Toronto

Toronto´s skyline with its emblem - CN Tower

Since my brother lives in Toronto with his girlfriend Vika, I planned on visiting them definetly. I spent about 9 days in Toronto. My brother showed me a bit of the city, its main attraction for instance we wandered around downtown which sort of reminds me a bit of some streets in Manhattan and actually there is a spot which is kind of like an imitation of the Times Square in NYC. Other than that, we did an excursion to Toronto Island - awesome! We were pretty lucky with the weather and walked from one side to the other, discovering its hidden spots. Watching a baseball game, attending a street-jazzfestival with international artists and bicyle trips were additional highlights. Also I wanted to get to see Toronto and surroundings from the CN Tower´s observation deck, apparently the highest isolated building in the world. The line-up was totally crazy, packed with tons of tourist but the long hours of waiting were worthwile. Last but not least it was just nice hanging out with Harry, Vika and family. I´ll definetly come back soonish :)

Vika and me on the balcony

in front of well-known castle

glassfloor of CN Tower - scary height :)

Downtown from CN Tower

Baseballgame

somewhere around University Campus :)

Harry & Me on Toronto Island

Vika & Me in front of a bunch of
canadian flags

It´s done - my gapyear has ended and I can say it was an amzing year! Now I am back in Frankfurt/Germany and will complete my apprenticeship in the Maritim Hotel. Later on, I do want to keep traveling, that´s for sure! See you soonish on the road :)
Best Regards!!!

TTC - Yoga Teacher Training Course

NAMASTE :) !Here I am, ready for a new challenge and reinforcing my interest in YOGA :) My next destination right after my NYC-Trip was the Peaceful Valley Ashram owned by Leela Mata, internationally known teacher with great wisdom. Thanks to my parents my interest in Yoga grew and I accompanied them to yoga classes in Bad-Meinberg, Europe´s biggest Yoga-Center by the way. That´s where I met Leela and learnt about the TTC. I wanted to immerse myself into Yoga and decided to take part in the TTC.

First of all I´d like to give you a short introduction into Yoga - here are some basics:

Yoga focuses on harmony between mind and body. Yoga derives its philosophy from Indian metaphysical beliefs. The word yoga comes from Sanskrit language and means union or merger. The ultimate aim of this philosophy is to strike a balance between mind and body and attain self-enlightenment. To achieve this, yoga uses movement, breath, posture, relaxation and meditation in order to establish a healthy, lively and balanced approach to life.

Though the exact origins of Yoga are unknown but Yoga is considered to be the oldest physical discipline in existence. Yoga, thus symbolizes balance in every area of life. In the earlier times, the rationale of the Yoga postures and breathing exercises was to bring stability and relaxation so practitioners could prepare for the rigors of meditation, sitting still and alert for long periods of time. In modern context also Yoga can play an important role in maintaining a fine balance between work and healthy mind.
more info on: http://yoga.iloveindia.com/

read info leaflet above :)

Basically and essentially it gives some brief facts about Leela Mata, the knowledgeable and loving main teacher + owner of the Ashram. This leaflet is meant to provide information on the respective scheme consisting of Ayurveda and Panchakarma. Also I thought it would nice to catch a glimpse of Leela and her ongoing projects. Anyways as mentioned on the leaflet yoga and meditation are included and it was naturally included as well in the TTC. Diet i.e. vegeterian food and lifestyle education plays also an important role. Through living the integral system of yoga, the student is provided with necessary knowledge to continue his/her practise at home.
The daily routine of the TTC has been settled beforehand.

The day started with Satsang (meditation + teacher´s lecture on yoga philosophy and wordly wisdoms) at 6:00 am. After a couple of days we changed it to 5:45 in order to get started with some breathing exercises. Honestly it was kind of hard getting up that early at the very beginning particulary after a pretty much restless trip to NYC,anyways i don´t want to complain :) i got used to the daily routine quiet quickly. right after satsang is a little break - tea time for about half an hour and it carries on with yoga exercises, usually with the guidance of leela and later on we taught each other to gain confidence/ practical experience. At 11 am is brunchime. Karma Yoga, meaning selfless service in the ashram, is subsquently for an hour. The two other participants and I mainly worked in the garden pulling weeds and things like that. Midday break was from 12:00 to 14:00 pm. After this it was time for Chanting Class, which got likewise extended to an hour since the feedback was throughout positive.

the main buildung of the Ashram property

groupphoto on the first evening

Right after Chanting Class we got down to Lecture on Yoga Philosophy for an hour. We did not learn exclusively about Yoga Philosophy, no, Leela also shared moving stories with us. The last agenda highlight were Principles and Practise of Teaching. We watched a DVD, discussed certain postures and aspects of teaching, so we gradually advanced :). In the evening, after dinner from 6:00 to 7:00 is again Satsang and Lecture. This was always the ending of the day. Bedtime was usually around 10:00 or a little later. Special notes were on Wednesday, which was stated to be Mouna - the day of Silence. On Thursday is Guru Puja in Place of Morning Satsang. Guru Puja is about worshiping the Gurus (act of graditude) who passed on their great knowledge for the sake of unversal peace and healing humanity. Leela´s knowledge is based on the Shivananda lineage.

on an excursion to nearby Clarion River

Cathie and I studying the manual

Generally the purpose of this course for you to pass the teachings on to others along with proper information. However, the main purpose is to give you an experience of the positive benefits of the approach to Sadhana. Sadhana means the concious practise of discipline that will have a amazingly profitable impact on your personality. Also, another purpose is to give you an experience of integrating spiritual values into daily life. You will see that everything you do can become Yoga.

graduation

receiving the blessings from Leela

I personally took advantage of the course and left very balanced. It was an amazing experience, in a certain way it felt like coming home. Living in close contact with Leela Mataji, a yogini of great love, compassion and wisdom was memorable. Also the "Ashram Family", everybody living there deserve a big thanks. If you are interested in learning more about Yoga and the Ashram, feel free to contact either me or the Ashram on:

www.leelamata.com

by Clarion River

last picture taken just before departure

New York City Trip

My next destination was North America - first stop NYC! I did not want to pass up the opportunity of seeing this cosmpolitan city, well-known for its incredible skyscrapers and its glamour - not to mention Times Square, also known as New York busiest spot. So I planned on staying 3 full days in New York City. I liked the idea of a trip-diary. Nevertheless, I hardly took any notes since i was mostly too busy and too exhausted by the time i got back to the hostel in the evening. So i´ll just draw up the main things - highlights and hilarious moments :) scroll down a bit and check it out!

on top of Rockefeller Center - Empire
State rises aloft in the back

30th June: I arrived well at international airport in Toronto and wanted to continue my journey to New York. But the flight got put off due to heavy thunderstorm. So, after an delay of 3 hours, I finally reached NYC, at 3 am in the morning i stepped into the hostel. I stayed in a 4 Bed Dorm, sharing the room with two other dudes at that time. Anyways around 11 am I set off to explore Manhattan. The hostel was located centrally in Manhattan and virtually an ideal starting-point. My guided sightseeing tour booked in advance started just at 5pm. Till then I wandered around midtown Manhattan checking out places such as Empire State Building (did not go up though, line-up is too crazy), Times Square and Rockefeller Center. I ended up having lunch with plenty of businessmen around, who were enjoying their lunchbreak. The tour I booked is called NY See it All. Main stops are Times Square, World Trade Center Site, New York Exchange, Wall Street, World Financial Center, South Street Seaport, Central Park - Strawberry Fields Memorial and even more. One highlight was without a doubt the ferry ride to Brooklyn from Manhattan. It is absolutely free of charge and you get a marvellous view over Downtown. Weather turned kind of bad but the tour was enjoyable though. I can highly recommend to take such a tour on your first visit to New York. You get a good overview of the city and makes it way easier to decide what else you´d like to do on the days ahead.

busted by NYC cop ha ha

Times Square covered by yellow cabs and shiny
screens

at South Seaport - Brooklyn on the other side
Husdon River

on the ferry to Brooklyn

Statue of Liberty

New York Stock Exchange/Wall Street

Ground Zero

1th July: What a sunny day! I got waken up by sunbeams through the windows and of course the massive traffic - I can tell you NYC is never completely silent, whether people yelling on the streets or cars driving like crazy, something is always going on. I left the hostel around 10:30 am after an american breakfast on the hostel´s roof, consisting of bagels, muffin and some fruit juice - bearlike breakfast, just kidding :-). I caught the Subway to head towards Downtown and the harbourfront. I most enjoyed the harbourfront the day before, thats why I decided to come again. While I took a breather at south seaport watching some acrobats perfoming extraordinary moves, i discovered a woman who draws hilarious caricatures of people. So I had one drawn of me as well. Walking underneath Brooklyn Bridge after this, i was kind of curious about China Town - so next stop Chinatown. However it was not that overwhelming as i thought in the first place, just lots of cheap stores and did also come across some awesome restaurants. Then I got on the subway towards Ground Central Station, the major railwaystatdion located centrally in Manhattan. Last but not least I went up to the Observation Deck of the Rockefeller Center, plus ended the day with a walk through Central Park. Briefly, an amazing day!

Harbourfront

caricature

Grand Central Stadion

Rockefeller Center

on top of Rockefeller

Central Park from Rockefeller´s observation
deck

2th July: wow, time goes by way too fast. Last day in NYC, so what am i going to do? I decided to take it slowly since i did tons of sightseeing the past 2 days. I did some shopping and explored the Wallstreet district - there is always actions - lots of street stalls of people who are desperately trying to sell their stuff. I walked along Broadway as well. you find a wide range of stores there - definetly anything for anyone for sale :) Then I had a good long rest on the open space of central park. There are so many things to do, may it be sport acitivies or anything else. New Yorker see it as kind of a retreat, taking refuge from the massive metropolitan noises. At 7pm i took part in the guided sightseeing tour called "NY see the Light". Highlight was the final stop at an outlook-plattform in Brooklyn from where we got to enjoy the sight of all the skyscrapers/downtown.

big lake in Central Park

Central Park open space

Traffic in Manhattan

one of my fave pics with Manhattan´s skyline

Conclusion: The city is definetly worth a visit. It is very crowded, noisy and pretty dirty also. Personally I could not image myself living there right now, maye sometime later :)

Un stage à Paris

Aloha, SALUT tout le monde out there readingthis :) Well, now it is august and I kind of neglected my blog lately - whatever :) Anyways after my fabolous time in SA I intended to do an internship in France, more precisely in Paris. The idea of doing an internship in Paris crossed my mind all of a sudden while I was still in SA, towards the end of my stay pretty much. So I posted 10 applications to different hotels in paris hoping one would at least be willing to offer me an internship. Le Grand Hotel du Palais Royal did so and in februrary I was on my way to paris in order to complete my 5weeks long parisian internship.

I used to work at the reception helping out the staff with guest service, putting reservations into the computer and lots more. Another field of work was the petit déjeuner. Providing guest service, filling up the buffet, washing dishes all that was part of my job. :) Also I run some errands around Paris, mainly the district of the Louvre where the hotel is located, for instance achèter des fleurs ou aller au supermarché haha :) All in all, briefly I learnt quiet a lot in terms of hotel business. The staff of the hotel was patienced and helpful.

Other than that I explored Paris whenever I had a day off amd spent time with mes amis - friends :) I love Paris :P Enough talking, check out the pics!

areaway of Montmartre

Hubi, Agi et Maren et moi at Monmarte by night

in courtyard of Louvre during lunchbreak
I mostly spent my lunchbreak there :)

one friday night Louvre-Visit with Gerald,
Krissa et Molly

one night in a pub with Megan and Krissa (f.l.)

Posing in my working clothes - classy suit :-)

le monde du travail - doing roomservice with
one of my colleague

the eiffel tower by night

les américans Christina et Lee (my roomate)
and I in front of the Centre-Pompidou

Moulin Rouge - the red light district :D
better known as the place of entertainment

Musée D´Orsay

France versus USA ? ha ha

view over Paris et la Seine with plenty of bridges
overwhelming outlook from Eiffel tower

Paris most famous Cathedral -
Notre Dame