too wordy?

i got a heads up on blogging today, apparently you can add images, tip courtesy of Ben Earl...who's also in Mysore practising at the Shala, back left in the shot above

5am lead class today, last for the week and 6th in a row and i felt a bit stronger...feels like it's been a big week. in between heaps of walking before my first practise and battling stomach ailments during the week to get to the mat, today felt good and strong...tho i'm gonna have to synch my time with the Shala clock, I think it's a bit faster than my phone - i keep turning up just in time by the Shala clock, when I feel like i have plenty of time...

Saraswati said something at the end of practise about Guruji going to the hospital as some kind of emergency.

Natalie, Lee and I were early to Alia's for breakfast, with my stomach holding up to a good, strong dose of coffee, so things must be close to right down there. Lee heard about the Acidopholous that Leah gave me, so he's taken some to administer...against the force of gravity, if you know what I mean. Lee's got loads of information...and is a willing subject for the experiments too.

I then took to my flat with some makeshift cleaning equipment...and now it feels a little more like home...i reckon the place had been empty for a least a month and the ants were starting to get around like they owned the place.

The pic was taken at lunch...Ben, Natalie, Robbie, me and Lee - left to right, back to front...we talked about ochre, the Burning Man festival, the Primal Diet...and variants - like Ben's roadkill diet...i didn't really get all the details, but there's definitely roadkill involved, it has to be fresh and the weather has to be cold...and it's taken raw.

The food at the restaurant was probably the best I've had so far - so fresh and light, we were eating in the room next to the kitchen, which you can see directly in to. The simple desert of chapati, jaggery and yoghurt was awesome for the freshness of the ingredients.

Turns out Lee and I will both be turning 36 while we're in Mysore - me in about 10 days, Lee in June...I'll be campaigning for a midway party between the 2 dates, sort of a midsummer's 36th celebration...we've got plenty of time on our hands to plan...and a couple of kickin pads for a party

Ben and Robbie liked it so much, they're back there, about now, for dinner...

as for me, I'm enjoying a relaxing Friday evening after a big week of practise, my first in Mysore...and learning new things, like adding photos to my blog :)

I hope the pic comes up - there's just a load of html on the top of my blog...here goes!!!

dare i say it???...

but i think i'm over the worst of the belly ailment, at least for the time being. i'm being ultra vigilant from now on and have had brekky at Alia's the past 2 days...a cafe/ guesthouse with a very clean kitchen and mostly a western menu...

no nasty surprises before practise this morning, so i was feeling a little stronger, but a little less flexy than all this week. I'd slept heaps so that might've contributed? Glad to have had 5 practises in a row, with tomorrow = Friday being a lead class. The Badger cream worked wonders, though it wasn't fully worked into my muscles, or that's just the way it is, coz I was badger slippery during my practise. Nice for Garbha Pindasana, but not so good for Marichyasana C or D, or Kurmasana...

I finished about the same time as Lee and Natalie. Lee's a Brit, who's been around a lot, Natalie's an American girl...and they live in the Baha, in Mexico. Lee's an ultra chatty bloke (or maybe I'm unusually unchatty?). Sounds like a pretty good life in Baha, lots of sunshine and warm weather, and surf. They're right into basic whole, raw foods. They gave me a bit of a rundown on the Primal Diet...sounds a bit extreme for me, but there are elements that I might take on board.

I checked out their place, one street further back from the Shala from mine. It's in a huge 3 level house/ apartment block. They're paying 15k Rs, like me, but they're moving up to the top flat with a huge balcony and really nice apartment. They're renting through Shiva as well, I think they talked a better deal than me.

We then went along to Alia's for a mid morning breakfast. I had a small chai yesterday, which was pretty large, so I ordered the large, which is huge, and really tasty...no coffee, which I might continue for a bit. At the same table was Hanuman, a young German guy, who'd lived around a lot. Hanuman's a Hindu, he was there with a German girl, who was doing the same yoga teacher training course nearby...then Lars showed up, who I met for the first time. Lars is practising at the Shala as well. A girl was with him, I didn't get her name...and Carol we'd arranged to meet there as well.

Lee had an interesting story about being arrested in Thailand for burning down a house, by accident...we then talked a bit about philosophy and other stuff. Lee and Natalie seem to be open to any idea, with a healthy goal in mind. Lee was DJ'ing for 10 years and had somehow reached a point where that was enough. I get the idea that he was getting into a bit of yoga, which didn't go along with the DJ lifestyle and he went the way of yoga.

I haven't yet met Alia, but Bruno's her partner, I think, who serves tables and keeps everything organised...including leaving my sunnies out on the table, which I'd left the day before and was grateful to pick up again today. He remembered my name, which is always a nice touch....something I appreciate moreso because I suck at it!

We were at breakfast til midday, which is such a nice way to spend a good chunk of the day.

I did some washing, then I'd arranged for Manju to pick me up in his rickshaw...I decided i needed some supplies...so, off to Loyal World, of course. A supermarket within about a 5 minute drive of the Shala. There's ultra tight security at Loyal World, I'm not exactly sure why. There were about 4 security guards there...it's arranged like a western supermarket and it was more of a recon effort for me, to see what I could get there. I picked up some easy noodle meals and some tea...tomorrow i think i might head back for something to discourage the overzealous ants that have taken up residence, or at least spend a lot of time, at my unit.

Tomorrow, a lead practise at 5

Mysore belly...

...after having been confident that the belly was operating nicely again...a rude shock this morning before practise...i was surprised to make it through a practise, i felt pretty bombed. Just topping up now with bread and honey, carbs and sugar, to see if that'll settle things down...

I'm about to reach for the Badger...muscle balm that is, a kind gift from Lainie on my last practise at North Sydney Yoga.

Saraswati surprised me, after I'd done my drop backs, she didn't see me do them...then asked whether i'd done them...i said..."Yes" and have even given Saraswati a couple of my attempts at Indian head wobbles...so Saraswati says - intermediate next week, start on Pasasana...so, I guess one of the important criteria for whether they start you on second is, if you drop back by yourself. I've been pretty flexy all week, despite the lack of sleep and tummy troubles, so into Marichyasana C and D ok, as well as Supta Kurmasana. So, second series next week it is.

A really nice coconut session followed, I was joined by Carol, then an American girl, Hawaiian I think, then Jessica came out after her practise and we had a nice catchup, I found out her 2 sons names - Anjanai and Narayan..I think that's right. They had Anjanai in Adelaide, when I was there. Arnet came along as well, he's the Mexican guy, who's name escaped me yesterday. Turns out he also works casually...very casually at the local western eatery.

I showed Carol my place as I was going over to where she was staying - at Chez Mr Joseph's place, to get the phone number of an Ayurvedic doctor - Dr Kumar. Mr Joseph has a really nice setup and makes for a nice, easy entry into Mysore, helping out with everything from Bangalore airport pickups, to the practicalities of shopping and getting around Mysore. I'd like to meet him, sounds like an interesting, nice guy.

The rest of the day I descended with my tummy bug, which is where I am now. I finished off "new moon", the second Stephanie Meyer book about the teenage vampires...each of the first 2 took me two days...now it's on to another gift from Lisa and David Rippon, a book by Rohinton Mistry, called a Fine Balance...looks to be some heavier reading in that :)

2 coconuts...2 adjustments

i'm now feeling more like a resident of Mysore, after checking out of the Green Hotel today. Though Gokulam seems to be one of the more upmarket suburbs in Mysore. I had about my best night's sleep in India last night in the new place, went along to practise and was able to get up at 5 and be there in heaps of time...I finished practise around the same time as Andrew, a guy who was in Adelaide when I started practising over there. He and his wife Jessica left Adelaide 6 months after I did, heading with their young son over to Encinatas in California. They've been living in Mysore for over a year, but Andrew reckons they'll head back soon, preferring Sharath to practise with, and, since Sharath's not back teaching at the Shala til January...they're reconsidering their plans. Which is making me reconsider my plans. Reckon I might head up to Goa for a few weeks, rather than spend the full 3 months in Mysore...we'll see about that one

We had a couple of coconuts out front of the Shala and a bit of a chat. A Mexican guy - who's name escapes me, joined us. We then went round the corner for a chai.

I had arranged with a rickshaw driver - Manju, to pick me up at my place at 8...there he was. He's a nice bloke, I think I'm starting to pick the genuine folks out from the money makers. So we took off to the Green Hotel, where I had my last complementary breakfast, then headed back to my room to do some reading and relax til the 12 check out time.

Manju's brother picked me up just after 12, back to my place for my first try at washing...the washing machine did everything...just not as automatic as I'm used to...and the water was literally grey...

I felt like a bit of a look around, so, after a couple of ORS - oral rehydration solution - premixed stuff that's a must at this time of the year I reckon, after a really sweaty practise at least...i got a rickshaw into the city, looking for a Vodafone store to charge my phone. I looked on the street that had the most Western stores...and i was charged, to the tune of Rs 201..

Rs50 for a kilo of small, tasty mangoes (about $1.50)

Then some samosas and tea in a western style cafe...i like the indian experience, but after being a bit down on energy after the tummy probs, and something Andrew said about being careful where you eat, i decided to go western...

now, one of my biggest tips for india - make sure you have heaps and heaps and heaps...of 10 Rs notes. When using an ATM, it usually dispenses 1000s and 500s...virtually useless for rickshaws, coconuts, chai. as soon as is practically possible, get your hands on the tenners or 50s

2 adjustments - putting my legs behind head in supta kurmasana, and the strong baddha konasana...and the drop back where the aim is to eventually grab your ankles..

rightyo, back to some reading...and another mango :)

First adjustment, first coconut

I got to the Shala just after 5, surprising, since there was about a 10 minute wait out front of the Green Hotel for a
rickshaw...then the one that came along had to head a bit further into the city, to drop off his mate, then wind out
to Gokulam. The trick of my rickshaw driver of the day before - double charging for a "night time" fare, I think was just that - a trick..live and learn...

I wasn't feeling too flash - a bit washed out from the stomach probs, which had seemed to subside, which turned out not
to be true, as I was to find out round lunch time. Not to go into too much detail, but that was the pattern yesterday as well.
Leah reckoned if it is the common, run of the mill type ailment it would probably subside after 2-3 days...and, not a bad thing
to get when first in a new country as the body adapts.

I was a bit earlier than the 530 self practise time that Saraswati had given me, but the shala was only about 3/5 full,
so, I went straight in, backpack into the changing room, then out to my spot from the day before, at the back, in the middle
...I was thinking about warming up, but the weather kind of takes care of that all of the time.

I'm quickly appreciating the structure of the practise here in Mysore. With a strong lead practise each Friday and Sunday,
the pace of the practise is set, getting you focussed on a good practise pace...this then spills over into your self practises,
we'll see.

I recognised Andrew and Jess, from when I started first practising Ashtanga with Simi, in Adelaide. I didn't get to say hello
though, I hope they're around for a while, would be nice to get some good catch ups with them.

Saraswati pretty much left me alone, which I think is the pattern for the first little while that you start at the Shala...or
with any teacher i suppose. I got my first adjustment in Baddha Konasana, very strong with one hand on my left thigh, a foot
on my right and pushing me forward with the other hand.

I was into shoulder stand when Saraswati told me we'd do drop backs together tomorrow.

I was out into the cool morning, with a couple of yogis milling and over to the coconut guy for a Rs 10 cocunut, sliced
open at the top for a refreshing start to the day.

I went over to my new abode, to drop off some clothes, remembering Shiva's warning about getting too friendly with anyone
on the street. Even though Gokulam seems to be an exceptionally affluent suburb, probably even by Western standards,
there are still bars on the windows and the doors to outside tend to be double dead locked

The place is real nice, heaps more room than I need, hoping that I'll happen upon someone needing accommodation and share,
maybe. I'm looking forward to settling my way into the place, but it had instant appeal when I checked it out for the first time
last Friday, which is a good sign...

I reckon I'll move up further into the room tomorrow...and be able to have a 5am get up, as I'll stay in the new place
tonight and check out from the Green Hotel tomorrow.

The Green Hotel's a good entry into India i think. It's comfortable and I feel secure here..yet it's on a main road, so
you can hear the honking of the traffic working itself along Vinoba Road...it's not ruled by the customer service models
of the large hotel chains, you kind of feel like things will get done, at a leisurely pace - for example, the wireless internet
connection's been down for a couple of days...asking the guys at the front desk, you'll get a vague assurance that it'll be
available....some time soon...though soon is as long as the proverbial piece of string

First practise

I hadn't slept well my 2 nights at the Green Hotel - the 2 preceding my first practise at the Shala. At about 3am I was in
2 minds whether I could drag myself along. I was a bit lame after a lot of walking the day before and having not slept well
I wasn't feeling as enthusiastic as I would liked to for my first practise there. I was up at 4.15 though, got myself ready,
remembering everything to take except my practise towel, which made for a slippery practise.

I was out at the front gate by 4.30, the time I thought I'd agreed for Mane to pick me up in his rickshaw. After waiting until
a bit after 4.30 and with an eager rickshaw driver just pulled up, I decided to jump in and head over to Gokulam. After asking the
rickshaw guy to put the meter on, to which he replied "no problem", we took off, taking the first left off Vinoba road with the
driver trying to explain to me what the street names are...with 0 success. We asked an older bloke walking through the streets,
for directions. He got us nearly there...then some asian yoga students within about 50 metres of the school...

The driver then charged me the nightly fare - double the daytime fare...a fact which I'm quite keen to verify. I wasn't too
happy, but wasn't keen to get into an argument about it, at 4.45 am, out front of the shala.

I walked in and it was mostly full. New to the space, except for the Friday, when I'd briefly been in to register and from photos
I'd seen on the web. It was less than whisper quiet as I walked around the back to the men's changing room, near the front of the room
on the left, the entrance to the space is on the right, as you're looking towards the front of the room.

I hid my money belt, wallet, hotel key under my long sleeved shirt, unrolled my mat and went out to find a space...at the very back,
pretty much in the middle. I strethed out a bit, then sat cross legged to wait. The silence was profound, a sign up to enforce the
quiet. There was a moment when I connected with the silence, then lost it again quickly, to the usual torrent of thinking.
...until 5.15, when Saraswati came from the office area...to stand at the front of the class. There was a nice strong energy
in the room just before the opening mantra, for which I wasn't as vocal as I usually am, I was trying to listen carefully
to the meter and tone of Saraswati in her recital.

Then we were into the lead practise - which is the norm for Fridays and Sundays at the moment. Four Surya Namaskara A's, 3 B's...
The full array of standing postures...The guy next to me was struggling a bit, so Saraswati asked him to stop at Parvritta
Padatonasana. When Saswati called out, I thought she was calling me, something I'd prepared myself for...and which the
registration form completed at the Shala made a condition of practising there.

On with the practise though...my body was quite open and soft, which was a surprise. But, that's often an experience I've had
after a few days off practising. I didn't push too hard, with this in mind. There were only a couple of small variations in the sequence,
2 paschimattonasana's, instead of 3 or 4...10 breaths bending forward in baddha padmasana...and 10 VERY long breaths in
uth pluthi (sp?). A very short rest at the end, then out to the milling yogis round the coconut man. Carol, from New Zealand was there
chatting with Robby, I think his name is, an older guy from the States. I didn't partake a coconut, or hang round for long.
Carol and I walked up to the rickshaw stop. Guruji was at the shala, though not well enough to get up at all, or even sit up,
for that matter...

A rickshaw back to the Green Hotel, shower and lie down...then breakfast of a couple of coffees, then joined by Leah and
some lime juice, coconut chutney and those dal and rice, ground, fermented steamed things, that I can't quite think of
the name of...back to the room for a prelunch lie down and read a bit of Twilight...my stomach didn't agree with something along the way...
so, i read, rested and kept pretty close to the toilet for the most of the day...

apart from a rickshaw ride out to Gokulam, to see Shiva and organise access to my longer term accommodation. The rickshaw driver helpfully
mentioning the illumination of Mysore palace on Sundays, to the tune of 97,000 bulbs...not exactly Earth Hour, but something I might check out
a few times while I'm here, seems like a real event in the city and a nice regular thing to get everyone together.

With Leah being within a month of being a MD doctor, she gave me some top advice, and some good bacteria tablets before we headed over
for dinner...then an early night before my first self practise

Mysore city trek

I met Leah, a graduate doctor, about to go into an internship in Toucson, Arizona. Leah was also staying at the Green Hotel. Leah's friendly, active, into a bit
of yoga, pretty liberal...so we've had some nice conversations about stuff and we went exploring on Saturday, April 11th. Taking
off down Vinobi Road, the main road out of town in one direction, that the Green Hotel's located on. I was thinking at some stage,
maybe even first up, we'd take a rickshaw...but that didn't end up happening, even after about 15km of walking round the city...

We took off into one of the suburbs at the sight of a temple under construction in an open field. Along the way walking past
some local Mysoreans going about their chores, rituals and starting out in the day. We got to the temple to find a few workers
hard at it and a couple of older guys hanging out the front...who encouraged us to take a look inside the nearly finished
marble temple, about the size of a tennis court or thereabouts.The opening is due on May 4th, I think...

From there we wandered the backstreets, coming across heaps of cows with implicit right of way, cruising through a nice fenced
garden, then heading towards the city centre with no real plan in mind. Along the way I overpaid for an amazing fresh mango and
Leah got a portion of Jack Fruit, which I likened to dry banana, with a different texture. It's a huge fruit, little bigger than
the watermelons I'm used to, full of flesh covering seeds.

More meandering saw us link back up to Vinoba Road, heading into the city. The pattern of shops would repeat throughout the
city centre, as they do in a lot of cities I guess. We ended up at the main markets, organised mayhem. We stopped for a while
at a perfume and oil store, the young, confident guy is a real good seller, keeping us engaged and interested, helping to remember
the name of the store as IRS, like the American Tax Agency...working out how much money we could spend, providing samples of the
scents...and finally giving us some incense sticks. All this will probably see me back there, because, in addition, he gave us some
great tips about local scams - come and see the incense factory, the beedie (cigarette) factory etc.

After negotiating our way out of the market, we were back on a main road and the city had picked up a couple of notches in pace.
Being a Saturday it was probably an especially busy day...we had any number of beggars, one of whom was on our case as we approached
a silk store. It looked like a nice store, so we stepped inside and evaded our pursuer. These guys were also slick in sales,
but, it's a state run shop, so the prices are fixed, but some of the normally attendant sales pressure isn't there. Upstairs to
look at various colours and patterns of silks and pashminas, ranging in price for Rs 250 to Rs 1550 for some of the nice pashminas.
I ended up getting a nice, pale green pashmina for my mum, Leah ended up with a range of pieces as gifts...though Leah's ATM
card wouldn't work in the store...a couple of the local ones didn't work either, so, we promised to come back when we found some cash.

I was in the market for a hat of some kind, the day was typically hot and I thought that I'd end up fried...I certainly would have
if I'd spent the same amount of time in the sun in Australia. We found an ATM, but, since it was just after midday, Leah pulled out
some Lonely Planet pages and we decided on a nearby restaurant...me being happy that she was happy to lead the way - I had no
idea which way to go. After a bit of toing and froing we found the restaurant, which turned out to be a first floor oasis after the
dodging of traffic, constant begging attention and general assault of the senses.

Recharged we hit the streets, back to the silk store for Leah's transaction, then off...to check out the lake...Karanji lake,
I think...or, as the shopkeeper told me Karanji Keddeh. That was a feat of patience, as the lake was off Leah's map, but in the
mean time we passed Mysore Zoo, the Palace on one side, a municipal hall of some sort...backtracked a couple of times, asked for
directions a few times...and we were finally there...not after passing a bus stop with a clock nailed to a tree, to help the commuters
with the likely bus traffic.

The lake was in some way linked with the zoo, there were peacocks, ducks, geese and the tallest birds in India...? in an enclosure.
The lake itself was another great sanctuary with huge trees, grass, sprinklers and the lake itself, to provide some welcome cool
after the hot city streets. We sat down for ice cream by the edge of the lake for a bit, posing for a photo with some locals...
then circumnavigating the lake, walking past young couple on the seats dotted along the edge of the lake...over to a butterfly garden...
and back again.

Now, I was hoping for a rickshaw ride home...but we kind of set out and never really stopped to get one. Some drinks from
a streetside vendor kept our pep up, along the 7 or so km walk back to the Green Hotel, just in time for a well earned shower
and dinner...and bed, ahead of a 4.15am get up for my first practise at the Shala...