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| 2012-Roshani (second from right) after the sunrise on Poon Hill |
During the afternoon of Sunday, June 23rd, there
was a very special event that took place in the shop. Ann Arborite, Yoga master, and cultured Roshani Adhikary gave a very interesting
presentation on her treks in the Himalayas and on the key life lessons that she
has taken away from her experiences. The
30 year old grew up mainly in Ann Arbor with Nepali parents, and after college,
she found love in Nepal. That’s why in
the summer of 2011, she traveled to Kathmandu to marry, and she ended up living
there for a year and a half. Her time
spent in Nepal was filled with personal and professional adventures, including
leading yoga treks up the Himalayas. She
has done a total of ten treks, six of them being yoga treks. Roshani summed up her travels and wisdom
effectively into ten life lessons, and she cleverly made them applicable to
midwestern lifestyles. The ultimate goal
of her talk was to show people how to create happier lifestyles for themselves
in order to make the most of all the moments of life and to achieve
balance. Here they are:
1. Greetings Matter-Namaste
While she was on her yoga treks, Roshani would only be
accompanied by a few other people and they wouldn’t come across others for days. Due to her circumstances in the Himalayas,
she was incredibly grateful and excited when she and her group would at last,
encounter another living being in the depths of the lonely and endless
mountains. She would put her clasped palms
over her heart and say, “Namaste”. It is
a greeting and parting courtesy, as well as a gesture that is commonly used by
Hindus and Buddhists. As Roshani put it,
“the soul within me bows down to the soul within you”. Even her own husband, Sandeep did not know of
this beautiful translation. “It is a
humble offering coming from a stranger, who is welcoming you”, she said. The power of people and the importance of
respect became very apparent and meaningful to her during her treks, and she
realized that she took for granted, all the people she walks by everyday, in
the streets of Ann Arbor. Roshani told
her audience that, “eyes are the window to the soul”. Eye contact is a way in which we can emulate
Namaste here in Ann Arbor. Without it,
we feel vulnerable and invisible to others, but once we make eye contact with
one another, we feel not only noticed, but validated.
2. Eat to Live
While on her treks, Roshani would not have very much access
to food. Even lentils and potatoes or
rice were a luxury in the mountains, especially in the rural areas. She really was forced to eat in order to
survive in the Himalayas, so she was very grateful for any food-even if it
wasn’t to her liking. She realized, that
in Ann Arbor, there are ten food markets that are within ten miles of her
house. In this sense, we really do live
in luxury in Ann Arbor, with all the different types of markets from Korean, to
Indian, to Middle Eastern. Here we eat
what we like and we have too many options.
To change this habit, Roshani makes one meal each day with simply the
things that are already available in her kitchen, without any emphasis on
whether or not the outcome would be to her liking. Sometimes we shouldn’t focus on the taste and
over indulge; we should be full of gratitude for the meals we have every single
day.
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| Roshani in Nepal |
3. Take it Easy
Frequently on her journeys, Roshani would guide Swedish and
Norwegian businesswomen through the Himalayas.
Since they all had very demanding, high position jobs, they didn’t have
a clue what to do with themselves without their typical gadgets. There is no Wi-Fi, or electricity, in the
mountains, thus these women had to abandon technology and learn to adapt to
their new environment. It was difficult
at first to adjust to the shock, but after a while, they realized that they
could relax, be carefree, and survive without their technological comforts. At last, they had to surrender and enjoy
themselves. The picture of them smiling
wholeheartedly, taking a swim in the natural hot springs was a great reflection
of learning how to take it easy. With
unplanned free time, people can unleash creativity and discover new uses of
time—they did it by bathing in natural hot springs.
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| Roshani Adhikary-courtesy of ECS Healthy Life Magazine |
4. Release the Kid Within
Roshani shared with us a story about a time when she was stressed. She had been trekking for many days, and at
the end of one day, she was absolutely exhausted. She could barely get through the door to sit
down. Moving at that point was
unbearable. Once she threw herself unto
the couch, with relief, she dug into her pocket for her muscle soother. Unfortunately, she hadn’t packed the muscle
soother, and instead, she found a kaleidoscope.
This devastated her, because her sore, aching body needed to be
comforted. A Tibetan monk was sitting
near her, and he asked her why she looked so upset and frustrated. She explained, and he asked to see the
kaleidoscope. He had never seen such a
toy, and once he looked into it, he shrieked with wonderment and
giddiness. As she taught him how to use
the kaleidoscope, and as she observed his curiosity, Roshani realized that we
take exciting things, like kaleidoscopes, for granted, and then she began to
laugh. We can’t constantly be stiff,
tense, and consumed with work and responsibility. We must learn to relax and play, unleash the
child within us, in order to rejuvenate and be optimistic. In Ann Arbor, there are great places like The Hands On Museum, The Ann Arbor Ice Cube, Fuller
Park Pool, or Nichols Arboretum
where you can let go and have fun.
Playing in nature is one of the simplest things, and some think it is a
silly way to spend time, but it is actually incredibly reviving and
beautiful. There are many things and
places around us that can help us free up our spirit.
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| Moni and Pem's daughter with Anita Adhikary's (Roshani's mom) book, N is for Nepal |
5. Magic is in the Moment
Often when we are at an event or at a certain place, our
mind is on something else. When Roshani
was on the trails one time, she was constantly worrying about things back home,
like her husband, as she was recently married, and her social networks, email,
etc. She was not really into the trek,
or the people she was hiking with. Once
she started to recognize the fact that she can always be at home, but only be
on the Himalayas twice a year, at the most, she imbibed the beauty around her. She took in the thinning air, the
depth of the huge rocks, and the people she was with. Roshani realized that she hadn’t been living
in the moment, and that she hadn’t invested her mind into the real time
experience. She told us, “You can never
step in the same river twice”. Take in
every unique moment and become engaged and part of the glory. If you don’t, you will regret it.
6. Be Prepared
With the inability to see into the future, it is always wise
to be prepared for any situation that may come your way. In the mountains, you don’t have access to
boiling water, so you should bring a portable water filter like the Katadyn Microfilter, a reliable
filtered bottle, with warranty. You
should always have a red cross kit anywhere you go. Especially in Michigan, where bipolar weather
is prevalent, it is always wise to have rain gear and snow gear on hand. Roshani told us of a time when her car got
into a ditch in a snow storm. If she had
packed kitty litter in her trunk, and boots to replace her high heels, she
would have been prepared for this, and thus had avoided wasting time.
7. When in Doubt Just Breathe
When you’re stressed, busy, or even overwhelmed with
everything life is throwing at you, try to take a moment and breathe. If you just keep worrying, you will end up
being unproductive because you don’t even know where to begin accomplishing
tasks. While running on the treadmill,
don’t think, “I have an hour left of my workout”. During exam periods, don’t think, “I have
four more days of finals”. If you’re
stuck in traffic don’t succumb to road rage.
There will always be a slow car or a string of red lights, and there is
nothing you can do about it. Sometimes,
things are just the way they are and if you handle them with calmness, then
everything will be much smoother. Most
of life is about the way in which we react to things, so in this sense, we have
control over our lives.
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| Seated Pigeon Pose in Ghandruk, Nepal |
8. Disconnect to Reconnect
Roshani
admitted that she is a Facebook addict; then again, most of us can admit that
we are addicted too. With technology,
comes isolation, and a non-verbal lifestyle.
Gadgets consume our minds, and we become disconnected to the world
happening around us. Every once in a
while, it is good to disconnect from these distractions in order to reconnect
with more natural parts of our surroundings.
Roshani recommends disconnecting for a day each month in order to
reconnect with nature. Disconnecting
gives the mind a break from work and technology so that when we come back to
our work, we can be more focused and do things much more efficiently.
9. The Prize is the Process
Similar to magic being in the moment, absorb the journey you
take to get somewhere. When Roshani was
on the trails one time, her mind was solely focused on reaching the summit, the
hyped up glory of the Himalayas. There
was a group of Norwegians who were coming back from the summit and they had not gotten a chance to see it due to extreme fog.
Roshani thought that it must have been a waste of time and a huge let
down that they didn’t get to see the incredible view at the top, but they
exclaimed that they got so much out of the trip. They captured all the beauty of the
mountains, on the way to the peak, and they made enjoyable memories all along
the way. Don’t just be preoccupied with
the hype or the finished product; enjoy the process and work hard during it, in
order to be rewarded in the end. A lot
of us, keep thinking of the next thing, the better gadget, the next
promotion. “Feel lucky now”, Roshani tells us, “bask in the
glory”. Be grateful for your current
job, your house, your clothes, and food.
10. Move
Last but not least, is living an active lifestyle. We all know that in order to be healthy, we
must exercise as often as we can.
Seriously, just do it! Don’t keep
telling yourself that it will happen and hoping that you will find
motivation. If you think about it too
much, it will never happen. Get out
there and move and your mind, heart, and body will thank you for it. Be grateful if you have the ability to move,
instead of being handicap or paralyzed, and use your gift.
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| Roshani with her husband, Sandeep at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival |
Trekking seasons on the Himalayan range are March-April and
October-November. Each day, people
typically walk on the trails from 6 a.m. -5 p.m., when the sun is up. People in Nepal don’t typically go on these
treks, because they have to tend to their work in their villages or
cities. You don’t see very many Nepali
women alone on the range, because culturally, it is not very acceptable. Nowadays, more local people hike, wearing professional mountain gear, and making unique fashion statements. If
you are interested on going on a trek in Nepal,
Tibet, and Bhutan, with a group of Ann Arborites, visit www.ofglobalinterest.com. You can contact the coordinator, Heather
O’Neal at ofglobal@aol.com or call (734)
369-3107. This contact information is
for The Himalayan Lodge LLC in Ann Arbor as well, which is also run by Pem and Moni Sherpa. Visit www.himalayanlodge.com
for information on the hotel, and if you have any questions about the shop or
the owners, contact them at info@thehimalayanbazaar.com
- (734) 997-7229.
Roshani Adhikary teaches yoga at Ita Yoga Studio, Washtenaw Health and Fitness Center, and
she also does private lessons.
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