Rumspringa

The Amish have this amazing tradition called, "Rumspringa". Basically, it is a time in which a young person gets to experience life outside the Amish community to decide if they really want to become Amish. I had never heard of this before, but SO and I rented a movie on it from netflix and were fascinated. What particularly intrigued me was that these kids could go completely wild, and there was absolutely no judgement at all.

In some ways, I feel like I've had my own Rumspringa here in Mysore. I mean, I'm young and getting into some really intense stuff. It feels good to have a bit of balance and even craziness once in a while. It feels good to have absolutely nothing on your to-do list. At the same time its like A Clockwork Orange (original book version), you go crazy and then one day you wake up and think, "yep, what's next?"

That said, I didn't go out last night, I cancelled our roof party, and I woke up early this morning to host a pranayama session with a couple of friend's on the roof. Sometimes you have to see what the grass is like on the other side to remind yourself why you planted the grass on your side of the fence.

Today I'm staring out the window at Rishi's Internet, hoping for a pool day, but seeing only clouds. This could possibly be day 2 of absolutely soaked just washed clothing. I'm off to the coconut stand to meet up with a few others who are hoping for a little dip and some rays.

Tomorrow its back to the led class. They've combined the 2 primary classes so that now, everyone will be slaughtering each other at 4:30 in the morning for the 5 o'clock class. at 6:15 there will be a led 2nd series. Tuesday is a moonday, and I'm not sure if that means we'll have mysore or led on Monday or Wednesday, but I hope it will be mysore. Friday's led class was painful. No electricity in my house. Getting ready in the dark at 4am. No pre-practice hot shower. Of course, there are generators at the Shala. And then, half-awake, I had the pleasure of boarding that morning's Pattabhi Express. I didn't even get a coconut after. I went home, slept, and got asked why I was so nasty all day.

Week 3 and 1/2: Getting Settled

I got an apartment! I really like the place. It is maybe a 5 minute walk from the Shala, as well as a lot of different groups of friends. It is in a big, well run building with a reputable landlord. It is all the way on the roof! The apartment is actually a (literal) one room studio with small kitchen area and bathroom (western). Apparently there is hot water on demand, and did I mention that it is on the roof with a killer view? A huge roof, mind you. I've got the place until September 14th, and after that who knows? I'm glad I found a place. I'm sure Alex is as well. I think I'll go buy her some chocolate.

Lunch at Rishi's again today. I love eating here. Rajini (the owner) cooks meals out of her house. So you just walk in and tell her you're hungry and she gives you what she thinks you should eat. It feels a lot like visiting a grandma. They always know best. But she also keeps track of my eating habits. Like, "you barely finished your food yesterday, I won't give too much spicy today. Better the cold salad and lots of chapatis." She also has a small Internet area with 4 computers. Its a bit less expensive here than Anu's.

Anu
Lunch/dinner buffet 100rs
Internet 20 rs/hour
phone 5 rs/minute

Rishi
Lunch/dinner (family style) 70 rs
Internet 15 rs/hour
phone 4 rs/minute

It doesn't seem like a lot, but it can be easy to spend a lot of money around here buying lots of little things all day long.

Practice was good today. Not as powerful as yesterday, but deeper. I go into the breathing in a really heavy way. After, I went to breakfast at Shakti to wish Stina fair well. She's had enough of Mysore for now. She's fairly new to yoga and came just for the experience. On one hand it can drive you crazy listening and seeing 100% yoga all the time, the lack of structure to the days, the endless discussions on what time is the best to eat in order to take a good shit before practice. On the other hand, it is absolutely inspiring to see the dedication and the practice.

Once I was talking to my cousin about how I did a lot of yoga, to which he replied, "I did a couple of poses once, but is so self-centered." I was so busy thinking about myself that I didn't even notice that before. He's so right though. For most people it seems that you cultivate an inner garden and then after it blooms, you take the flowers out. How nice to simply pack flowers in. I think that we get flowers all the time, but to really understand how special they are, we have to grow them ourselves.

Stina is always very concerned about me being in India. She says, "are you sure you're going to stay? You are going to have a very hard time." As much as it may seem that India and I don't mix, I feel like this place is only for me. It can be like a Disney World for yoga students. You can sit on the floor everywhere you go. Sometimes you can even recline. Everyone takes their shoes off at the door. You get to eat with your hands. Everything is super cheap. You can take classes in anything you want. Ayurveda. Chanting. Yoga books. Indian music. You can talk to anyone for hours and hours about yoga. You can meet people that don't say a thing about yoga but will change your life. Scooters are fun. Animals are everywhere. I get to live in my own private oasis.

Student rule regarding the reception of poses #248
Sharath only gives poses on Mondays and Wednesdays.

*shrug*

Always on the prowl for downloads:
Sun salutes and standing:
http://www.tevenei.com/yoga/img/astanga_A_1.jpg

Primary series and finishing:
http://www.tevenei.com/yoga/img/astanga_B_1.jpg

And of course, the post would not be complete without an image of a pose. This is from Advanced Series. Check out more stuff from www.absolutelyashtanga.com