Frustration, Elation, Acceptance

As the week 3 in Mysore draws to an end I sit and reflect on the week's practice and how it has left me feeling.

The start of the week the emotion was frustration, I seemed to move backwards even in postures that were familiar to me and that I have been doing for many years. Then on Monday Saraswathi 'gave' me bhujapidasana (even though I need help with the binding in Marichasana D) so I tried my best, but still fell back on my butt like a sack of spuds!!
The other frustration was not being able to bring my right leg into half lotus at all due to the screaming pain on the outside of the knee (which Dr.Google and numerous anatomical chats with fellow yogi's leads me to believe I have strained my LCL, lateral collateral ligament) so I am doing my own modifications for all postures that involve the half lotus.

Then, on Tuesday (which also happened to be my birthday) I felt clunky and unelegant and was feeling low. Despite this I did my best attempt at bhujapidasana...held with feet just off the floor for 5 breaths and lowered head down...on coming up and taking my vinyasa after Saraswathi booms over from 2 mats left 'bhujapidasana you did???' I said 'yes', and she gave me a huge smile and said 'is coming' and I smiled back, I had to then hide my face as the ego took over and I felt such feelings of elation and pride I was ecstatic, and reader, I don't mind admitting, tearful!!!

Sharath demonstrating Bhujapidasana in the Astanga Yoga Anusthana

The latter part of the week I have been much more reflective and have come to an acceptance of what will be will be, the phrase 'practice and all is coming' is quite over used, but there is good reason for this, Ashtanga is not an easy practice and even though I can do some of the poses later in the series my body is saying, slow down, keep at it, and with faith and perseverance it will come.

Sharath talked a lot in conference this week of the other well used phrase of Guruji's, Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory, this meaning not just asana but the first four limbs of yoga, practicing your yama, niyama, asana and pranayama.
Yes, read all about it, I'm still ploughing through the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and have read Ashtanga Yoga Anusthana but the real yoga comes from DOING and understanding it through practice.
Practice, Practice, Practice.

Accepting where you are today is a humbling experience, in fact Ashtanga Yoga in Mysore is a humbling experience, yet one I am learning from and growing in each day.
Being thankful for what we have is not easy in the Western world, but is so easy to understand here in India.

Thank you to this wonderful woman who has scared the living daylights out of me, yet made me feel like the richest person alive, and helped me to accept where I am, and keep the ego at bay.

Looking like a giant next to the small but non the less terrifying Saraswathi 

Indian Cookery Class

Just had my first Indian cooking class with a wonderful lady called Shaila who has been teaching yogi's to cook for the last 12 years. Not only a lesson in cookery, but a lesson in feminism, and how Shaila has used cooking to gain financial independence from her husband. Almost had me in tears or yelling out 'go girl' at one point.

So, I won't bore you with the details, in fact I will keep them to myself so that I may stun my friends and family with my new found culinary skills. I always cook dhals and vegetable 'curries' at home, but I have learnt my methods from a mixture of the Maddha Jaffery Curry Bible and the Internet.
This was authentic, South Indian home cooking at it's best.

Enough text, pictorial evidence is what you need here! Bare in mind most Indian families work on a two ring gas stove and don't have an oven so there is no excuse for not cooking these dishes even on a camping stove!

Dhal Curry - 

The 'masala' tray for the dhal: 

****Extra tip from Shaila when talking about the many benefits of my favourite spice, Turmeric - make a face pack from yogurt (curd ideally) turmeric and gram flour for dewy skin! ****

Pumpkin Palya (Palya is a vegetable side dish) 

Brinjal (Aubergine) Potato Masala 

Masala for the 'curry' 

Beetroot Salad (can't get enough of this) 

BREADS

Possibly the most interesting part of the class, we learnt how to make the dough, roll and what the difference is between ROTI, CHAPATI and PARATHA (basically the rolling, folding and oil additions) 

Paratha

Vegetable Biryani (a dish for special occasions) 

And finally, the holy grail....Masala Chai (I've given up coffee and alcohol, but become dependant on chai!!) 

THE WHOLE LOT! 

For anyone coming to Mysore, I can't recommend this class enough, she has all kinds of classes so next week I will be going back to learn how to make everyone's favourite breakfast - DOSAS!!!!

Look up Shaila on facebook (Shaila Amarnath) - her house is on the corner of 1st and 9th Main, just past Doctors Corner.

namaste!

An Indian Birthday

After practice it was time for a little snooze, and when I awoke I would declare my birthday had started!

I had got given some cards to bring with me so it was nice to open them and feel the love from back home.
I was then invited to breakfast at KesoTes (my new name for the house that Teresa and Kes live in - which is actually named KinoTim after Kino McGregor and her husband, Tim Manfield)
Shanta, their 'maid' made me a delicious omelette, and I made everyone a fruit salad, and I had some more gifts, a beautiful garland of jasmine for my hair from Laura and the Astanga Yoga Anusthana Book by Guruji/Sharath Jois, the hardback limited edition one!

We then were getting picked up by the wonderful Nayana, a friend of Kes+Tes who has been building a house on her farm in Sriangapatna, just outside Mysore, on the river. So we were going to have a picnic in the garden on the river of this incredible house.

Nayana also runs a free clinic in the village for the villagers who can't afford health care, so all the villagers greet us like we are royalty, they have so much respect for Nayana and her husband and it is so lovely to see these people all so happy when they see her.

Sitting in the garden is like being on a nature reserve, we spot numerous birds, cranes, kites, kingfishers, peacocks and a pelican! As well as two brave chameleons who come up close for a look at us. We also didn't spot but knew there was a snake somewhere on the grounds as the birds start to call out 'danger' to each other!

So, all in all a lovely day to chill and relax and chat with new friend and old

Some photos of the day (house and grounds)

zoom in for Kingfisher!

and another zoom required for this chameleon!

beautiful end to a beautiful day xx

Week Two Ashtanga practice

As week two closed I have moved on one posture to navasana, and in fact having a little go in Bujupindasana too (but not quite there)

Knee pain returned this week. Apparently this comes from a tightness in the hips and is probably not related to my old injury which caused some osteoporosis.
But by Friday it was agony to even bend my knee. So, of course I refer to my physio, Dr.Google and can find many articles on this. So, after reading some articles, in particular this one - link to article elephant journal I have decided to take heed to these words:

'Progression is not the attainment of the posture. It’s the deepening of your understanding of the process. It’s your relationship to the process. It’s your state of being and presence on the mat'

The words resonate with me, and this is something that I will try to remember, when I get stressed on the mat because of physical pain that is hindering my progression. I will remember that there is something that I need to understand and work through and to stay present on the mat. I never would have expected to complete the primary series whilst here, and in fact have got further than I imagined in two weeks and at one point on Friday I felt quite low and sad about this. I'm pretty sure that this is because of the ego, and that I want to be able to learn as much as I can whilst here. And also to continue my practice when I leave Mysore until I can complete the wholes series (luckily after Supta Konoasana I find it all physically achievable!)

So there we are, no great philosophical ramblings today, just an update on where I'm at, and a reminder from Sharath in conference that the asanas (postures) are only there so that the mind can be steadied and calmed to prepare you for pranayama and ultimately meditation. 

not my knee! picture taken also from Elephant Journal 

Into The City!

Yoga post coming tomorrow, for today it's more of a pictorial post, a kaleidoscope of colour as I ventured into the city to the Devajara Market and to eat in the 'famous' Malari Dosa cafe (bit too pancake-y for me)

I love a local market, this one had some spectacular photo opportunities so I will leave it to let the pictures do the talking.....

The Castor Oil Bath Experience

I think this treatment deserves a whole post to itself!

So I had read about the famous Castor Oil Baths in various blogs and guides to Mysore, so I was keen to have one and wanted it for the end of my first week of practice. This is an ancient Ayurvedic treatment.

The house that offers this right by the main shala has a calm reception area to wait and get a little nervous, as my friends had given a breakdown of what was about to happen, and it didn't sound like it was a pampering relaxation massage like the ones you get in spas at home...

The 'music' being piped through is this man chanting quite a slow wail, but it becomes strangely hypnotic quite quickly.My friend came out of the treatment room and her description was 'wierdly amazing' and I think that is quite the definition of the experience.

So, now into the dark treatment room, where two tiny ladies are there to great me, they ask me to take my clothes off, then place what can only be described as a loin cloth (really its a piece of string with some tissue paper tied to it) on me and ask me to sit down on a stool covered in a cloth. Then one of them starts on me....castor oil is dripped onto my scalp and she starts working it through my hair, then onto what we know in the UK as an Indian head massage, then down to the shoulders, back and front of arms. Whilst not a deep massage they are really working it into the skin and it feels relaxing.

Next, asked to hop onto the wooden table/bench, which s made of very old piece of sandalwood, they then place foam cushions under your arms and legs at the joints and a pillow under your head, then pour more, hot castor oil on you whilst the pair of them simultaneously start massaging it in, from the very tips of the toes to the neck they work in total unison to ensure that no spot is missed! It's amazing how they work in total sync with each other, and it seems to go on forever, up and down, toes are pulled and fingers twisted, then you move onto your front and the back of the body is covered in yet more oil, this goes on for a lifetime, it feels so luxurious and pampering I have never felt so attended to!

I get asked to turn over again, by this time the table is swimming in oil and this makes for a humorous attempt at turning over, the ladies have to hold on to me so I don't slip right off the table!
The front of the body gets another once over, and then they help me down and usher me into the steam box for a steam, followed by a slow dry off and rub down to make sure the excess oil comes off and not all over your clothes.

The ladies are so lovely, they give me big hugs when I leave like we are old friends (well they do know me more intimately than any of my friends by this point!!) and I am taken back to reception where I am given a rose tea and asked to sit and rest before walking (read floating) home.

Now, when I was told the price at booking of 1,700 rupees (about £17) I thought this was quite expensive for India, however I would have paid twice that for this experience like no other. It was an absolute bargain, all in all I was in there for almost 2 hours.

The treatment is meant to detoxify and purify and also relaxes any muscular tension. I'm sure it has done all that and more, and my skin feels so soft and supple.

If you are coming to Mysore, this is a must do - I can't say enough good things about it. Also it is recommended that you can do this to yourself to get the same benefits, however it must be said the luxury of having a four handed massage has to be experienced. My treatment was at Swastha, in Gokulum, however I have heard very good things about the Three Sisters too.

Try it! you won't be disappointed!

End of Week 1

I can hardly believe a whole week has flown by so quickly!

So after my hard first day, day 2 was even harder, as you would expect the muscles started to complain, especially after being hit with a 4.30 start, which is really 4.15 as 'shala time' is 15 minutes early.

There are a few aspects of this unearthly hour I really love, it's very quite, calm and cooler. The shala has a lovely calm energy about it, all you can hear is the ocean like sound of the ujayi breath.
Saraswathi comes in a little after us and we have the opening prayer with her, which I am hoping to learn by next week, although it is becoming familiar already.

As for practice, well apart from wishing the series didn't have so many bleepin' vinyasas (read chattaranga specifically) I am really enjoying it. I am moving further and deeper and am happy to have assists from Saraswathi and her assistants in Marichyasana B, C and even an attempt at D.

I'm wondering if both belly and boobs* are hindering the elusive twist in D, and I also do not enjoy the twist in twisted extended side angle (Parivrta Parsvakonasana) it feels like I can't breath calmly and steadily.

*both of mine, whilst a dress size 10, are considered 'large' in Ashtanga terms....but more on this another day.

A few points of note from practice this week - I'm trying to stay focused and leave ego out of the shala, I think I am doing quite well, I can relate this feeling to being a beginner surfer and seeing all the people 'out the back' catching and ripping every wave. Everyone has to start somewhere. Sometime in the line up, especially when I was in Indonesia, or even Putsborough, I felt like I didn't belong and I was getting in the way.
Well I feel a little like this, but then I 'have a word with myself' and think, who cares? everyone is probably so hung up in their own insecurities to worry I am not in the right place and I am only here doing doing this to deepen my practice, learn at the source from one of the Guru's and be able to use the experience to enhance my teaching.  (not to prove anything to anyone)

Today is a rest day, and my body is ready for that rest. We have conference in a short while with Sharath, so this will be the first day I see him 'in the flesh' !!! I am really looking forward to this experience.
Tomorrow is lead class so that will be another new experience and then Monday back to 4.30am practice.

So many things to love about Ashtanga, specifically Mysore style, but I will have to post this another time, including my thoughts on chanting, so for now I will leave you with a picture of the sunsetting last night as I haven't had the time or inclination to take any yoga selfies yet!!!