wash and dry tent, just leave it in sun to dry and then pack it. There are a lot of food options for vegetarians too, check your local indian grocery.

We did have some problems with REI as they charged us more for cancellation and their demands with the clean tent were a little too much as we camped when it poured. I would have preferred buying too.


P.S. Most of the stuff I have listed was arranged by our friends. I am super lazy and do it later kind of person so all thanks to the awesome couple.

What made my day :) cats and abs

Ohh what a wonderful day I had. It was always kind of scary how much work they will give me as a volunteer. Well to just play with a few cats, would it be worth it, may be I will come back sobbing regretting that signature, may be I will feel cheated. Nothing of that sort happened. On my way to shelter practising conversations imagining cats dogs in shabby area  around old wrinkled homeless volunteers, as I stepped in to meet my coordinator, 3 beautiful kittens called me in. Are they up for adoption, are you serious these cuties are going to belong to someone lucky. Its super overwhelming on your first day, you want to feel so happy meeting cats dogs but you do sense their pain their loneliness. Lets keep the post positive, she took me to a room where intakes are kept, one cat wouldn't stop putting her paws out haha holding on to your sweater jeans anything. Another one looked like a big friendly chubby guy. How can someone abandon their pets? They must have bigger issues, trust me no one would just surrender their loved ones like this. Every observation is recorded like what they like to play with how they behave around people, every small detail.

All cats looked healthy lazying around and there were so many of them. Dogs on the other hand were a little more restless, they wanted attention you can see in their eyes how much love they can give you. When the day comes when I own a farm, all dogs cats will come to my farm. I hope so.

My job is to socialize with pets so my first assignment was the one who was left by her owner of 5 years. Imagine cat's sorrow, she wouldn't trust anyone and keep to herself with her side of cage. On offering treat, she took it but then hissed me away. I got so much to learn gosh. Its not like I have never been around cats, raised a few but they were all stray so food or a little massage when they wanted. This is a huge opportunity for me to empathize with cats in shelter, know the behavior, bond with them. When she asked me to hold a cat, I couldn't because I never held one. Then she told me cats can sense it when you are scared, never approach a cat in scared tense mode, she will be the boss of you. Hmm also I have no idea how to make conversations here. All of them are dead end with me. Life is long and we are all constantly evolving. If you do love cats or dogs and you have time, try volunteering. I can't keep dogs or cats because of my frequent visits to india so this is the only way to keep in touch with animals.

So heading back with mixed feelings, cooked, headed for my yoga class. Finally, finally a charming exotic guy with abs lays your mat next to you and the best part he is new. So he is looking around a lot, he is kind of confused which makes him cute. Haha when yoga instructor said stretch keep your gaze up I was like you do that, I am gonna look at this marvelous piece of candy on my right. Ohhh not just that its motivating, you want to perform. I was sick of all the floppy bellies doing yoga perfectly. What a refreshing change. Aha made my day. Ohh how come we indians got the worst genes of the bucket. Or may be with arrange marriage we multiplied all the faulty genes like big nose, short height, balding heads. Think about it. They got everything hot we got left overs.

In my life, this was a perfect day which ended with idli sambhar.

For yoga, some new indians have joined in, they all act like assholes, like straight up no smiles no hi nothing. Hehe what is wrong with us, why are we frowning at our own . Ohh my practice is getting in flow with more poses more calmness more smiling resting face. I even did perfect backbend pushing from chest etc blah blah. Yeah perfecttoo....


NAMASTE