Hi Reader, mor

There are a few things I didn't expect when I came to India.

For one, I really like taking a shower with a bucket.

There is something strangely satisfying about it. You become very aware of the water you're using, the temperature, your body, and the simple sequence of washing yourself. Add 100% humidity, a little jet lag, and the sounds and smells of Kerala all around me, and somehow even taking a shower feels like part of the experience.

I've been here for almost a week now, and I'm beginning to feel more alive and connected to everything around me.

It's hard not to when there are more than a billion people living in a relatively small space. Life is everywhere. People, animals, plants, food, traffic, temples, motorcycles, conversations, rain. There is very little separation between you and the rest of the world.

I'm staying at an Ayurvedic hospital, college and foundation, with a large herbal garden and a facility nearby where herbal medicines are manufactured. There is also an Ayurvedic museum here that I'm told is the only one of its kind in the world.

And then there is the food.

I learned that the South Indian version of kitcheree can be made with coconut milk and red rice. It is completely different from the lighter kitcheree that I often write/talk about —richer, creamier and very nourishing. I’ll get the recipe and share it soon.

This is one of my meals: chapatti, puri, vegetable masala, chutney and buttermilk. And that is water with the reddish/pink color because it is infused with herbs. I’m told it is traditionally used to cool the body. It’s what we drink throughout the day. I'll bring some back for the yoga studio boutique.

Yesterday I shadowed a doctor on her rounds.

This was one of those experiences that reminded me why I came all the way here.

One of the patients is a man recovering from a fistula procedure called Ksharasutra, an Ayurvedic treatment that uses a specially prepared medicated thread. There is actually clinical research on this treatment and its use for fistula-in-ano, and there have been studies comparing it with conventional surgical approaches. The research is interesting—and not entirely one-sided—which is exactly why I want to be here learning rather than simply reading about Ayurveda from home.

This particular man came here from Northern California specifically to have the procedure.

He's been here for about two months, working remotely while he heals, and when I saw him yesterday he was almost completely healed.

And that, really, is what I appreciate about being here.

I'm not just studying Ayurveda.

I'm watching it being practiced—in a hospital, in a pharmacy, in the herbal garden, in the kitchen and in the daily lives of the people around me.

I'm also noticing how much there is to learn from a place where some things are incredibly sophisticated and some things are wonderfully simple.

Like studying Ayurveda and taking a shower with a bucket.

This is my room here, by the way. I posted a short video of it on Instagram and it somehow got more than 2,000 views, which made me laugh. Apparently people are curious about what an Ayurvedic training experience in Kerala actually looks like.

More about India.

For now, I'm grateful to be here—and very curious about what the next few weeks will teach me.

I hope you are all really well.

With love,

Marisa