Road To Mysore

I said goodbye to Stanley Lim after practice yesterday. He left Mysore today and is heading back to Singapore. For those of you who are interested, Stanley teaches at Downward Dog Yoga. The website is www.downwarddog.com.sg and the email address is email@downwarddog.com.sg. Stanley has a good second series practice and is a great person. I don't know him as a teacher because we're all students here.

I woke up this morning at around 6:30AM. That's late for Mysore standards. I got that extra two and a half hours of sleep. I did sleep at around 10:30PM last night though...that's also really late...bad yogi. I felt slow and sluggish this morning. It took me 2 hours to get ready for breakfast and by 8:30AM, I headed to Tina's. It was really quiet there, so after having my first breakfast, I decided to go to Anu's for my second breakfast. Since we don't eat dinner, it's normal to have two breakfast.

The second breakfast was a much lighter breakfast and since more people tend to go to Anu's on the weekends, I wanted to know what people were up today. Not much was happening except for a group of people heading to the Southern Star pool. I'm not really into the pool thing. Nothing interesting was happening today and it felt like today was going to be a long slow day. For the first time in over two months, I wasn't sure what the hell I was going to do. Nobody wanted to do anything. I headed home and decided to watch a little TV.

I got a call from Sydney around noon and he wanted to meet up with Morag and Rebecca to iron out a few details of our North India trip. We met up at Morag's house which happens to be the house I stayed in last year (Anita and Taresh house, the big blue house across from the Lion's School). When Sydney and I got there, the ladies were buying jewelry from one of Anita's friend. I think she hit jackpot because the girls just gobbled up a chunk of her inventory...the equivalent of two months projected sales.

After that quick shopping spree, it was all business. We had to first decide on how we were going to Bangalore to catch our flight to Delhi. It took a while but we decided to rent a car to go to Bangalore. The train would have been a smoother and faster option but we thought it would be nice to skip the ricksaws and let a car bring us straight to the airport. From there we had to decide on our itinery and other things like hotels and tranportation. Our itinery looks likes this:

October 21 - Take car to Bangalore to catch a the flight to Delhi. Arrive Delhi around 10:30PM. We decided on a hotel in New Delhi which will cost around 900 rupees for a double. I don't want to imagine what type of accomodation 900 rupees will provide. Rebecca is handling hotel reservation.

October 22 - Enjoy the sights and sounds of Delhi and plan on how to get to Agra. Haven't decided on whether we should take the train or rent a car.

October 23 - Head to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Sydney insist that we spend the night in Agra and spend 10 to 12 hours in the Taj Mahal. He wants to see the sunrise and sunset. I'm told that 2 to 3 hours in the Taj Mahal should be enough. We also want to see this town a couple of hours from Agra. I forget the name.

October 24 - Either head to Varanasi from Agra or from Delhi. If we stay overnight in Agra, then we head from there. I think we're only going to spend the day in Agra and head back to Delhi before heading to Varanasi.

October 25 to 30- We should arrive in Varanasi early in the morning. Sydney insist that we stay in the Old City. I'm told it's intense and that we should transition ourselves by staying at the Krishnamurti Ashram for a few days before finding a hotel along the river in the Old City. I was able to convince the group based on what other yoga students have told us and use the Krishnamurti Ashram as a transition stopover before jumping into the chaos of the Old City. I need to find out about accomodations.

October 31 - Head back to Delhi. I think we leave on the night of the 30th and arrive early morning. Explore more of Delhi. By the time we head back to Delhi for the second time, we'll know exactly what we want to see.

November 1 - We get to spend another day in Delhi before taking the late afternoon flight back to Bangalore. We should be in Bangalore sometime in the evening. We will arrange for a car to pick us up. There's no point in sleeping over in Bangalore and spending for a hotel. Morag stays in Delhi for a few days before heading back to Australia. We should be back in Mysore after 2AM on November 2. We have a days rest before the shala opens on November 3.

All this planning has gotten all of us really excited. I know I should be living in the present but this trip is too exciting to not think about. I'm told that it would be experiencing the "Real India" and life changing. I told the travel crew that by the end of the trip we'll either be best friends or best enemies...I hope we'll be best friends.

It's 2AM and I'm wide awake. I've been fighting a cold since Monday morning. Yesterday's practice was really difficult. It's no fun to practice when you have a cold. I cut my practice short yesterday...after dropbacks. I had nothing left in me. My body feels really tired now. My alarm rings in two hours and I have to decide if I have it in me to practice. I don't remember the last time I was sick or had a cold this bad. It must have been at least 5 years ago. It's really frustrating now but my body is telling me to stay in bed. I hate missing practice and hopefully in the next two hours my body can recover. Need to get back to sleep and see how I feel when the alarm goes off.

Shit, the alarm just went off...it's already 4AM. I'm sitting in my bed and trying to figure out if I should go to practice. I know Saraswati is going to ask me where I was tomorrow. At least I won't have to lie about it. I'm actually sick and my body is just telling me to get back to bed. Being sick is a really shitty feeling. I've almost forgot how it feels. I even have a slight fever. Got to get back to bed...oh well, worst things can happen.

It's 7AM now, I'm glad I stayed in bed. I feel much better but I'm not sure if I would be ready to practice tomorrow. I've decided to skip Jayashree's chanting class this afternoon. It's my 4th week and I haven't missed her class yet. Yesterday's class was difficult with my cold and sore throat. The last 30 minutes of class I went silent and just listened. There were 12 students yesterday which is usual. Normally there are only between 6 to 8 students.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself today. Resting will be a big part of my day and checking mail. I can't stay home all day. It will drive me crazy. I've never been a home body. I definitely will need to pick up some DVDs. No Bollywood movies today. I need a break from them. I've watched so many the past few weeks,,,Kisna, Kabie Kush Kabie Khan, Taal, Devdas, Maine Kiya Kyun Pyaar(not sure if I got that right) and Samay. Kisna and Kabie Kush Kabie Khan are the only two I would recommend...Devdas was too depressing and forget the rest.

My stuffy nose is annoying the hell out of me. I'm so tempted to do the quick fix and take a decongestant. I'm taking the homeopathic route. Yesterday, Reema (my homeopathic doctor) gave me a remedy. She took care of me last year and she's doing it again this year. I've made a commitment to stay away from any form of drugs. I've done that most of my life and although it can be a quick fix, I'm not happy with the long term side effects. I'm trying to be patient. It's hard to be patient when your sick. Reema tells me that my body is telling me to rest and I should listen to it. I'm too stubborn to listen to my body but I will rest today.

Last night I still felt like crap. My nose was still stuffy and I had a slight fever. It was around 8PM and I didn't feel like sleeping yet. I didn't want to force myself to sleep so I decided that my cold and fever will still be there in the morning. There was no point in pressuring myself to go to practice the following day. Reema had told me that my body is telling me to rest and that I should listen to it. I thought it made sense so I watched TV until midnight. I wasn't going to wake up early anyway.

I woke up this morning at around 3:30AM. My fever and cold was gone. Since I decided last night that I wasn't going to practice today. I forced myself back to sleep. An hour later, I woke up again. There's no point in forcing myself back to sleep. I decided to get my ass out of bed and prepare for practice. I still wasn't 100% but I had enough energy to get through practice today. Practice was good...considering. Saraswati asked me where I was yesterday. I told her I was sick and this time I wasn't lying. She helped me with my dropbacks which is always a lot of fun. I think today may be the last time I do dropbacks here. Sarath is expected to arrive later today and will be in the shala tomorrow. I expect him to take it away from me.

I'm looking forward to seeing Sarath tomorrow. There has been a lot of new students who have arrived since he was gone. A lot of them are in for a rude awakening. Nobody controls the room the way Sharath does. He's not going to let a lot of people get away the shit they've been doing.

Yesterday was Sharath’s first day back. He taught the led primary class and unlike Guruji, the pace of his class is slower. He also tends to let you hold the asana longer. The room seems to be more organized when his here. He tells people to make space for other students and when he tells people to stop, they follow him. Some people stop when Saraswati tells them to but continue to practice when she walks away. After awhile, Saraswati just let’s them go. That rarely happens when Sharath is around. On led classes, I stop at navasana and rejoin the class in backbends. That’s why I don’t particularly enjoy led classes. I don’t mind stopping at navasana but by the time I rejoin the class in backbends my muscles are cold. Backbends are no fun when your muscles are cold. Anyway, class was still good and it was nice to see Sharath back in the shala.

There was a conference later that afternoon. It was not announced in class so I heard it from the grapevine. It was a very small conference since most people didn’t know about. Before conference started, we asked Sharath how his trip was. He said it was good and well attended. It was his first time in Hong Kong and Tokyo. He told one of the advanced students that there is a shortage of qualified teachers in Hong Kong and he should consider teaching there. Alex is the only qualified ashtanga teacher there. In Tokyo, he had two classes a day with 85 students per class. They never put the Tokyo workshop in the website because it was full as soon as they were open for registration. Hawaii was great too. He said it was fun but he is glad to be back.

Yesterday’s conference was one of my favorite conference because it was very small and casual. It was like we were having coffee with Guruji and Sharath. People asked very simple and practical questions. Here is a summary of what was talked about:

• Somebody asked Guruji what we should do when emotions start to surface during practice. Do we let it out and cry or do we hold it in? Guruji said, “Stop thinking and then no thoughts and emotions.� I don’t think that was the answer we all wanted to hear but one thing I’ve learned from this practice is what I’m expecting and what I’m actually going to get are too different things. That’s why a lot of the older students always tell me not to expect anything. Just take things as they come and be at peace with it. I definitely have a long way to go.

• Sharath continued to say that we should stay home more often and either meditate or read. Going out too much stimulates the mind. This is what Reema has also been telling me the past few weeks. I try to stay home as much as possible but I am by no means a stay home kind of guy. I’ll go crazy if I stayed home all day. I really have a long way to go.

• Another person asked if fasting is good. I missed part of the discussion but I think he said that it good to fast and recommended that you fast on certain days. I don’t recall which days it was. Sharath recommends that we have a big lunch and then fast for dinner. If it’s not possible you may have one chapatti or dosa or something very light for dinner. Since there are a lot of people doing pancha karma, I asked if it was all right to do. Sharath said it’s good but not necessary.

• For breakfast, Guruji told us to soak a cup of mung beans overnight. After practice, grind the mung bean and mix with the water used in soaking (do not discard the water). Add two small pieces of jagari, mix and drink for breakfast everyday. It is suppose to be very nutritious and will give us a lot of energy. I’m not sure if that’s the only thing we’re suppose to eat. I bought a blender today to try it out. I’m not sure if it’s going to taste any good but the jagari is suppose to make it taste better. Tomorrow, I'm going to try my first "Sprouted Mung Bean Smoothie".

• We asked about the coming world tour. Sharath said that the shala would be closed for the months of March and April 2006. The shala will open on May, June and July. He continued to say that August is not sure. I told Sharath I was going to here in September. He said, “Shrada (not sure if I spell it right) will be here teaching.� He told us he would post the schedule for the world tour in the next few days. The cities they will be visiting are London, San Francisco, somewhere in Florida and I forgot the other city. I think some of the other European cities are trying to get Guruji to go between August and October. Nothing has been finalized yet.

• Somebody asked if ghee and milk were good. Guruji said, “Yes, both are good but not all milk are good.� Milk in India was good but some other countries, the milk is not good. I forgot which countries he mentioned. He suggested that the ghee should be homemade.

After the conference, I told Sharath that while he was gone Saraswati was doing dropbacks with me. I asked him if I should continue doing it. I didn't want to deal with it during practice so I wanted to straighten it out before hand. He said, "If Saraswati makes you do dropbacks, then you do." I guess that's his way of saying that he didn't want to argue with Saraswati but he wasn't going to do dropbacks with me. She is a very strong willed woman and also his mother so I don't think he wanted to argue with her. I justed wanted to make sure I wasn't in the middle a crossfire. I guess it's kind of "official"...I get to keep my dropbacks. I have mixed emotions about all that. N once told me that your not given dropbacks until you've completed a substantial amount of the primary series. I forgot which asana it was before you're given dropbacks but I'm sure it's not navasana. Anyway, I did dropbacks today and will continue to do it until I'm told otherwise.

It's 6PM right now and a beautiful lady just asked me if I wanted to go with her to the Mysore Palace to watch a flute concert...very tempting. It's Dasara festival week in Mysore so there are concerts every night at the palace. This is a tough one. Do I spend a wonderful night with a beautiful lady or do I start heading home and sleep early? In the "normal" world, it would be a no brainer but this is Mysore...what we do here is get to bed at 8PM and wake up at 4AM. Shit...what did I get myself into?

I had a blog entry yesterday which wouldn't stick. It wasn't a very long one. I kept trying to save it but it just wouldn't stick. It was late and I was getting tired so I abandoned it once and for all. I was hoping it would somehow stick but it didn't. I hate recreating blog entries. They never come out the way you originally wrote it. Anyway, I'll give it a shot.

This has been a great practice week...very focused and intense. My practice has been so intense and full on that I had to take a nap yesterday after practice. I try to avoid that as much as possible but I had to yesterday. It's really different with Sharath back in the shala. The shala is more organized and he doesn't allow us to warm up before class. He tells us to start immediately the moment we set up our mats...no unnecessary streches which most of us like to do. He also gives the best Mari C adjustments. I'm finally getting my fingers to touch on a regular basis on the right side. I touched once on the left side but I have a way to go on that side. I'm not binding yet...it's only a question of time. Hopefully I can bind before I leave this December...if not, next year will do.

I finally had my first sprouted mung bean smoothie last Tuesday. I finished most of the first batch but later found out I had made too much. I soaked a cup full instead of a hand full. I must have missed that part. As far as the taste is concerned...it's not bad but it's not great either. It's bearable and edible but nothing you would give a girl your trying to impress. I use to drink 4 ounces of wheatgrass juice everyday so this stuff is good compared to that. It's very filling and it could easily get you through the morning. I don't know if it's given me that extra energy boost yet. I'm been giving it 110% everyday at practice this past week. I really don't have any much energy left after practice. I think it too early to judge on whether this thing will help me or not. I plan to do it everyday until I leave and decide if it's worth taking. For those of you who intend to try it a home, I suggest that you scrape out the foam that floats on top...it's a little nasty. Other than that, it's not really that bad.

I know I've said this many times but I'm going to say it again...thank God it's Friday. My body is dying for a day off. I'm looking forward to having the day off tomorrow. I've had such a great practice week there's not much left of me. I'm tempted to take a nap today but a nap always disrupts my sleep at night.

Today I started the process of getting internet connection in my apartment. Robin and I met up with the Airtel representative and decided to get the unlimited plan for 700 rupees a month. Not bad since I'm going to share the cost with Fred from London. He occupies the apartment upstairs. The Airtel guy said I should get the connections in 3 days. I'm told by other students her it normally takes one month. I don't know if this guy is shitting me or if he really believes I'll get it in 3 days. I don't need it that quickly but it would be interesting to see if he can make it happen. He gave me his business card. I told him I would call him in 3 business days if I don't have my internet connection. Fred and I have talked about having WIFI in our apartment once we get our line in. That would really be sweet if we can do that. I'm crossing my fingers.

Today was our first Mysore practice since last Thursday. It felt like it was centuries ago. It was great to get back on the mat after having the moon day yesterday. I felt lazy today. I think I slept too much the day before. Practice was great but Mari C on my left side felt stiff…felt like I’m regressing. I’ve been eating a lot of crap lately…too many goodbye lunches and dinners. Seriously thinking of doing pancha karma after the break. I think now that I’m close to binding C I feel like I’m putting too much pressure on myself. I want it so much that I tense up when Sharath helps me out. I need to relax and not think about it too much. I know it will come. I need to just let it happen. It’s so close and yet so far. I think I’ve reached a point wherein it’s more mental than physical.

Yesterday we had our conference. A lot of things were discussed but I was a little clueless with regards to some of the topics. Here’s a brief summary of what was discussed. If I missed some, it’s because I didn’t understand what the hell they were talking about.

• Someone asked Sharath what to do in terms of practice when he is traveling. Sharath suggested that we practice primary series on the first two days and then proceeds to whatever series we practice. Obviously the person asking the question was an intermediate student. Since most of us will be traveling in the next few days, it was nice to know anyway.

• Guruji gave a lecture on the importance of doing surya namascara correctly. It is the foundation of the practice. If this is not correct, then everything else is not correct. He repeatedly told us that the breathing and driste was an important component to the sun salutations.

• Guruji also talked about the samscaras. I’m still not sure I know what that is and if I spelled it right. He said if we practice we would accumulate samscaras especially when we do headstand or shoulder stand. These also transfer to us in our next life. He mentioned that one of the older students use to do head stand for an hour everyday. There was also a discussion about how most of us must have practiced some yoga in our previous lives, which explains why we are presently practicing and others are not. It is also assumed that in our next life we will continue to practice yoga. I think it has something to do with the samscaras accumulating and carrying over to the next life.

• Sharath reiterated to everyone to stay home and read more instead of going out. He recommended that we pick up a good yoga book at the Ramakrishna Temple. This reminded me of a conversation I had with someone earlier in the week. My friend said he was looking forward to practicing in his beautiful shala facing the ocean. I told him a story, which one of the very old time students told me last year. When Guruji visited Hawaii a long time ago, the students had prepared a beautiful space overlooking the ocean. The students were so excited because they were looking forward to practicing in this beautiful space. When Guruji walked in the room he immediately said, “No� and walked around the property. They all ended up practicing in the garage. I think what many western students don’t realize is that this practice is an inward journey and practicing that outdoors defeats the intention of the practice. I think that explains why yogis use to practice in caves and not on the top of the mountain. Although I’ve done a lot of socializing in this trip. It is much less than when I was here last year. I think this practice is slowly sipping into my life. Maybe I am accumulating some samscaras…whatever that is.

• Guruji talked about how this practice has slowly made it’s way to the west. When he started, he had only 10 western students. The following year he had 30 and so on and so forth. He talked about how the west is adapting to the Indian ways. He also said, “Many wives not good, one wife good.�

I’m sure there was more discussed but this is all I remembered or understood. After conference, I said goodbye to a handful of people. Many are leaving before the shala closes on Friday. About 1/3 will be not be coming back, another third will be traveling for the break and the rest will stay in Mysore. Most of the ones that are staying are doing pancha karma. There seems to be more people doing it this year. I feel like its part of the Mysore experience and that I need to squeeze it in this trip…peer pressure.

Practice yesterday and today was great. As long as I don't think about it...Mari C is coming along nicely. Tomorrow is the last class before the shala closes.

There's seems to be a lot of excitement during breakfast and lunch regarding people leaving for different destinations. Most popular destinations are Auroville, Kerala, Goa, Thailand and of course...Delhi/Varanasi. The Varanasi crew is all set and excited to go. Hotel accomodations and transportation have been arranged...wooohooo!!! We leave for Bangalore around noon and fly to Delhi around 8:30PM.

I'm expecting it to be a chaotic and intense trip. I've been told by one of the older students that you don't experience India until you spent time in one of the major cities...Delhi, Mumbai or Calcutta. Mysore is way too tame to be considered an India experience. She continued to say that if you can find peace in the midst of chaos...then the practice must be working for you. I'm not sure if I'm going to find peace but I've decided that I'm going to have a blast.

Today marks my third month...two more months to go. It feels like only yesterday. I can only imagine what the next two months have in store for me. I don't even want to think about it. Delhi here we come...wooohooo!!!

Yesterday, we left Mysore for Bangalore around noon to catch our flight to Delhi. The road from Mysore to Bangalore is looking really good. It only took us 3 1/2 hours compared to 4 1/2 hours last year. There are still a few stretches of bumpy roads but for the most part it's looking good.

We arrived in Delhi last night around 9:30PM and was picked up the hotel car. The good thing about expecting the worst is that things tends to fall short of your expections. Delhi is not as bad as I expected. In fact, it's seems like it's cleaner and has better roads than Bangalore. I'm happy to say that I can easily survive here. I think it's a good transition before we head to Varanasi.

Last night we checked in a hotel called H.K. Choudhary...it's best described as a dump but since I hope to one day be a world class backpacker...it's clean enough and manageable. It cost us 880 rupees for a double with A/C which is a little over US$10...what do you expect when you pay that much. The room was very small and basic. The mattress and pillows were about two inches thick. Considering the accomodations...I slept well.

Got up around 6:30AM this morning and was disappointed to find out our bathroom did not have running water. I don't know why and never got a chance to ask the front desk because they were still asleep. I didn't have the heart to wake them up. I found out that the girls' room had running water so I took my bath there. After we all got ready, we decided to walk around Connaught Place (that's the area we're in) to grab some breakfast. I don't know why we decided to pick the restaurant we did but we ended up in a South Indian restaurant...no, we're not homesick yet.

The rest of today was spent doing errands (rebooking Morag flight back to Perth), changing travellers' checks, having lunch, arranging for a car for a tour of Delhi on Monday, moving to a different hotel (the Blue Hotel which is only slightly better) and getting our train tickets for Agra tomorrow and Varanasi on Tuesday. We were suppose to leave for Varanasi on Monday but it was fully booked so we moved it a day later.

Booking our train tickets was very interesting. The travel agent told us to go to the train station office and look for the International Tourist Office. Apparently, there is a special quota for foreign tourist and a seperate office to go to book our tickets. When we went to the train station, we could see long lines of Indians sitting on the cement floors queing to get their tickets. We proceeded to a special office which was relatively posh for foreign tourist. I couldn't help think about how some westerners criticize the Indian caste system but if these same people were given the choice between waiting in a posh office or sit on the dirty cement floors and wait for hours...I wonder what they would choose. I'm not saying the whole caste system is right but I would be very careful before I start judging...yeah, yeah, I'm judging too. It was just a thought that ran through my mind and if you ask me, I would choose the posh office. I'm not that evolved yet.

I don't know what I was expecting but Delhi is like a vacum cleaner. The rate this place is sucking our wallets is about 3 times faster than in Mysore. It's only my first day and I think I've spent about 5,000 rupees...mostly because of the hotel accomodations and train tickets. Our meals though average around 200 to 300 rupees and it's not even home cooked meals. It's times like these when you miss Anu's, Tina's, Janaki's, Sandia's, the Three Sisters, Geetha's and even Shaila's. It's only been a day and I already miss my home cooked meals. What was I thinking when I decided to do this trip? The day is almost over and I've survived it. I think I'll be OK...just trying to go with the flow.

I wish I brought my laptop with me. Getting to an internet center has been difficult especially here in Varanasi. There are a lot of things I wish I could write down but we're constantly on the go. When I do get some down time there's no internet close by. It's been a full-on in your face experience. Nothing can and would have ever prepared me for this experience. Varanasi is more intense than Delhi. I finally got a true taste of India. I'm enjoying every moment but I cannot imagine ever staying in any of these places for a long period of time. Mysore is absolutely paradise compared to any of the places I've been to.

I know I should be living in the moment but I'm looking forward to getting back in the shala. As much as I'm enjoying this trip, my practice has taken a setback. I've missed about 3 practice days and the days that I practice, I can't get pass the standing postures...oh well.

I've been told that this trip would be a life changing experience...I agree but not in a big way... in a million small ways.

We heard about the news this morning regarding the Delhi bombings. I've recieved a few emails from friends asking me if we're alright. We're still in Varanasi but will be taking the 3PM train to Delhi this afternoon. We expect to arrive Delhi early tomorrow morning. For my friends who maybe concerned, the Varanasi crew is alright. We're ready to be back in Mysore.