First Practice - 31 August

The big plus about starting at 5 in the morning is doing the opening chant together with the rest. And it's nice to start the practice with most; though, I'm puzzled to find still more people coming in at 5.45am or later.

Practice was great, but my mind was all over the place. In downward dog, I was noticing the mosquitoes around me. Do I swat at them? What if Saraswathi notice me? I think I'll have to risk dengue, concentrate on the dristhis! When I reached the first balancing pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana), I noticed Saraswathi coming over to help. Please don't dance (wobble), just concentrate on dristhis and breathe deeply.

Other than my wandering thoughts, practice was really enjoyable. Got help with Marichyasana D - I was a bit stiff but Saraswathi managed to bind me on BOTH sides! Yay! And I've got Navasana. On my first day!

Went back to hotel after practice. But not before a coconut outside the shala. That's when you get to say hellos to other practitioners. Anyway, cleaned up when I got back and still have time to kill before breakfast begins at 8.30am. The early morning start and the adrenaline of being back at the shala must have taken its toll. I dozed off while waiting for breakfast and almost missed the breakfast window.

Felt great to have started. But have started to miss my family - so big shout out to Aggie, Ching Li and Ching Yan. Haha. You can now google your names on the internet.

5am Start Time

I thought I was seeing wrong or needed reading glasses. After extending the card further away, the start time still read 5am. Last year, my start time was 8.45am. Just when I got over my shock, I was then told to follow the time as displayed by the clock in the shala; which upon closer examination is 15 minutes fast! So, effectively, start time is 4.45am! Which means bedtime is latest at 8pm. So, sorry, can't stay up and chat. Got to get myself in sleep mode soon.

First Day - 30 August

Got into Bangalore Airport last night around 11pm. Felt relieved when I saw my bag at the pick up carousel - I had a really tight transit at Singapore Airport - had to literally run to catch the flight to Bangalore. Also relieved when I saw my name amongst the numerous name placards held up outside the departure hall. Thanks, Murthy!

It was 21 °C - such a nice change from hot and humid Malaysia. The ride to Mysore was eventful. Getting out of Bangalore, my taxi had to make a hard swerve to avoid this motorcyclist, who was flung from the oncoming side of the highway to literally just 20m in front of us. Then I saw 2 incidents of road rage, which I did not even see a hint of during my trip to India last year. It's Saturday, explained my taxi driver during a chai break in the journey. A lot of drink driving on Fridays and Saturdays. I was completely wired till we reached Mysore at half two in the morning.






I'm staying at a new hotel called Urban Oasis Compact, which is ten minutes walk to the shala. The size of the room and bathroom is half that of the room at Green hotel, where I stayed last year. Whilst the Green hotel has a lot of character and charm of an established colonial hotel, Urban Oasis is one of those new no-frills hotel, but has Samsung flat screen TVs in each room and comes with free wifi and breakfast at rooftop of the building. Speaking of rooftops, most houses in Gokulam have flat roofs and many use the rooftop for their own recreational use.

Found out the time to register is slightly after 4pm. I wonder whether there will be conference in the shala today. Usually on Sundays, there is a conference / Q and A at the shala. Great to finally be here!

Final Thoughts Before Heading Off

I'm finally leaving for Mysore tomorrow! It will be exactly a year to when I first left for Mysore. I thought I would not be nervous, but as the days grew nearer, some panic and doubts are starting to creep in. What am I doing again? The first time I went was to see the source of this magical practice, to feel the place where it began and to meet the people who started teaching this. Well, I've done that. Yet, the longing to go back has been building up over the year - so much so when the opportunity arises, I grabbed it.

What do I hope to achieve this time? I'm only going for two weeks. Well, in some ways, this time makes more sense. I've been there, studied there for the same duration. If the longing is there, it can't be a look into the unknown, be a tourist and take in the sights. I find myself looking forward to seeing and learning from Saraswathi again, looking forward to a regular practice, maybe even a vegetarian diet - although I'm slightly apprehensive as to whether I have made sufficient progress in this one year. Though I know it makes more sense to go for a longer period, I simply can't afford the time. These two weeks are already a luxury, and this I can't thank my better half enough. I'll come back a more patient man!

Well, time to pack and gather myself together. Next time, I'll be reporting from Mysore!

Update On Ashtanga Scene In Kuala Lumpur

Great news for Ashtangis looking for Mysore style classes. Received above flyer in my mailbox this morning. Incidentally, she also has Mysore classes on Saturdays at Yoga2Health, 3pm.

July Highlights

Fell off the blogging bandwagon, in part due to a failure to maintain my self practice. I've found it so easy to lose the morning practice routine. A 15 minute lie-in would eventually lead to a reluctance to get on the mat, with the excuse that a rushed practice is not an ideal practice. Soon 15 minute lie-ins became a regular morning habit, and so went my morning yoga habit.

I took to relying on classes for my practice. Sometimes it is a rush to get to class, giving opportunities for excuses to creep in. With a scattered mind, even during classes, the practices have felt laboured. Still, there were times when I remembered the breaths and forgot my expectations - these were the times when my practices have felt light and joyous. These, though, have been few and far between.

Highlight for July has been the arrival of Manchester United in KL for a friendly match against a Malaysia Selection. I managed to get tickets for the match, and even got a Meet The Fans pass. Of course, I took leave off work to meet the players up close. As the queue got longer, it became embarrassingly obvious that I was the oldest fan. Well, there were other older "fans"; but these were parents accompanying their children. My excuse for not bringing mine was that they were not really fans - they had only heard of Van der Sar (see this post) and Christiano Ronaldo (who hasn't?).

But I did bring them to the match - partly to let them see there are so many other people even more fanatical about Manchester United than me. As it turned out, the stadium was packed with a sea of fans wearing red. The atmosphere was charged with excitement. It was a great match, with Manchester drawing first blood with goals from Rooney and Nani. Then, when Malaysia scored with a fantastic goal, the stadium went feverish with everyone chanting "Malaysia, Malaysia". And, the whole stadium almost went into a frenzy when Malaysia equalised. It became a very open game; with Malaysia trying for an upset win, and Manchester trying to restore their advantage. It was almost story-like that the match was settled with the winning goal from Michael Owen near the end of the match.

My kids now felt some connection with Manchester United - they now know more players, notably Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Owen. Although I did make a special effort to mention Paul Scholes and the way he reads the game, etc, but I think I tried too hard and lost them in the process.

August is now fast approaching. My next highlight will happen at the end of August, for I will be making a two week trip to Mysore! It will be exactly a year from when I made my first trip last year. I can't wait.

Bing

Bing is the name of my mother-in-law's dog. He is one of those small white dogs - small in size but plenty of yaps. That was when he was young. He is now eleven or twelve years old, which I guess in dog years is around 80! He still has plenty of running left in him, but his bark has gone noticeably softer.

I always make a point of greeting him with a pat; partly because everyone else is so used to having him around that they go about their own things first. I do it because if ever I were to be a dog, I would like to be acknowledged when visitors visit. Our routine would be him standing on his hind legs with his front paws on my thigh and me patting his head. We would be there until one of us get bored and leave to do something else. Then I would have this Obsessive Compulsive Disorder of washing my hands before touching anything else. Why I do this, I don't really know. Maybe he is getting old and sometimes he gets a bit smelly. But I just got to wash my hands.

I always have this strange feeling that Bing likes to mock me. Every time he notices me washing my hands, he would come over for a pat and our routine would start again. When it starts to get tiring, I would put off washing my hands but the mutt frustratingly would not come over. I would then wash my hands when he is out of sight and hope I can enjoy being in my in-law's house before my next trip to the basin.

Yesterday evening I was in my in-law's house again. A hot cup of coffee was brought to me and I had the use of the computer. Also, my in-laws have just bought this excellent bottle of peanuts; so everything seemed perfect for a spot of peanuts with coffee. Just as I sat down, I noticed Bing coming towards me. Instinctively, I closed my hands over the peanuts and stared intently at the computer to avoid eye contact. Ha! It worked. He did not come over and lied down nearby. I can then enjoy my peanuts guilt-free. Or so I thought. I found myself, discretely putting some peanuts into my mouth and chewing ever so slowly that Bing would not notice the crunch of the nuts.

How pathetic am I?! Or was I being selfish? Maybe I should be thinking about karma and be not so much into myself. Speaking of karma, I have been enjoying my practice; but the progress seemed to have plateau off. I need to kick it into another gear - or should I?

I've been thinking of returning to Mysore for two weeks - the same duration as my first time. My Home Minister has given the go ahead. If I can get past the guilt factor and embrace the selfish one, I could be in Mysore in September!