1st Practice

Just one thing to say: WOW!
The Kalari is made of red clay, three steps down from "ground level". It is covered by a pitched roof covered in palm leaves. There are stations in three corners, and at the front, each a symbol essential to the practice. Needless to say, when I entered I felt a deep sense of reverence (and anxiety of anticipation) for the lineage that is thousands of years old.
First, we oiled: this was a bit tricky! Women wear more clothes than men in the training, so must 1st strip down to lube up & redress before the men enter. There are two oils: one for the head & one for the body & you pretty much dunk yourself in them. Note : the mosquitoes LOVE the oils! Hooray!
After oiling, new students like me are instructed on what to do while senior students begin practice on their own. I was SUPER nervous- I didn't know anyone & the instructors speak Malayalam mainly. So I had to trust that my practice in SLC was enough to prepare me to begin here. I kept thinking that Gerhard had told me not to worry because the 1st day they have you do almost nothing so just get through it & you'll be fine. WRONG!
I ended up doing everything that I had learned over the past year...don't ask me how.
After practice ended, I was so relieved, and soo happy, and COVERED in red clay & oil. I must have looked like a 4 year old child after a mud-pie contest.
Thanks goodness we have a wonderful woman - Kanjana, making juice & delicious & super-healthy food for us after practice.
After a bucket shower,I was off to the Ayurvedic doctor for a consultation to determine the curse of action for treatment & practice. I found out that healthy folks don't have migraines every 10-12 days! Weird! So three potions, 1 powder @ two pills later, i have my routine.
The bad news: I can't practice for THREE WEEKS once the marma treatment begins. Marma treatment usually means a rigorous set of massages done anywhere between 3 days- 21 days continuously with a purge in the middle to achieve a deep level of healing for the patient.
I am grateful for the opportunity to experience this amazing healing modality (if a bit disappointed with such a long break from practice) especially if the migraines get fixed once & for all!