Hiking in Manali, Himachal Pradesh

It's official—I am a mountain person. I belong way above sea level. I recently camped in Manali—slept in a tent at 3 degrees celsius with the wind threatening to knock it over—and trekked to few of the most surreal and naturally magnificent landscapes my eyes will ever drink in. I'm in the process of writing a short piece on my attempt at conquering nature, and my first time in the snow; until then, here are a few pictures from my trip. Let's live in the mountains and never come back, okay?

This trek was called the Eagle Eye View for good reason. We saw the Pir Panjal range, and slightly glimpsed one of its highest peak, Hanuman Tibba.

The green roofs are a tiny settlement by the Beas River.

I'm standing on one of the five or so creeks we passed during our trek to Old Manali, Manu Temple, and all through the mountains.

This is the very cold and imposing Jogini Falls. If you squint beyond the mid of the waterfall, you will notice silhouettes of people. These adventurous folk traversed across and above the freezing rocks to the little sacred temple that is ensconced right behind the falls.

Unfortunately for us, none of the trees were in blossom. Here is a small apple orchid, I think. We had a lengthy DDLJ moment in the patch of yellow to the right! We are on our way to the Manu temple here.

Ever so often, while walking under the blazing sun, we'd be rewarded with this. Brownies for my eyes, really.

My moment in the snow. Five layers of clothes as shields from the cold wind and snow at Solang valley. Still returned with the worst tan.

Though our trek to Jogini Falls was a warm up for the days to come, I will always remember it as the toughest descent. It had rained a few days ago, so thanks to the wet and loose soil, everyone basically skid their way back to the camp site.

One of my favourite pictures from the trip. Zoom into the wall art.

Less me, more the handiwork of the creator.

Please note: Write to me if you like a picture that you'd like to make a wallpaper out of. I'll send you a better resolution one. Don't steal, yes?

Benefits of Pilates

Has curiosity ever gotten the better of you? It gets the better and the worse of me all the time. I've been waiting to try out the last of the six workouts for a few days. My options were between some variation of dance, aerobics, and pilates. 

Cycle, people, cycle!

So, there I was on Saturday morning, sweating to the bone after my spin class, standing under the aircon outside the pilates studio. I'd watched these classes in motion a few times because most of my spin buddies run for pilates over the weekend. Shalini was ushering everyone in, and screaming for Anupa—our power yoga trainer—to join her, when she suddenly narrowed her eyes at me. "What are you doing this morning?", she asked. I shrugged and said nothing much. "Come do this class with us. It won't take long".

Pilates helps build your core. It is basically strength training. You're not running around like you would during aerobics, or struggling with your breath like you would in power yoga, you're just lying on a mat and focusing on a single part of your body. Each and every bit of you is stretched to the max.

It is prime that your posture and form is perfect when you do these exercises. I learned this when Shalini's leg, shoe and all, landed on my thigh to keep it straight. We did a few variations of stretches for the upper body that morning. Combined with deep breathing, pilates relaxed my body and made me focus on muscles I couldn't generally have focused on.

Recommendation level: It's the right level of intense. I'm definitely going back.

Good for: strengthening your muscles and "WHO WANTS STRONG ABS!?" 

Pain points thus far: My stomach hurts every time I try to laugh. The whole of my stomach region pretty much hates me.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update: Out of all the workouts I've tried, I've stuck with power yoga twice a week, and spin class once a week followed by pilates. I feel great and can see my body changing for the better. Also, two people have told me I look fitter. Gain is happening, after all that pain.