A room filled with Body Canvases

Practice has been going well so far, i'm contented to have just enough assistance for my kumasana and deeper drop- back bendings ( which i can never did that myself at alone, not yet..!)

The yoga scene has been very interesting still, given the cold mornings; and rainy morning today, the heat in the shala is intense still. The wall is slippery wet and the windows are blurred by the condensation. My sweats are bursting out from my skin pores like usual, the air is heavy, with so many human heaters all around; the spirit and the energy are going strong!

Men practice topless, and females in their most comfortable yoga attire. Then as if i am walking through an art museum, ink work on body canvas. I remember while twisting to the right, there are "Aum" at any random person i laid my eyes on. As i did a upward dog, the person in from of me, has got a words in sanskrit says, " Ahimsa" ( non- violence).

Automatically, in my head, under my own breath, i trace the Sanskrit word, as what i learnt a little of my Hindi classes.. Ah- Him- Saa...oh...  that's non- violence. This all happened at just one deep inhale.... ( that how fast our mind can process information huh, interesting).

As i pulled back to downward facing dog, i brought myself back to my breaths again.

" Aum" is holds the champion of the most high usage. Almost most "modern yogis" will have this symbol somewhere on their body.

Next runner up is probably a verse from the yoga sutra 1.2 yoga citta vrtti nirodha ( Yoga is the cessation of the movement of the mind)

Would i get one for myself too? Never think about it yet... given i know how my fickle mind works, i'll probably regret inking my skin after a week. For now, i still like my body like a white sheet!

Nevertheless, i am looking forward to see the next creative body art in my next practice!

Operating with three clocks, talking about time in India?!

It is very interesting here in India, when we talk about time.. such as " what time"... " how long will it take.." Whether if you've got your own watch that is accurately aligned with the world's clock... it  doesn't matter, when you're in India, you follow their "time".

5 minutes, can means a wait of half an hour up or more. I returned to the phone shop, as my card was not activated still ( after 2 days!), the boy old me 5 minutes... and we chatted and while i still keeping track of the time, i was sure he lose it with all the talking. Half hour later, i asked again, another 5 minutes. That will be an hour, my boy!
I went back, as he promise i will get my phone connected this noon, let's see.

For the class time and schedule, it stated on the paper.... " according to Shala time" ( means to check out the big clock hanging on top of the entrance door) " Shala time" is 20 minutes ahead of the accurate Indian time. If my class is 9am, i've to appear at the Shala at 8.40am; otherwise i'll be considered late!
To play safe, i always reach half hour before the stated time ( which is 10 minutes earlier than the Shala time).

Last but not least, we can safely follow our own time on the watch, if we've got private arrangement between friends, not locals.

Today was a Led class, i am scheduled for the 6am class. I reach there at 5.30am, already people are waiting outside the door; for the 4.30am batch to be release. As soon as we heard the closing prayer from the previous batch, the people outside stood up, all ready to squeeze through that small door. This year was surprisingly packed and crowded! There are people laying their mat all over the room, on the stage, the waiting area just outside the practice room, and even in the changing room. I manage to roll my mat right in front of the Men Changing Room, and two people were in there ready to practice. 
And yes, practically mat by mat, no space. 

Its interesting, but to be honestly, the energy in the room was amazing... sometimes i get goosebumps during the opening mantra. Its a feeling that i yet find a good word to best describe it. 

And so, the funny part that amused me is, Sharath recognize the students, not by name... but by nationality. There was one point i heard him said, " Russian, come over here.... Japan.. japan.. here... you.. French go there..."  

Miracles are not given by fairy god- mother, its a sweetness of your own sweat.

Shirly and i often catch up randomly, in the middle of the day, and keep one another posted about our classes, and sharing ideas and experiences we had met elsewhere. Just before i left for India, we were talking about the students we are teaching, more of the commitment from the students, makes the whole learning experience and progression more wholesomely.

Students being students, even like myself... asked many many questions. ( I'm glad my teacher, master paalu has been very patient with me, most of the time. Siting at one corner of the studio and sharing his time to teach me.)
Many people come into yoga, to search for a miracle--- to pull them out of the agony in just a couple of irregular yoga practices. Some requesting for twice a month of practice, and hope to have their physical body magically transform; or after 10 sessions of classes want to experience heaven.

The practice of yoga, seems no end to it-- but there is. Its a long journey. Some takes at least 10years, 20 years, 30 years or whole life time... even many life times to truly understand the taste of a drop from the ocean. And this..... is commitment, strong commitment.

As much as we want basic minimum commitment from students, its not happening smoothly. Oh yes, that's life... we can't always get what we hope we want it to be. I resume my teaching this year in March, and paused all classes in november. And yes, a mixture of students who appear on their mats every week; and some like chocolate chip cookies ( i see you, and now i don't). And yes, there's a thick line of difference of progression.

There's no comparison here. Miracles happens through strong commitment of hard work. Miracles is not given by fairy god- mothers, they are given by ourselves. With commitment, without expectation of the result... miracles will happen at the time we least expect. With expectation, it'll not happen.

Like what shirly shared with me this line from Prem & Radha during her training in Bali:
One will not understand the importance of being committed to the practice, till they are committed to their practice. 

And yes, i never understand why we need to practice as regularly as daily, till i did it myself before. So, when i find myself started to lose my practice to putting most of my time to other stuff. I know i need to get back on track and question myself again... what do i really want.