What little I know

As I struggle to pack, I am realising how little I know about the place I am going, or what life is going to be like there. It makes it challenging to anticipate what I will need to get through the day/week/month.

As a result, I have been scouring the internet for any little pieces of information I can find about Neyyar Dam, Kerala, the ashram I am going to, what to pack, and what the course will be like.

Here's what I can tell you so far:

There's a lot of talk about swimming in the lake by the ashram. Which sounds great. Especially since the temperature looks to be in the 90's, and we practice yoga outdoors a lot. However, when I google the town of Neyyar Dam, all the tourism sites mention the nearby Crocodile Farm.

My daily schedule will look something like this:
-5.30am Wake-up
-6am Satsang (Meditation, chanting, lecture)
-8am Asanas, pranayama (learning how to practice yoga)
-10am Brunch (from what I have read - everyone is starving by this point)
-11am Karma yoga (an hour of service to the ashram, like cleaning the temple, hopefully not the bathrooms!)
-12noon Bhagavad Gita or Chanting class
-2pm Main lecture
-4pm Asanas, pranayama (Learning how to teach yoga)
-6pm Dinner
-8pm Satsang (Meditation, chanting, lecture)

I'll be staying in a twin room with one other person and my own bathroom, which will not have hot water. Yay me.

The ashram has limited internet facilities (no idea what that means) and a phone available for international calls.

I'll probably cry at least a couple of times during the first week.

If you want to see more about the place I'll be you can look at their site here:
http://www.sivananda.org/neyyardam/