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saraswati’s mysore classes

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Mysore Diaries – Day #14

December 13, 2015

Today was my second and last ‘led’ class with Saraswathi.  I got there about an hour early and people had already started queuing up.  And as soon as they opened the door all the places were taken in no time.  Led classes are always the same, but since I’ve been practicing for two weeks now, I’m more familiar with the sequence and I feel I’m able to get more out of the class.  Today Saraswathi allowed me to go all the way up to Marichyasana D.  Tomorrow morning is my last class in Mysore and I’m excited that I will go all the way up to Marichyasana D.  I’m happy with the progress I’ve made in the last two weeks, and I’m looking forward to continuing my practice in Bangalore.

We decided to do a bit of sight seeing today since it was a holiday for Sharath’s class.  So at around 8 am 5 of us we headed out to Somnathpur and Tallakad to see the famous temples.  I’ve wanted to see the temples ever since one of my students told me about them and I’m so happy I got a chance to see them today.  And it wasn’t just seeing the place, but going with this particular group of girls that was great.  We were all interested in seeing the temples, taking awesome pictures and having a great day out.  We managed to get to Somnathpur in good time.  It wasn’t too hot, the bathroom was clean and the site wasn’t too crowded.  We even took some yoga pictures!  The Somnathpur temple is beautiful.

The temples at Tallakad seem to be more popular with people, for some reason.  There are a total of 5 temples in the complex, and they are still used by people.  But the Somnathpur temple has beautiful and intricate carvings.  These temples seem unfinished and built for the purpose of regular use, and not so much as a display of art.  Maybe the Somnathpur temple was for the royal family and the Tallakad temples for the commoners who perhaps wouldn’t be able to appreciate art so much.

By the time we finished seeing the first two temples in Tallakad, it was hot and the crowds were surging.  So we found a shady place to eat and then had ice cream while some of us went to take a look at the Cauvery river.

Pictures coming up soon!

 

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Mysore Diaries – Day #5

December 4, 2015

The irony of practicing here is that even though the asanas are the same every single day, every day is different from the one before.  So today was an exceptionally long practice session for me.  I started with the warm up and then started practicing the asanas.  It felt like it was a long time before Saraswati came to me and taught me the Utthita Hasta Padangushthasana.  And then she left me to practice for what again felt like a really really long time.  When she finally dismissed me for the Savasana, I was surprised to note that I didn’t feel tired.  Instead, despite the intense practice, I felt stronger.  Maybe now I’m getting attuned to the subtle changes happening in my body.

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We had chanting class again today.  So far we’ve just practiced chanting from the same handouts.  Some of the shlokas are ones that I’ve done before in other classes/workshops, but for some reason I’m not too crazy about the slow sonorous pace at which we chant here. 

Also, I’ve finally started to read ‘Yoga Makarand: The Nectar of Yoga’ by Tirumalai Krishnamacharya.  This book has been on my TBR list for so long and I finally pulled it out because what’s a better time to read it than when you’re immersed in Ashtanga yoga in his ashram.  The book has a forward by Shri BKS Iyengar!  And it has an interesting foreword (yes I read books cover to cover).  The foreword covers the history of how T. Krishnamacharya started to teach.  It mentions titbits about the attempts of translating his works by his students.  It has old pictures!!!  I have this book on my Kindle, but I think it’s worth getting a hard copy as well!

Saturday is a holiday at the shala so I think I’ll spend the rest of the day parked in front of the TV binge watching Bollywood movies!

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Mysore Diaries – Day 1

November 30, 2015

I have to admit I was sort of nervous about driving all the to Mysore alone.  All kinds of doomsday scenarios kept on playing through my mind (from a flat tyre to horrible accidents).  I’m glad that I pushed the negative thoughts aside and drove down.  It was fun to listen to music and just think and get excited about POMELO_20151130105401_save[1]what lay ahead.  I made it to Mysore on time and managed to find KPJAYI easily.  Basically everyone seemed to know where it was.  There were throngs of people who were already there before me to register.  Registrations for the advanced class had started, and I had to POMELO_20151130201506_save[1]wait a while before I could register for Saraswati’s beginners’ class.  I joined a queue of people who had never practiced Ashtanga before.  We sat on the cool marble floor of the office and shared our pens to fill out our registration forms.  People have come here from far and wide.  Some have even brought children along!

Once I turned in my form I was given a class pass.  You must keep this pass with you at all times.  I have to report for the 5 am class tomorrow.

Once my registration was done I found my hotel and relaxed for some POMELO_20151130201250_save[1]time before heading out again for an early dinner.  I managed to find a place.  Wasn’t too happy with the coffee nor the organic ‘sprouded’ moong dal dosa.  I want masala dosas!!!  Hopefully I’ll be able to find a place which serves strong filter coffee and masala dosas a la Adigas.POMELO_20151130184201_save[1]

 

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