Some advice from the Mysore yogis

Today J and I left Mysore for Bangalore. Last night we had a very yummy dosa party at Anu's, her's are the best in town. She made my favorite deserts as well so I was totally spoilt once again! I went to kirtan with a few people to hear Ganesh play tabla one last time and L sing. Then to the Metropole for drinks and chats. We all said goodbye this morning at the coconut stand over chai. I had a few quiet little tears to myself there, it was hard to leave Anu, Ganesh, and my little gang of special people, you know who you are, love you all. We will all see each other again though. I'll see AJ next tuesday for a start.

In Bangalore J and I went for lunch at the palace, and lazed around there chatting about our trip and our favorite Mysore moments. Tomorrow we leave India. As always I expect going back to be more of a culture shock than going, and it's going to be cooooold! I will come back to Mysore I'm quite sure, as you know from my blog I've had a great time there.

For this last post I wanted to put together all of the advice and tips that I gathered from Mysore yogis in the hope that it might help some of you who intend to come here for a while and are new to the experience as I was.

• Don't worry about coming alone, you will make friends easily as long as you are friendly

• The food is very good, you won't go back emaciated, and you are unlikely to get dysentry or something like that as long as you stick to the good eating stops.

• Don't bring loads of stuff, you can find pretty much everything in Mysore.
  

• Tell someone if you have a problem, Ganesh can take you to a docs or sort out most things for you, and other students usually have a lot of good advice.

• If this is your first time abroad you may well feel a little rattled by the experience at first, it takes a few days sometimes to get over the culture shock. You might feel unsettled for a few days but this is quite normal. It's not a mystical "Mysore thing", it would happen anywhere.

• Don't recreate the busy schedule you left behind at home by filling your days with classes. Leave yourself some time to chill out and do nothing. It's ok to do nothing, you're not at work or having to deal with the responsabilities you have at home.

• There is no such thing as "being ready for Mysore". You go and bring your practice to the shala wherever and however it is whether you have been practising 20 years or 2 weeks. Beginners are warmly welcomed, what a great place to begin.

• Don't even start to think about where you will be stopped or if you will be stopped. You came to learn and they will take care of it, at the end of the day you pay the institute to teach you so you don't need to worry about it, let them do that for you.
  

• Don't even begin to try to understand why some people get stopped at different places. If you can't bind in Mari D and get stopped there and someone else can't either and can go on...that's just the way it is. They have their reasons.
  

• You don't need to be able to do everything perfectly.

• Don't come to Mysore as a "Yoga tourist", come with a deep respect of the shala and the teaching which you recieve there.
  

• It can be hard if you're not used to practising 6 days a week but it gets easier. The early start also becomes a habit, you might even start to enjoy it.

• Ladies cover your shoulders and legs or you'll get some unwanted attention.

• It's good to respect ladies holiday (Guruji advocates it and you're in his shala after all, so even if you don't usually respect it maybe give it a chance). It's also good to miss practice if you are injured or unwell.

• It's ok to stop your practice early if you need to for whatever reason, just let Sharath, Saraswathi ot Guruji know. It's not a crime!
  

• Take the time to chat to the locals, like your rickshaw driver for example, they are very friendly people. Guru who owns the coconut stand is one of my favorite people for example, and Lokesh my rickshaw man.
  

• It can be hard but the best thing is to come with no expectations.

• Smile. If you can't laugh at yourself you're taking your practice too seriously. It's meant to enrich your life.

• Don't obsess about the yoga.

There are many more but those are the main ones that were often repeated during my stay.

My personal advice would be to come with a love for the practice and enjoy it. With the right attitude you can have a very good time indeed. So... go and write your letter to Guruji.

The Mysore Anthem has been voted "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, because there's a lot of that in Mysore, and you need a lot of it too (suggested by Rew).

Last day in Mysore

Today was my last practice in the Shala. It was led, and that's a nice way to finish I think. Guruji was on form despite a few micro-sleeps, and for some reason it felt hotter than usual. I had a good practice, and once again managed the full headstand thing with the going half way and then coming back up. I also managed to bind in Mari D which made me smile :)

I had a major breakfast at Shakti because it was my last: banana and cinnamon pancakes and half a fruit salad. Then I packed with S who is awesome at somehow fitting all my stuff in my rucksack, it's a miracle believe me. After that it was off to the hospital for the 2nd rabies jab. It hurt. I also had to buy another one to bring back to the UK because apparently they don't have the same one there and their version is one shot, then 7 days later another and then 21 days after that another. That's a fat lot of good to me. Also they seem to think that I should go to the "travel clinic" which is the once a week thing where you have your shots for going away. Of course there is no travel clinic on the 5th which is when I have to have the shot. I'm going to have to go to the hospital and make a fuss. Thing is the rabies jab kit I am bringing with me needs to be kept cold, and I also need to get it on the plane. I'll find a way.

We went to the Lalith Mahal pool again and spent the afternoon chilling out and chatting, messing about in the pool, listening to music. J is very sad to leave (he's on the same flight as me), but I'm ok about it. I'd so so happily stay a few more months, but I see it like this: I have some things to finish up back at home. Then I'll come back for a while and it'll be excellent, Phd finished, job sorted...well as long as it all goes to plan that is.

Now Anu is throwing a Dosa party because J and myself are leaving, she makes the best Dosas I have ever tasted. Afterwards there is a Kirtan (or Curtain as it has been affectionately known as), and after that a trip to the Metropole hotel for a drink with everybody. Tomorrow we leave at 8am. I got some banana and carrot cake off the man outside the shala for breakfast.

Mysore has been good to me, very good. I have made some very special friends here, and you know what? Mysore will always be there for me.

Tune of the Day: "Make your own kind of music" - The Mama's and the papa's

Goodbye to my teachers

Today has involved sorting a few things out for my departure which is early saturday morning, I'll spend the day in Bangalore with J and then fly at 6:30am on sunday morning.

Practice was fun and light, but I was quite distracted. I kept thinking about what to pack where, what going home would be like, what I would miss, who I would miss, when I would come back...I still can't do shoulderstand due to the shoulder pain, but I did a superb headstand including the holding half way for 10 breaths and then coming back up for 10 breaths. I also bound in Mari D again.

I ran some errands like going to Meena's the silver selling lady to buy a few gifts. I always end up spending a fortune in there. She serves up the best chai in Mysore though, and she's incredibly nice. Actually here in Gokulam everyone seems to remember your name. I also got some chocolates from Gheeta, not sure if they'll survive the trip to the UK but we'll see. Her chocolates have been given to the Dalai Lama. They're very nice, and I'm not even a chocolate fan.

We had lunch at Gheeta's with Dr Navagaraj and our Ayurveda class. We had a great time, he said that the intimacy was the greatest thing about our meal. He was sad to see us go I think. We were all sad to part with him. Today he told us what our doshas were and it was funny. He told C that she was Kapha but she had some things which weren't like her hair that didn't have any lustre and was thin...he doesn't mince his words!

My tabla teacher gave me his email address and told me to email whenever I had a question and to keep practising "every day, some tabla, then come back". So I'll do that. He played for me so that I could film it on my camera. He's a very sweet man.

I went to say goodbye to Guruji and Saraswathi because tomorrow is led and it's always a bit busy so I probably wouldn't get the chance. They might be a bit confused when I turn up tomorrow though! Saraswathi gave me a huge hug and told me to come back soon. I felt a bit tearful. I went to Guruji and said goodbye, he also gave me a huge hug and the famed kiss on the lips. He asked "Why leaving?". I said "I have to go to work" to which he answered "ooooooooooh". As in "poor you" I think! I said I might come back next year and he laughed and said "In a month it is already next year". I had a photo with him which was cool and he wrote in my copy of "Suryanamaskara". e had a good giggle which I always really value, he has a beautiful smile...honestly, I'm not just being all gooey!

A little giggle for you guys out there: yesterday Guruji was helping Violetta get into Supta Kurmasana and after a bit he said "some fat is there". Not sure that yoga teachers back home could get away with saying something like that! Violetta btw is not overweight in any shape or form.

I had a couple of coconuts at the coconut stand and had a moment to contemplate my month in Mysore. I've loved all the food, the people, the yoga was exceptional, and there are so many other things. Even if I have to have Rabies shots again, I would come back to Mysore :)

Tune of the Day: "Somebody" - Depeche mode (suggested by Violetta)

Rabies prevention

My dog bite became swollen and darker in colour and my ayurveda teacher told me to go to the hospital immediately and have rabies shots. So off I went with AJ to have the shots, which was pretty easy. The doc sent me off to buy the shot at the medical store and then I came back and a nurse injected me....painfully. Those shots really hurt, right in the hip area. I have to have another friday, and then the last one back home in the UK. I asked Mister R to get me an appointment and already it is proving to be a problem. I have to go to another surgery and pay for the shot, and basically it isn't as straight forward as here. The medical service is actually very good here, apart from Rew's blood taking experience.

There was an ambulance outside the hospital with a person who had just died inside. The doors were open and the person was fully visible, the family were around grieving. In the west we aren't subjected to death like this. Nothing like this would happen, the person would be whisked away to the morgue. We aren't this familiar with death. It wasn't sad, it was quiet and calm, no drama.

I was supposed to go round V's house for a practice but came too late because of the hospital trip. Still I turned up and she asked me about mari D which I have been having a but of a struggle with. I went to show her how I couldn't do it, and just fell into it, both sides. It's probably due to me being warmer in the afternoon than in the morning.

Practice today was good but I can't do shoulder stand because of the shoulder recovering still but everything else was fun and comfortable. Dropbacks with Saraswathi were tough but I feel secure with her. I don't know how she does it but she just flips you up without yanking you up. I wonder if I'll feel as comfortable with someone else. Anyway I have to learn to do it on my own eventually.

Today I filmed my walk from the main street to the shala, it was dark so for part of it there's not a lot to see as there's no street lights, but it shows what it's like. I filmes up to when I took my shoes off and the walk to the door. When I came out I filmes too, up until mingling around the coconut man. I took footage of my tabla teacher playing as well. Today was my last lesson.

Lunch was at a portugese couple's house, they serve lunch to yoga students. It was excellent food, I would definately go again but I won't get the chance unfortunately. I haven't been eating dinner because of early practice, it definately helps and it seems to be in line with ayurvedic principles! Guruji says to have a milk dinner.

Tune of the Day: "Last dance in Copacabana" - Superfunk

Sleepy day

Today has been calm and sleepy. One of those days where doing hardly anything is most welcome. It's particularly hot and bright. I've been sorting out my things to bring home and it looks like packing won't be a problem. I'm not a great shopper so I haven't got a lot of extra stuff to pack. I did get 7 books though, I like the Bihar ones and they are about 100rs each, they are the most awkward thing apart from the tabla but they fit in an empty mat bag. One of my coolest purchases has been a camouflage mat bag made by the little lady up the road. It's sturdy and I love it. So much for detachment from material things!

I had a tabla class which went well, it's amazing how far I've come in 2 weeks. The brain learns to engage with it and the hand-brain co-ordination engages. My teacher V.R.R Bhargava (lessons bookable via Chakra house) is very advanced, he plays in concerts and then teaches as well. He told me to practice, practice, practice my playing in the UK, email him with any questions, and then come back. I'll do just that, hopefully I will get better at it.

Everything is "practice, practice, practice". Nothing comes from nowhere, and nothing is easy, but it comes bit by bit, with practice. Sigh.

I am going to visit V, a very nice yoga teacher from the States to work on technicalities, namely Supta K and Mari D. I have managed both in the past, but not recently. There has been quite some enthusiasm for the yoga group that I run back home, I've connected with some real fountains of knowledge here which will help me a great deal. Yogis are very helpful and kind people, most of them anyway.

Ho-hum, coming home....not really looking forward to it at all. I haven't been homesick or anything here, which isn't entirely suprising as I've travelled enough to eliminate that from my system. I'm looking forward to seeing my Mister R and all my lovely friends who I have missed, but I just wish they could come here instead. I feel very at home and I like the way of life, but I have to remind myself that I'm not doing any Big Company work which really helps. I'd rather be a full time phd, I'd stay out here a bit longer and I've been getting lots done, more than I get done back home. Blarg, Big Company, that's the wost thing by far.

Still, I have some time left here and some cool practices in the shala. Being upgraded to full-primary is nice, I've missed it, although I'm very pleased to have been able to focus on Supta K for the first 2 weeks. I think that Saraswathi is a great help, I've enjoyed having her help me. Guruji has been very inspiring and I will miss them. Sharath was only here at the begining and I found him to be a happy soul and also a great help.

Tune of the Day: "When I shine" - Herbaliser

Living it up

It was great to spend an afternoon at the pool, we went to the Lalith Mahal palace. The Regaalis (once named Southern Star) also has a pool but it's not that big and it can get busy as well. The Lalith Mahal is also a palace rather than just a hotel so it is much more impressive, it's nice to live it up a bit! It is expensive though, 175rs to use the pool, and the lunch buffet is 400rs. I wouldn't eat there again, the food was bland and really not that special, you'll get a better feed at Anu's. It was cool lying in the grass, chatting about nonsense.

We went back to the Mysore palace to see it lit up for the last time before 3 of us leave. On the way we were nearly in a rickshaw crash, but someone is obviously looking out for us up there. The gates open and everyone pushes to get in, even though there honestly is no rush. It's not like the palace is going to run off anywhere. In the scrum 3 indian teenage boys thought it would be a good idea to feel my bum up. Needless to say that I shouted. We were wondering if the palace lights were like xmas lights where when 1 dies the whole lot stop working. The lights are actually lightbulbs which cover the entire building and its annexes.

Practice today was really good, with little shoulder pain. I went through primary quite happily and enjoyed every minute. It's so good when practice is like that. Mari D and Supta K have to be the hardest asanas in the entire series. Quite a few people struggle with them, including myself. Tomorrow afternoon a lovely yoga teacher from the states is going to go through some technical things with a few of us. There are so many teachers here, I think the majority of people are. I love hearing how they came to do that, they all have colourful backgrounds.

I went shopping with Aj and spent a long time in Ashok bookstore where I got a textbook on Ayurveda. We wandered round the market and took in all the smells the hussle and bustle. A little boy selling dyes took my hand and drew a big flower in pink on my hand. Of course it won't wash off now.

Dr Nagaraj's Ayurveda classes are very inspiring, I want to learn more and more about this stuff. I'm sad that I can't take his yoga therapy course as that's what I'm ultimately interested in most of all. He practices asana and his other practices as he puts it. Interestingly his mother is a western style doctor, they have conflicting ideas sometimes! It seems to make increasingly more sense to me to use ayurveda. It works with the body not against it like a lot of western remedies do. It isn't however a quick fix.

Today's picture is of my space at Anu's, this is where I've been blogging from, and where I'm about to have some food...starving. And I hear Dr Navaraj's voice saying "Do not eat until your are full".

Tune of the Day: "I don't feel like dancing" - The Scissor Sisters (suggested by Amarjit)

Yogis go clubbing

No posts for 2 days, sorry about that but Mysore life can get quite busy sometimes!! I am alive and well, thanks for the concerned emails!

Friday consisted mostly of tabla class and then Ayurveda class (which is brilliant btw). In the evening I went to a little jam session organised by 2 guitarists. They called themselves "The innocence", it was a nice setting, someone's garden with candles, and flowers everywhere. A gang of little indian kids sat on the wall of the garden and cheered and wooped, which disturbed the ambience so they got told off a few times, and cleared off the wall, but they kept coming back. They were really sweet and seemed to really enjoy themselves as well. I think that they were great entertainement :)

After that we went to Planet X which is Mysore's only nightclub as far as I know. It is really cheesy, it was great. It has an egyptian theme, so all the waiters have egyptian costumes, hilarious. The serice was good though! The music was quite good and we all had a good boogie, it was refreshing actually, I also had a little beer as well, which was nice. Nothing over the top. But I am aware that some yogis got rather drunk! The indian kids there danced really well, a set of typical indian dances, it was very cool to watch, and made my jumping up and down nonsense seem rather lame! Still it was fun.

I'd love to DJ here, it would be such a lot of fun, there isn't any DJing going on in Mysore and it would give a little alternative to the other styles of music available such as kirtan, guitar solos, and those things. Don't get me wrong, I love going to those concerts, it's such a lot of fun and there are a lot of talented people around, especially Rew! I just think a little funky house, and some uplifting chillout wouldn't go amiss. Next time I'm bringing some records. My tabla teacher said he could arrange for decks and speakers and stuff to be rented for me and he can give me a practice place too. It'd be good to have the percussionists join in.

We left at 11pm and got home at 12. It felt like I'd been out untill 4am and drunk a shed load of beer. I had to get up at 6am to go to the tibetan settlements. I was pretty tired, I think I'm either getting very old or the yogic way of life here has done away with my ability to party a little. The settlements were beautifuk, we also went to the buddhist university and saw monks chanting and taking part in debates which involved a special set of hand movements as well. It was nice to get out of Mysore for a bit and get some fresh air. We went for a long walk round a big park and saw elephants, and nice wood carvings. The sceneray was green and very nice. We went to the Golden Temple which had some golden Buddhas inside and some very cool wall paintings. It's quite a long drive, about 2-3 hours each way. I slept for most of it because of my wild night out.

I've got a good group of friends here, good fun, non-pretentious down to earth people, who come from different places around the world, but we all have something in common other than just the Ashtanga. We've had a good time hanging out, I will miss them very much. With my planned move to the States though it is probable that I will see some of them again, and there are a few brits amongst us too. I was warned about pretentious yogis who are show-offs and like to feel important here, and I have to say that I have come accross a few, but there are a lot of nice people here. Everyone looks after each other. If you come here alone (or not for that matter) you won't have much trouble fitting in and meeting people.

I give the children chocolate from time to time instead of the money that they ask for, and now they come up to me and say "Chocolate please?". I have to keep stocking up, they're very sweet. The flower boy who hangs out near Anu's walks me home if I am walking alone and it's getting dark, he must be about 11. He likes Mars bars best.

Today led paractice was great, it's the first time in a week that I could do full primary because of my shoulder. It's much better now thanks to Alex's massages. I had a bit of a giggle with C who was practising next to me though, in Gaba Pindasana I knocked her over with my knee as she was getting her arms though her lotus, and then she wacked my thigh by accident which sent me spinning. Saraswathi looked over and shook her head. Guruji was on form today, it was a really good practice and he didn't have a micro-sleep during the count either! I can touch my hands in Supta Kurmasana, so it has come a long way since I first arrived and was about 20cm off.

There's conference later today and I'm off to the pool this afternoon for a well deserved rest, well by Mysore standards I have been very very busy. I got bitten by a dog on the way home from practice, nothing serious, just a scratch thanks to my jumper but he broke the skin. I was pretty suprised though it grabbed my arm and started biting down and I just thought "Oh no...it's biting me", not a very useful reaction, I didn't bat it off or anything, I'm rubbish!

(The picture is of the coconut stand which is the meeting point for everyone.)

Tune of the Day: "Beer drinkers and Hellraisers" - Motorhead (suggested by Jeff)

Content & itchy

Practice was much less painful than before, but I stopped around marichyasana D, because I started feeling the pain more strongly and so be it. I can't do the finishing postures because they particularly aggravate the shoulder. It is getting better though, no worries. Tomorrow I might be able to go further. Funny how ultimately it is my body telling me how far I can go rather than my teachers.

This is going to be my last week in Mysore. I'm quite sad to go, and yes, it has crossed my mind that I could quit my job and run, however...life is not so. I have had a blast here and I have met some incredible people. I have this feeling that I should be trying harder with the practice seeing this is the last week , but it feels just good where it is. I'm quite sure now that to practice Ashtanga for any length of time you have to be kind, patient and grateful. I love my practice, and I have become happier in it from being here.

I went to talk to Guruji because I wanted to know what he thought about me practising at 4-5pm in the evening in the UK as opposed to 5-6am in Mysore. He said that was just fine, no problem, I just have to have "breakfast, small small lunch, dinner". It's not good to practice in the cold but we don't have much choice in many countries. I told him I had experienced very good practice here, and he laughed and said he was very happy.

C has a stomach thing and feels crap. I gave her some GSE which many people here swear by and watched attentively until her face changed into a grimace. It tastes so bad it makes you forget how ill you are. The nasties in the belly go "Who would do that to themselves, she's a crazy lady let's get out of here!". There have been a few belly upsets recently. I'm still hearing people with shala cough too. Today a lot of people have been saying they are tired, it's muggy, it feels like it needs to rain or that it's going to.

As always I am battling with the mosquitos and whatever else bites round here, my feet and ankles are completely covered with bites, it looks like I have a nasty rash. I used "Jungle Fever" repellant and it has melted the silver finish on my laptop where my palm rests. I've switched to "Green Ban" which has been donated by a kind soul! Let's hope it works. I've found some stuff called "Pain Balm" that's a bit like tiger balm except that it smells of citrus, it works really well on itchies.

I had an interesting time at the "medical store". I needed a plaster and seemed to confuse everyone, even the americans until I saw what I wanted and read out "Band aid". One interesting moment where it's me speaking the strange language for once, never use the word "plaster". S had an indian man get her attention point at the sky and then down again and laugh, and this went on for a bit. Later she discovered that a bird had crapped on her bum.

Tune of the Day: "As serious as your life" - Four Tet