Sunday, January 01, 2006

First practice in India, no expectations

Well it appears they throw a pretty big bash in Mysore for New Years Eve. I hit the sack around 11:30 and was up until 2 AM to the tune of massive explosions and celebration. I got an hour or so of sleep before my snazzy new surya namaskara travel alarm clock (thanks Liz!) kicked on at 3:50.

Liz and I left R's at 4:20 and there were only 3 other people there before us. I'm not sure when, but they turn the street lights off in Mysore at some point during the night so it was very dark as we stood in front of the shala. I think we waited for about 20 or 30 minutes and as we did a huge mass of students arrived. When the gate finally opened everyone quickly kicked off their sandals and headed up the stairs to the practice room, throwing down their mats and making their way to the changing room.

So here's the rub, Liz and I didn't make it to the shala in time to register yesterday. R and the gatekeeper at the shala both confirmed that we should just come to the 5 AM and ask to practice and then register in the afternoon. We were reassured by a few people that this would be fine. Well, after staking our shala real estate and changing Liz and I went into the office, introduced ourselves and asked Sharath if we could practice and then register later in the day. He looked at us kindly and said "no, register today, first practice tomorrow." I hesitated for a moment and thought of a few protests, then smiled and said "OK." I'm not about to cause a stink and in my heart I believe that things of this nature happen for a reason. Ganesha not only removes obstacles but places them also. So we quickly rolled up our mats and headed out the door. The shala was packed so there were folks that filled our spots immediately.

I'll admit to a bit of frustration, especially when we left the shala and R's was locked up. We walked around for a bit, got some chai and sat across the street from the Shiva temple trying to nonchalantly observe the pooja. We headed back to R's and the gates were unlocked. I decided to practice in R's front room had just has the best practice I've had in a long time. It was a bit rough at first, as far as focus goes, and then I felt like my body had changed. My back was straighter than usual and on a whole I was very supple.

So, though we were unable to practice in the shala, I rolled with it, let go of expectations and moved into a new experience. More to follow - G

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm very impressed!

The ability to "go with the flow" under the circumstances is admirable.
In light of all you have done to get you to where you are currently at,... the impulse to fight for "having it your way" had to be difficult to suppress!

Well done!

a. said...

hi gregg, actually i think it was a blackout. usually there are street lights. :) antonia