Yoga in Chennai

Ok, I know, I am posting a picture of my lunch for the second day in a row....but this lunch was really interesting! In the morning, I went to a yoga class at Cholayil Sanjeevanam...they told me it was ashtanga yoga, but when I asked them about Pattabhi Jois, they did not know who it was....so I knew it wouldn't be the ashtanga that I practice. It was different, slower than usual, but I liked it and I am going back tomorrow. We only got through about 5 asanas! And the surya namaskar that they practice is completely different than what I am used to. But, the teacher was nice and it was good o get a different perspective on things. The teacher and the other student were both very interested in my sticky mat...I think maybe I should bring some extra ones next time and give it to them as a gift...they really are convenient because you don't slide around.

Below the yoga hall, there is a vegetarian restaurant. They serve a special meal at lunch called "rajakeeyam" that must be eaten in a certain order to ensure that all of the vitamins and minerals are absorbed properly. It contained lots of interesting vegetable concoctions and juices, so I was excited to try it...it seemed sort of like a chef's tasting menu or something. Then, the waiter explained the meal to me and proudly stated that the meal contained "1,000 calories of optimal nutrition". I was momentarily horrified, but decided to proceed with the meal anyway.





The meal started with 2 slices of banana with shredded raw coconut. Then, 5 shot glasses of juice had to be consumed in order: date juice, pistachio (?) milk, vegetable juice, buttermilk, and bran rice milk.



Then, they scooped a row of raw vegetable salads onto my banana leaf that had to be eaten in order. Then, a row of semi-cooked vegetables and a row of cooked vegetables.



Then came brown rice with dahl and white rice with sambar, buttermilk and curd. After that was an excruciatingly sweet and thick "soup". I decided that this is where most of the 1,000 calories were from and only ate a little...I think it was 90% ghee! After that, the server came around with a bowl of honey, which he scooped into my hand. I think I was supposed to lick it off, but it was way too much plain honey for me so a lot of it went onto the napkin...the next table was staring at me...I am sure they thought I was very strange!