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.

Suggestions on Traveling to Mysore for Yoga Students

Mysore, India
October, 2009

Introduction

This is some practical information for ashtanga yoga students who are considering traveling to Mysore, India to study at KPJAYI. There are other yoga studios in Mysore, and teachers in other yoga traditions, but I haven't tried to mention them. Everything in Mysore is changing following the death earlier this year of K. Pattabhi Jois, the prinicpal ashtanga teacher for decades. This information can become dated quickly, so make your own inquiries, and talk to your teacher if you are considering coming.

Who Can or Should Go

I had a definite misapprehension about whether it was appropriate for me to go to Mysore, from a practice and skill standpoint. My concern was that I wasn't nearly skilled enough to go, and that I would be outclassed by experienced teachers and super-yogis on loan from Cirque de Soleil. At least at the time when I attended, in October, I fit in easily. There is a group of people here who are teachers or trying to be authorized, and there is also a group of people who are doing some second series, but it has not been intimidating at all. There are plenty of people who have less experience than I do (I have five years of practice under my belt, but I'm an older, working person).

Right now, Saraswati is teaching. She is great, with excellent skill, a direct but cheerful demeanor, and the ability to watch everyone in the room all at once. It may be that when Sharath is teaching (he's supposed to start in January), the level of practice will be noticeably higher, but that's speculation on my part.

There are plenty of people -- maybe 40% or so -- who are not yet doing the full primary series. They attend led class, then typically wait on their mats at their stopping point until we get to finishing poses. There are some people who have probably been practicing for less than six months, but not too many.

The demographics of the students here now were a bit of a surprise. Americans are the distinct minority. There are many students from continental Europe, a lot from former British empire countries (Australia, New Zealand, and Canada), and a few people from Asian countries -- Korea and Japan. The students are generally much younger than typical Yoga East students. I'm not sure who the oldest student in the shala is, but it could be me (I'm almost 60). Many students seem to be in their mid-20's to early 30's.

Duration of Stay

Technically, you are required to register for at least a month. You have to pay for a full month, minimum, and there are no refunds for leaving early. Most people are here for longer periods, often two months or more. I planned my trip so that I could have three weeks of actual practice, which meant taking off four weeks from work. (You have to allow lots of time for the long air travel, and some time on both ends for adjustment to the 9.5 hour time change).

I think I guessed about right for the minimum stay. I could have made it 2 1/2 weeks, but three feels like the practical minimum. If you can do more, you should. Two weeks would not be enough, and something under two weeks would (in my personal opinion) be seriously inadequate.

It takes a good deal of time to adjust to the intensity of six days a week of full primary series, taught in the AYRI school with the world's best teachers and a highly motivated set of students. The second reason for the long minimum stay is that the adjustment to living in India is probably a bigger challenge than the adjustment to the physical and psychological demands of the practice. I'm just starting to feel a little bit comfortable with the many cultural differences, and I'm already starting to think about packing up.

Registration

I dutifully registered two months in advance, sending in the documents and the required two photographs. When I went to register in Gokulam with Saraswati, they had no file on me. I filled out a new form (easy enough), but then she wanted two more photographs. Since I had already sent them, I had no new photographs to give. She told me to bring them the next day, then never mentioned it again. Recommendation: bring two extra photos with you. The office at AYRI is a home-grown, relaxed affair.

Also, you have to pay your registration fee in cash. As I recall, it was 27,500 Rs. However, the ATM would only give me 15,000 Rs in a day. I explained this, and she allowed me to bring the remaining cash the next day. Also, you're not allowed to bring rupees into the country from abroad. One possible solution would be to go to the currency exchange in the airport on arrival, and exchange dollars there for rupees, before you get to Mysore. This will require you to bring a hefty number of dollars in cash. (By the way, don't expect to be able to spend dollars in India, the way you might in London or other European capitals. No one will know what they are.)

Cultural Adjustment

The biggest surprise, and most significant challenge for me, was adjusting to living solo in a south Asian culture. Everything is different here, and simple things seem complicated. The first few days I've described as a "tsunami of cultural change," and I don't think that's too far off. I have traveled overseas a moderate amount, but I've never been away this long, solo, in a dramatically different culture. I probably could adapt to three weeks in "old Europe" easily. Here, I took a really long time to get my bearings.

Also, studying in Mysore is not like going to a yoga workshop or even an ashram. 22 hours a day you are on your own, in the Gokulam community, and you are not always living with other yoga students. There is definitely a yoga student community here, but it takes time to meet people who share common interests, to learn where you can eat (and where you shouldn't) and to develop a set of activities for the rest of your time. That doesn't happen immediately, as studying in Mysore is not a turn-key, all-inclusive environment. You are also going to have to figure out what optional activities you want, how to get manage transportation, and the mundane details of daily living. It's a far cry from going to Toronto or New York or Austin, staying in a hotel or motel, and attending a fully scheduled program.

Traveling Solo

Whether to travel on your own is a personal judgment call. Some people wouldn't do it any other way; others won't go without a group of friends or acquaintances. I ended up traveling solo because the time when I was able to go didn't mesh with times when other people from the yoga studio potentially wanted to travel. For me, being solo has been a challenge, as I'm a social creature. However, I talked yesterday with a woman who traveled here with someone from her yoga studio back home. She found at first she needed the team approach of having a colleague with her, but over time she preferred not to have to always include the other person in her plans. Obviously, if you can travel with a spouse or partner, you've solved your problem, but that seems a bit of a rarity.


Lodging and Transportation

I have had a very favorable experience renting space in an apartment rented to yoga students by Mr. Rao. He frequently rents to Yoga East people. He can also arrange for the short term rental of an Indian cell phone, can handle transportation to and from the airport in Bangalore, and is a friendly and helpful person. There's a link to his yoga student support business on the Yoga East web page.

If you want a car and driver for a daytrip, Ganesh at Anu's restaurant also is knowledgeable. Rates are most reasonable, but don't expect your driver to speak much English. Driving on rural roads at night is completely terrifying.

Auto rickshaws were my preferred method of local transportation. Some people here for extended stays rent scooters, but the traffic discouraged me from that option. Be sure to get the driver to quote you a price to your destination before you get in, or insist that he use the meter.

Food

This is a topic which I cannot adequately address. I have avoided the local Pizza Hut and Domino's franchises, but barely. I have frequented two places, Santosha's for breakfast, and Anu's, for lunch and dinner. Both cater to yoga students, are within walking distance, and have wi-fi networks. The advantage is that they're safe in terms of nutrition and cultural friendliness; the downside is that you're not experiencing Indian culture. You're also likely to find another yoga person at these spots to share a table with; an advantage for me as I'm not a big fan of eating alone. Other places I have been to several times are the Green Leaf (about a 15 minute walk, but an Indian place), the Green Hotel (a longer walk or a short rickshaw ride), and the Daspraakash downtown. All these are Indian, although the Green Hotel is used to international travelers. The Hotel Metropol is also very good.

Health and Safety

Gomulka is safe, as best I can tell. I have walked solo at night without problem, although I would advise women travelers to talk to other women about particular safety issues -- I am not expert on this point. However, I haven't heard complaints about local residents hassling Western women, although I have heard comments about being stared at. Modesty in dress is distinctly the rule. I have always worn long pants; shorts are for school children.

I won't dwell on health and sanitation, but do not ever drink the local water from the tap or in a pitcher in a restaurant (except Anu's and Santosha's). Bring some Lomotil or someting similar. Most students get some minor digestive upset at some point. I also brought Cipro in case I got a nasty bacterial bug.

Gadgets and Communications

I have been heavily reliant on a relatively-up-to-date Blackberry, for e-mail and browser. I bought an international package for 30 days for about $65. It has worked very well, and I read the news and e-mail regularly and avidly. I also brought a netbook computer, which I wanted to use to send home pictures and to work on a blog. My apartment has had a rather slow internet. Santosha's and Anu's are better. Anu's has a slight charge, but it is totally reasonable. If you don't choose to bring a notebook machine, you can use the internet cafe setup at Anu's. A lot of people do Skype there. I chose to rent an Indian cell phone (through Mr. Rao) and that has proven reasonable for 5-10 minutes of daily phone conversation at home. I did not choose to use the Blackberry telephone service; it is significantly more expensive.

Finally, I have used my Kindle extensively. I downloaded lots and lots of reading before I came, and have taken advantage of it daily. I don't have the international Kindle (which is very new) and I don't know if the international Kindle wireless network works in Mysore.

Cell service is very widespread in India, and I've used my Blackberry for web browsing and e-mail in many places outside Mysore, with very good results.

Miscellaneous

Be sure to bring a small, reliable flashlight and batteries. There are plenty of rolling power blackouts here. I wish I had brought a compact backpacker's headlamp, which would have been good for reading in bed when the power's out.

Bring a small supply toilet paper in your carryon. You can buy it here, but most Indian toilets do not have it, except in airports and hotels which cater to the western traveler.

If there are maps of Mysore, I never saw them. My Google Maps does work on the Blackberry, amazingly.

There's a serviceable bookstore downtown, Ashok Books, near the downtown, central market. It's not a Barnes and Noble, but it has a decent if sometimes odd selection of recent paperbacks.

A number of people favor using the swimming pool at the Southern Star hotel, has a reasonable day rate for yoga students. I did not investigate this.

Mr. Joseph and His Excellent Enfield

I had an enjoyable breakfast this morning with Joseph, who is a seventeen year resident of Mysore. He came here from Sun Valley for four weeks, studied yoga with Pattabhi Jois, and stayed for the duration. He spent a number of years as Guruji's personal assistant when Guruji traveled, helping the yoga master navigate the complexities of airports, different cultures, bureaucracies, and tour difficulties. He's a fascinating fellow, who now has a guest house here in Mysore for yoga students. He may not know everyone, but it's darn close.

He has a 500cc Royal Enfield, single cylinder motorcycle. This is truly the big bike of southern India, as most of the motorbikes are 100cc in capacity. It makes a satisfying, Harley-like thump-thump. I got a tour of Gokulam, riding on the back.

(The picture at the top is actually another Enfield, a 350cc model, not Joseph's. But they look essentially the same.)

Headed downtown for lunch later.

Cheers.

To Ooty and Beyond

Four of us hired a car and driver on Friday morning, after led class, and drove up to Ooty. Ooty is the foreshortened name of a hill-top town surrounded by beautiful, steep mountains which are terraced with tea plantations. The route up crosses a wildlife sanctuary, where we saw elephants and monkeys. It is supposedly a tiger preserve, but we saw no striped predators.

Ooty was one of the English hill stations, towns to which the English colonialists retreated during hot weather. Some of the British architecture remains, although the Raj is long past. We stayed in a British-era hotel up very high, and it provided a welcome counterpoint to the heat, bustle, and dust we experienced during the drive up; exactly what the British had in mind. Contemporary plumbing, hot water, and cold beer were also welcome.

After a sound night's sleep, we had a terrific breakfast, cooked to order, in the gazebo of the English-style garden. We were joined by an American couple, both of whom have traveled extensively in India. He is spending five months teaching at a college in Chennai (Madras), as part of an exchange program. Two of our guests debated Mahler, Wagner, and Leonard Bernstein's music extensively.

After breakfast, we read in the garden as the morning sun burned off the evening cool. I was reading E.M. Forster's "A Passage to India," a classic tale about the interaction of cultures in India during the era of the Raj. The Brit hotel garden was a most appropriate setting.

After checkout, we took the narrow gauge railroad from Ooty down to Coonor -- the hills are too steep for standard tracks. I posted a photo of myself below, with a slightly manic grin as we descended the mountainous terrain.

After the train ride, it was a long drive back to Mysore, via a new route which featured 36 hairpin turns and would have been perfect for a Tour de France stage.

Practice notes: I tweaked my right knee mildly on Friday (led class) so I'm doing a few modifications, but no problem. My level of energy for the full primary series in now much better, and I can hold headstand comfortably for Saraswathi's very long count. Her fifteen is someone else's fifty.





Cheers.

To Market

I remember as a kid in New Jersey the thrill of taking the train into Manhattan on my own. I once navigated my brother and myself from our suburban town to the 1964 World's Fair in Queens, a maneuver requiring, I think, four train changes.

It wasn't the same level of orienteering achievement, but yesterday I took an auto rickshaw downtown, found the silk and fabric store, picked up an item I had ordered, and then found my way to the downtown market. Given the chaos of the downtown area, and the winding streets around the market, I counted myself lucky not to get sidetracked and lost. I learned the Mysore technique of hiring a rickshaw driver and having him wait -- something I thought only investment bankers did. I also got some other market pictures which I will post later, as well as a video on the way home of the public laundry area. I dubbed it, lamely, "Field of Cleans." Here's the video:

Jimmy Cliff Does Marichyasana D (Only Yoga)

After years of futzing around, and being hogtied into the posture by our patient (and strong) teacher at home, I got both sides of Marichyasana D in the mysore class today at AYRI. Afterwards, I thought of the Jimmy Cliff song:

"You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
But you must try, try and try
Try and try, you'll succeed at last."

This self-congratulation is distinctly un-yogic. It shows the maturity level of a middle school pep rally. Still, it was a good moment. Take 'em when they come!

Cheers,

Jim

p.s. Another Jimmy Cliff lyric, of course, is more sobering: "The harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all."

The Challenge of Mysore

I have now been here roughly two weeks, and as I expected, practicing ashtanga in Mysore has been challenging. As I've passed through the initial tsunami of fatigue, the challenge has become a bit less physical and a bit more cultural.

Some of the differences are obvious: the traffic is driving on the left. For light switches, down is "on" -- the opposite of the American paradign. Some are more complex: the Indians don't use toilet paper, but resort to a system with a couple of buckets. (You try to figure it out -- or not.) Everything is more crowded, as there a lot more people. Food is complicated, and very different. I don't know the names for much anything on the menu, and if I go to a restaurant by myself, it's a game of food roulette. Every scooter jockey and auto rickshaw driver honks at every vehicle or pedestrian they overtake. Cacophony.

Surprisingly, the hardest part for me to adjust to, is dirt and litter. Is this my bourgeois, American bias? I'm not sure. It can't be good to have this much litter everywhere in the landscape, in front of the smallest shack or the larger house. The edges of the streets are full of dirt, and it's odd to watch women with hand-made brooms trying to clean it up -- an utter impossibility. I'm convinced that the principal function of sidewalks is for the storage of construction materials, such as sand and stone. You walk on the side of the streets, in the dirt. There was a cow pie on the sidewalk immediately in front of the gate to my fairly nice apartment building, for days. No one cleaned it up; eventually, we had a good hard rain. While no clean freak, I can't put aside a chronic feeling of unease about the (apparent) lack of cleanliness.

I've avoided (sound of knocking on wood) illness, and the ashtanga people are kind and friendly. Still, the feeling of being taken completely out of one's normal physical and cultural environment is not to be underestimated.

But I just had a cheese omelet at Santosha's, talked financial regulation with an economist from Canada, and I'm now ready to take a rickshaw to the downtown market. Life is good, especially after two excellent cups of coffee and a chance to play with Muffin, the cafe dog(shown at the top of the blog).

Below is a pretty poor photograph of a sandlot game of cricket at dusk last night, about three blocks from my apartment. Some things are beyond cultural differences. Kids playing pickup sports transcends all distinctions.






Cheers.

The Scene at Santosha's

Food is central to the life experience anywhere, but it is especially important to the yoga community in Mysore. I have started to frequent Santosha's cafe for breakfast. It's right down the street from the shala, and seems, for the moment, to be the central gathering place for yoga students.

This morning at my breakfast table were Jimi from Belgium (his parents named him for Jimi Hendrix), Kathy from Australia, Yoni from Korea, and Carlos from Madrid, Spain. Carlos is the only person in the yogashala who is possibly older than me. Many of the people at Santosha's are in their 20's, maybe their thirties. Kathy is a yoga teacher from Australia who travels 4-6 months a year in India; she mostly teaches Iyengar but is "brushing up" on her ashtanga. Jimi is in teacher training at another one of the ashtanga studios in Mysore, not AYRI. Carlos looks like a businessman, and he's here for four weeks, practicing at the shala in spite of a recently broken foot.

The crowd is decidedly not US-centric. It is also not baby boomers. And it is decidedly refreshing to be away from the baby-boomers-control-the-universe syndrome. A lot of the people at Santosha's are studying yoga for at least a couple of months, and have fairly open-ended itineraries. To say that it has a different atmosphere from my daily, professional world in the US would be an understatement. The people generally remind me more of the scene in Telluride, Colorado, where one person is back from mountain biking in Utah and the next person is ready to go ice climbing in Chamonix.

I don't think any of those folks would understand a "billable hour."

Here is the Santosha website. Of course, they are on Facebook, too.

Cheers.

Two Temples

This is a video of a puja ceremony at a Hindu temple called Hoysaleshvara, about two hours outside of Mysore. The ceremony is a devotional exercise, conducted for the resident god (in this case, I believe it is Krishna). What you see is the bathing of the statue, by Brahmin priests, in milk. The statue is also provided fruit, rosewater, and other delicacies. The music in the background was performed by two men, one playing a saxophone. This ceremony was conducted on Diwali, an important Indian holiday known sometimes as the festival of lights.

More information is available here on Hoysaleshvara, describing its history and architecture.

We also visited a Jain temple (the first temple, Hoysaleshvara, is Hindu). To reach it, one has to walk up 650 stone steps, barefoot. This is not a small task in the heat of the southern Indian afternoon sun. At the top is a Jain temple with a sixty foot high statue of a naked saint, Gomateshwara (complete with what must be one of the world's larger, anatomically correct, granite depictions of human genitalia). You can read more online about Gomateshara.

This was a long day, and I was glad to get home. Even though the noisy Diwali fireworks and firecrackers were going off, I fell asleep immediately.

Cheers.

So Who Needs Lawyers? (w/ video)

The downtown market in Mysore is an amazing place, with vendors selling fruit, flowers, spices, coffee, trinkets, CDs, and who knows what all. There is an area where notaries and typists will prepare documents for you, using ancient, manual typewriters. I don't know all the details of how the system works, but we can be certain that New York firm rates do not prevail to document your deal.

Practice notes: after a somewhat bumpy practice yesterday, today's led session went well. Because the count is so comparatively long, I made myself slow down, which turned out to be a wise decision. It kept my heart rate down, and prevented me from crashing later in the series.

And Some Days the Bear Catches You

"Some days you catch the bear, and some days the bear catches you" -- old saying.

Everyone who practices ashtanga with any frequency knows that some days one has more energy, more flexibility, less stiffness, and everything is smooth. To balance this out, some days are choppy, the body is stiff, the mind is elsewhere, and you wonder whether staying in bed would have been an excellent choice.

After a number of high energy days, I had a typical sore-and-stiff-and-why-I-here day. Predictable and normal. With two days off this weekend, after tomorrow's led class, some extra rest is probably indicated.

After a visit to downtown yesterday, I'm going back later in the afternoon with a couple of other students. Perhaps another $1 meal at Hotel Dasprakash, where I ate lunch yesterday.

Today's picture is simply a house I saw on a walk up to the Green Leaf Cafe, a frequent hangout. I liked the colors and you will note a placard of Ganesh (a Hindu elephant god).

Cheers.

Market Visit (w/ Video) + Note on Flip Recorder

After some strong thunderstorms yesterday, the skies were clear this morning. Things are settling, slowly, into a bit of a routine. 4:30 a.m. still comes early, but I am slowly getting used to some of the daily experiences: breakfast of fresh fruit salad and some kind of smoothie (watermelon today), no TV (I'm not that big a Bollywood fan), timing phone calls home to accommodate the 9.5 hour time difference.

I went with some other students downtown for lunch, about a 15-20 minute auto rickshaw ride. After lunch, I visited the main Mysore market with them. The sensory overload is intense, with a rush of noise, color, people, and smells. The areas with flowers and with spices are impressive. This is not the Bardstown Road Farmer's Market.

The short video above is from outside the market.

About the videos on the blog: This is all made possible by my brilliant wife, who gave me a Flip Video pocket video recorder a few days before I left for India. Before getting this device, which is smaller than a pack of cigarettes, I had been a desultory and unmotivated photographer. I wasn't sure how much I would use the Flip, but it has been wonderful. It's supremely easy to use, and I can seamlessly (and mindlessly) move the day's video from the recorder to the netbook computer to Youtube. Then, it's easy to "embed" the video in the blog. David Pogue, the NYT tech guy, has written a good review of the device, which I recommend to all video klutzes like myself.

You Need Chestnut? (Yoga Practice Notes)

This post will perhaps have less interest for those who are not active yoga people.

What's it like to practice in Mysore, compared to daily mysore practice at Yoga East?

At one level, it's the same. The sequence is the same, the shala/studio etiquette is the same, there are adjustments. It's hard work, just like home. Everyone should be reassured that Laura is a very skillful, effective teacher who instructs in the true Mysore tradition. You won't feel like a fish out of water practicing here.

You will, however, feel a definite shift in the level of energy in the practice. Just being here has a distinct, intangible effect on one's practice; this is ashtanga central. There are more people (maybe 70?) and a number of them are excellent or superb in their practice skills. Everyone has come a very long way to do one thing -- advance their ashtanga practices. There is, then, a kind of atmosphere of intensity and energy which one can feel.

There are, however, plenty of newer students. Some people appear to be first time students (not first day, but just learning the sequence) and they appear to have Saraswati's full attention and interest. This, too, is like Yoga East. The practice really is for everyone, not just the stars.

There are some really good folks. I haven't seen any David Swenson or Lino Miele, but there are plenty of people working on intermediate, some of whom are most skillful. The second series people are a bit older, and I'm guessing that a lot of them are yoga teachers back home. A lot of the primary series students are in their 20's.

The age spread here is different from Yoga East, where we are a decidedly grayer crowd. I can't tell if I'm the oldest student, but I'm willing to bet that I am. It looks like there are three or four of us in our fifties, and I don't see anyone who I think is older than I am (almost 60).

There seem to be a lot of practicioners from Europe and from Australia and New Zealand. There definitely are some people from the U.S., and I've hung out a fair amount with a fellow in his mid-50's from NYC. He's a regular at Eddie Stern's Yoga Shala in Soho, and has been to Mysore some ten times -- a very good resource.

There is no reason why a regular Yoga East mysore person would not significantly benefit from study here, and no barriers in the studio at all. It's a long way to travel, but you would feel comfortable and energized.

Personal practice comments: I got the bind in Supta K again, after missing it yesterday. I "turned the corner" on one side in Marichy D, but couldn't clasp. I continued on, as Saraswati was busy. She shouted (in a nice way?) across the room, "You need chestnut?" I misunderstood, and thought she was asking me if I wanted an adjustment. In reality, she was telling me I needed to wait for an adjustment, so I waited a long time while she assisted other people, who had started earlier, in backbends.

So far I have not been stopped, and have continued throughout the primary series. I have a hunch, though, that after enough observation, I'll likely get a stopping point at Supta K or somewhere, as my limited skill set deteriorates after navasana.

Cafe Latte, Indian Style (w/ video)

Tea and chai are dominant hot beverages here. But a fellow visiting from stateside may want a cup of joe, so I set out on a two hour loop today to try my navigational skills in the Gokulam area of Mysore. What I did was remarkably trivial: went to a place with good latte (where all the locals were texting on the cell phones); went to the grocery store; and went to the bank. Absolutely mundane, but when one is in a genuinely foreign culture, it feels like a real achievement to undertake these tasks.

I've uploaded a photo of the Hindu temple which is just 100 yards down the hill, at the beginning of the post. Lots of color in this religion's art.

Here's a video link, I hope, to a typical Mysore street scene:

Rickshaw GPS + WTF My Shoes?

I am beginning to think that adjusting to Indian culture is as much a piece of the Mysore challenge as practice in the shala.



This morning, I went over to have breakfast with Nagoratna (sp?) and Vinay, who are the mother and the son in the Rao family which provides lodging and food to Yoga East visitors to Mysore. I had been once before, and it is in a different area of Mysore and requires a rickshaw ride. The driver assured me he knew where it was (and he was probably partially truthful in that he knew, kind of, where the Lakshmipur neighborhood is). He certainly didn't know how to find the address, so he resorted to a practice of stopping every two minutes and asking another rickshaw driver. Eventually, we got there, and he couldn't make change for a 100 rupee note (worth maybe $2.25). Everything is a bit of an adventure, and very different.

Be sure to pack your sense of humor and some cultural humility when you come.

Yesterday, I climbed the 1,000 steps up to the Chamundi Hill temple. We had agreed to meet at 6:30 a.m., to do it before the sun got high. I planned to wear my Keene shoes, which are very comfortable and terrific for walking. At 6:20, when it was time to leave, I couldn't find them in the apartment, anywhere. I searched high and low, but didn't want to wake my roommate. Besides, why would she have the shoes anyway?

I put on my incredibly ratty old Teva sandals, and they were more than adequate to the Chamundi ascent. (Many Indians sport something close to flip flops and can probably run a half marathon in a pair.) On returning to the apartment, I dug around some more, and found inside a set of cabinets which are set on the floor by the door -- the shoe locker. The cleaning lady had kindly policed them up, and put them away where they belonged.

The streets in Mysore are dusty and dirty, and not altogether free of cow or goat dung. There's a very good reason, not especially spiritual, to take off your shoes when you enter a house or apartment. The locker by the door makes perfect sense -- but is far from obvious to an American.

Yoga note: we had another show-up-at-4:30 a.m. led class today, Sunday. I felt significantly less hammered, although equally challenged. I think I kept myself from going into the adrenaline zone today, which is where I probably was for the first led class. I bound in supta kurmasana rather readily -- where did that come from? Nothing skillful, but I got the clasp. Practice is different in Mysore.

Cheers.

Chamundi Hill Temple Climb (w/ video)

This morning, two other shala students and I took a rickshaw to the base of Chamundi Hill, on the outskirts of Mysore. We walked up the moderately steep steps to the Hindu temple at the top. Partway up is the bull shown in the video below, which was being decorated for the day with garlands. I don't know if the man is a priest or just a devotee of Nandi, who is Shiva's bull.

At the top of the hill is a temple devoted to Chamundi, a goddess who slayed a demon. It was quite a scene there, particularly when one of the monkeys stole a coconut from the offering basket we were carrying into the temple.

Afterward, we had breakfast at a downtown hotel, and stopped at the house of the "three sisters," who are apparently well-known to some shala students of the past. It was my first foray into downtown Mysore; quite an experience after the (relative) peacefulness Gokulam, the suburb where the shala is located.

Here's a short video of a priest decorating the Nandi bull (Shiva's bull) on the 1000 Steps ascent to the temple on top.



Cheers.

First Led Class (Mostly Yoga Stuff Here)

Whew.

I think I've figured out the shala time warp -- whatever Saraswati says, it's according to the shala clock. Which is 15 minutes fast. So, when she says be at the shala at 4:45 a.m. for a 5 a.m. led class, she means, be there at 4:30 actual time.

It's a bit startling to show up someplace at 4:30 a.m. and to see 25 or 30 people already there, sitting quietly on their mats. If folks in Kentucky think the Sunday led class is early, you can compare it to a 4:30 a.m. "show up" time here.

The led class is exactly as it is at home, except there are a lot of slow counts. Getting a slow count in navasana, or uttitha hasta padangustasana is pretty tough. Getting a slow count in upluthi (sp??) at the end is super-hard, especially when Saraswati doesn't even start with one until everyone is up.

There is a great deal of energy in the led class, as you would expect. There's a definite "you can't drop out of this pose" atmosphere. Plus, I got to be the guy who slowed everyone down in Marichyasana D, as Saraswati came over and gave me adjustments on both sides. (My deficiencies are very obvious, eh?)

Afterward, there is a very nice scene outside the shala, where many students stop to get coconut milk out of a fresh coconut from a street vendor. A chance for conversation which is not present in the shala. I visited with students from Norway, Australia, and New York City -- all foreign countries!

I'm going out to dinner with another student tonight, so I'm starting to see a bit more of Mysore. I'll have lunch at Anu's cafe, another ashtanga hangout.

Cheers to all,

Jim

Turn Left at the Coconut Stand

It's now morning in Mysore on Thursday; it's still Wednesday back home.

I registered at the yoga school yesterday afternoon. I walked into the office and began registration paperwork with Saraswati, the daughter of Guruji and the person currently doing all the teaching. In walked Sharath. For those who don't pursue ashtanga, Sharath is acknowledged as the most advanced ashtanga practicioner worldwide, and the successor to the teaching mantle of K. Pattabhi Jois. The office is small, and we chatted very briefly; he seemed pleased that some Yoga East students had traveled to Toronto, where he taught recently. Saraswati told me to come at 5:30 a.m. -- which is slightly misleading, as the shala clock runs fifteen minutes fast.

For those in Louisville who are cyclists, this is the opposite of "Wheelmen Time" -- everything runs fifteen minutes early, not fifteen minutes late.

I showed up at 5:20 a.m. today, thinking I was ahead of schedule. I had heard stories of Sharath scolding people who showed up too early. At 5:20, The shala was mostly full, with some people well along in their practice, and I was confused. I walked in, and Saraswati kindly directed me to a spot near the back, without any criticism for my apparent violation of the unwritten shala time rules. (Laura had mentioned this fifteen minute variation, but since Saraswati had told me "you be here 5:30," I thought that 5:30 meant 5:30 when she said it.)

I was not as stiff and beaten up as I thought I might have been after the travel, and I launched into the primary series. For Yoga East readers, you will be reassured that the primary series in Mysore looks like the primary series on Kentucky Street in Louisville. There were some people who were advanced and skillful, doing second series, but most people were doing primary. The students looked to be mostly 20 and 30-somethings, with a sprinkling of older practicioners. Several people were less experienced, and seemed to receive equal respect and attention. In short, it felt comfortable and I knew that Laura had thoroughly prepared me for being in Mysore.

While practicing the Marichy asanas, Saraswati shouted across the room, "You catching B?" I showed her I could bind in B, but stopped after C. She came over and gave me forceful adjustments into a bound version of D on both sides. I suspect she has seen this several thousand times before.

I have to figure out the propriety and safety of buying a coconut after practice, because it certainly looked refreshing. Now I wait for the delivery of breakfast -- time for a morning nap, perhaps?

Roads for Prosperity!

That was the sign I saw as I bumped my way from the Bangalore airport to Mysore last night, traveling from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. India time. The drive from the airport had a surreal quality, as I was operating on disjointed sleep over 28 hours of air travel from Louisville. We went through the twisting, urban streets of Bangalore, which is one of India's high tech centers. Well, somewhere it's high tech, but not where we were driving. I kept being reminded of Ridley Scott's movie "Blade Runner" as we dodged our way through bumps, potholes, and three wheel vehicles.

I was greeted at the airport by a friendly, competent fellow who spoke no English but who had my name on a hand printed sign. I was pretty sure he was my driver, although a couple of turns down near-alleys in Bangalore made me wonder if I was the sahib with driver or the chump about to get mugged. He brought me to Mysore, where a cheerful Mr. Rao, the director of Yogic Supplies, met me to let me into the apartment and deliver a one man welcoming presentation at 4 a.m. He is a yoga entrepreneur, who provides support services to the students from abroad, arranging housing, food, transport to the airport, and the like. A reassuring, organized fellow.

Today, I plan to try to catch up on sleep, to get a bit oriented, and to register for yoga classes. All considered, I had a smooth if long trip; the near glitch was luggage. After flying a packed 747 from Frankfurt to Bangalore, I was one of the last half dozen people waiting for bags at the luggage carousel. I tried chanting an ancient Vedic mantra, "Maymybagbehere," "Maymybagbehere," over and over. Miraculously, it worked.

I have a tolerable if somewhat slow wireless internet connection in the apartment, which I count as a real advantage. I'll post more later, although I have some uncertainty whether it will competently support picture or video uploads.

Cheers.

The Tom Delay Factor

With two days until takeoff, I have had a rich opportunity to savor the range of pre-travel anxieties. Will I get sick from bad water? (Only drink from bottles opened in front of you, it is said.) Will I need an emergency root canal? (I addressed this by getting my last wisdom tooth pulled recently, as the thought of ayurvedic dentistry exceeded my cross-cultural capacity.)

However, with a bit of yogic contemplation, I've discovered my deepest fear: the Tom Delay factor. Mr. Delay took the art of making a fool of oneself to a new height by performing the cha-cha on "Dancing with the Stars." The sight of the Exterminator wiggling his butt for the camera, and getting down on his knees to the tune of the Trogs' "Wild Thing" revealed the potential of utter depravity in late middle age. Why should I be immune to this human frailty?

There is the fear of appearing a fool in front of the teachers in Mysore. If I'm a passable yoga student in Kentucky, where will I fit into the matrix of students at the World's Best Yoga Studio? Not high, I know. Worse than the fear of being thought a fool by teachers halfway around the world is the concern about one's friends and peers at home. What the dickens is this guy doing, they might ponder? Shouldn't he be on a tour of major league baseball parks, or at most riding a Harley-Davidson through the Rockies? Those activities might inspire mild disdain, but going to India invites full-bore derision.

One thing is for sure: no video of me doing the down dog will make its way to YouTube.

Cheers.

One Week to Go -- Some Logistics

Before the logistics, some fun stuff. Here's a link to a series of photographs on Flickr, showing people practicing ashtanga. The pictures are a mixture of the primary series (what I'll be doing) and more advanced stuff (which I won't). You can also see Guruji (the older teacher, who passed away in May), his grandson Sharath (the current leading teacher in the world), and Saraswati, a woman who will be teaching me:

Ashtanga photos from Flickr

I fly out on Monday, October 5, traveling through Chicago, Frankfurt, Germany, and on to Bangalore, where a driver will pick me up to drive to Mysore. It's over 17 hours of air time from Chicago, and I arrive in Bangalore very early on Wednesday morning, October 7 (Banglaore time). Bangalore is 9.5 hours ahead of Louisville.

I will take Wednesday to try to adjust to the time change -- something which will undoubtedly take more than one day. I hope to be able to register at the yoga shala on Wednesday, and with some luck can start practice on Thursday morning.

I should have easy access to e-mail and the internet. I'll be carrying my Blackberry, which will have the international package activated. I'll be able to receive both work e-mail and my personal, Google mail (gmail). In addition, I'll be carrying a small netbook, which I hope to use to post updates on the trip,and on practice, via this weblog.

I am doing the blog for two broad groups: (i) friends and family; and (ii) local yoga people with whom I've practiced ashtanga for the last 5 1/2 years. I'll try to identify clearly those postings which tend toward technical yoga stuff, not of general interest.

In the past, when traveling, I've tended to send e-mails home from internet cafes and the like, and I thought that by putting them in one place -- a blog -- they would be relatively easy to find for non-yoga and yoga friends. I promise not to overindulge in excessive, trivial, self-indulgent detail.

Finally, here's a Google-based map of Mysore.

Mysore map

Jim

Cloudy with a Chance of Vegetarian Meatballs

The Mysore Palace, when the weather is nice but the sun is down.

The Mysore weather is here:

www.wunderground.com/global/stations/43291.html

A bit rainy at the moment.

Introducng Mysore

If you're an amateur runner, dedicated but not world class, you might aspire to run at the Boston Marathon. If you're a mountaineer of some moderate experience and accomplishment, you may daydream about climbing Denali, or Mt. Blanc -- difficult, but achievable summits for the mere mortal. If you're a triathlete, perhaps you plan someday to do the Ironman in Kona -- probably through a lottery opening.

There are other, less athletic travels which ordinary people undertake. A Catholic might want to go to Rome, historic center of the faith, and other Christians do long walking treks in Spain on routes followed by medieval pilgrims. A Bahai wants to undertake a trip to the faith's world center in Haifa, and a Jew wants to visit Jerusalem at least once.

With yoga, one goes to India. India is to yoga as Scotland is to golf: the source.

In the United States, yoga is popularly associated with fitness. It's a way to get better abs, perhaps to reduce stress. The most common question an American yoga practicioner hears from friends is, "Are you doing hot yoga?" The reference is to Bikram yoga, an American system of fitness franchises for busy urban people, which has stripped out any Sanskrit, incense, or hint of cultural edginess.

Ashtanga yoga is less well-known, and is one of the major schools of physical yoga which developed in the twentieth century. Its center is in a city in southern India called Mysore. Ashtanga practicioners -- ashtangi, they are called -- think of going to Mysore the way the a cook dreams about going to Cordon Bleu in Paris. This series of postings is about a typical yoga aficionado -- neither a yoga teacher nor a long-haired, backpacking seeker -- traveling to Mysore.

A bit of background. I will be studying at the (long name) K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute, commonly called just "Mysore" by practicioners. Their website is here:

http://www.kpjayi.org/

The pictures are of the young Mr. Jois, who passed away earlier this year. Basic information on the city of Mysore is widely available, and I cite you to the lazy man's reference, Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysore