Full-power drishtis

"The master Shankara reminds us: 'Converting the ordinary vision into one of knowledge one should view the world as brahman (consciousness) itself. That is the noblest vision and not that which is directed to the tip of the nose.'"

I've been reading a copy of Gregor Maehle's Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy that I found, once again, on our book shelf. That book shelf is like that room in Harry Potter that manifests whatever you need at that moment. Yes, if you are patient and open to it, the world provides. I had seen it at stores before and couldn't bring myself to pick it up. To many words, too few pictures, you know. But right now it has been just what I needed. It is fairly dense, but the information is accessible and applicable, which is important. He gets very specific about ideas that people often generalize, which is really fantastic. The man has got a lot of interesting things to say, so if you can, pick up a copy of this for sure.

It is a good day when Sharath gives you pasasana. It means he has given your primary a stamp of approval. F, its a good feeling. I remember when Guy gave me Pasasana. I was shocked for a while. I had been doing full primary for so so so long. Or at least it felt like it. I thought I would be there until the end of time because my heels were nowhere near the floor and it takes a very long time to stretch the Achilles tendon. So you can imagine my surprise when after about a week, he gave me krounchasana. Krounchasana looks kind of simple, but it feels like pop rocks in your body if you're doing it full-blast ashtanga style (sticking to the vinyasa, chin to shin, pointed toe, bam!). Again, I thought I would be there for a while, but then I got salambasana...

Today, I went in for practice thinking "yes, these are Sharath's last few classes" and "no, I don't expect any postures". It was so empty when I walked in at 4:30 I couldn't believe it. The energy was so incredible. Sharath was all over the room giving minor adjustments and tips. He even walked over me to check my drishti in a pose--a small detail that could easily be overlooked in a more crowded class. I could feel him watching me in the second half of my practice and when I got to pasasana, I took the first side, then moved to the other. Sharath came over and rocked me onto my heels, then at the end let me topple over saying "mumble mumble mumble krounchasana mumble." And so that is how today my pasasana was approved by Sharath when he gave me krounchasana.

Here is a picture from a really great album with photos of second series led at the Shala. Here, they are doing krounchasana, which is the second pose in the second series of ashtanga yoga.

It has been raining quite a bit here recently. I can definitely feel it in my body and in my moods. I completely missed out on summer this year. One week of short sleeves in New York. Two weeks of pool weather in Mysore. Back to fall in New York in October. Yikes.

Still no word as to how Saraswati will arrange the classes once Sharath is out. I heard that today they moved everyone to 5 or 5:45. Time will tell...

The ancient struggle

Do you have info on practicing 2nd series while preggers at the Shala? If so, please let me know! (See Sept 1 post)

My alarm was set for 4am. I could not get to sleep last night. Some might argue it was the large amount of chocolate I consumed after 3pm. Maybe. Maybe it was just too much thinking. In any case, the alarm went off, I reached for the clock, turned it off, and then used it to snuggle with like a stuffed teddy bear. Off to dreamland I went...

I woke with a start. Someone turned the lights on in my head and something went "shit! wake up! what time is it?" And so my eyes opened and said, "shit! I'm late!" I turned on the light and read the clock. It was 4:30. People start queuing at 4:30. I scrambled to get my things together, the sleep still aching in my bones and ran after Petra to the Shala. The gates were already open and everyone already inside when I arrived. I held my breath as I went through the doors, and laughed at how empty it was. A few weeks ago, there were 3 PACKED led classes. Now there is one comfortable led class. I got a spot, put down my mat, and tried to keep myself from getting too comfortable with closing my eyes.

Guruji walked onto the stage to lead class and before starting the chant, instructed the people set up on the stage to move their mats onto the floor. This is huge. Since I've been here, Sharath has been the one keeping things in check, with Guruji's presence being all that he could offer. But now, he's adjusting a little bit, he's organizing mats, he's added a few extra stops to the "Pattabhi Express". The pacing on Friday and today was much closer to normal. After class, a line formed in front of him. Students were taking turns bowing and saying "thank you". I know that when he came to New York, we always did this. And I've heard that in the past, people did this in Mysore as well. I was a bit thrown off when I arrived because after class, students just got up and left. On a rare occasion you would see someone pay their respects, but it wasn't the standard. This made me kind of sad. It seemed disrespectful. The energy is just different now that there are less people. More intimate. Not necessarily more serious or intense, but definitely more...something.

I stayed after my class to watch the led second series with Sharath. There were only 13 students! It was incredible to watch and must have been incredible to practice knowing that Sharath would be watching you very closely. In prasarita padotanasana, some people have this habit of inhaling into a back bend before folding forward. If its all about economy of movement and precision of vinyasa, than this isn't something one would do. In the classes I teach, I'm always like "save the drop backs!" Anyway, in the led second, Sharath was able to give more precise instructions because there were less students. When a few people did their pseudo-back bend-huge-inhale-before-folding he yelled, "No head back!"

Rachel came here not knowing any ashtanga. She said she was interested in yoga and her mom told her to do it right and go to india. So she did. She has learned the entire primary series in about 2 months, which is really fast by "Sharath in Mysore" standards. It is so incredible to think that all the information she has is what Sharath thought she needed to know. Nothing more, nothing less. It is so special.

My house mate is napping again. We are like children here in Mysore. Many naps. We were talking about it earlier, about how really, we can't be bothered to do a whole lot because we are just so tired. But its not just the physical practice that tires us out. Its like we come here to rest from life. It takes a little bit of time to do that. To decompress, then acclimate, then detox, then explore, the prioritize, then experience, then form habits, then perhaps journey back.

I just read an article in a Rolling Stone that I found on our bookshelf. The magazine is celebrating 40 years of "being" and interviewed many different luminaries that have colored our collective history. In an interview with Bob Dylan, he talks about what it was like to become "Bob Dylan" when he first went to New York. (By this I mean, he was discussing his creative process when writing songs.) He says,

"'What is human nature really like?' Not 'what am I really like, what do I really like, what don't I like, what am I all about?' Not that kind of thing, but 'what are all these invisible spirits all about?' ... Its a more ancient struggle."

I think its important to stay out here for a long time. Its not about the postures, or getting more poses. There's so much more to explore in here (pats head and heart). So much to sort though. My house mate says the purpose of life is to find ourselves.

I'm reminded of the "one year to live meditation" which, for me is a bit challenging because if I really did it full blast, there would be nothing left in my wake. So, i'm doing a more sattvic version because I will probably be alive in a year.

Anyway, if you're in the US, check out this list of 40 songs that changed the world. (I wish I had the person's job who gets to make lists like this all the time.) This is worth a look! Music. Aaaah.

I'm really enjoying lists of things to do before you die. I started to make my own list before knowing there were so many lists. I was happy to see there were many things I already was doing. I'm not sure what is better. Just living without lists and letting things happen or making a list and trying my best to make it happen. I think it is the same, but one way may use more paper...

100 things to do. brass612.tripod.com/cgi-bin/things.html

200 things to do. http://www.dramaking.de/archiv/363

Maxim's list of things to do. http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=4119

a lot of people have got a thing with swimming with dolphins. *shrug*

Interesting blog on the subject:
http://hirak.blogspot.com/2005/05/100-things-to-do-before-you-die.html

Website of stories from people who are actively trying to tick things off their lists: http://www.2dobeforeidie.com/

Movie about a young mother who finds out she is going to die and makes a list. Very sad. "My life without me".

I met a man wounded in love/I met a man wounded in hatred
Dylan. Wow. He blows my mind every time. I'm downloading videos of the 40 songs while I write this and you have to listen to this if you want the full experience. Also you should read this on the floor kneeling on cushions with the windows to your house open and the sound of rain drowning everything else.

And now, Dylan:

Labor Day: Practicing while pregnant

A question:

Is there anyone out there who has information about practicing second series while pregnant? If you practiced here at the Shala or with an authorised/certified teacher, please send me your info. I have a friend who needs some support and has a few questions...

The blog:

Super-expensive dark chocolate, crackers, cookies, Rachel's "homemade peanut butter" disaster, domino's "mexican way" pizza.

Last night I ate myself into a food coma. It can be very easy sometimes to get caught up in things that don't really exist. We create problems because deep down, parts of us really enjoy some of the emotions that pain brings. I miss ___ terribly.

I've been thinking a lot about life and mine in particular and I don't want to discuss any of that here, but that probably explains why this post and some others have been sparse. Long-distance relationship depression is pretty common here. I saw three instances of teary eyes this morning alone.

Being here, daily life revolves around practice. Saturday we are resting our bodies for the week to come. Tomorrow, 5 am led class, 6:15 led second class. I "slept in", and have no real intentions to leave my house. But if the sun is aligned in the right way, I might go to the veggie stand to get more eggplant. I'm thinking of making tina's stuffed eggplants today. (I put the recipe on a past blog). I made a test batch 2 days ago. Some were good, some bad. Hopefully today it will just be good.

My arms are sore. I think I might be growing some muscles--imagine!

All I want to do is hang out around the house and watch movies. Why doesn't the video store deliver?

Discovery: Domino's now has a Gobi Manchurian pizza. I would never be this insane in New York.

Summer Camp

Everyone is leaving. Life in Mysore is now practice, eating, sleeping, and saying goodbye. The few of us still around are excited about the less crowded shala and the possibility of more personal attention, surrendering to Saraswati (because its all you can do), a later practice time, and Guruji adjustments. Yes, it may be a bit optimistic, but he was very peppy last week, and today's led class was a lot closer to old Guruji style.

The energy has shifted in the Mysore community. In July, it was very intense, almost stressful at the Shala because there were just so many people. And everywhere you went post-practice was packed. Now, things are a bit slower, a bit easier. I get this feeling of sentimentality from people. Today with Guruji teaching, it felt like the room wanted to hug. Rachel says maybe we've just settled in, and now, everything is a little softer since we're not faced with fight or flight all the time. We've learned how to deal with situations, how to relax, how to be here.

Yesterday's practice was incredible. The bloating had gone down, the diarrhea was was on its way out, I felt very light, although also a bit weak. I had to practice very slow. I didn't want to overexert myself because without a doubt, I am still dehydrated (yes, I know I'll get the electrolyte powder eventually). But because of this, the practice was so sweet. When I got to back bends, I felt incredibly open. I did one, walked close, two, walked close, and on 3 i have been taking one hand to my ankle, putting it down and then doing the other and then standing up. Yesterday at that moment I put my left hand out, grabbed just above my heel, then said "why not?", and took my right hand and grabbed my right ankle. I hovered there in that moment thinking "FUCK! I am holding my ankles!" Without thinking it. My body was just exploding all nerves surging, all atoms vibrating, smiling from the inside, when all of a sudden, somewhere in the back of my mind began to say, "you are going to fall over'. My mind and body didn't know which way was up or down or how to handle it, so I clung to my ankles for dear life as I fell back onto my elbows. My upper back went CRACK! And luckily, it felt really really good. I let go of my ankles, put my hands on the floor and came back up to wheel. Laughing at how funny that probably looked to whoever saw, like Bambi trying to stand up for the first time. All awkward and innocent.

I did the standard 3 drop backs on my own, then 3 half ways with Sharath followed by what is now upper-calf grabbing. I held on and began to straighten my legs. Chakras spinning up toward the sky, shining light charging. Aaaaaaaaah.....And then up to stand and back to the floor for forward bend.

I left practice on cocaine and cloud nine and ecstasy and bliss. I felt like anything is possible, like I had jumped over a 10 foot fence. Like I could lift a car over my head and chop open a coconut with my hand. HiYah!

Like any high, later that day I crashed hard. Sitting in the living room alone thinking how I wanted something but couldn't figure out what, pouting my little heart out. Yoga is so funny.

The weather is good for being sentimental right now. Its been overcast and threatening to rain. It makes me feel like watching horror movies, wearing black, drinking coffee, and smoking cigarettes with my legs crossed showing off calf-length black boots. It feels like New York. It feels like the end of Yoga Summer Camp.

I also recently saw the film "Guru". It is short, like all yoga docs, but it truly captures what it feels like to be here because the camera stays almost the entire time in Gokulum (the neighborhood we live in). See it!

The best diet ever!

Sometimes you hear famous last words and you always laugh a little to yourself, shake your head, and say, "famous last words", as if they don't, or won't apply to you. At India Song House Monday night, I sat next to a friend, who most definitely noticed my drop in weight and pale pale skin. She had done a castor oil bath the day before, which had completely destroyed her will to eat, so we shared a common bond. I was under the impression that well, if you couldn't vomit the water, you'd pee it out eventually. Another friend had confirmed this, adding that you should chase the salt water with 1.5 liters of regular water and you'd be peeing your little heart out, feeling right as rain. However, this friend said that she heard that yes, it goes right through you, but not the way you want. Hmm.

Famous last words. Never before have I experienced such incredible misery. I have almost gotten used to it. Despite all my resistance, I have decided to see a doctor and an astrologer. I think between the two, they'll be able to sort me out. That's if I can be bothered to leave the house, of course.

I've moved again.

Right next to the shala. Beautiful house. Big, clean, wireless internet, tv, dvd, a maid, someone to do my laundry, someone to do my dishes. I will never leave.

Sometimes people really surprise you. I was so afraid I might shit my pants in practice today in a very real way. Before putting down my mat, i went into the office to talk to Sharath. I think a lot of people feel like you're not supposed to talk to him, but I feel like he's my teacher, so why not? So I told him that I was feeling sick and didn't know what practice would be like today. he said to just do what I can. He really responded in such a compassionate way, that I was taken aback a little. i feel like he really is watching us, that he really does care, that there is so much more there that we'll never know because there are just so many people here.

On Monday, I saw Guruji stand up from his throne on the stage, walk toward the men's room and instead of going in, he leaned on the door so that he could assist someone in suptavajrasana! (Just like in this picture, but imagine Guruji instead of Sharath). Today, he did the same thing, and I heard later that he adjusted other people as well and tried to assist someone in back bends, but they wouldn't let him. (click here for more on this morning). Sometimes people really surprise you.

Many people are leaving, or have left. I heard tina's had like 3 people there this morning. There are lots of extra spaces in the Shala, and there is virtually no wait time at the door. Loads of houses have opened up, and its getting very quiet and a little sad as many of the 'long timers' begin to make their travel arrangements, take more photos, and begin to say goodbye. I'm looking forward to Saraswati's classes. I wonder how many people will stick around. I know for sure there will be at least 4 of us!

Happy Birthday John!

PS-I heard from a reliable source that Sharath also is a fan of the Gobi Manchurian! (see pic above).

Alex on the best diet ever:

tap water. you have one spoon in the morning, one at night, and before you know it--thin as a rail!

Between my diarrhea and her vomiting, I'd say we are the poster children for parasite-related weight loss...

Yoga-induced bulimia

Imagine me slumped on the bathroom floor next to an empty bottle of salt water, dry heaving, repeating the mantra, "this is so good for me."

One and a half liters of water and salt. Drink fast. Vomit water. Feel clean.

Vaman kriya. It sounded like a really good idea at the time.

I woke up this morning at 3am. The world was spinning, I was incredibly nauseous, my stomach was bloated and tight, all I could do was lie there and moan. I was burping last night's meal and cursing my habit of social eating. I laid down on the bed, missing the morning's led class.

Hours later, I awoke with a semi-normal feeling in my stomach. Inspired by yesterday's talk on pranayama and kriyas, i had decided to try Vaman kriya. I couldn't fathom drinking all that water earlier, but at that point I was feeling alright. So I started to drink. I wasn't sure where to do it, but the toilet seemed too bulimic, so at first I tried the "kitchen sink". I was still a bit dizzy from earlier, so ended up shuffling to bathroom, where I sat next to the drain. I kept drinking the water and sticking my fingers down my throat. Dry heaving. I tried a spoon. Dry heaving. I gave up, laid back on my bed holding my belly now bloated with salt water and cursed all food. No food would enter these lips until the end of time...

Rumspringa

The Amish have this amazing tradition called, "Rumspringa". Basically, it is a time in which a young person gets to experience life outside the Amish community to decide if they really want to become Amish. I had never heard of this before, but SO and I rented a movie on it from netflix and were fascinated. What particularly intrigued me was that these kids could go completely wild, and there was absolutely no judgement at all.

In some ways, I feel like I've had my own Rumspringa here in Mysore. I mean, I'm young and getting into some really intense stuff. It feels good to have a bit of balance and even craziness once in a while. It feels good to have absolutely nothing on your to-do list. At the same time its like A Clockwork Orange (original book version), you go crazy and then one day you wake up and think, "yep, what's next?"

That said, I didn't go out last night, I cancelled our roof party, and I woke up early this morning to host a pranayama session with a couple of friend's on the roof. Sometimes you have to see what the grass is like on the other side to remind yourself why you planted the grass on your side of the fence.

Today I'm staring out the window at Rishi's Internet, hoping for a pool day, but seeing only clouds. This could possibly be day 2 of absolutely soaked just washed clothing. I'm off to the coconut stand to meet up with a few others who are hoping for a little dip and some rays.

Tomorrow its back to the led class. They've combined the 2 primary classes so that now, everyone will be slaughtering each other at 4:30 in the morning for the 5 o'clock class. at 6:15 there will be a led 2nd series. Tuesday is a moonday, and I'm not sure if that means we'll have mysore or led on Monday or Wednesday, but I hope it will be mysore. Friday's led class was painful. No electricity in my house. Getting ready in the dark at 4am. No pre-practice hot shower. Of course, there are generators at the Shala. And then, half-awake, I had the pleasure of boarding that morning's Pattabhi Express. I didn't even get a coconut after. I went home, slept, and got asked why I was so nasty all day.

Yesterday's Post- Going Indian and puppy for adoption!

I wrote this out, old-school style in a notebook--imagine!

Today I've realized I'm at the halfway point. I've been in Mysore for 6 weeks. I don't feel like shopping or seeing the sights. I'm not so afraid of the water. All I want to do today is sit (actually lie) on the floor and watch movies. (It is so funny that all the movies at the local video store are bootleg copies).

Yesterday, Rachel and I were walking down the street when we met up with a friend. We said "hi" and he introduced us to the women he was with. They were wearing walking shoes and fast-dry shorts. They had money belts and backpacks and water bottles and cameras. Their clothes were clean-looking and it was clear that they had just arrived, and so we followed standard protocol:
What is your name?
Where are you from?
Are you practicing at the Shala?
(At this point the conversation can go in one of two directions. 1. They are practicing at the shala and so you ask them at what time do they practice and when they are leaving. 2. If they aren't, you ask them where they are or if they are. If they aren't, you might tell them a site to see. If they are, you ask them with who and joke about the fact that you aren't judging them but why aren't they at the shala?)

After exchanging courtesies, Rachel and I continued on our way. Two steps later, she burst into a fit of laughter (Rachel tends to do this). "What's so funny?" I ask. She explained that we are going to have to work on our social skills before we go back to the states because we acted so "Indian" with those women. So that actually, the exchange went more like this:
Your good name, madam?
Your country?
You are practice at the Shala? No? Better no. You go out. Eat lots of food. See the temples...
All the while, imagine me doing the upturned hand finger point, the hand-to-mouth food gesture, and of course, the head wobble.

Six weeks is enough time to realize that you don't smell anything any more and that you're not bothered by wet bathroom floors, wet toilet seats. You are less skeptical about restaurant food. And finally, you are not at all surprised to find yourself using a squat toilet with a bucket and water.

6 weeks here and 6 weeks to come is enough time to find yourself in the middle of a homeless puppy conundrum. Mysore is full of puppies You can't adopt them, because you're leaving, but you want to help.

The girl who recommended my apartment took a puppy form a rickshaw driver who had rescued it from being hit by a car. She said she had to, but I'm not sure what this guy was doing to be so bad that she felt she had to take a puppy under her care even though she was leaving in a couple of weeks. She was hoping she would find someone to adopt it. Everyone wants to say yes, of course, but they also know that they don't want to be the one to put the poor thing back onto the street from which it came.

And so, somehow, Rachel ends up with a puppy in her arms, and the hot potato is passed over to the boy's house. There will be a mass exodus of students in the next month...

Anyone want a puppy?

"I met a man. We made juice."

I have hilarious friends.

After Emma tells us the story of a juice stand she found in the center earlier that day, Rachel and I discussed the psychology and behavior of what we refer to as the "latin lover". A latin lover is a man whose origin is a spanish or portugese speaking country in the Americas and also in Europe. He is characterized by overt sexuality performed in an over-the-top kind of way. It is not that they are hitting on you. Its just that that is how they talk to women. Example:

Rachel was studying in South America. One of her friends placed his hand to his chest and pretended to rip out his heart. It did not end there. He then proceeded to extend the imaginary heart that he had "dislodged" to her. At this point he looked into her eyes and said, "for you". Rachel was amazed to find that when she looked down at the offer, his hand was pumping to the beat of an imaginary heart.

Priceless.

But back to yoga. I'm trying to sort out this new time thing. I've been waking up at 3:30 and thats all I can say about it. I am a zombie. The end.

I've been trying out some new drop back techniques.
1. Hands in prayer, lift chest and go. (the classic)
2. Hands at low back, lift and rock back, last second hands down. (new technique inspired by Alex. it works)
3. Hands by your shoulders like you're going "woa!", open chest like a cloud, hover and hands down. (new technique inspired by Nuno and Elissa. Sounds weird, but really delicious)

I just heard about this meditation called "one year to live". Basically you live as if you have one year to live and are going to die on day 365. I think Emma said she read a book on it, or it was her friend...Anyway, yes, this is a good thing. So what would I do today if I were to die in one year?

Other popular topics of conversation this week:
1. The prevelance of first-urine-of-the-day drinking last year. The trend spread like a wild fire.
2. The strange brown goop that many students here swear by. You stick your finger in this jar full ayurvedic dynamite and eat it. Apparetnly it makes you fly.
3. Back pain. Back pain. Back pain. Everyone has back pain. Kapotasana (pictured). Ankle grabbing.

A shout out to Alex, who has slowly overcome her 2nd series-inspired back pain and is now dropping back like a slinky down the stairs.

So tired, must nap. On roof. With sun. I thought I might multi-task and do a tan and a nap. Very productive around here.

Dirty little secrets

No one takes pictures of themselves doing pasasana with their heels off the ground. Its like this dirty little secret. I think the people doing 2nd and 3rd try to move through pasasana, lest someone notice their heels hovering. Someone told me once that it takes a year to "get" pasasana. I can believe that. It is a very telling posture. You can read a lot about someones body based on their pasasana or their attempt at pasasana. Like an infectious disease, the ability to drop one's heels (or not to) does not discriminate who it may afflict. And so, here I find myself in day 3 of pasasana at AYRI in Mysore, India. Yesterday at breakfast, we were talking about getting pasasana from Sharath, and how it felt for the first time.

"It's like Sharath has approved your primary series." The guy across from me said with a huge grin plastered to his face.

I have used a western toilet my whole life, its my anatomy--my heels do not touch the floor. But I have a very flexible back! :)

Sharath helped me again today in pasasana. He let me lean on him while I got in the posture, then laughed as I rolled back in a little ball. Its all about getting your weight toward your knees and feeling like you are going to stand up. Its all about getting it.

Practicing at 5 am is really nice because you can pick a spot that you want. You can start when you're ready to. There is no talking. No chorus of "you come". It is just you and your breath. Tuesday, there was this incredible moment when the first person raised there arms over their head to begin the first sun salute of the day.

It is also nice because you get to chant the opening mantra together. Yesterday and today we chanted with Guruji, which was incredibly special. You come in, put you mat down and start practicing when ready. This is about 4:45am. Then around 5:15, you r ealize you are the only one jumping around on your mat and so you come to stand in Samastitih for opening prayer. After the prayer, everyone continues wherever they left off, and Guruji stands up on the stage staring at the hundred plus bodies performing postures that he has spent his lifetime practicing and teaching. Imagine pictures you have seen of the Virgin of Guadalupe. At times, Guruji has rays of energy shooting all around him, this is when looking at him is like staring at the sun.
Practicing at 5am is really funny because you get to see everyone post-kapotasana shuffling around like outdoor recreation time at a retirement center. As I sat drinking a coconut at the coconut stand, I saw a friend hobbling along the road. I don't have the best eyesight, but based on his hunch/waddle/shuffle I was able to deduct other like individuals and confirm that it was in fact, Colin. A girl next to me said "He looks like he's hurting!" I was thinking the exact same thing.

Back bends have been good, which everyday, really is a blessing. Not long ago, I did something that totally seized my back. I could barely move. Everyone seems to have an interesting ride at the beginning of 2nd series. Its like a kid sees a lincoln log cabin, knocks it down, and then puts it together again. This is your back.

Ha! Heels up! (see pic.)

A shout out to my homies who got new poses today (you know who you are)
And another to a lovely lady who now is the new queen of the stand up from back bends!

Here is a video of the coconut stand!

The world is not flat

Sometimes things that you see wake you up, rather than put you to sleep. This morning after practice a man sat on the grass by the side of the road. He was sitting cross-legged, and as I approached, I could see that he was missing his feet and that one of the stumps was covered in blood.

I have to start praying. We pray to ourselves before we practice, but part of it should include this gratefulness for being able to walk at all. After breakfast at Tina's, a young man was walking down the road with both legs terribly mangled.

Back in New York, I started having certain back issues that sent me to the chiropractor. When filling out the intake form, I answered questions like "what activities do you perform that are affected by the pain you are experiencing?" My response: drop backs, deep back bends like kapotasana. I had to stop and laugh at how ridiculous this whole situation was becoming.

I've tried before to take a moment to pray over my food, but I have been in the habit of forgetting until the end of the meal. I'm trying again today. Rachel wanted to do something nice for her house cleaner, so she thought she would buy her some of her favorite fruit. A nice gesture. So she asked her what her favorite fruit was. Confused, she explained that she only eats rice and chapathis because fruit is too expensive. It is likely that she has never tasted an avocado before.

Below is the opening mantra in ashtanga yoga:

It is all about waking up. It is always about waking up instead of going to sleep. And then the closing prayer:

I got moved to 5am for practice. I grabbed just above my calves today in back bending (and some of my hair). I'm going to chanting today. ____ poured gallons and gallons of cold water over my head with his words from half way across the world over a pay phone.

The petri dish overflows, the pimple pops, there is an outside world

Last night I saw a movie called Perfume. Very strange, but highly entertaining. I think I recommend it. Very strange in a non-gory-yet-bizarre kind of way. I didn't go to the pool. Playing the part of the menstruating female, I felt fat and couldn't imagine stuffing what felt like my lard ass into a bikini and stomping my thunder thighs toward the water. Sorry, I just couldn't do it.

Instead, I ate my ration of homemade chocolate (dark with almonds) and pined over the idea of my boyfriend and I and our little life together here in Mysore. As you know, he isn't here, but we've been talking about it and anyway, a girl likes to have her "Mrs. so and so" dreams during a certain time of the month. At least I wasn't crying. (But I almost did today when I was watching the led second class. Ha!)

Even though I didn't have to wake up until 6:30, I found myself tossing and turning at 4am. So I called ____. Cell phones are so much like cigarettes. We talked and talked until the sun was coming up and I felt the inspiration to take a shower. Imagine--I have a bucket and western shower, but choose the bucket! India is a great place to bring your kids or embrace your inner child. You get to eat with your hands. Really, you can stick your fingers into food and no one really minds. Everything is made with lots of sugar. You can walk around barefoot. You get to dump buckets of water over your head and make a huge mess in your bathroom. There are farm animals everywhere...

I watched the led second series today, which was led by Guruji. He was really on it. It was so inspirational to watch. Its not that the poses are impossible, its the whole package. It took these people many years of visits to get to that point. They had to sacrifice so much of themselves just for this moment. It was awesome. The entrance way was packed with students watching.

After the class Rachel and I had breakfast up on my roof and a little chanting session with the harmonium. A person can get away with a ridiculous amount of hippie-like behavior here. We forgot the time and it was almost 11 before we were on our way to the green market. Every Sunday, the Green Hotel hosts a green market that features what I think is mostly organic produce and products. People are very serious about the market. There is a queue formed at each table before the official start at 10am. Everyone mentally picks out what they want and if I recall, someone must ring some sort of bell because right when it turns 10am, everyone charges the table like rats on a carcass. This lasts for about 10 minutes, and if anything is left, the booths might stay around until about 10:45. Luckily, when we got there there were still a few booths set up. I want to buy more veggies and things to cook at my house, but being as it is a one room studio, I really can't be bothered with dealing with food smells or the possibility of wild life in my sleeping area. That said, I feel like I should exercise some sort of restraint when it comes to eating out, which to be honest is how I do it around here. It is so inexpensive, you don't have to clean, you get to hang out with friends, and the food is awesome. Could you blame me? Even so, I'm trying to get a few things that don't involve a lot of preparation, clean up, or odor. Like avocados, which they call "butter fruit" in India. I also bought some hummus and I'll get some bread for little sandwiches.

Tomorrow, I think I'll go to practice again. On the way out of the Shala this morning I ran into Sharath.
"You no come today." He said.
"Holiday," I replied. He nodded his head.
"But I'll be here tomorrow for pasasana!" He smiled and laughed. Its a lot like having a crush in school on a much older, super popular guy. He noticed me! *sigh*

Another pool day

It is Saturday, a day off, and what better thing than to take advantage of the clear skies and go to the pool at the hotel formerly known as the Southern Star. At breakfast at Tina's, Emma and I were talking about how there is something about immersing yourself in water after a night of debauchery (yogi "wild" is 3 glasses of wine max and/or staying up to 11pm) that makes you feel much better. Some might even say you feel cleansed. So today, I will baptise myself at the Southern Star and work on my tan. Amen.

Last night at India Song House was a lot of fun. It isn't far from the Shala, but I didn't know that. I "negotiated" a price with a rickshaw driver to take me on a few errands and then to India Song. When we got there I handed him the money and said, "you totally just ripped me off." He smiled and laughed and asked me to call him after so he could take me home. As if.

Around the back of the house someone had set up a beautiful tent out of rice sacks amongst the trees, orange marigolds (?) littered the grass, and over 50 students sat in a circle listening to an acoustic set by Colin and this other guy that I don't know but have seen around. After the set, we had the most delicious pasta meal. I never think to tell restaurants I'm allergic to cashews, and so proceeded to stuff my face with the aromatic pesto in front of me. Shortly after, as my tongue began to itch and swell, I realized that probably I should say something. They made me another dish that might have been even better than the first.

When it got dark, we got to preview the new documentary about Guruji's last visit to Copenhagen (pictured). It was amazing to be watching the video and then to look around the room and see many of the same faces like Lino Miele and Suzanna.

Being here amongst people who have integrated the practice of ashtanga yoga so fully into their lives has been such an incredible inspiration. Every day going to practice is like a new adventure. I feel more and more that whatever we are all doing here is really working.

I talked for a long time with the SO yesterday and might have convinced him to join me here in Mysore. I hope so! I've been looking at plane tickets with a grin slathered across my face and part of me doesn't want to go to the pool, but instead stay around here waiting to talk to him and to try to sort things out that aren't ready to be sorted out or can't be sorted out from here (like finding a sub-letter). Of course, I'll do what I can and then go to the pool. I'm learning to become the absolute master of leisure time.

Book recommendation: Eat, Pray, Love. "All the Americans read it."

Month 2

As I sat waiting in the doorway on Wednesday, ready to scurry like a mouse into the shala at the sound of "one more!", Sharath surprised me with "you come earlier, 6:30."

Boo, but doable.

So on Thursday, I went at 6:30, it was really nice to be practicing beside people I had become friends with. After I did my finishing postures, I tapped Sharath on the shoulder (which is really only okay if you want to take a picture or you want to pay for classes) and asked him if I could pay. We went into the office with the mysore class still going on. (To the bane of many a student, Sharath leaves the room whenever he wants. I've heard that sometimes he's reading the paper in old-school guruji fashion. This means hanging out in a pose like kapotasana [pictured] for 25 breaths hoping that Sharath will finish his coffee and see how great you are).

"Monday you take pasasana..." yay!

"Come early at 6am." Boo!

As I handed over the 17,500 rupees for month 2, he wrote out my new id card. He told me that he thought I was Indian, and I took the opportunity to ask him if that meant I could get the Indian discount. He laughed and said, "for you double!" didn't notice until later that day that he actually wrote 5:45am as my practice time on the card. (Indian students practice in the afternoon with Sharath at a discounted rate. There are usually less than 10 people in the class and lots of personal attention. Sometimes, when he is busy, he'll tell them to go to an early class.)

What this means is that not only am I at an earlier mysore practice time Monday-Thursday, but that I have also "graduated" to the earlier led classes that start at 5 on Friday and Sunday instead of the comfortable but still difficult 6:15. You may think 5 is no big deal, but it means that actually, you have to hold a place at the gate at 4:30, otherwise you're likely to be practicing in the changing room. Up I was at 3;30 this morning. I've heard that 3am is the darkest part of the night. Is this also true in India?

I walked up the road toward the Shala, it was so quiet and so dark, I kept wondering if I read the time right. Then, from the shadows (ha!) I heard Emma calling me. (She lives really near by my house). We trudged up the hill to the Shala road which goes down hill so that really, I could tell my kids one day that when I was their age practicing yoga in India, I had to walk to and from the Shala, uphill both ways! I had this feeling that my skin was dragging me one step after another but that my organs were made of lead. As we moved closer to the gate, dozens of eyes (hollow and bloodshot) stared at me from below hoods and scarves and hunched outlines in the darkness. My eyes slowly adjusted, and I was able to make out the images of semi-friendly faces (it is only 4:30 in the morning) to huddle with.

Inside, I got a spot between Eduardo and Thiago right in front. We had such a good time in that class. Guruji led, and I caught him watching Thiago and I as we battled over (in the most yogic, uncompetitive way, of course) who could fly, bind, twist, fold, and back bend with the best/fastest/most accurate vinyasa-ist technique. Post practice, I was drenched with swet, but filled with smiles.

About 20 minutes after the class, my vibrant, so-cool-to-wake-up-this-early,-I'm-a-morning-person,-really energy wore of and turned into "must lie down". I washed my hair, which was soaked with chlorine from my stint as a mermaid this week, and managed to talk myself into washing my clothes before a fitful 1 hour nap. Hey, I tried. Breakfast at Tina's was delish as usual, but kind of sad because a lot of people are leaving. A lot of people are always leaving.

I'm off to India Song House for dinner tonight as a farewell to Johanna (the girl with super-long eyelashes who let me borrow her swimsuit for laughs).
Tomorrow-rest.
Sunday-ladies' holiday and for some, the return of the second series led class which has led to a certain degree of panic amongst those "invited" to attend. Should be fun to watch!

Please add to the list of favorite songs:

Life and death

As I stood waiting in front of the spice/hutch cell phone guy, I could hear a puppy whimpering. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, and so allowed the sound to fade from my mind. (The heart doesn't feel what the eyes don't see, right?) I wagged my head in agreeance with the man and saw that tucked behind a dirty sign, just outside the doorway was the tiniest little puppy you could imagine. It was trying to snuggle with a straw broom. I felt so helpless. Once, when SO I were first falling in love, we found a baby bird in front of my apartment. SO put it in a box and took it home. He tried to feed it and give it water, but we both knew that it would die. The next day, he found the bird, dead. This year, I saw a nauseating number of dead baby birds littering the sidewalks of new york.

Sometimes people get under your skin like a splinter. You remember rubbing up against wood or something, but didn't see a splinter so you forgot about it. A few days later you have this raised, sore bump and you can't figure out where it came from. Sometimes you pop it and find a splinter and its done. Other times you pop it and it keeps coming back until you find the splinter. In rare instances, the splinter dissolves under your skin so that you have a little brown smudge that marks the spot forever.

It is a beautiful day today. I woke up earlier than I planned and showered, played the harmonium, did some meditation, and felt really peaceful. Gibran told us the other day that every morning he wakes up, looks in the mirror and says out loud, "What an incredibly handsome man!" I'm going to try that. Ha ha!

Practice was really laid back, like swimming. It is work, but you glide through. Back bending was really powerful today. I felt really open in my chest and stood up with decent alignment. I grabbed my calves with ease and my feet were parallel. It felt amazing. Even Sharath said, "much better!"

I'm debating whether or not to go to the pool. I think I shouldn't because I look like that white-butt kid on the lotion bottle. But it is such a beautiful day and who doesn't love jumping in the pool?

What is practice and popping the mysore pimple

Sometimes the whole world stops for seven seconds and hovering in the moment, you know that you are a part of something special. This morning Guruji led the 6:15 class. I was right in front doing my thing. He would mess up the counting and the names of the poses and then would carry on as without skipping a beat. Just when you (pictured) and begin to think, "he is 92," he "falls asleep" during poses like navasanasirsasana. After class, as Guruji stood up and began to descend the stage, a hush went over the entire room. Everything stopped and at the same time everything was screaming. He carefully shuffled one foot in front of the other and everyone watched in silence as he made his way through the students to the back office. It was a moment like being a part of something so magical but at the same time kind of sad to watch a lion grow old. There are so many things in life that we always assume will be constant. Like we have our entire lives to figure them out or see them, or not appreciate them. But really, all that we have is right now. For a moment today, right now was everything in the whole world.

After practice at Shakti house was very very crowded. The food was very slow to come. Very very slow. Back home, I would get very pumped to go to practice. Every morning was like, "yeah! off I go!" But here, it seems like the practice was like a carrot that lured me to this place. This place where the practice would melt away as I knew it and the things that I failed to emphasize (no one really does), are coming steadily to a head. Who am I? What am I? How do I behave in this situation? What does this person do? How do things affect me? What is real and unreal? etc etc? Sitting in wait for food at Shakti house is practice. Trusting that how things are working out can't be changed so just laugh is practice.

Yoga is the restraint of fluctuations of the mind.yogas citta-vrtti-nirodhah
Then the seer is abiding in the seer's true nature. tada drastuh sva rupe'vasthanam

I've been thinking about the pain we create for ourselves in our minds. Like I said, there is a lot of time for relection here.

The past and future don't exist. If what exists is only right now, than by existing in this one moment, we ought to learn how to create a moment of peace, whether the moment is of pleasure or pain. Yesterday I sat in meditation with the Shabad Kriya (scroll to the bottom of the page if you follow the link) for about 30 minutes. During the meditation was really very intense. (A lot of times, things really effect us when we go looking for them.) My body began to follow the movement of the breathing and I felt a lot of energy around my spine and up the top of my head like things were really moving. Afterward, I laid down on my bed and noticed the blood begin to flood my legs. I screamed at first, because the sensation was so strong, but then I softened my face and focused on my breathing. I felt the flood move under my skin and around my toes, but I didn't move. It was just a sensation, it would pass, there was no point fighting it, so I decided to welcome it and ride it out.

But why do are minds run in circles? Why do we create misery for ourselves?

Valid cognitions are perception, inference, and valid testimony.
pratyaksa-anumana-agamah pramnani

Error is false knowledge, without foundation.
viparyayo mithya-jnanam atad rupa-pratistham

So, reality is what we can see, what has been proven, in essence things that exist. But we can create our own reality by tainting our thoughts. So then the real answer is what should we attach our minds to? Truth. And what is truth? Things that can be proven. So if something has not yet manifested, why allow it to taint the mind?

I spent the entire day at the hotel formerly known as the southern star working on my tan and lying in the water. Meditation is a lot like staring at the sun. Everything is trying to wake us up.

Lazy Sunday

Today is a slow, easy Sunday in Mysore. Everyone sleeping and walking leisurely to meet friends. The sun is shining but its not too hot, and I´m wondering whether my clothes will be ready tomorrow. I dropped my laundry off to get washed, but the guy didn´t speak any English he just put up three fingers and said ``three``. I was like 3 days? hours? Who knows? I think that it might be 3 whole days because they take the clothes to the river to wash them. Wow.

We are watching a documentary on the Discovery Channel about food. They did a number of different experiments to see how food affects people differently and to dispel any myths about food. For instance, they followed two friends, one thin, one fat. They found that even though they had the same lifestyle and didn´t exercise. They ate the same foods. Even though they always would say that the thin one had a fast metabolism, but according to the study, they actually had the same metabolism but their difference in weight was because overweight person had more food. Go figure. Then they did a study to see if drinking water before a meal helped you eat less. Still another study was on what type of meal kept you full for longer: protein, carb, or fat? Our bodies are so amazing and mysterious.

The practice of practice and no practice of practice

Last night we all took advantage of today being a day off and as we mumbled at each other across the table at Tina's, the evidence on our tired faces was amusing.

I went to this crazy Indian take away restaurant after watching a disastrous amount of television. (Which, by the way, isn't half bad. There are plenty of American channels if you get cable.) They put rice in a little metallic baggie and sealed it. They did the same for a gooey potato dish. You have to see some of this stuff to appreciate exactly how much the mind freaks out when it sees something new like innovative food packaging.

Again, I'm here at Rishi's listening to music on the Internet with a determination to spread good music:

DEFIANCE, OHIO LYRICS
hear the song here
"Chad's Favorite Song"

do you remember passion? it's buried beneath a concrete world. have you forgotten compassion? are you in the middle of an ugly war between yourself and a giant machine? are you so tired you can't even dream anymore?

fuck this city, and fuck this filthy air. let's build a-frames in the woods and just live there. we'll all eat berries and build fires every night and forget this mistake we call modern life.

i believe in something, but i don't know what it is. it's either the future or the end. it's every reason that i do or don't get out of bed.

we live in the unhappy shadows of skyscrapers freight trains and malls to a soundtrack of nuclear warheads and bombs. addicted to power, addicted to authority, money, and success ... so far gone, without our addictions, do we even know how to live?

the sun is shining thru distance, bitter clouds that make me choke and cough and scream. sitting here along watching acid raindrops fall, this is not the life i want to lead.

Have you ever heard of Daniel Jonston? Good stuff. This is life changing.

Today I am half-determined to be semi-productive, although quite honestly I'm avoiding anything like it at all times. I woke up today when I felt like it and sat on my bed and played the harmonium for a little while. The sun was coming in through the window and I could feel the tan spread on my arm. There is nowhere I have to be, no one I have to see, nothing I really have to do. Just me sitting on my bed, playing my harmonium with the sun beating down on my arm. Life can be so different, and yet exactly the same.

We were sitting around a table talking and laughing and someone asked what I was doing today. I said something like "I'm trying not to think too much about it." We just kind of looked at each other and were like, "yeah."

Yoga Sutra

1.2 yogaścittavṛttinirodhaḥ

“Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind”

I couldn´t resist

I am that

"Questioner: It is a matter of daily experience that on waking up the world suddenly appears. Where does it come from?

Maharaj: Before anything can come into being there must be somebody to whom it comes. All appearance and disappearance presupposes a change against some changeless background.

Q: Before waking up I was unconscious.

M: In what sense? Having forgotten, or not having experienced? Don"t you experience even when unconscious? Can you exist without knowing? A lapse in memory: is it a proof of non-existence? And can you validly talk about your own non-existence as an actual experience? You cannot even say that your mind did not exist. Did you not wake up on being called? And on waking up, was it not the sense "I am" that came first? Some seed consciousness must be existing even during sleep, or swoon. On waking up the experience runs: "I am -- the body -- in the world." It may appear to arise in succession but in fact it is all simultaneous, a single idea of having a body in a world. Can there be the sense of "I am" without being somebody or other?"

I found a copy of the book I am that in the cabinet yesterday. After brushing my teeth outside as I watched the sun rise over the palm trees I sat in the sun and read the first few lines. (You can read the whole book online by clicking here.)

I am here in India falling into life without searching for it, it has come to find me. No matter how resistant we are, the energy of a place, and maybe time, start to wear on you until you begin to become a part of it. I think I really really like this place. I say it all the time, but it is like a yoga enthusiast theme park

Today I got ready for practice feeling so peaceful. There is something about the energy of the place, of living so high up in the sky, of living alone and feeling the vibrations of the morning as everything starts to come to life beneath you. I didn't bring my ipod or computer with me. With the residue from all the distractions of daily life in New York slowly fading away, I've noticed that i Am not constantly listening to music. I found myself humming songs on the way to practice, on the walk from breakfast, when I am on a mission. I've got 20+ years of experience listening to music, so you would think the collection in my brain would be vast, but you'd be sadly mistaken. When you paint, you dab a little of a lot of colors even when you don't think so. The grass doesn't just have green in it but yellows too and maybe some blue. But if you put to much paint and mix too much, the texture of the color will all turn into mud. And so it is, I've listened to music all my life, and the tune in my head will usually be the same jumbled mixture of songs and lyrics. Luckily the internet can give a quick refresher course on a particular song's lyrics. (Nothing is as frustrating as going days on end with the first few words of a song at the tip of your tongue.)

Speaking of which, I just found this awesome website that has a list of songs from the movie Donnie Darko. Now I know it is not the greatest movie in town, but there is something about it that just gets me every time. Plus it has a killer soundtrack. The thing is, you can only by the instrumental version. But this website lists all the songs:
http://darcko0.tripod.com/darkosongs.html

Lyrics to the first song that opens the movie:
(didn't you know you'd be learning strange and amazing things on this blog?)
"The Killing Moon"
Echo and the Bunnymen

Under blue moon I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms
Too late to beg you or cancel it
Though I know it must be the killing time
Unwillingly mine

Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him

In starlit nights I saw you
So cruelly you kissed me
Your lips a magic world
Your sky all hung with jewels
The killing moon
Will come too soon

Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him

Under blue moon I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms
Too late to beg you or cancel it
Though I know it must be the killing time
Unwillingly mine

Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him


So when I'm not thinking of maybe motivating myself to do something, hanging out with people, thinking about life in a big way, clinging to my stomach, or absorbing this strange and fascinating life--I can be found taking photos with Guruji on his birthday. Bad lighting, eh? I promise that is him and that is me and I'm really in India.

Practice has really been changing internally. Today was amazing. I was tired but sometimes when you are tired, you just give up and let the practice take you. It is a lot like when you are swimming in the ocean and you hit a strong current. You have to relax and trust the current to move you when its ready. No new poses today, but everyone keeps telling me, "next monday, you'll see". I don't think so, but whatever. I wasn't really practicing poses today, it was more just like air moving around in shapes.

Student rule regarding the reception of poses:
1a. exceptions to the rule
Emma got krounchasana on Tuesday. Today, Gibran got Kapotasana. Check out Iyengar on the left doing kapotasana. People have said that Sharath wasn't in a good mood on Monday, so he gave poses on Tuesday instead. How do people come up with this stuff?

We watched the City of God yesterday. See it.