mmmhello again. This is the first post for awhile. I've just been busy as heck. All my other trips I've had time on my hands but what with the practice, chanting, socialising and a bit of voice lending (paid), sigh! So today I've skived chanting. I kinda wanted to go coz it was individual chanting today but what the heck, I needed to clean the house. Last night I got devoured by some bug or other in my sleep. Welts on my body this morning. Saraswati asked me what is was after she'd backbended me.  I will go to the skin doc today. Another orphanage visit this afternoon. Love those kids:-) The body seems to be softening into this routine. Rise at 4.30 (sometimes snooze it for 10), coffee, stretch out on the ball for 15 mins, neti, nauli and out the door to practice. It is pretty intense in that shala but I'm not fighting it like I used to. Just breathing, sweating buckets and imbibing coconuts! Hey, is there anyone out there? Feedback would be nice. Shanti <3

Led primary tomorrow. Then moonus moonus. Deep inhale..............

Jeez, 
        just got the shocking news that my friend Jamie from Colorado, via Edinburgh had an accident on the trapeze and damaged her neck. She's in rehab at the moment and is learning to walk again. When something like this happens it starkly reminds me of the frailty of life. Jamie is such a vital and strong person. She is expected to make a full recovery. God speed. I remember the first time I practiced 

tittibhasana B- walking

It felt like I was a kid just learning to walk, awkward and difficult. Sending all my love.

Conference was a giggle yesterday. My friend Yossi asked about sleep. How is it possible to fit the early to bed, early to rise routine of the traditional ashtanga practice into a workday routine. Sharath detailed his own timings. Apparently he goes to bed at 9pm, gets up at 1am, practices, then starts the shala classes at 4.30am through to 10 or 11, lunch at midday, more teaching in the afternoon. He said he hardly ever leaves the shala, "only upstairs and downstairs, my car has only gone 20km from here". Really quite inspirational. If Sharath can fit all that in, then I can fit a daily morning practice in! I've got mobile internet now, which seems good. Probably means I'll blog a bit more. Managed to get kapotasana heels on my first attempt in the led intermediate yesterday! This morning there was a satisfying crunch from my lumbar in kapotasana. Yum yum, tasty yoga.

The first led Intermediate this morning. It felt far less brutal for me this year. That's probably because I've been practicing intermediate all year, with the vinyasas. I went  up to karandavasana and it felt OK. Almost doable. Gregor Maehle's book on the intermediate breaks karandavasana into stages, which I think will help me conquer it. Sharath announced that anyone who missed a class would have to pay a fine of RS 2000. Everybody laughed and then he said "no kidding!" Imagine that, a yoga school where you could fine people for missing a class!

Hey, last night I was just playing yoga for fun. I did something brand new for me. I've been able to do ekapada rajakapotasana before if someone helps me grab my foot but getting the grip above the head has eluded me until now. It just slid in. It was so simple and fun and it felt joyful. That's one of the good things about being here in Mysore. New stuff comes. It felt like the world, the environment, all the little ants and people and bananas and everything had willed me into it and I felt grateful for them for their help. Feeling super good about this trip. Went for sushi lunch today which I thought was not so great. Here in my pals Yossi and Tasia's house using their wireless. Thinking of paying RS3500 and getting mobile portable wireless for my laptop.

Yesterday there was a partial eclipse of the sun for 3 or 4 hours. The light seemed to diffuse and layer. I saw some very interesting reflections which involved layering of triangles, similar to mandala. Managed to get a wee video of a Coca Cola truck with added small print. I went to a party and met some nice interesting people last night. People from Kazakhstan, Sudan, Tibet, France. A real international gathering! What fun. Meeting all those people made me want to listen to music from all these places. One guy insisted that I come to his house so we can eat chicken. I think he feels he's got to prove something to me. I haven't eaten chicken in 8 or 9 years but hey, why not. Quite looking forward to it. He'll probably want to arm wrestle me as well:-)

Mighty intense led primary this morning. I was on the stage like a big gay baby. It was like someone was boiling 5 kettles, the amount of steam that was coming off me! 2 days off now, (moon and Saturday rest day). So plenty time to suck back in all those electrolyte minerals that I sweated out. Coconuts and sprouts. Maybe go to a wee pairty in Laksmi this evening.
Peace.

One of those days.

I'm feeling surprisingly chipper. Nice breakfast at Vivian's house this morning and saw her absurdly cute daughter. Signed up for Sanskrit class at the shala which is most interesting. Jayashree chanting is next and maybe some knitting. I'm doing primary in the morning (my start time is 6 a.m.) and Intermediate in the afternoon. Which is interesting. This pain in my right hip is always there. The combination of primary and intermediate gets right to the core of it. I keep returning to the breathing. I had one of those sick moments on the mat this morning in the drop backs. To me these moments of nausea are about strength building.  Sweating buckets because I'm really not used to this lovely enveloping warmth that permeates the tropics. When I get up from savasana and pick up my mat, there is a small stream that runs off onto the floor. I'm hoping that the coconuts are rehydrating me fully. Set up my sprouting farm in the wee house. All the good stuff in the sprouts should help with the mineral balance. OOOHH! It is good here. Nice to see some old pals. Hoping to post some pics and videos of life here in Mysore soon, so stay tuned.

Mysore.

well folks, I finally made it to Mysore. My apartment is pretty awful so I'm on the lookout for a nicer place. Registered at the shala with Sharath and got a bike sorted, all in the first day. I practiced as soon as I arrived here in Mysore at about 9a.m. this morning because my body was crying out for yoga after all the sedentary travel of the last couple of days. My goodness gracious the warmth makes all the difference.

Rerouted

Got rerouted to Saturday so I should be in Mysore on Sunday morning. Rock on! It was pretty horrendous at Heathrow. From my understanding it wasn't the snow that caused all the probs. Because we were so back logged I think the crew wanted to bugger off home. They had the problems with BA management before Xmas and I feel that they were reluctant to go out of their way as they would have had to to get us to India. Don't entirely blame them. The chilly night and baggage chaos are something that I don't want to repeat.

Airport chaos.

After boarding yesterday, we sat on the plane for 5 hours. Then they cancelled the flight! I spent the next 5 hours trying to find my luggage. It is 05.50 and I slept in Costa coffee (3hrs) last night. Freezing. The BA website doesn't offer any help. I'll try and get rebooked today. OMFG!

Heathrow.

Gatwick was closed this morning so I paid through the nose for a BA flight to Heathrow which is my current location. Checked through to Bangalore. Due to depart 13.50. I just paid £6 for wireless and I'm considering spending another ££££ on a wee bite to eat. Oh, airports are not friendly.  Ach well. Oh, anyone who texted me this morning, my inbox is full and my delete button is broken so I can't read any more texts:-(

t minus 9 hours

4 a.m. Up with the lark except if there were a lark around here it would have frozen to death. So that wouldn't be much of a friend on a dark, cold morning. I'll be setting out for Edinburgh airport soon for my flight to London. I've got text alerts enabled for any delays or cancellations out of London. Still, fingers crossed. Dreams last night centred on frenzied travel. Here we go.........

The weather.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed. There's snow forecast for tomorrow at Heathrow but according to the BBC forecast I should be in the air before then. Meteorology is not a precise science so fingers crossed. Going from a frozen land to a tropical one is the stuff of video games for me. I'm used to it in Super Mario bros. but my body will need time to adjust in the real world.

Monday 4th January.

It seems like it was more than the decade that ended on Friday. I hesitate to use a horological metaphor but there's cogs within cogs turning for me. So with this change comes transition. My experience suggests that resistance in these pivotal moments is counter-productive.
Packing is almost complete. More stuff is accompanying me to Mysore this year but somehow I feel lighter.   I think I've thought out the kind of things that I'm going to need (good mineral based sunscreen, gymball). Half my suitcase is full of books! I'm really looking forward to the time to practice, the time to loaf and read and think and do nothing but watch the crazy, beautiful world tumble into history. All under the warm sun. Coconuts baby........and elephants and blossoms and the unique smell of India. I love this frozen land I leave behind but India is nothing short of an expansion for the senses and a warmth rises up from my guts to greet it.