Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The black cat is dead!

This morning was not easy to wake up. I was still tired and my body was achy… Still crawled out of bed and then I did some hip openers because I am having knee pain… It was my right knee when I arrived and as I expected the right knee pain went away after few weeks practicing in the shala but then my left knee began aching… It is different kind of pain than the right knee had. For the right, the pain was at the back of the knee, with the left, pain is more inside of the knee… so I am just watching it, taking care of it… So if I do just basic hip openers by the wall, it helps a bit.

But lets come back to the body after Acroyoga. I began thinking that I am not cut for acroyoga. Maybe this is not right… it was just my first time yesterday… well, yesterday, I could feel my legs getting achy… this morning, my upper arms, my right wrist, my buttocks, my legs were all achy and I Was tired so the practice was not easy… I did not have that vibrancy I had yesterday morning… I guess taking this course was not the best decision in my last week at the shala. Well, I was not expecting such dynamic class, since it said Mysore massage and acroyoga etc… but it is what it is… Going back to practice, after I did my last backbend on the floor, Sharat came and smiled and did a gestures with his hands which I interpreted as he was pleased with my Kapotanasana… then he waited me to finish my drop backs with which I got a bit nervous because he was in front of me waiting… then the holding the ankles. He is very smooth with that, and today I could balance on my own after he got me there…

So, to go back to acroyoga or not? Well, I went back today… This time, I paired up with Donna… she was having difficulty working with Chris as I was having difficulty working with Scott… well, just being able to hold up men is much more difficult because of strength and weight differences. I can say it was better with Donna but still, I feel like I am the weakest link. I cannot hold her up much long. But I went through another day.

By the way, this afternoon, I stopped by the shala to tell Sharat that this Friday will be my last day. He said "ohh okey" and I thanked him and told him that I want to come back when he is teaching again (the rumors of him taking a break etc.). I asked whether to check on his web site and he said yes and he asked whether I know his website or not and then he went inside to give me his card. His card is very nice, full of the wild life photos he has taken...

What else there is? Ohhh you mean the title? That is the black cat. You remember the black cat which was waking up in the middle of the night and pissing on my window? He is dead because someone poisoned him. My sister called few minutes ago in tears. She said that she found him in her garden dead with foams in his mouth which means someone poisoned him. My sister had been feeding her along with other street cats and as you all know, he liked to hang out in her garden so he came back to the garden to die because it was like his home. I wish that he is peaceful wherever he is now...

Monday, November 10, 2008

Acroyoga

Today, I started Mysore massage-Acroyoga Level I course, which is taught by Wane from Miami. It is Monday through Friday that means I will miss Friday class because I am leaving in the morning for Goa (both ☺ and ☹ )… Therefore, I am having a glimpse of something new: acroyoga-partner yoga… I am partners with Scott, I think we are having quite fun together. Today, after doing backpack, fire man and cave man, which were pretty cool way of stretching each other and also adjusting in down dog while preparing to cave man, we learned flying. I can fly well since Scott is able to get me up in the air but the challenge was me getting Scott up in the air. First, it felt like impossible but then I figured out that it was all about balancing properly. T Then I could get him up in the air and then also could drop him (ooppss!). Well, luckily he was not hurt. We tried again and again… It helps built strength when you are helping the other fly and then if you are the one up, it is about using your muscles and bandhas properly to balance up there and getting into different postures and also lots of fun! At the end of all this, we gave each other savasana massage; that was pretty nice and needed!

This morning, practice was good as well. Now I am doing up till Kapotasana and then backbends feel great!

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Moving along nicely…

Yesterday the shala was closed, so again we practiced at the studio above where Colette stays… She and her housemates were nice to invite us again… The space where you practice makes such a big difference and also practicing with others…
After practice, I and Tatyana went to Tina’s for breakfast… Afterwards, I walked to the lake and around the lake and back with Terry… On the way, we stopped by Austrian cafĂ© and had lunch… it was nice to have more of a Western food… Well, in Goa, the food will be great :)

This morning, practice was fine. I did up till Ustrasana since that was my homework for Wednesday. Then did my backbends and got up for drop backs. At that moment, I heard Sharat asking “what did you do?” so I looked over to see if he was talking to me and yes he was. I said Ustrasana , and then he said do Laghu Vajrasana , as I did I heard him say “himm good” and so he said Monday Kapotasana ”. I am happy about this! I really wanted to get to Kapotasana before I leave Mysore; I did not expect this to happen but life is full of surprises!

Today, I sent a package to home through Rashinkars. I do not want to travel heavy… I did some shopping here… bags from Lokesh, some pillow cases, then couple of books… (yes I read the “Health, Healing, and Beyond Yoga and the Living Tradition of Krishnamacharya” book so it is also sailing…) and then for my mom, I got some Ayurvedic soaps she likes… It was not much stuff ; I guess, more weight you send, less you pay but still it was not bad… Rashinkars is a good place to send things, but they do not do only books. If you are sending lots of books, it is better to send them separately from the post office; the book rate is very cheap!

Monday, November 03, 2008

Teachers

Yesterday, at the conference, Sharat talked about the Guru. Finding our guru and surrendering to our guru, to our teacher… He said no one could tell you that they are your Guru, you have to feel it and when you find your Guru you will know it, you will feel it inside. He said that when we talk to our Guru, we feel the knowledge they have about yoga and then we decide that they are our Guru. While I was listening to him, I thought he was describing the way I feel about Rolf. Before I met Rolf, as I was preparing for my trip to Goa last year, I told my mom that I feel something very beautiful will happen in Goa… and yes it happened, there I found my teacher. As Sharat described yesterday, I felt it inside, in my heart that Rolf was my teacher, my Guru. Of course, I feel devotion and respect to Guruji and every time, every morning I remember how grateful I feel that Guruji has brought us this practice. I feel grateful that he shared his knowledge with Westerners who became teachers to us. When it comes to Sharat, he is very perceptive, he is very humble and he is fair and so I regard him as my teacher as well. However, to be honest, that feeling he was talking about, I feel it for Rolf. Rolf touched my heart with the love he has for every single person, with his caring, loving approach to every student. I guess it is a moment that we get it from someone, suddenly we find ourselves in bliss in the presence of this one person and they become our Guru…
On the other hand, I also feel great devotion for Osho. I regard him as the master. I have been to Pune twice and there were moments that I could not hold my tears during the evening meetings when I see him in the big screen, listening to one of his discourses. Sometimes, he would speak directly to me, to my sadness, to my confusion. The last night before I left Pune, he was talking about being close to the master does not mean being physically close. So many are physically close but they do not get it and some get very close but they get scared and step back… From Osho, I had the confirmation of having the right to be in this world… It might sound strange to some people; you might ask “why did you need such a confirmation?” Well, I did need it for some reason… I felt loved, unconditionally loved by Osho even tough he is not in his body, never born, never died… I felt that I am okay as the way I am… and he taught me to express myself. I love Osho meditations, I love reading and listening to his discourses. Some of the Osho therapy groups can take one really deep inside and show the bliss in this world…
Putting all these together… I can say that Rolf is my teacher, my Guru who is alive, who is an example of great dedication to practice and not only that but he is also the person who has that unconditional love for everyone which I felt from Osho the first time… Sometimes, I get confused, I feel thorn… I love my practice, I enjoy it and cherish it very much. But I also love to explore more with different methods Osho used… I know I do not need to be thorn… I can bring more and less as I need. I guess the feeling of being thorn comes because I listen too much of other people when I should know I can do as I feel, I do not need to give u pone for the other, I know what is good for me and I just need to tune in…

Enough of my feelings regarding teachers, Gurus, Masters…
Today’s practice was fine. I guess I could be more vibrant but I was not. However, at the end of my practice, after I did my backbends and backdrops, Sharat came to help with grabbing the ankles and he asked what did you do (meaning what I did last) I said “ Bhekasana .” he said “Only that?” now do Dhanurasana and Parshva Dhanurasana for these two days” so I went down to the floor and did those two. Then I did back bends again and one more backdrop which became super easy after so many… Sharat came again and he said Wednesday you do Ustrasana at home. (Wednesday shala is closed for some reason… so we are all practicing at home… ) I said “Homework” Then he helped me with grabbing the ankles and as I came up he was chuckling again… I do not know why but I guess it cannot be bad.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Cooking class, walking around...

Friday, we did a cooking class with Tina. She taught how to make Chole and Aloo Gobi. Tina is a great teacher! In the beginning, she goes through the spice box, tells us the use and benefits of the each spice in the box and then also which oils to cook with etc… She cooks northern Indian food since she is from Bengal. I did one of her cooking classes during my first time here in Mysore; then she taught how to make palak paneer and vegetable kurma and I made the palak paneer at home afterwards with making the paneer and all as she taught… Well, this time also, she told us the benefits of fenugreek seeds and leafs with digestive properties, also the ginger with its digestive and decongestant properties, and of course turmeric and its internal and external healing properties… Then she continued with cooking the two dishes. At the end, she also showed us how to make roti dough and how to bake it over the skillet. Of course, after all this, we sat down for a feast!!!

Friday night, there was also a Halloween party at some yoga students’ house. We dropped by for a bit. They had a really nice house; the party was at their terrace…

Saturday was just very random. I had to run to Anu’s in the morning to do internetting. Then I went back home and stepped out again to buy minutes for my cell phone and I came across to Jonathan on the way. He was going by Green Leaf to take care some things, so I joined him. After he took care of his business, we had coffee at Coffee Day and then he wanted to go to Fab India. We went to Fab India, just looked around, did not buy anything and from there, we walked to the Palace… Actually, we were trying to find this restaurant we heard from someone, Om Shanti, a thali restaurant. We thought we could walk there but as we arrived to the Palace and after asking few people, we decided it was worth taking a rickshaw. We arrived to the restaurant but it was crazy crowded because tour buses kept bringing Indian tourists to the place. On top of every table, another family was waiting so the eating one would finish and they could sit. After 10 minutes, I said this is insane I am not going to stand over anyone who is eating and not let them enjoy it and I am not going to eat when some other people standing over us waiting for us to finish eating… Luckily, the man at the cashier was nice enough to reimburse us for the thali tickets I bought. After this, we walked around, not really knowing where we were and then took another rickshaw to go to the new Dasprakash hotel. There, we had a nice thali and then we walked back to Gokulam!

This morning’s led class was fine. For some reason, waking up for 4:30 AM led class on Friday mornings is really difficult while I wake up by myself on Sunday mornings at the same time for the led class. I wander if it is because after Friday morning, my body expects to wake up at that time again on Sunday and then it forgets during the whole week until Friday or just the rest day on Saturday makes it easy to wake up… One thing tough, my left knee is bothering me. I am not sure what is going on with it… My right knee, which was bothering me when I arrived here is doing pretty well, and now the left one is poking me… I will just watch and see and maybe do some hip openers in the mornings before the practice..

Today, after breakfast we went to the Organic market. I got some green salad that I cannot wait to eat for lunch! It has been a month since I had salad!!!