Finishing Sequence

This is a video of the puja or pooja center in the apartment, a small shrine in a cabinet. The landlord makes sure there are fresh flowers in it. I believe that is traditional for Hindu families to have similar facilities in their homes, for daily, personal devotions.

In ashtanga yoga, all practicioners, beginner or advanced, do the same series of four finishing poses. Here I will make a few closing comments as I pack my bags and conclude my India blog.

First, a global comment. India is dramatically more different than any country in which I have spent time. I took a somewhat shorter trip with my wife to Kenya recently. However, we were touring with a group of Americans and Australians with a guide, and while the country was very different from the U.S., having the guide was reassuring but also effectively insulated us from daily Kenyan life, to a great degree. Living in India for three weeks in an apartment, interacting directly with many Indian citizens, eating in Indian restaurants, and traveling to places without a guide provides a different experience, one more of immersion than of incidental contact.

Second, concerning the yoga. One doesn't have to be in Mysore long to hear comments about whether the practice at the KPJAYI yoga school is changing, or the same, different, better, or not as good, as it was before Mr. Jois died earlier this year. I can offer no comparison, as this is my first time here. The instruction has been excellent. Everyone acknowledges, though, that some transition is taking place, as the senior teacher who founded the school has passed on. I leave it to others to assess this. The tradition is alive and vibrant here, though.

Finally a few words cribbed from J.R.R. Tolkien:

The Road goes ever and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way.

Cheers.