Explanations and "Thank You"s

I've been gone for a couple of weeks - I know, and I'm sorry. But I'm back now.

There has been a lot going on these past two weeks which have kept me away from this space. For one, my hunny arrived last week! We've spent the past several days getting him settled in and on track for his month here. He won't be practicing yoga, but he's already using his newly mapped Indian running route, which has resulted in witnessing the interaction of a mama goat with her newborn baby and the discovery of India's deadliest snake (a sidewinder!). I've been working hard at practice (whew - when past students say "first month tired, second month pain", they're not kidding), and Sanskrit, trying to maintain my focus and learn as much as I possibly can. Also, I was asked to write an article for an Ashtanga website run by one of the authorized teachers practicing here. I wrote about why we come to Mysore and if you're interested it was followed up by a really nice piece by my roommate's wife about how it feels to be the partner left to carry on life halfway around the world. So yes, it's been busy around here. But it's been good!

In the meantime, I know it has also been busy for those of you there. With Thanksgiving over the Holiday season is in full swing, I'm sure, and as I sit on the floor of my Indian apartment and see the palm trees swaying in the breeze, it's hard for me to remember that all of those types of celebrations are only a few weeks away.

In honour of Thanksgiving and in preparation for the season ahead, I wanted to share some of my own sentiments of gratitude. I have so much to be thankful for, including, but not limited to:

• a wonderful and supportive husband who encourages me to follow my dreams
• a loving family who has faith in my choices, even if they don't always understand
• friends here and at home who are willing to laugh at my bad jokes, listen to my long stories, get up at ungodly hours to meet me for coffee or breakfast or yoga, and generously offer me delicious food, soft beds and shoulders to cry on when needed
• the opportunity to experience both the beauty and frustration of living in India, to work with a teacher I deeply respect, the ability to practice and to be a part of something I wholeheartedly believe in
• an awesome roommate; someone so willing to share space, knowledge, and time
• a very cute dog who is well behaved or at least sneaky enough only to be bad when you're not watching
• all of you who read and write and email and message - who send love and good energy and positive thoughts

Thank you! Have a great week and keep reading....

Always Somewhere to Go

Someone once told me, "it's easy to busy yourself up in Mysore." Whether this statement was meant as a warning or a comfort, I'm still not sure, but as the days pass I'm finding it to be increasingly true.

Despite the fact that most of the students in the shala are here without the commitments of regular work hours and real-life responsibilities, time quite easily slips through your fingers from day to day. There's practice and chanting, Sanskrit class and Ayurvedic consults. You can get a massage or go haggle at Deveraja market. You can scoot and rickshaw; meet friends for coffee or have people over for lunch. And yes, we have the choice to stay in to nap or read or hone a skill. When in Mysore whether you want to be out and about or stay focused at home, there's always somewhere to go.

This week I stretched my socializing legs; making new discoveries and meeting new friends. On Sunday I hitched a scooter ride to the Organic farmer's market, where a few tiny tables attract a somewhat larger group of yoga students to buy fresh organic goods including pungent basil, sweet jaggery, and lime-pomegranate juice. Excited by this little taste of my normal Baltimore Sunday routine, I happily handed over rupees in exchange for baby eggplants, dark sesame treats and a jar of homemade orange marmalade.

Another morning I went for Indian breakfast with my friends Suveer and Kapil, trusting their expert opinions and getting them to order my meal. Happily, I ended up trying two new and delicious things, upma (a savoury semolina hot pudding, kind of like a coarse curried grits) and onion uthappam (an onion, chili, and rice/lentil batter pancake), and got to finish it all off with a sweet kesari bhaat and a hot cup of chai.

The moon day eve brought a festive spirit when I attended my first (perhaps THE first) Mysore Mexican fiesta complete with tacos, guacamole, and the most AMAZING dessert which tasted like chocolate ganache in a cup. Our resident pastry chef pulled out all the stops by topping the creation with gold dust. Yep, you read correctly, gold dust! You may need to beat your laundry against a rock to wash it, but damn it you're going to have some dessert with panache.

In tandem with all my socializing, I also made sure to make some quiet time for myself this week. I finished two books, had several rests, and cooked lentil soup, tomato eggplant pasta, veg curry, and (surprise) toast. I spent some time with my ukulele, practicing my finger picking which is still terrible, and singing along when I was sure I was home alone.

I've also been working on my Sanskrit lessons. I finished level 1 this week, and was eager to start level 2. However, just as I was beginning to become familiar with Devanagari, recognizing the characters and matching them to their appropriate sounds, I'm suddenly required to conjugate verbs and make simple sentences. Whoa there! Back that truck up! I feel a little like I should have had the option to take level 1.5. And to make matters worse (although, in reality, I know it makes matters better) my roommate is "enhancing" my learning by having me read aloud to him at night. Only a few lines, which can often take me 10 or 15 minutes, are enough to make me flustered and red in the face. I'm embarrassed by my lack of skill at both quick recognition and appropriate pronunciation especially because he is fairly adept and advanced. It's his patience and encouragement though, that make me go into my room and read a few more lines aloud to myself before going to bed, attempting to employ Guruji's sentiment to "do my practice".

In the shala each morning, I'm finding places to go in my practice as well. For those who are not familiar or accustomed to Ashtanga, the daily routine of the same postures in the same order may seem boring or monotonous. For regular practitioners thoughts may jump ahead to the next posture or the next series. Either way, we need to recognize that there is so much work to be done, right here, right now! Each practice offers a new challenge, and in finding that we are able to let go of monotony and desire in exchange for clarity and non-attachment. It's this sentiment that I'm trying to keep in mind.

This week, every time I stepped on to my mat, I set out one goal for the practice. Bringing attention to something as mundane as not smoothing out my practice rug after each vinyasa, or to something as important as maintaining a solid gazing point, offered a new endeavour and focal point. These challenges, in turn, positively reinforced the other parts of my practice: greater efficiency and proper breath count because I wasn't distracted and wasting time, or stronger body awareness in my own posture because I wasn't looking at that of another. In both cases my practice felt greatly improved without any changes that someone from the outside would obviously recognize.

In Mysore I feel like I'm given an opportunity to have a different perspective. While I may "busy myself up" both out in the world and on the couch in my apartment, I never lose sight of my purpose. I'm here to practice and I want to approach that practice with my eyes fully open. This week it's allowing me to see and focus on the possibility of forward motion and progress in the most minute ways and reminding me that no matter where I am in my life or on my mat, whether I feel stagnant or in chaotic motion, there's always somewhere to go. The key is get there one breath at a time.

It's That Simple

When I first arrived in India last year, I was taken aback by what I thought was a lot of unnecessary complication. Everything is less automated and takes more time; you can't just use your credit card whenever you feel the urge; you have to fill out this form for that thing and it needs to be in triplicate; this store is open, but not really because the owner is eating lunch. It took some time, but after a while I realized that what I mistook as being inconvenienced by things being too complicated, was actually more of a simplified life - one to which I was no longer accustomed. Things seemed more challenging and difficult, but it was only because, in most situations I had only one, very simple, choice: write things by hand; pay with cash; fill out the form; come back later.

It's a lesson of simplicity that I've drawn out of my life and my practice this week. And it's the joy that I've found in the most simple things and tasks that have helped to make this week fly.

It all started with toast.

Toast, really, is nothing but hot bread, but it was this mundane comfort of home that I really wanted this week. I found myself okay with being caught in torrential rains and wearing slightly musty laundry. Cold showers were easily acceptable, and I could deal with ants, well, everywhere. But I missed toast. My roommate and I had made an attempt to toast bread in a pot, because as I said, toast, in theory, is really nothing more than hot bread, but the effect of the "pot toast" was just not the same. None of that toothsome crunchy exterior with a warm and soft middle. No...honestly, we took some slices of bread and increased their temperature. We gave bread a fever and that's about it.

So I made a decision. A big one.

I bought a toaster.

And let me tell you, all the pieces of bread - wheat, millet, multigrain - that have found their way between those glowing red coils and become warm, slightly crisped, decidedly toasty and ready to accept toppings, have been more appreciated than I can explain. Toast with hummus, toast with peanut butter, toast with butter and honey, toast with cheese. There's been a lot of toasting going on in this household; each satisfying bite reemphasizing that there is so much to be offered by simple pleasures.

In the same way that toast has helped to convince me that all the other things that could be considered inconveniences are just nuisances that can be overlooked, the asana practice helps us to move past the negative influences in our lives. As Sharath said this afternoon, the practice is the tool that helps us to move towards a life that embraces the yamas and niyamas - the ethical concepts we strive to follow in our lives - which include ahimsa (non-harming), santosha (contentment), asteya (non-stealing), and tapas (self discipline), among others. It's that simple. We come to our mat each day, we focus our bodies and our minds through posture and breath and drishti (gaze), and in turn our lives will start to come into focus as well. It may mean sacrifice, and it may take many years of practice, but if we use the tool we've been given the distractions and delusions begin to fall away.

That's the kind of simplicity I want in my life - a focal point to keep me grounded; a strong foundation from which to build. And so I will get up each morning, go to the shala and work as hard as I can. I will do what I came here to do, which is practice and learn. And I will revel in the simple beauty of Ashtanga yoga: the uncomplicated and logical method it follows, the building blocks which stack one on top of the other, supported by a foundation that cannot be rocked. I will breathe and sweat and try to take the lessons I learn on my mat home with me.

Then, I'll eat some toast, maybe with jam, and I'll enjoy every moment of this opportunity that I have been given.