11th Feb 2012 : Saturday rest day

img_2256It wouldn’t be a Saturday without a chai

It’s Saturday and so a rest day from practice. We get Saturday’s and moon days (full moon and new moon) off. Some time to sit back and soak it all in.  I’ve moved into my room now and have sorted a scooter so I’m slowly getting organised. Having the late start of 10:30am for the Mysore classes (Monday to Thursday) has made my days feel pretty disjointed. I’m up early but then have to wait around for hours, keeping my self busy until I’m due at the shala. I am hoping now that I have moved into my new room (third move in a week!) that I can get some kind of routine. How funny it is I’m away from home, in magical India, with a chance to soak up being a student again and allow the practice to do its thing and all I am craving is routine!

img_2261My new wheels

Even though it feels so late to be practicing at 10:30am I have loved every minute of my time in the shala. People always talk about the energy in the room and I have to agree there is just something special about this place that is hard to put into words. Sharath and his mum Saraswati (who is in her 70’s) work so hard to give everything to the students. The first students start here at 4:15am, and the last student leaves around midday with about 60 – 70 students in there at any one time and about 400 students a day. Then in the afternoons they teach the Indian students…there’s not as many but it’s still a mammoth effort! As it’s been my first week in the shala I’m only to practice primary series. I haven’t practiced a week of primary series in such a long time and it’s been wonderful. It’s great to do this in your first week here as you are still getting over the flight, sorting out your accommodation and transportation, adjusting to the dust/smoke/noise pollution, re-acquainting yourself to the food. The primary series does become a practice that brings you back down to earth each day by building strength and steadiness and helping you find the rhythm of your breathing. I know when you first start practising it feels everything but steady and was probably one of the hardest things I thought I would ever do. But over time and with dedication it does become what it is known as Yoga Chikitsa, or yoga therapy. Next week my practice starts to get long again as I start to add on the second series postures that Sharath got me to do on my last visit. Once you reach a certain point in the second series you then drop the primary postures and just practice second…this is called to be split and your practice becomes short again and you start adding new postures when your teacher says you are ready (just like primary series). I am looking forward to adding in the extra backbending postures of second series (as you all know how much I love backbends) and it will also help with my backbends and drop backs at the end of my practice…they have already had me grabbing my ankles in the backbends and its only week 1! It feels good but I think..where to from here??

So I’m heading to bed pretty early tonight as I have to be up at 3am tomorrow for the 4:30am Led class. Sunday also means Conference and I’m looking forward to that…have a fabulous weekend….try to find some time to take rest and soak it all in…

img_2262The shala

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