Surrealism in Action

One of my favorite quotes from Michel Foucault comes from "The Masked Philosopher." He writes about curiosity:

"Curiosity is a new vice that has been stigmatized in turn by Christianity, by philosophy, and even by a certain conception of science. Curiosity, futility. The word, however, pleases me. To me it suggests something altogether different: it evokes "concern"; it evokes the care one takes for what exists and could exist; a readiness to find strange and singular what surrounds us; a certain relentlessness to break up our familiarities and to regard otherwise the same things; a fervor to grasp what is happening and what passes; a casualness in regard to the traditional hierarchies of the important and the essential.

I dream of a new age of curiosity. We have the technical means for it; the desire is there; the things to be known are infinite; the people who can employ themselves at this task exist. Why do we suffer? From too little: from channels that are too narrow, skimpy, quasi-monopolistic, insufficient. There is no point in adopting a protectionist attitude, to prevent "bad" information from invading and suffocating the "good." Rather, we must multiply the paths and the possibilities of coming and goings."

I wonder if Foucault ever travelled to India. If he had, I think that it would have blown his mind. Everywhere you look, there is something "strange and singular." I cannot imagine what it would be like to take drugs in India (there are certainly lots of people who do--both Indian and non-Indian) because everything you see here is some kind of hallucination. Many times during the day, I ask myself: "Did I really just see that? Did that really just happen?" One of my favorite "hobbies" is looking for the unusual or the bizarre in everyday life. I love encountering people, places, and things that somehow step outside the bounds of what is normal or expected. Living in Atlanta, especially in Cabbagetown, provides no shortage of these opportunities.

I love the name of this dentist's office--not to mention
 the world famous Glam & Glitz

This clinic can handle pretty much anything.

For example, I needed to get a haircut the other day. I knew that there was a barbershop near my apartment here, so I decided to risk it on my way back from practice. This was no conventional barbershop, mostly because it had a palm tree growing from the floor through the roof. I have no idea if the tree has some kind of sacred significance or if there is some local code about cutting down trees, but I found it infinitely amusing that someone decided to build a barbershop around it. Incidentally, the barber gave me a pretty good haircut for 90 rupees (about $1.30). I have paid a lot more for a lot worse. The experience itself was not unlike a barbershop haircut in the United States, except that the barber worked his scissors with incredible speed and precision. In the States, my experience is that hair cutters work more deliberately and more slowly. This barber, however, reminded me of Edward Scissorshands.

Did I choose this barber because of the Zayn Malik poster
 or because of the tree growing through it?

The tree is definitely alive.

Rajesh Scissorhands, barber extraordinaire.

From now on, I will only get my hair cut
 in salons with trees growing through them.
Will I ever find a Classic Mens Parlour in Atlanta?

My practice has been okay the past few days. Well, that might not be entirely true. I have not felt particularly strong or light. Yesterday during backbending, I told the assistant that it was a bad day. She responded with "Believe in yourself!" Her comments seemed to work, because she took me very deeply into chakranbandhasana. I was completely calm and relaxed. Most of the time, I fall into a place of fear and resistance. (To be fair, it is somewhat disorienting and scary to be hanging backwards and upside down without a clear perception of what is up, dow, backwards or forwards.) This particular assistant has backbended me several times--I think that she is Korean. She is always very kind and supportive.

While waiting to go into the shala for practice today, Sharath loudly reprimanded a student who was sitting in the group. "Why did you do pasasana in the changing room?" The student was dumbstruck by the comment, and I think all of us were. How was it possible that Sharath knew that this student did pasasana in the changing room? Sharath continued; "Why do you do crazy poses? If you want to do crazy poses why do you come to me? You go to another yoga teacher who gives you all the poses in a month!" Sharath was visibly angry. The student quietly apologized. I really have no idea how Sharath could have known that this student had done pasasana in the women's changing room. To go back to Foucault, the shala definitely has a Discipline and Punish vibe going on. You never really know when Sharath is watching you, but we all internalize his gaze and police ourselves accordingly. The shala is a veritable ashtanga panopticon. Sharath does have an keen awareness of exactly what poses people are working on, where they stop in their practice, and where they may have left off the previous year in Mysore. He does have a connection with every student on some level or another. The connection may not be on our terms, but there IS a connection.

Just a few asana notes: Sharath definitely does not like the thigh clasp in Mari C and D.  I have heard him correct several people for doing that. Sharath really likes toe pointing. If there is an opportunity to point your toes in an asana, then by all means point away! (Just to clarify--This does not apply to asanas like janu or mari when you are clasping around the extended leg and foot.)

I stopped by the Swami Vivekenanda ashram.
It turned out that it was his 155th birthday.