The Ugly Truth

Two weeks ago I started my Yoga Teacher Training course. That was the start to 3 whole months of a regimented routine of diet, practice and study. At first, I was unfazed by the suggested daily program. Waking up at 6am, asana practice twice a day, vegetarian diet, abstinence from alcohol, hitting the sack at 10pm seemed like a breeze, especially after having experienced ashram life in India. But I could not be more wrong!

 

The main challenge that I face now is discipline. At the ashram, everyone was following the same routine, delicious vegetarian meals were prepared by the  in-house chef, we were ushered into the hall for asana and meditation practice at fixed times, all of us were living together and there was this collective energy that drove us constantly. But back in the world of internet, blackberrys and entertainment, a different reality starts to materialise. 

 

Last Saturday, I was invited to join some friends for a Halloween open mic session at one of those groovy nightspots. Everyone was having a jolly time drinking and enjoying the booming music. I was the only one  with nothing alcoholic to drink and had to be contented with a glass of lousy cranberry juice. To my surprise, I still had a great time partying into the night but as more alcohol was consumed and as social masks melted away I became a quiet observer to this altered dimension.

 

People were swaying to the tempo of the live music, singing and dancing uninhibitedly along to acoustic blues renditions. On a usually intoxicated night, i would have been a eager participant in this familiar scene. However, now having maintained a pure form of composure and mind state, I realised how  much stimulants can affect an individual. Suddenly it became clear to me that the mindless chatter, the binge drinking and the interplay of inflated egos were temporary and artificial highs that we feed off constantly to avoid facing the deeper issues we harbour inside.

 

I woke up with an awful taste of the 8 pints of beer I had consumed the night before. As consciousness dawned upon me, i started to dread an entire weekend of nursing my hangover. A couple of minutes later, while replaying the memories from the previous night, I realised that I hadn't had a single drop of alcohol!

 

Who said you can't have fun being sober!