I have become a delinquent blogger, and so early on in my blogging experiment, but alas, such is the life in Mysore. There's always something to do, or at least a book to read or a nap that needs to be taken. The days have begun to fly by at a speed that even I couldn't fully comprehend until I sat down last night with a calendar and realised that I only have two more weeks of yoga and 5 weeks and 2 days more of this whole trip. The brakes have started to be engaged and it seems like this whole experience, this crazy idea that blossomed into the best four month span of my life, this whim, is coming to a screeching halt. Where has all the time gone? Meg and I were sitting around the apartment last night, chatting, waxing deep and observing that despite our best efforts at resistance, this trip really has taught us a lot more about ourselves and has encouraged a great deal of self-realization (as much as I hate to admit it, for fear of sounding flaky!). It was during that conversation last night that it dawned on me that my dad used to always tell me that as your get older time slips through your hands at an ever-increasing rate. It's so true, and it's really alarming that despite your best efforts to cling to it, time flies, especially here in Mysore.
Things are going so wonderfully. Last week I had some great times. On Friday night there was a big dinner/dance party on Ken's rooftop, catered by Tina. It was a great evening with tons of lounging spaces, Nigel spinning fantastic music (as usual), the coconut man handing out free coconuts downstairs and a moonless sky full of millions of glittering stars. It was great to have everyone in one place; it really reconfirmed, for me, the sense of community that exists here. Being all Cancerian and stuff, I love Mysore for the community that I am now a part of: I fit here, this is a great place.
This weekend a group of eight of us headed up to Coorg, where we stayed at Palace Estate and enjoyed three days and two nights of fresh air, and silence that we didn't even realise we were missing until the absence of noise in Coorg reminded us of its constant presence in Mysore. It was nice to be able to breathe, climb mountains (which we did on Sunday), eat family style meals around a candle-lit dining room, table and sit on the verandah, drinking warm Kingfisher and playing Scrabble. No noise, no pollution, blankets required at night and only one rooster, it was perfection.
Now here I am, back in Mysore, at my little neighbourhood internet place, chilling out and thinking about how sore my shins are from coming back down the mountain the other day. It was great to be back in practice today after the long (moon day) weekend. Last week I was given baddha konasana, and Sharath told me today that tomorrow I will start uphavista konasana...almost through the series. Today in practice I practised awareness meditation, something that we talked about over the weekend, which involves acknowledging the thoughts that wander aimlessly through your brain, identifying the emotions they stir up (i.e. "That girl has an amazing mari D, I was my mari D was that good. My mari D really sucks. Hmph..well, there goes some jealously.") and then letting them go, it was a nice way to deal with all those little things that pop into your mind in the middle of practice ("Hmm...what should I have for breakfast this morning: fenugreek rotis with tomato chutney or oat porridge with bananas?").
This afternoon I went downtown, which I've been promising to do for a while now, and I bought out Rashinkar's entire inventory, well, almost. 2 skirts, 2 blouses, 1 tunic sort of thing, 1 pair of pants and 4 throw pillows. All made out of pure silk, all made to measure, ready on Monday. 10 items for a price that would never happen at home. I'm so excited to get the finished products. As you can see, I've never deluded myself into thinking that yoga has led me to some divine detachment from all things material; I do love my clothes, perhaps a little too much. Banana leaf thali after my spree for a whopping 32 rs. (approximately 75 cents), so good!
Meg and I talked a lot over the weekend about extending our stay here in Mysore, but to our chagrin, it looks like we're going to have to stick to the plan and head out in early May so that we still have time to do Lao. When we arrived we couldn't quite get our minds around the fact that so many people come here for so long (3+ months), but now it all makes sense: time goes so quickly here, the lifestyle is lovely and being in a place full of like-minded people is superbly comfortable. I want to come back. The other thing that's really dawned on me recently is that this trip, for whatever reason, I can't quite put my finger on it, has really honed my intuition, taught me to listen to myself and act on decisions without questioning myself over and over again until I talk myself out of something. Do it, whatever you're considering, or are passionate about, do it, jump in head first, without a clue, without anything or anyone to guide you: it will work out, things will fall into place, your mind will be at peace.

- posted by Andrea @ 6:49 a.m.