I traveled a royal caravan in India

Day-glow orange tourist buses through the streets of Delhi; pink, yellow, green and blue pom-pom festooned camel carts in the desert of Pushkar; walking through the palace gates to see the splendor of the Taj Mahal; riding on a rickshaw at night through chaos on the streets of Varanassi and an early morning boat ride pilgrimage on the Ganges River…Ohmygod….

Our lives where in the drivers hands as we rode through the quagmire of "traffic lanes" on our trip.

So many images as this ancient and mystical land of India float through my mind - complete sensory overload. Learning to navigate through a foreign culture and come back to my center again was crucial. I would have to say my integrating experience through it all was that as an acupuncturist.

My role on the trip was the official “doctor” on our royal caravan. I got my first house call early one morning from our leader on the trip. The group I traveled with was like my extended family-who else would you get up at 3:30 in the morning for but family? Taking care of each other in a foreign land was a necessity on a trip like this.

It was in the desert of Pushkar that the mobile community acupuncture clinic opened one morning in the dining room tent. Along with my fellow acupuncturist Cherie we treated about 30 people in 30 minutes with scalp and auricular points. “Delhi-belly” being the main complaint. I briefly explained to everyone about the benefits of group acupuncture amplifying the treatment experience for everyone…..it seemed to manifest when people started to giggle from across the dining tables as they watched each other get “poked”.

I had a sense that I would be treating my fellow travelers and I did as much as I could to plan ahead. I took a preventative formula along with probiotics which I credit for my good health throughout the trip. I highly recommend Seven Forests Omphalia 11 for my fellow travelers. (Bag of Pearls: Subhuti Dharmananda)

Traveling abroad is exciting because it can foster the expansion of awareness and consciousness. Maybe it takes going far from home to see all that we have here at home? Our daily lives are just as much as spiritual pilgrimage as going to India can be. It just takes time to see it….and I’m working on it. Besides taking my tea with milk and sugar or wanting yogurt with meals I feel different. I am weaving my own story of experiences with my fellow royal caravan travelers as well as my fellow travelers here at home.