Om Namah Shivayah

After two weeks of Olympic craziness, fun, and unfortunately, stress, I checked myself into the Mountainyoga Retreat Centre this weekend. Located outside the 5th ring road of Beijing, Mountainyoga is a great place for those who want to practice yoga, meditate, self-reflect, or quite simply, get away from it all. Somehow, the idea of twisting myself into pretzel-like shapes and chanting seemed like a good idea. So off I went, to another adventure.

And another adventure it was. I arrived on Friday night, in a wet and dark parking lot in the middle of nowhere. My cab driver looked at me nervously and said, "Ni wei shen me lai zhe ge hen pian pi de di fang?" To which I interpreted, "Crazy little Chinese girl. What are you doing in the middle of nowhere?" Before I could second guess my decision, a long haired Chinese guy called my name. Turns out he was Gyan Giri, one of the yogis who worked at Mountain Yoga. Minutes later, he led me thru a few dark alleys, and then lo and behold, here I was, at the retreat centre. As someone who normally can't sit still for more than 5 minutes, being here was going to be challenging enough.

The entrance to Mountain Yoga Retreat Centre. Hah. Definitely not your 5-star Grand Hyatt lavishness, but I was here to get away from everything, no?

My room. It wasn't bad at all.

Yoga in the courtyard in the morning. Here's a typical schedule at the retreat -



7:15 - 8:15 am Morning yoga session

8:30 - 9 Vegetarian breakfast

9:00 - 10:30 Tea and relaxation

10:30 - 12 pm Yoga

12:00 - 1:00 Vegetarian lunch

1:00 - 2:30 Free time for hiking, reading or sleeping

2:30 - 3:30 Drumming session

3:30 - 4:00 Tea and relaxation

4:00 - 5:00 Calligraphy or language exchange

5:00 - 6:00 Evening yoga

6:30 - 8:00 Vegetarian dinner

8:00 - 9:00 Mantras

10:00 Bedtime/Silence

Sounds like fun? Haha. Actually, it was a very rewarding experience. Not your average vacation, but then again, those who know the Chonger would understand why I came here in the first place. After 48 hours of downward dogging, upward catting, eating lots of doufu and pao cai, the things I learned are:

1) I like being by myself but only after 24 hours

2) I am really not flexible

3) I love meat

4) I love coffee and I can't live without it

5) The chant "Om Namah Shivayah" - I honor the divinity that resides within me