On Halloween day I left Mumbai for Mysore, India. While studying at The Yoga Institute, I got several recommendations from both teachers and students for this particular school in Mysore called Indea Yoga (http://indeayoga.com/). It is Mysore style ashtanga yoga, and it is highly regarded for the main teacher and founder, Bharath Shetty, who practiced directly under B.K.S Iyengar himself. This particular school is also known for being very focused on helping students advance in their physical asana practice, as well as enhancing their teaching skills. Although I have my roots in Classical and Hatha yoga, I thought it would be wise for me to expand my yoga repertoire into the ashtanga world, so I headed here to see what it was all about. I originally planned to stay at the yoga ashram for one month and take two Mysore style classes a day under Bharath. I was told that just by practicing with him, his adjustments and corrections alone will help me advance both as a teacher and with my personal practice. [Mysore is a particular “style” of practicing Ashtanga Yoga, in which you are in a classroom setting, but you are flowing through the ashtanga primary series on your own, while the teacher comes around and adjusts you, corrects your alignment, and pushes you to new levels by giving you more challenging postures as you progress]. I was excited about these two classes a day (one in the morning and one in the evening) and I already had a list of things that I was going to do with all my “free time” during the day, to keep myself occupied between classes. However, when I got here on the 1st of the month, which was the same day that the one month Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training with Bharath was commencing, I couldn’t help but sign up. I couldn’t fathom being here for the whole month while the teacher training was going on and not soaking up every last bit of knowledge I could from this brilliant teacher. The schedule is intense: Monday through Saturday, classes starting at 5:30am and going with minimal breaks until 7:30pm. Sundays we have off. I knew it would be grueling, but I knew it would be worth it. And so I took the plunge. It started on Wednesday, Nov 1, and it is now Sunday – the first half week is over. I am already seeing changes on a physical, mental, and spiritual level and knowing that this was 100% the best decision. My body is physically exhausted but I am energized and feeling peace and clarity in my mind. I am having such a lazy Sunday morning in my bed – I slept in, read some Harry Potter, wrote in my journal, now blogging. I am not moving from my bed until a few friends and I go out to lunch this afternoon. I am soaking up every last minute I can of this day off, before it is over and the next week of ass-kicking begins.
India Vibrations 