Chantin' with the Monks on the Last Night

I'm really liking this meditation stuff. Supposedly, one of the best times to meditate is while listening to the sound of mantras and chanting. I've tried the technique a few times (during this yoga course) and I agree, chanting does seem to help me go more quickly into a meditative state. Meditation is such a powerful technique. I love how refreshed and alert I feel after a meditation session. Still, I think that meditation will be a little easier (for me) back home than it is here. The main distraction are the many insects here in India (They are everywhere, in the rooms, in the food (we're all fradulently calling ourselves vegetarians), and of course, outside too) For a while, I was trying to ignore the ants and insects, which crawled on me during meditation. Then, Swami G told the class a story about a famous yogi who went into seclusion. The yogi spent days meditating in a cave. During his stay he went into a deep state of meditative bliss, keeping his body completely still. Apparently, some of the cave's resident insects bore into the yogi's skin and dug tunnels in and out of both sides of his legs. The yogi simply continued his meditation, undisturbed by what was happening to his body. After a number of days, some Himalayan locals found the monk and rescued him from (his body) being completely overtaken. Swami told the story with respect and admiration for the great yogi. For me, the story left me a little more aware of crawling sensations during meditation. I may not yet be ready for full enlightenment.