The Sun

Sunset in Varkala

Sunset in Kanyakumari

Sunrise in Neyyar Dam

Guruji, Saraswati & Sharath

Now at the Bangalore Airport waiting for my flight to Trivandrum. Feels weird that I just left Mysore but happy to be moving on. The Sivananda ashram should be a different experience and looking forward to a blissful stay there. Om namah narayana.

Tibetan Settlement in Bylakuppe, Mysore

Jonathan times 2. We were roommates at Yoga Thailand.

Jon B. and Jon C.

Om Mane Padme Hum

Did a day trip to Bylakuppe with 3 friends today. Will post the photos soon. For the meantime, allow me to share with you this video. (Can't believe I'm already leaving Mysore on Friday.)

Standing Cafe and Chakra House in Sepia

The art of making chai.

The cashier at the standing cafe.

A friend waiting for her order.

The menu.
Breakfast for 20 rupees.
15 rupees masala dosa plus 5 rupees coffee or chai
and you're done for the morning.

Customers waiting for their orders.

The Chakra House cat.

Waiting for breakfast.

Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Mysore

Visit their website here.

One side of the temple.

The bookstore. You can buy really amazingly cheap books here on yoga philosophy.

Ashram schedule

Random Food Photos

Samosa

Green dosa at Nalpak.

Breakfast at the Chakra House
Spinach and cheese omelette with toast and butter
Grilled tomatoes with cheese

Buffet lunch at Metropole.

Dessert at Metropole.

Veggie Sinigang

Monggo with Cabbage... unusual... couldn't get spinach so I used cabbage instead.

Paper dosa from Gokul Chats.

Basic Curry Gravy

Saute garlic ginger paste in some oil. Add onion paste and saute until the onion is almost brown. Add tomato puree. Add some garam masala and it's done. Mix with your favorite steamed veggies, veg kofta or boiled eggs for a genuine North Indian curry experience.

I met someone who was originally from Rajasthan and she taught me this. Just thought of posting it before I forget it.

Practice was good today. Supposed to give massage later after the Sanskrit class but I called it off because I feel I need the break. Did a massage yesterday... almost a full body one... and I slept like a log. Thought practice will suffer but luckily it didn't. I guess when the body is tired, your awareness increases and you tend to listen to your body more during practice... you get to be more in tune with yourself.

My massage teacher said I was vata-pitta. The questionnaires said I am kapha-pitta. Tiwariji said I was kapha-pitta (at least that was written in my pranayama prescription sheet). I say, I'm kapha with equal vata and pitta. Yeah, whatever. I guess one simply has to intuitively listen to one's self and let no one's opinion bother oneself. There's no need to look for flaws when one believes that one's life is already in balance, otherwise the balance becomes unbalanced.

Life is good.

Practice, eat, serve, love and meditate.

Namaste.

P.S. I just received an article saying that Indian spice in turmeric reduces size of hemorrhagic stroke. Read it here.

Guruji

Sharath opened last Sunday's conference with a topic on doubt. Doubt is one of the obstacles in the path of yoga as stated in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (1:29-30). I was doubting whether it was worth extending for another week as it was already the end of my 2nd month at the shala. I still have almost 2 weeks in Mysore to finish the massage course with Kumar so I could either practice at home or go to another teacher.

A few minutes after Sharath started his discourse, Guruji came out of the office and sat on stage. He simply listened, eyes glowing... almost piercing into each and everyone's heart as if asking, "why do you doubt so much?". His presence was enough to make me decide to stay and everything felt right. There was a feeling of complete surrender and a feeling that I've completed my time at the shala.

The time at the Sivananda ashram will be totally different and will surely be an interesting experience.

Tomorrow, Arjuna will unlease the powerful Gandiva to finally end the battle within.

Serve Love Meditate

Everything is set. I'm off to the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram at the beginning of next month. Practicing at the shala has been great but I've decided to see a little bit more of India and experience life in an ashram. The Sivananda Book on Yoga was my first introduction to this wonderful discipline and now that I'm in India, it would be nice to spend some time there and learn about this approach. Will be staying in the ashram for 2 weeks then explore Trivandrum, Kovalam, Varkala and Kanyakumari before I fly back to Bangalore and then to Phuket via Singapore.

The basic schedule at ashram would be:

0520 hrs	WAKE UP BELL
0600 hrs	SATSANG
0730 hrs	TEA TIME
0800 hrs	ASANA CLASS
1000 hrs	BRUNCH
1100 hrs	KARMA YOGA
1230 hrs	COACHING CLASS (optional)
1330 hrs	TEA TIME
1400 hrs	LECTURE
1600 hrs	ASANA CLASS
1800 hrs	DINNER
2000 hrs	SATSANG
2200 hrs	LIGHTS OUT

It would be a nice change to the create-your-own-schedule atmosphere here in Mysore.

The 5 Points of Yoga constitute the essence of the teachings of Sivananda Yoga. These are the proper exercise, proper breathing, proper meditation, proper diet, and positive thinking and meditation. Simple yet holistic and a complete approach to classical yogic lifestyle.

Om Namah Shivayah * Om Namah Shivayah * Om Namah Shivayah

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.