"[Hit me] baby one more time" (Britney Spears)

You know what they say. When in Rome... and when in Rishkesh, the home of yoga, one should yoga it up. So I did. Along with Edel, Jo and Rich we headed off for our session of Hatha Yoga at the ashram across the road (get me and my terminology). After starting with some gentle chanting we headed into some stretches and rotation of ankles, shoulders, neck etc. Our guide was keen that we "keep continue" all the exercises, and that we inhale and exhale at such a speed that I though hyperventilation was not out of the question. After some exercises which were apparently good for "lady problems" (unfortunately he never expanded on just what those might be) and several of the required sun salutations (where the inhale / exhale slowed down to such an extent that we were about to pass out - never happy, me!) we were led through a breathing exercise which was akin to blowing your nose repeatedly, without a tissue, which is not such a great idea when half of us have a cold. A few more stretches and then we got to the meditation bit where we were encouraged to feel our "otherness", but were told that falling asleep was not required. Which was a shame, as that was exactly what I wanted to do! After and hour and a half or so (for the massive cost of 100 rupees, or about 1.25 pounds), we were released from the spiritual oasis of the ashram, and back into the heat and humidity. Not content with just doing yoga, I decided to enjoy a massage in the afternoon. After being introduced to my masseuse, a rather diminutive looking Indian lady, she commenced. Suffice it to say that looks can be deceiving, and her appearance did not give any indication of her strength, and at several stages during the process I did question whether I was enjoying it! Examples include the time when she attempted to dislocate my knees and then gave them a reassuring slap when they stayed in place, and the use of my hair as a weapon against me by attempting to rip it out handfuls at a time, while massaging oil through that will probably stay with me for months! And the whole process involved a lot of slapping, even when she was massaging my face... But somehow the end result was both amusing and vaguely relaxing (perhaps most relaxing when it stopped!). I emerged somewhat stunned from the booth and found that Crofty and Rich had also just had massages that were best described by them as "comprehensive". The mind boggles.