Road To Mysore

A few weeks ago, I was counting the days until I left LA. I thought that once I got to Cebu, I would be counting the days until I head for Mysore. That is not the case. I'm enjoying every moment here. Time is flying pretty quickly and I know that Mysore is not far ahead. My days here starts with my yoga practice at around 5:30AM, horseback riding classes at 8:30AM, checking my email, giving massages, and hanging out with either my parents, cousins, friends from school(grade school, high school & college), former co-workers and friends from who knows where. I'm still looking for time to take a scuba diving refresher course. I decided that I need to come home more often (either every year or every other year). All though my life here has not totally slowed down, it's much slower than my life in LA. I'm not sure if I really know how to slow down or if I want to. I cannot imagine doing nothing. I find that if I don't do anything, I'm wasting my time or I'm not living life. Maybe one day.

I finally tried some bodywork here. I now understand what my friends are telling. Bodywork here can be best decribed as mechanical and rough. There is no finesse, rythm, transition, and energy. I hope to try another spa this week and determine if it is any different.

I never knew that being unemployed could be so much fun. That is how I would describe the past two weeks. I can't believe it's already been two weeks already. Time flies. In another two weeks I will be heading for Mysore.

I wish I could say that I've adjusted to the heat here. I'm begining to tolerate the heat but I'm always dying to walk in an airconditioned room. I have heat rashes on my neck. I fear that the heat in Mysore is going to kill me.

My horseback riding classes are coming along. Today we did a long trotting drills. It was really tiring. I'm starting to develope the muscles used in standing up and down on the saddle. My timing is also better and I'm not banging my ass on the horses back as much. I'm learning how to properly control horse and I hope that one day I could just ride the horse in an open field. In the meantime, it's a lot of riding in circles and figure of eights. I don't think I'll be cantering yet this week. Like yoga there is much too learn. Practice, practice, practice...all is coming.

With my busy schedule, something had to give. On my first week here, I was practicing deligently but I wish I could say that about my second week. A few late nights out has screwed up my rythm. I think I only practiced twice last week and they were not very good practices. I don't want to beat myself up too badly because I'm having a ball here but I need to get back on track. At this point in my yoga journey, I don't have the discipline to practice alone consistently. I still need the luxury of Noah & Kimberly staring down at me and the energy of the room. I'm trying to accept where I am but it's hard. Patience has never been one of my better virtues. I know I'll do better.

I love the food here. I've been eating a lot of it. Unfortunately, Filipino food is not healthy at all and it has wreeked havoc on my body. I've been eating a lot of local ice cream and native pastries. Too much dairy...resulting to post nasal drips. I'm trying to focus more on the fruits but desserts has always been my weakness. I wish I had brought some fenugreek seeds. I grew up with allergies and for a long time I have been able to suppress it with a decent diet and a lot of swimming and yoga . The combination of a bad diet, heat, breathing diesel fuel emmissions and a lack of sleep has awakened my allergies. Last night, against my better judgement, I took some Claritin. I feel better now but I hope I don't have to pop another pill again.

I finally went to the beach with friends yesterday. We took a boat and road along the coast. At one point, we found a quiet spot, stopped the boat and jumped into the water. I love the water here. The water is so clear and warm. I also met someone who has the time to give me a scuba diving refresher course. I think I'll schedule it for Wednesday.

I tried another massage at another spa and was pleasantly surprised. It was a decent Swedish massage and the therapist had a little more finesse. I paid less than $20 including tip for an hour and a half massage. My friends scolded me for giving too much tip. I just smiled because I normally tip at least $20 for an hour's massage.

When I first practiced ashtanga, I would do the led primary class and practice the whole series. When I eventually learned the sequence, I developed my mysore practice. One of the first lessons I learned in my mysore practice was not to spread myself too thin. I was immediately told by my teachers to start closing at navasana. At first I resisted but eventually found the value of not getting ahead of myself. It is such a humbling practice. I sometimes wish I could dabble with the more advance postures but for the most part I'm happy at where I am.

Before I arrived here, I had a list of things I wanted to do (horseback riding, spend lots of time in the beach, scuba diving, spend time with family and friends and give massages). Last Wednesday, I finally did my scuba diving refresher course and had my first dive in Hilutungan Island right off Mactan. It's a marine sanctuary with all kinds of marine life. I'm so happy I was able to squeeze diving into my busy schedule. I was so happy that day that I decided to do the advance open water course before my frist dive. On my first dive, I went down 40 feet deep. I couldn't equalize any deeper but was satisfied because most of the marine life was at around 30 feet. I don't know what happened on my second dive but I could only equalize at around 20 feet. I think I put too much pressure on myself to go deeper because I know that I could go as deep as 60 feet without any problems. I think my post nasal drip had a lot to do with ability to equalize. This Tuesday, I'm suppose to do my next two dives which I may just cancel if my allergies don't clear out.

My ashtanga practice has taught me not to spread myself too thin. That exactly what I've done on this trip. I've pressured myself to do so many things that I haven't done a full yoga practice in more than a week. I have 10 days before I leave Cebu and I'm already booked till Tuesday. It's like I've been practicing the whole series. I've spread myself too thin. I will drop my scuba diving and just focus on my horseback riding class instead. I have too much social obligations here. I'm really enjoying my time here but my ashtanga practice has taken a few steps back. I will continue to enjoy myself here and not beat myself up too badly but I have to admit, I'm looking forward to heading for Mysore so I focus on what this journey is all about.

With my hectice schedule here, I decided I needed some time alone. I decided to spend a couple of days (Friday and Saturday) in a quiet beach resort in Moalboal. Moalboal is located about 90 kilometers southwest from Cebu City. It's not very far but since the roads are tiny and the traffic is terrible, it took me 2 1/2 hours to get there and about 3 1/2 hours to get back. It is known for it's white sand beaches and it's beautiful marine life. I had intially intended in doing some scuba diving there but because of my problems equalizing, I decided to settle on snorkling. The days there were spent walking on the beach, soaking in the water and slowing myself down. I noticed that I really need to make an extra effort on slowing myself down. I am so used to being on the go and doing nothing is almost unthinkable. I always feel like I'm wasting my life if I don't do anything.

While I was in Moalboal, I remembered one of the things a friend told me before I left LA. He said, "I wish you find what your looking for." At first, I felt defensive and said I'm not looking for anything, I just wanted to pursue my dream and practice ashtanga with Guruji. Now that I think about it, I guess I am looking for something. Unfortunately, I don't know what I'm looking for and I may never figure that out. I think I'm looking for some balance in my life but I think I will be doing that all my life. I think this journey is about figuring out how I want to live my life. I am constantly reminded here how I should live my life. The questions I've been asked here are constantly the same...Are you married?...Don't you want to have children?...When do you plan to get married?...Why are you going to India?...I have a friend who is single, do you want to meet her? I know they mean well but it gets old really quickly. I feel like a broken record here, repeating the same answers to the same question. People here think that there is only one way to live life and any other way of life just simply throws them off. If I'm looking for anything, I know I will never find it here. Part of me is ready to go but I have one more week here and I still have a few more things I want to do before I leave.

Tonight I have dinner with a few college friends. I know that all of them are married and have children. I expect all of the same question above to be asked and my answers will be the same.

Last Sunday, some high school classmates and I paid Mr. Teofilo Lutao a visit. He was our high school math teacher. He was also the math teacher of my older sister, my older brother and my younger sister. He is best described as a Filipino version of Albert Einstien...walrus mustache, messy hair and smokes like a chimney.

Early this year, the news broke out that Mr Lutao had lung cancer. It was my sister who called me. Teachers here don't make a lot of money and health insurance is almost non-existent. The news spread like fire and within weeks students from all batches rallied to raise money for his treatment. A lot of the money came from students now living in the US. I told my classmates who were based in the US and we made arrangements to send whatever we could raise to him. Everybody loves Mr. Lutao because he touched all of us in many different ways. In my case, he failed me in the 3rd grading period of my senior year. I've always been good in math but that grading period I slacked. He was our teacher and our friend but he never let our friendship get in the way of being a teacher. It was a simple lesson...you may be smart, but if you don't study, your going to fail. By the way, I was not the only one he failed. Many of my classmates were failed too and are now lawyers, doctors and engineers. When my classmates and I get together, we always talk fondly of Mr. Lutao. He is everybody's favorite. He is my favorite.

I called Mr. Lutao a couple of months before I left LA. I just wanted to see how he was doing and wished him well. I found out that he was only 26 years old when I was a freshman. He seemed much older then. I told him that I was going to visit him when I got home.

I didn't know what to expect when we first scheduled our visit. I spoke to him briefly on the phone when I first arrived. He had lost his voice and sounded like Mike Tyson. I was happy to see he looked pretty much the same as I had remembered him except he no longer had the walrus mustache. He was in high spirits and he had a positive outlook. We brought lunch and talked fondly of our high school experience with him. Virgil and I reminded him that he failed us. He just laughed. He told Virgil who is now a doctor, that he is in stage 3 and asked what that meant. Virgil told him that if he kept a positive attitude he'll be alright. Later in the car, Virgel told us that stage 3 is a very advance stage. We hung out for a couple of hours and just talked about the good old days. Mr. Lutao was very grateful with the fact that students from all different batches came to visit him and raised money to help pay for his treatment. We left around 1:30PM so he could get some rest.

Seeing Mr. Lutao was one of my priorities in this journey. Some classmates tell me that he may not last very long. I believe that he will last longer than people expect. This may be the last time I see him. I will always think fondly of him. I know that if I every have half the wealth that he has...I would have lived a full life.

A lot has happened this past week and I'm not sure where I should start. Today is my last day in Cebu. I leave at 7:30AM tomorrow for Manila. That means I have to wake up at 5AM and be in the airport by 6:30AM. I leave Manila for Bombay via Hong Kong(5 hour stop-over...agh) on Wednesday, stayover night and fly to Bangalore first thing the next morning. I made arrangements for a car to pick me up and bring me to Mysore. I hope to be in Mysore late in the afternoon on Thursday(5 days to go:). I'm still not sure if this really happening. Can somebody wake me up.

Last Monday, I did my first canter. It's a lot harder than it looks. I kept banging my ass against the saddle. Not a pleasant feeling. The following day my teacher let me do sitting trot without stirups and then let me canter again. This was much better. The trick is to lean back and sit deep into the saddle. On my third canter I felt like a pro...much smoother. Last Friday was my last riding day. I really enjoyed it and hope to do more in the future. I wish I can say I would continue to ride when I get back but LA will be too expensive. I only pay $5 per class, LA will probably come out 10 times more.

I thought this was funny so I just wanted to share it. It happened on my first horse riding class.

Riding teacher: "Make sure you sit in the middle of the saddle. I know the back of the saddle is more comfortable."

Me:"Where's the middle of the saddle?"

Riding teacher:"Oh, I'm sorry. In your cases there is no middle or back. You occupy the whole saddle."

A month ago, I could proudly say that I had a daily practice. I was hoping I could bring that momentum with me here. It didn't happen. I was really surprised and disappointed by the fact that I could lose my practice so quickly. I haven't had a full practice the past 2 and 1/2 weeks. I guess I'm not ready to practice alone yet. I really need the energy of the room and the luxury of Noah and Kimberly staring down at me. Lately, I've been doing only the opening sequence and a short close. I can't believe I let my practice go so quickly. One late night out could easily break my rythm. I'm sure I will get back on track when I get to Mysore but I know my stay here has taken my practice a couple of steps back. I guess that's just part of the journey.

I've really enjoyed my stay here. Just hanging out with my friends was so much fun. They all reminded me of what a great childhood I had. It's nice to know that I can come and go but my friendships here are forever. I will miss my friends.

I finally gave me. I made a consious decision before I left LA not to get any shots for India. When the discussion came up one day and my parents(they're both doctors)asked me if I had gotten any shots I told them I didn't. They're already worried about this trip. The fact that I didn't get shot will worry them even more so I just gave in. I didn't even put up a fight. My mom gave me the shots like she always does. I really don't believe in getting shots. I think I've been drugged up enough in my life. I try to avoid any form of drugs the best I can. I think I did it more for they're peace of mind.

I arrive in Manila yesterday. I had a very pleasant flight. I had a friend in the same flight so we sat together and just talked. I haven't seen her in about 10 years so we had a lot to talk about. She is now married and has one kid (like most of my friends here). Anyway, what made my flight very pleasant was the flight attendant. She was absolutely beautiful. She had the face of an angel. I normally don't flirt but I made an exception yesterday. It was quite harmless(is there such a thing?)since I knew I was leaving for India in two days. I paid her a few compliments and she took it very graciously.

I used to work here so I still have some friends here. Aphat, my former co-worker picked me up in the airport and we had breakfast in Makati. My hotel is a block behind the SGV office(former employer). It was strange to be back in Makati. This used to be my stomping ground (from 1990 to 1992). It has changed a lot. There are more structures and it looks more modern and sophisticated. I think they did a good job. I spent yesterday hanging out with a lot of old friends. I kept telling some of my friends to quit their jobs. They are all so corporate and stressed out. I can see it in there faces. Most of them want to leave but are still trying to figure out where they want to go. A few of them still work for SGV(the biggest accounting firm in the Philippines, formerly part of Arthur Andersen, now part of Ernst & Young). I used to work there. It's such a cut throat enviroment.

Today is going to be a chill day. I'm going to get a professional hair cut($5), some hot oil treatment($5) and maybe a massage($10). I love the way things are priced here.

This travelling to Mysore business...I was too exhausted to be excited. I woke up at 3AM yesterday to catch the 7AM flight from Manila to Hong Kong. I arrived in my hotel in Mumbai at around 11PM. What a long day spent mostly on airplanes and the different airports. My flight went from Manila to Hong Kong(5 hour stopover) to Bangkok(1 hour stopover) and then to Mumbai (about 2 hours to clear immigration and baggage claim. I'm glad that leg is over.

My 5 hour stopover in Hong Kong was eased by the fact that I met two fellow travellers at the airport. I was laying on a couch close by when I overheard the conversation of a male Sri Lankan Canadian and a female caucasian Canadian. The Sri Lankan was talking about the whole matchmaking process he went through when he married his wife. The whole courtship took place mostly by phone and that there was no sex involved before the wedding. The Canadian kept laughing and couldn't get over the fact that they had no sex prior to wedding because she had just had sex about 48 hours ago with a man she may never see again. The whole conversation was so amusing. As I sat up from the couch, I told both of them I didn't mean to evesdrop on there conversation. They asked me to join them and I did. I was bored to death and I had 3 hours to kill. Erin the female Canadian was heading for New Zealand to go biking and Riyaz was on his way to Sri Lanka to join his wife. It was nice to talk to someone and I learned a lot about both of them. I met two really cool people that day.

I thought spending time in the Philippines will soften the blow of going to India. Vincent(practices with Noah & Kimberly) another Filipino whose been to Mysore said that nothing can prepare you for India, not even the Philippines. He was right. I was shocked when I first stepped out of Mumbai International Airport. Everything looked so old and dark. Most of the cars are so tiny and old. The poverty didn't bother me. We have a lot of that in the Philippines. I think I've adopted to the weather though. They say in the Lonely Planet Guide that most traveller skip Mumbai and go directly to the other more pleasant cities. I can see why. I think I've gotten over the shock and I'm ready to move on.

I stayed in the Kumaria Presidency last night. The Lonely Planet guide classified it as a "mid range hotel" (I'd hate to stay in a hotel classfied as "budget") and I think it's considered a three star hotel in India. I think it's more of a 1 1/2 star hotel. It smelled so old. I paid 2,666 ruppees for my room (about 60 US dollars). I didn't really mind staying in that hotel(I've been in worst)
but for $60 I expected a little more.

I am now in the Mumbai Domestic Airport waiting for my flight to Bangalore. Blogging is such a good way to pass the time. I should be boarding in about 15 minutes. The next time I blog, I'll be in Mysore :)

Bangalore & Mysore is nothing like Mumbai. I honestly hate Mumbai. I arrived in Bangalore yesterday morning and rode around looking for a bank to get money to pay Guruji. Bangalore reminds me a lot like Cebu. It's very progressive and the air is much cleaner. Mumbai's air is so thick and muggy. As we got off the plane in Bangalore, an Indian man took a deep breath, smiled and said something good. Like me, he was glad to get out of Mumbai.

The drive from Bangalore to Mysore was nice and pleasant. It was about a 3 1/2 hour drive. The landscape was very similar to the Philippines...coconut trees, sugarcane, rice paddies, road contructions everywhere, pot holes and bananas. I was tempted to say banana trees but bananas aren't trees. They are a grass species. Indians drive like Filipinos or vise versa(crazy drivers). I could have easily driven the car except the whole driving on the left side just throws me off. I've almost been run over while crossing the street because I always look at the wrong side when I cross. The weather here is slightly cooler than Cebu. I'm really glad about that.

When I got to Mysore, I got more ruppees and went straight to Guruji's shala since it was past 4PM. As I entered the building, Sharath came out and told me wait since Guruji still had someone in the office. Sharath was teaching about 4 local students. I eventually walked in the office and sat face to face with the man himself. I looked straight at his face and was impressed with the fact that he does not look like he is 89 years old. He has a very young face...no wrinkles, very smooth skin and clear eyes. Anyway, I filled out the paperwork gave him the money (27,000 ruppees since I thought it was 26,900 ruppees). After he counted the money, he gave me back 2,100 ruppees and told me it was only 24,900 for the first month and registration. I was pleasantly surprised because the website says 26,900. He told me to come tomorrow at 5AM for the led class. I was so happy to be there.

I then proceeded to the Green Hotel and checked in. The room was nice and clean. It only cost me about 1,100 ruppees(about $25). It is much better and cheaper than the dump I stayed at in Mumbai. I really hate Mumbai. The Green Hotel is a very beautiful hotel. No airconditioning though. The garden is well kept and manicured. The structure is old but elegant. I had dinner there and met an Australian yoga student. She's studying with Sheshadri though. We went to Nigrilis(a supermarket) after dinner so I could get an idea of what they sell there. I got back to the hotel at around 7PM and was in bed by 8PM.

I got up at around 2:30AM this mornining and tried to go back to sleep but couldn't. My whole body clock is still so screwed up. I was in the shala by 4:50AM. The room was was filled up since there was only one class today. The mats were about 6 inches from each other but everybody went through the practice without having to jump on each other. I didn't do a head count but someone told me it was about 80. I was excited but tired. I haven't practiced seriously in about 3 weeks. I was just gald to go through the motions. Sharath told me to go to the back room after Mari A. I'm definitely a beginner in this group but I'm alright with that. They say that beginners here get more assistance and it's true. It's only been my first day and Sharath helped me twice and Saraswati assisted me once. I'm here for me and don't care if I'm a beginner.

I was hoping to see Amanda in class today but she wasn't there. I saw Rolf though and spoke to him briefly after class. I'm was sure he didn't remember me so I told him that I met him when he took over Noah & Kimberly's class. Other than that, everybody looked foriegn to me. I met Alex, a Norweigian student and he gave me Shiva's phone number. He is the recommended house hunter. We looked at a few apartments and rooms. There were two places that I liked. One was about a 12 minute walk from the shala. It was a new two bedroom apartment on a hill with a beautiful view and a roof deck. It was for 6000 ruppees. The other one was a large one bedroom, with a terrace, a western toilet, a veranda, roof deck and 2 blocks from the shala for 5000 ruppees. They were both nice but I liked the one close to the shala. I paid the first month and gave Shiva's his 10% commission. I like Shiva. He has a very good sense of what you want and he is not pushy. The commission I paid him was well worth it. I have a new home now. I check out of the Green Hotel tomorrow and move in my new place. I feel settled now. I feel like I'm home now...this is my home(for the next 4 months anyway).

I've always enjoyed reading those Mysore blogs. I'm happy to say that my blog is now officially a "Mysore Blog":)

Oh f**k, I just lost a whole blog entry. I was halfway through a blog entry and I accidentally pressed a key and lost the whole entry, so I have to start all over again.

I finally moved into my new home yesterday. It's a really big room in a big house. I live with an Indian family who have been so nice and accomodating. They rent out three rooms to the yoga students. One room is occupied by a Taiwanese lady and her daughter. She practices with Saraswati. Later today, an Australian lady will be moving in. My bathroom has a bathtub and the shower works well. I won't have to be taking bucket baths like some places here. I hope to get a dresser and a table later this week. Like most places here, the furnishings are minimal. My bed is a single bed which I find strange because the room is so big. I noticed that most yoga students here sleep on the floor. In LA, I sleep in a futon cushion on the floor. I don't have a bedframe. I find it ironic that I'm actually sleeping on a bed her and that the people around me are sleeping on the floor. The houses here are all made of concrete and the floors are quite hard. The cushions here are very thin so I don't know how comfortable the floor will be. I may try it out one day.

After settling in, I had to go to Devarajs Road to find myself some towels. This road is like the garment district or downtown of Mysore. It's about a 28 ruppee rickshaw ride from Gokulam. It's not the most pleasant place to be in but it's bearable. I checked out the different shops to get a feel of what things I could get here. I eventually found a store that sells towel and got 2 bath towels and 3 yoga towels. I didn't bring towels from LA because I thought they were too bulky. In retrospect, I actually had the space to bring them. Anyway, I paid over 500 ruppees for all the towels(about $13). They were not very good quality towels so I could leave them here when I leave. I hope they last 4 months.

Today's practice was much better than the last practice. I think I've gotten over the jetlag but lost a lot of my stamina. I'm happy to get back on track though. There were two classes today, a led primary at 5 and a led intermediate after. The led primary was still full and there were about 20 or more in the led intermediate. I could see that there were a lot of heavy hitters in the advance class. I know that Rolf was there and some other advance teachers I didn't know. They said Annie Pace was there but I didn't know which she was and a guy named Olaf. Sharath stopped me at Mari B today, which is a slight improvement from the last class. He help me bind at Mari A which felt good. I'm getting more assistance here than most students. The advantage of being a beginner:) I'm not complaining.

One of the students told me yesterday that the shala maybe closed in December because Sharath was going to be in Goa. I asked Sharath this morning if this was true. He told me that the shala will be open and that Saraswati will be teaching. The thought of going to Goa was getting me excited. I've heard a lot of good thinkg about Goa. I may still go to Goa but I have to figure out what it would cost and see how things go here. I don't have to decide now.

I'm enjoying the company of my fellow yoga students. I feel normal here because most of us are unemployed and just happy to be doing yoga full time. In LA and the Philippines, I felt so out of place. I don't feel so crazy. In fact a lot of people here are crazier than me. I can honestly say that there is no other place I would rather be in at this very moment. I love Mysore:)

Last night we went to the Mysore Palace. On Sundays, the whole place is lite up. It's a really beautiful palace and the lights make it breathtaking. I went with Rema and Sara. Rema is Indian lady who grew up in the UK and Sara is my flatmate from Australia. Rema is one of my favorite people here. She speaks Hindi and knows the way of the land. I know I won't get screwed when I'm with Rema and I enjoy listening to her haggle with the rickshaw drivers or anyone she talks to. She does not speak Kanada but most of the people here understand Hindi. We walk around the palace and took pictures. Next month the lights will be on everyday from the 15th for 9 days and we'll be allowed to enter the palace. I'll try to post the pictures in my blog when I get back to LA.

Today I had my first Mysore class. I felt much better this morning. I knew Sharath would tell me to close in the Maris so I held all the other postures much longer. I was aware that tommorow is a moonday so I wanted to give it everything I had. I had a lot of help from Saraswati today. She is a small lady but has a strong and gentle touch. She even help me in Mari B which was my last asana before closing. I asked Sharath if I should do backbends and he told me next week. I was cool with that because I was really tired.

Shiva really hooked me up with a good landlord. They are a really good family. They have gone out of there way to make us part of their family. This morning Anita(our landlady) made dosas(rice cakes) for us for breakfast. She always serves us chai in the afternoon. Rema told us that we're really lucky because her landlady is not very nice. Rema and her flatmates are not even given keys to the house. Anita's husband even goes out of his way to feed Vivian's(my other flatmate) daughter, Rainbow(2 years old). Anita has two daughters who are going to teach us some Kanada. They're 10 and 7 years old.

Later this morning, after Vivian dropped off her daughter to a pre-school, we went to the Rashinkar Emporium in the city. We went to look for mysore mats and check out the different textile material. Sara was in textile heaven. You could see her eyes glow. The silk and cotton designs were really beautiful. Vivian bought some silk for a sari, while Sara and I chose material and had drawstring pants made. The pants cost us 230 ruppees each(about $5 each). We only had one made for now because we wanted to see how it will come out. I now understand why they tell you to bring an empty duffle bag when you go to India. I think Sara and I are going to be in the Rashinkar area very often and it won't be difficult to fill up that empty duffle bag.

Yesterday was a moon day so my two flatmates, Rema and I went to the Indus Valley Ayurvedic Center in Lalithadripura, Mysore. It's about 20 to 25 minutes from Gokulam. Our landlord told us that it was the best ayurvedic center in South India. Vivian said that they had a promo for an ayurvedic massage for 500 ruppees which is normally 750 ruppees. So we arranged for pick-up at 8:45AM and got there a little past nice. We filled out the paperwork and one by one we had a short consulation with the ayurvedic doctor. The doctor suggested that I get a Patra Pinda Sweda(Advanced , luxurious massage) for 2,300 ruppess. I wasn't willing to pay that much because it was my first time so I settled for the Abhyanga & Sweda(Whole body massage + steam for 500 ruppess) and the Shirodhara(Oil drip treatment for 950 ruppees). I've heard of the Shirodara so I did it out of curiousity.

After the consulation, I was escorted back to the waiting room and there my therapist lead me to the treatment room. I was greeted by another therapist when I entered the room and the two therapist introduced themselves to me. For the life of me I could not remember there names. Anyway, after that, one of the therapist gave me a g-string thong to put on. I went to the bathroom and put it on. It's not very comfortable but it served it's purpose. I don't know how you women wear things like that. When I got to the of the bathroom they requested me to sit on the chair. One therapist gave me a brief summary of what the treatment would entail. First they both stood beside me and said a short prayer. Then one of the therapist gave me a head and neck massage while I was seated on the chair. He massaged my head with a medicated oil. It was quite pleasant until he did some tapotement/tapping on my head. It was a little relaxing but bordering annoying. I tried to relax as much as I could but couldn't stop thinking on when the tapping would stop.

He eventually stopped and requested me to get on the table face up. The two therapist then started a synchronized tandem massage. It was quite relaxing but the therapist in me couldn't help but notice that the pressure of both therapist was not equal. Massage therapist are sometimes the worst clients. Other than that, they were well synchronized. The strokes were very basic and general. The massage could be best described as a firm Swedish with tons of thick oil. They put so much oil that when they asked me to turn over, I was literally slipping on the table.

After the full body massage, I got the Shirodara treatment. The treatment is basically a constant flow of warm oil on your forehead. The oil was systematically poured slowly from side to side on the forehead. It produces a very relaxing sensation that I eventually passed out. The whole experience was nice and relaxing but for some reason I expected more.

I then got out of the table and spent 10 minutes in the steam room. For my shower, my therapist gave me a brown guwee soap with a sand-like texture and some guwee medicated shampoo. I had so much oil in my body, I had to soap myself twice and I still felt oily. The whole session took about 1 1/2 hours. It was not the best massage I've ever had but considering what I paid(about $35), it was really worth it. We then had a really good and healthy lunch at 12:30PM and left the center by 3PM. We all enjoyed the experience and are planning to go back in the near future. When I got home, I felt so relaxed that I took a nap. I normally don't take naps.

Today was my second mysore practice. I was so anxious to get back on track again. I started practiced a little past 6 and there weren't very many one mores after I started. Like the last time, I got a lot of help from Saraswati. She help me on all the balancing postures and on Mari A & B. I know I'm supposed to memorize the postures but I have no excuses. Saraswati seems to be assisting more than Sarath. Sarath tends to assist the more advance student. As I was closing my practice with shoulderstand, Sharath's daughter started running around the shala. She came to me and introduced herself. She is a very beautiful little girl with curly black hair and dark bright eyes(everybody in that family's eyes seems to be sparkling).

A few days ago, I sent an email to Noah & Kimberly telling them that I had arrived and that I'm all settled. Kimberly sent me an email telling me that 6 more people from the LA shala will be arriving this week. George, the first of the 6 arrived this morning. I talked to George after practice and had breakfast with him. I thought I was crazy but I think George is crazier. He arrived in Mysore at around 4AM this morning from Bangalore, checked in the Green Hotel without a reservation and at 4:30AM went to the shala and practiced. By the time they figured out he was a new student, he was in the Mari series. He is the only student I know who practiced before registering(he registered later that afternoon). Later that morning, I hooked him up with Shiva and by 10:30, we were house hunting. By 11:30AM, he settled on a new 2 bedroom apartment about 12 minutes from the shala(that unit was my second choice). He moves in his new home at 11AM tomorrow. I think the shala is starting to fill up and the better places have already been taken.

A couple of nights ago, I met Annie Pace. I've heard a lot of good things about her and she did not disappoint me. She is very sweet and simple. Like most of the good senior ashtanga teachers, she has is no air about her. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she has been coming to Mysore every year for the past 15 years and in one year spent 10 months. She missed only one year in all those years. Hearing that put everything in proper perspective.