yoga and sound healing up in the mountains (sabado, 18 septiembre)

This morning I went to a yoga session outside up in the mountains, and then they did a traditional sound therapy session with Andean instruments. It was really nice. Yoga is a LOT harder than it looks. I enjoyed it but also struggled to do some of the poses. During parts of it my muscles were screaming because the workout was intense, which I wasn´t expecting. Somehow I´d always thought yoga would be relaxing and easy, but it´s not! They didn´t have enough yoga mats for everyone so I just tried to do my best using the ground. I´m not sure if it´s the thing for me or not, but I did enjoy the experience. I felt good afterwards because of all the stretching, and parts of it were very calming with the breeze going through the trees and flute music playing in the background. I think yoga might be something I want to stick with, because it seems really beneficial. Then we had a picnic of guacamole sandwiches, fruit, and cinnamon tea outside near Temple of the Moon.

After we ate we walked down to Cusco to the San Blas neighborhood where my hostel is. I showered, changed, and walked to Loreto, this long street with Incan walls on either side. I also visited Iglesia Santo Domingo where the courtyard of the monastery has the ruins of Qorikancha where the Quechua people used to worship the stars, Venus, the Milky Way, and the sun and moon. They didn´t believe in constellations, but they saw animals in the sky. The darker parts of the Milky Way were animals, and each animal had its own energy. Then the Spaniards came and colonized Peru and pretty much destroyed all of their beliefs. They built a monastery over their temple, and destroyed parts of the temple. It´s such a shame that many of their spiritual beliefs have been lost or altered because of the colonization.

Then I walked around some more, found a vegan / vegetarian restaurant called El Encuentro where I ordered broccoli, pepper, and tofu stir fry. I bought a few stones / crystals from a street vendor, and then got a massage. Here in Cusco, an hour massage only costs the equivalent of 13 US dollars.

I´m staying tonight in Cusco (same earthy hostel) and I´ll be here all day tomorrow. I think I´ll go see some more ruins and a salt flat. I´m going to take the overnight bus back tomorrow night and arrive in Iquique on Monday. I´ll be very sad to leave Cusco. I really like it and feel like it´s this amazing vortex of spiritual energy. It´s very refreshing and calming, and in many ways feels more like a home than anywhere I´ve actually lived.

written by

Sara Florecita on September 18, 2010 from Cusco, Peru

from the travel blog: año de dos inviernos (Chile 2010)

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Good posting.....

written by India Tour on September 21, 2010

Thanks!

written by

Sara Florecita on September 21, 2010

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