Learning, learning and play.

I start practicing and I go quiet. It’s busy. I’m up at 4:30 every morning and on the mat at 5:45. It’s going well and I really love the energy in there. Good good stuff. Today was my first led class. I went to the 5:45 a.m. class. People get there at 5 a.m. and sit on the steps. You think that’s early, we are actually waiting for the 4:15 a.m. class to finish so we can find a space on the floor. When the doors open it’s a mad dash to get a place on the main floor. Otherwise you end up practicing in the lobby or worse, in the restrooms. I made it to the floor and front row. And I actually just walked in and din’t have to be “unyoga” to get a spot.

I am in a Sanskrit class 3 days a week. Um, Sanskrit is not an easy thing to learn. I missed the first 4 classes so I am hustling to catch up. We have our first homework assignment due Monday, so I am have to know all the vowels and syllables. It’s a bit like writing kanji with all the letters and symbols. There are actually 3 Japanese women in class with me and they are kicking butt. The teacher, Laksmi, calls me by my last name, which is quite funny as he is a very proper Indian man. He calls roll each day and is very professor like. No joking around, you have to sit up straight. So he knows Page is my last name, but he says he likes it better, so I am Page in class now. I’m on his good side right now, I don’t know if it’s because I wear my geeky glasses in there so maybe he thinks I am smart. But time will tell if I stay in good graces. He is a bit more abrupt with some of the others, so it is actually making really really study. This is a good thing as pressure is the only way I can really study and learn something.

Filling up my noodle even more, I took a cooking class and am now going to cooking classes 3 times a week with 3 different amazing cooks. Our first class was with Shobha, we made rotis. Well, I watched and she made them, but basically it is whole wheat flour and water (equal parts), then you roll it out to a flat pancake and briefly brown on both sides. That’s it! A roti also known as chapatis, go pretty much with every Indian meal, it’s a staple. 2nd class was at Tina’s. Mags even stayed as Tina’s 2 dogs slept under the table while the cooking demo was going on, so Mags was under the table, to the chair, then running after Sharmila, the Nepal girl. We made rotis, a chana dal dish, and Aloo sanji (a cauliflower dish.) The amazing thing about Tina is that it was a cooking/ayurveda class. So now I know how to cure many ailments with turmeric, chilis, cumin and coriander seeds. Super informative and we got to eat the lunch after class. My 3rd class is next Thursday with Ganesh, a man who runs Anu’s internet café. I hear he is a great cook too.

Laksmi has been watching Mags when I am at Sanskrit and practice. I am honored to have her with us. She is an amazing woman who has come from a very difficult past. I do not feel comfortable sharing her personal business, but I admire her completely. She is a true survivor. Mags really likes her. She speaks maybe 25 words of English, so when we have to really talk we run 5 houses down to Shobha’s and Randy’s and they translate.  She works her butt off though. She is at our house at 5:15 every morning, then goes to Randy’s to work all day when she leaves here, at 4 p.m. she is back with us till about 6 when I finsih sanskrit class. Not only does she watch Mags, but today she said she is going to clean our house. I am so thankful for that, because the maid who we have had for the house is a man and his idea of clean is not my idea of clean in the least bit. No disrespect, but the poor guy does not know how to clean. Laksmi cleans Randy’s house and it is spotless, so I am looking forward to this.

Other than the practice and classes, we have been at the pool quite a bit. Mags really likes routine, so I get home from practice, we have breakfast and then we rickshaw it to the pool for 3 hours where she swims and has lunch. The pool is at the hotel and yogis can swim there for 200 rupees. They all love Mags so everyone takes turns swimming with Mags. It’s like a swimming with the dolphins attraction, only “Swimming with Mags.” Afterwards she naps, has dinner and then bed. In between all this we are still feeding the dogs, we have a constant bowl of food and water out for them. So 2 of the dogs follow me home after practice every morning as they know it’s breakfast time.

We’re meeting more and more people and all the yogis we are getting to know are truly good people. They radiate this happiness and sparkle in their eyes, along with a calmness to them. Seeing that many people in that state of mind, proves that the yoga truly does work. I honestly have never met so many good souls in one place.

Tonight we went to a small benefit concert for the mentally disabled children. This was put on by the Shri K. Pattabhi Jois Charitable Trust organization (http://www.kpjtrust.org/). Mags had a great time. There were 2 flutists, a tabla player and a sitar player. Kids were sitting up on the stage, so Mags went right up and started dancing to the tablas with them. That’s one great thing about many of the yogis here, they all volunteer with the Charitable Trust group set up by Gurui and many of them work with the non profit groups here in town. Here in Mysore and this is something I am definitely bringing home with me…yoga is not just asana practice on the mat, it continues the other 22 hours when you are off the mat. In the US and I am sure in all countries, but I know in my life at home, you can get wrapped up in the day to day things that you can forget to be present in the moment.

My roommates come home tomorrow for 2 weeks, so we may be moving over to another place till we have our house back to ourselves. Ms. Toddler needs to run and my roomies have a lot of projects and music going on, so the 2 worlds may not mesh so well.

Saturday is a day of rest for all yogis, so I am seriously resting. I’m tired. It’s also Valentine’s day and I am really, really missing Ray.