I have 2 hours to kill until my car arrives to take me to the Bangalore Airport. The drive is 4 hours, my flight to Dubai is 4 hours, and my flight to Atlanta is 14 hours. It will take 29 hours from the beginning to the end of my journey. Wow, I am a long way from home!

This trip has been wonderful and I can’t wait to come back again. The yoga lifestyle is fantastic. The shala, Sharath, and the other practitioners are a joy to be around. And it’s really nice dropping all obligations for a month, or 2, or 6, and just focus on the practice. It’s a lot easier than I ever thought it would be…maybe I should keep in mind I had my friend and wonderful host, Lori, to show me around. But seriously, anyone who wants to can do it and should do it. It was nice to give myself permission to put everything on hold for the last 5 weeks to get in touch with the source of ashtanga yoga. I feel like I ‘get it’ a little more. I remember asking Kino and Tim back in December if they thought I should come to Mysore and they told me to come if there was a calling otherwise not to worry about it. At the time I didn’t have a calling to come here, in fact, I had no desire whatsoever to leave my good life in Atlanta. A few months later, I had a dream about Pattabhi Jois walking with Manju behind him and I was being instructed to follow behind both of them. Kino later interpreted that as them inviting me into the parampara, the lineage of teachers. The next day I received an email from Lori stating that she was planning another trip to Mysore and that I should come with her. Because of the dream and the timing of the email I gave it a second thought. I really believe that there are no miracles and no accidents: everything happens for a reason. The ‘coincedence’ and the swirling in my head and in my stomach were all telling me I had to go. The calling had come!

I am so happy that I finally made this trip to Mysore. Kino had told me that coming here would deepen my dedication to the practice. I didn’t think I could get more dedicated, but I am! When I get back, I want to practice the yamas and niyamas even more. Since you get the poses so slowly here, my physical practice wasn’t challenged that much but my off the mat discipline was. I want to live a more simple and disciplined life when I get home. Less consumption all around: food, alcohol,TV, shopping. And I am going to practice being more disciplined with my time: waking up early to practice, again less TV, less gossiping at the coconut stand. Sharath is a shining example of what happens to you when you practice yoga on and off the mat. He is very disciplined and it has served him well. He is a shining light. So calm and so peaceful. I love my new teacher! There is so much to learn from him and I can’t wait to come back. Perhaps next year and perhaps for 2 months…

Thanks for keeping up with my posts, I hope they inspired you to practice and to maybe even one day come here, too.

Much love,
Marsha