So as my last week here begins, I finally have a bit of a routine – when I got here my Mysore practice time was 10:30am and now its at 4:30am so its been hard to get a nice wee routine here with my start time always changing. The last three weeks things have started to settle making my second month here a lot smoother and allowing me time to really dive deep into the practice. So I thought I’d write about what a typical day in Mysore is like for me….

3am – alarm goes off, shower and make a cup of tea.

My room

4am – head off to the shala on my scooter. It’s dark and cold on the scooter. The Hindu temple is blaring out loud Hindi tunes, the fruit sellers are walking their trolleys along to road to their market stalls, the women are out in their saris and running shoes on their morning walks, the paper sellers are out shuffling papers, the policeman at the station on the main intersection I pass through is asleep on his chair out the front of the police station. A few fires are burning and its smoky and hazy with only a few street lights working.

4:10 – arrive at the shala. There are students already waiting at the gate. The street dogs that hang around the shala “shala dogs” are keeping us company. The gate opens and we go in to practice. Sharath comes out of his office around 4:30ish to do the opening chant and the room is already very hot and I am sweating a lot!

Me and Buttercup. She is my favourite of all the shala dogs and sits on the stairs with us before class

6:30am – leave the shala sometimes walking on air, sometimes still asleep, sometimes very sore and worn out – ok most times sore and worn out – it’s so intense in the shala that every day you are practicing at a level that you never thought possible. Sharath has this way of just being in the room and it lifts you. Also practicing amongst some of the most advanced practitioners in the world is something to experience to believe. To be a student, to surrender to the teachings, to soak up the tradition and learn more about myself is what I am here for.

There is a wee coconut van waiting out the front of the shala every morning just for the students. I usually have two or three coconuts every morning after practice and then head home. Most days I have breakfast at home but sometimes we go out for breakfast at one of the café’s in Gokulum…Every morning I do my washing in a bucket in my bathroom. I really miss our washing machine!

My bathroom and hand “washing machine”

10:30am Chanting class with Laksmish in the shala. This class is three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) but the time changes pretty much day to day and also the days do too, so we never quite know when class is on…

For the rest of the afternoon you can do as you please. Many other classes are on offer. I was taking a Yoga Philosophy class with James Boag up until last week (he is now away for a few weeks and so classes stopped). These classes have been a total highlight of my trip. Studying the philosophy along with the intense physical practice is a nice balance.

Me and James at the end of 7 weeks of Philosophy classes

On Sundays we have conference at the shala either at 10am or at 4pm depending on what Sharath has going on with his family. Most weeks its at 4pm which is a great way to start the week He talks about many topics all relating back to what is yoga and how to practice, quoting many the sutras and other texts in sanskrit, answers questions from the students, I even had the courage to ask a question last Sunday!

So if I’m not at philosophy class, I’m either meeting up with friends, working – well trying to work but the internet here is quite temperamental and very slow. Or I’m exploring the city, taking photos, soaking up India, the beauty, the chaos, the filth, the wonder!

Devaraj Market, downtown Mysore

Or just doing mundane tasks like getting petrol, grocery shopping, topping up my mobile…all of which seem so simple and yet in India nothing is simple and usually takes 4 times as long to do even the most simple of tasks….this is all about letting go and seeing what happens. I try to eat pretty early too, so lunch is either very late or dinner is super early….by 5pm at the very latest to give my body time to digest before practice the next day.

Getting petrol for the scooter

Grocery shopping in one of the big supermarkets

As I’m up so early I’m usually in bed by around 7pm so there’s not much going on after that.  So that’s it, a typical day for me here in Mysore. The simplicity of its all is what is so special. We often cram our days with so much activity that our time seems to run away from us and before we know it each week, month, year has passed and we wonder what happened?! Taking time out to experience whatever is going on at that moment can be such a powerful practice in itself. To do this we need to simplify our lives, cut out the unnecessary, spend our precious time on activities that are fulfilling and nourishing – even just sitting and doing nothing is so important. One of my favourite quotes by Henry David Thoreau comes to mind “Our life is frittered away by detail…simplify, simplify.”

How are you simplifying your life to make space for what is truly important?

Taking some time out on a hot day

Sweet like these chocolates from the Chocolate Man

It doesn’t happen often but when it does it blows you away! Always when you least expect it too. Today everything just flowed. My breath was deep. My attention was focussed. I felt strong and steady. There is absolutely no pain in my body. Can you imagine?  No stiffness and no pain! After years of suffering with pain from many injuries – for them all to melt away is true bliss! Leaving the shala today after such a sweet practice I felt like I was moving with such ease – I felt so settled. But even better was that my mind was still with an overwhelming sense of feeling comfortable in my own skin. This is why we practice this way - to one day have a glimpse of this feeling of deep peace – by practicing asana with such intensity, the heat and the sweat purifies the joints, muscles, the nervous system and pain starts to leave the body. It’s funny how different your body feels one day to the next. Yesterday, I had no energy, all my joints were sore and stiff, my breath was barely even there and all I could think about was a big cup of chai and getting back to bed! (4am Practice is tough!) But today….wow! So different…this is what makes me fall in love with this practice again and again…and the best thing about it is that anyone can do this…young, old, weak, strong…anyone…only the lazy person cannot do this as this takes dedication, hard work, time and lots of patience…there is no promise of a quick fix…no 12 week transformation, no 7 day detox, no adding water to a powder (god only knows what is in those types of drinks – definitely not “nutrition” as they would have most believe’)…just time on your mat, treating yourself with kindness and patience, knowing that you are already enough, already complete and the only time to enjoy happiness is right now as that is the only time we have!

Enjoy your practice today and I hope you too get a glimpse of this feeling…if not then try again tomorrow as its just around the corner and will happen when you least expect it….x

I arrived about half an hour before the class and there was already about 10 people sitting on the stairs waiting.  I grabbed a spot on the stairs and chatted nervously to my pal Richard who was also a first timer like me - we both had a dazed look of nervousness, excitement and fear all at the same time.  When it’s time to go in I was so relieved to find that there was no pushing or shoving to get in the door like there is when its the Led primary series class…everyone just got up and slowly made their way one by one in the door (in defence of the Primary series class, this class is soooo busy, with about 70-80 people attending, and if you aren’t quick you end up in the change rooms or in reception - still no excuse for the surge and the shoving though!).

I got a great spot right over in the back which was exactly where I wanted to be.  The Led Intermediate class is the only class where students who are not participating are allowed to watch the class from reception.  I definitely did not want my first class to be in front of the gallery!  And so it began…I tried to take it as slow and as easy as I possibly could for as long as I could but pretty much as soon as we were into the first posture after standing, pasasana (pictured below), my heart was racing!

Pasasana…Its a lot harder than it looks!

I wonder how I am going to survive if I’m already running at this level!  Of course, the postures I find challenging, Sharath counts slooooooooow which makes me work harder than I ever have before to find my breath, keep it together and stay on the count.   I finish the posture I was given to do last week and once I’m done, I started to get up to move to the back of the room to do my backbends (because Led Second is so demanding, a lot of folk do not do the whole thing and so when you finish the posture you are working on, you move to the back and complete you practice in your own time…so it’s a bit of a combination of Led class and Mysore class) Sharath sees me get up and says, ” No, you do!” so I sit back down and start the next one!  Eek! Honestly, my heart was beating outside of my chest and my breath was all but gone…once I tried that one Sharath looked at me (he was standing right at my mat now), with a big grin and waved me down like the Umpire does in a baseball game when the player  is OUT!  I’m done!  Thank goodness!  My entire body is sore,  I sweated like I have never before (yes even more than in January in Townsville!!) but I’m so happy and relieved I did it.

I’m constantly amazed at the human body and it’s capacity to do so much more than we give it credit for. As long as we treat it well, with kindness, and become astutely aware so that we can listen to what it tells us, but also have the belief that anything is possible, we can do so much more than we think.  It’s usually our mind that’s says No when our body is saying YES!

If you had told me years ago, after I had my accident where I badly broke both my arms and had to be filled with metal pins and plates and screws, that one day I would be able to lift myself up off the floor on my hands, with both legs behind my head and stay there until an Indian yoga teacher said to come down, I would have thought you were crazy!  But there I was…doing it!  And even more crazy, loving it! The beauty of this practice shows us that if we do it with discipline, kindness, and a whole heart , anything is possible!  This practice can heal your injuries, make you strong physically and mentally but most importantly give you belief in yourself so that you can carry that belief out into your day.

So I’m writing this post as I am having a bit of trouble sleeping. If you know me you know that this is very uncommon as I can pretty much sleep anywhere and be out cold within about 3 minutes of closing my eyes. Tomorrow I am going to my first ever Intermediate Series Led class. (for those who are interested you can check out what that looks like here http://www.ashtangayoga.info/practice/asana-vinyasa-series/intermediate-series-nadi-shodhana/ ) The second series is called Nadi Shodana which means nervous system purification so lots of backbends, leg behind head postures, and arm balancing!

One of my faves! Ardha matsyendrasana

The format is the same as the Primary Series Led class which I have done so many of over the last 12 years (even after that long I still find it really difficult!). However now it’s the second series we will be led through to Sharath’s count. I am now feeling like a complete beginner. I have no idea what to expect, will the count feel too fast or too slow, when will Sharath stop me from continuing on, how early should I arrive to get a good spot in the shala, will my back and my knee hold up (yes some old injuries have started to work they way out!)…blah blah blah!

I have done most of the postures before but only ever in Mysore style format which allows you to take your time when you need to, come out of a difficult posture a bit early when you need to (ok yes I do sometimes cheat too!) but in the Led class you have no time to faff (great Scottish word not sure if I’ve spelt it correctly) around and no getting out early even when the count is sooooo slow.

Most folk think the Mysore class is scary but its definitely a lot easier..you do everything at your own pace as and when you are ready with the teacher giving you one on one attention…Oh how I love the Mysore class! The aim in the Led class is to move and breathe (vinyasa) to the correct count… i.e inhale when the teacher says to, exhale when the teacher says to and coordinate your movement in time with the breath. Someone once said to me that the Mysore class is like the dress rehearsal and the Led class is the performance…boy do I have a bad case of opening night jitters!

Ok so I know its only a yoga class and I tell my students all the time just to come along, do what they can, try again next time and have fun….but isn’t it funny how you are never very good at following your own advice!? Mmmmm a big lesson for me! I have often thought about how great it would be to go back to my first class again…to experience the magic of yoga for the first time is something to treasure…so sweet…but it’s pretty scary too!  Sharath often says “Why you fear?…just try” so I guess that’s all I can do…

I’ve got my alarm set, my clothes laid out, my tea cup ready to go… I’ve checked I’ve got my shala card about 8 times and my yoga mat bag is packed…all I need to do now is sleep…I’ll let you know how I go…eek!

It’s my birthday and I’ve had a lovely day. Saturday is a rest day from the shala so a few of us met for breakfast and then headed to the Golden Landmark hotel for a swim in the pool and then a leisurely lunch. It was very relaxed and I was home in time to skype Harry…thank goodness for skype!

Birthday lunch!

Today I am feeling so grateful to be here in Mysore. A place I have thought about so often and dreamt of returning to so many times. It is now ten years ago that I packed up and moved to the UK in search of a new beginning. I had no idea how amazing the next decade was going to be including three extended stays in India to study yoga….if you’d have told me back then I don’t think I would have believed you. I was thinking that it all it took was one friend to plant the idea in my head and encourage me to go out and see the world. He never even questioned that it wasn’t what I should do. If it weren’t for him I never would have done it. That friend is no longer with us but what an impact he made on my life…if only I could have had the chance to let him know. Reflecting on this made me think about how people we meet along the way, even very briefly, can make such a difference in our life by believing in us and they usually don’t even know it. Now I have dedicated my life to encouraging others to believe anything is possible and to the best they can be through the practice of yoga. I am so grateful for this beautiful practice and how much it has brought to my life. By being connected to our body and our breath we start to focus the mind, we make little changes, which lead to big changes and slowly our life transforms.  Yoga is something that made me believe anything is possible. Like a posture we have never tried before. At first it seems completely impossible, almost crazy! However one day, after a lot of patience and practice, it becomes possible (just very difficult) and then one day maybe not so difficult and then one day we look forward to it and it feels comfortable and calming. This is yoga…being in the centre of balance, steadiness, ease – not forcing not grabbing for more, being content with what is. Unlike the countless ten step solutions and quick fix fads offered today, yoga does not pretend to be simple, quick or easy. It takes into account the very messy and complex human nature and challenging everyday life but with but with a nourishing practice, dedication and belief we can really get to know who we really are and find happiness….stillness.

So I ask how are you inspiring your friends and family? If we all start to believe in and encourage each other we can change our small world around us and then eventually the bigger world too. Go out and inspire your friends to be the best they can be. Let that person know they made difference in your life….don’t regret not telling them when it’s too late. You may never know how much your words of encouragement, belief and thanks have made a difference to another person’s life.

It 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!

My 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…

The shala

I was up quite a few times during the night and had to be up around 3:30am so I didn’t get much sleep before heading into my first class. I was given the 4:30am class time (4:15am Shala time) and even though I was pretty tired I was very excited too. We wait at the gate out the front of the shala waiting for the lights to come on and the doors to open. Once the doors open there is a surge of folk trying to get into the shala before all the mat spots are taken – if you’re not quick you end up practicing in the changerooms, which is ok but obviously not ideal. Once in and on my mat its feels as if I never left but at the same time feels like a long time and a lot has happened since we were here in 2008. The main thing is that Guruji is no longer here. Sharath comes in and announces “Samastithi” and we all stand for the opening mantra. The vibe is electric! Then we start and the sound of the breath of about 80 students all inhaling and exhaling at the same time is almost deafening! Amazing! It was so wonderful to be back…all my tiredness just left with that first breath. I was expecting to be completely wiped out by this first class however I think practicing in the Townsville heat has given me extra strength and stamina (as I didn’t even start to sweat until the seated postures!) so the class was actually just loads of fun!

There is the coconut man that has his wee coconut van out the front of the shala every morning for the students so I met Judi and Cathy (another friend from Glasgow – the three of us all taught at the same studio) for a few coconuts (12 rupees each!) Ahhhh fresh coconut water straight after practice – does life get any better!?

Conference is also on Sundays where Sharath gives a talk and then the students can ask questions. He spoke about many things but the main thing for me was that he said that we don’t ‘do’ yoga but instead yoga comes from within. It is already there and through the asana’s, breathing, yama’s and niyama’s (and all the other limbs of Ashtanga Yoga) the yoga (or union or knowing yourself) blossoms. This is what I love about yoga. The belief that we are already perfect, already complete, everything we do is enough…it’s just we lose our way sometimes but through the practice we start to rediscover it, remember who we really are. He was very funny and made a few jokes about people writing on their facebook about what postures they are doing etc There are a few other blogs out there that give detailed accounts of the conference so if you’re keen to know all the details check this out http://earthyogi.blogspot.in/

All is all a fantastic first day in the shala and I cannot wait for tomorrow’s Mysore class!

Glasgow Ashtangi’s (Judi, Cathy and me) in Mysore!

After a whirlwind month of frantically trying to get everything sorted at the studio and at home before my trip, I left still having quite a hefty to do list…now to be sorted en route! Haha! Thank goodness for airport wifi! I had a 36 hour trip ahead of me so plenty of time to get some things done (or not!).

The trip over was pretty uneventful, just long, although the flight out of Singapore delayed 2 hours and so I missed my connecting flight in Mumbai to Bangalore – but luckily (due to past experience) I had booked my ticket all the way through so I was on the next flight, no problem. I had a driver waiting for me in Bangalore to pick me up at 8am however now I wasn’t going to arrive until 11:30am. Eek! I didn’t want him to leave when I didn’t show up. As there were no phones in Mumbai airport I couldn’t phone Judi direct. Thank goodness for modern technology as I was able to email Harry in Townsville, to text Judi in Mysore, so she could speak with Ganesh (taxi pickup organiser and general go-to guy) so that he could phone the driver in Banglaore! Phew!

I arrived in Bangalore airport to see my driver holding up my name on a piece of card! He waited! With a big smile and a head wobble he said “Flight missing madam?” “I waiting very long time.”

The four hour drive to Mysore felt more like a car chase in the movies! Not for the faint hearted with a few near misses (cows, buses, scooters rickshaws) but at least it kept me awake. We stopped for a coconut and a chai on the way! Soooooo good!

My driver helps me with my bag in Bangalore airport

I arrived to my hotel at 3pm. I knew registration at the Shala was at 3:30pm (however due to the phenomenon that is Shala time that actually meant 3:15pm.) So I didn’t have much time. The shala would be closed on Saturday and so I would have had to wait an extra day if I didn’t make it!

I quickly chucked some cold water over me…(bucket bath and no hot water) changed and started off down the road in the direction of the shala in quite a daze having not slept for quite some time and not 100% sure where it was – going purely on memory… Thankfully on my way down the road I saw in a vision in turquise and aviator sunnies! Judi!!! Whizzing up on her Scooter to collect me! I was beyond happy to see her – I jumped on the back and we headed to the Shala. Registration was quick, no hassle and now very modernised. Last time we had to write a letter to the shala asking if we could study and when you arrived Sharath just asked “You send letter?” When? It had to be there 2 months before you were to arrive so you gave the daite and then that was it. Now there is a lovely girl in reception with a Macbook asking your name and getting you to fill in a form, with copies of your passport and visa and then you wait until Sharath is ready and you go in to his new office. He is just as I remember him. Big smile, shy and a man of few words. He types some stuff into his Macbook, you pay him, and then gives you your shala card with your class times on it. Because it is so busy here at the moment my Mysore class start time is 10:30am (10:15am shala time) and then I am in the 6am Friday Led class and 4:30am Sunday Led class! Yep 4:30!!!

Judi to the rescue

Judi and I then headed for something to eat and then I needed to get to bed….It feels great to be back and I’m itching to practice. I’m tired and I miss Harry – it feels very strange to be here without him. Not quite right but I know he is with me in spirit. I feel so grateful to be back here – its pretty much all I have thought about since my last visit.

I received a beautiful card from one of the students to wish me well on my journey and it helped me get on the plane as it was pretty difficult to leave and say good bye to family, friends, the studio and the Live and Breathe Yoga family…The quote on the card is pretty much how I have tried to live my life the last ten years and is nice to be reminded when we are about to do something scary…I will leave you with the quote and hope that it too inspires you to do something a little scary…let me tell you, it’s always worth it!

“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing” Helen Keller

Thanks for the card Frank!