Life is splendid in Mysore. The weather is sublime, although there are no clouds in the sky. Just blue for as far as you can see. It gets rather hot during the day, but the nights are cool. I am watching the details of the pending snowpocalypse in Atlanta with close attention. Emory has already closed down on Friday. I have seen pictures on Facebook of all the groceries stores being cleaned out. I am not sorry to be missing the chaos. I will head out after eating some lunch and get myself a fresh, ripe papaya (they probably cost about twenty-five cents) and cry huge tears for all my shivering friends back home.
No revolutionary insights from the shala today, or yesterday. Nonetheless, interacting with Sharath does have a certain Amanda Priestly from the Devil Wears Prada feeling. Overall, he is a pleasant and kind, but then you never know what you might that will result in being loudly berated in front of everyone. For example, it is impossible to show up for your class on time. I showed up this morning at 7:50 shala time (7:35 real time) for my 8:30 regular class time. I was afraid to show up too early because he told us never to show up more than 30 minutes before our class time earlier in the week. Today however, he told me that I was late and needed to be on time. Yesterday, he reprimanded for students who arrived at a similar time frame for being too early.
Today, my practice felt good. I have decided to forego jumpbacks until my shoulder gets a little bit stronger. I was feeling some pain yesterday, but my ego kept pushing me to do just one more. Today, I did only one or two (by accident), and my shoulder feels so much better. Again, I need to remind myself that there is no prize or medal ceremony at the end of the month for the person who did the most jumpbacks! Despite what the assistant said earlier this week about not catching ankles in the final dropback), today was a catching day. Sharath seemed to be very interested in which students were catching and which were not. Today, for me, was a catching day. I felt open and loose and I was able to grab my ankles with minimal effort. I normally want to pop up right away, but somehow, I was able to relax and to breathe for five long breaths. There was lots of cracking and popping in my shoulder and back. It was exactly what I needed. When I came back up, the assistant told me: "Beautiful!" She should know better than to feed my ego!
My spider friend was there again. So far, he is one of my favorite aspects of the shala. I do not know what he eats, but I hope that it is not the souls of yoga students. I was afraid that he was dead because he does not move around, but I blew in his direction and he wiggled a little bit. Not too much. He does not have time for my nonsense. I wonder if Sharath would add the spider to the list of authorized teachers. He has already taught me a great deal about how to be chill and to stay in the moment.
When you leave class after closing in the changing rooms, all the students look for Sharath, wherever he might be in the room, and many wait for him to come out of his office, to bow and to give a gesture of respect and thanks. He always has a big, appreciative smile. It is quite sweet.
I have been reflecting more on my comments about the lack of aggression here on the streets in India. I am compelled to add some clarifications: being in the "honeymoon phase" of cultural adjustment, I think that my observations were a bit skewed. There exists a significant amount of aggression towards women here in India. In many circumstances, women are seen merely as property, servants or baby-machines. In many places, women are not able to walk freely in the streets at night, or even during the day, without fear of being harassed, molested, raped or even killed. There was an incident on New Year's Eve in nearby Bangalore. During the celebrations there was a group of men going around and groping women and doing other lewd and disgusting things. Some of the initial reactions among leaders and politicians were that the women deserved it because they were wearing western clothing!!! The situation is developing as I write this, but there has fortunately been an outcry over this situation and a demand for some kind of justice and societal change. Several of the assailants have been identified and arrested. Progress is being made here--but there is still much work that needs to be done.
In terms of male-to-male aggression, I think that it is rampant here to, but it manifests itself in different ways. Patriarchy, hierarchy, religion, class, and caste all determine how people interact with each other, and frequently in very disturbing ways. I am an outsider, so the way people here see me and treat me is automatically going to be different than they way that they might interact with other Indians.
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| Shala squirrel. They are small, almost like chipmunks and they chirp like birds. |
Today, my practice felt good. I have decided to forego jumpbacks until my shoulder gets a little bit stronger. I was feeling some pain yesterday, but my ego kept pushing me to do just one more. Today, I did only one or two (by accident), and my shoulder feels so much better. Again, I need to remind myself that there is no prize or medal ceremony at the end of the month for the person who did the most jumpbacks! Despite what the assistant said earlier this week about not catching ankles in the final dropback), today was a catching day. Sharath seemed to be very interested in which students were catching and which were not. Today, for me, was a catching day. I felt open and loose and I was able to grab my ankles with minimal effort. I normally want to pop up right away, but somehow, I was able to relax and to breathe for five long breaths. There was lots of cracking and popping in my shoulder and back. It was exactly what I needed. When I came back up, the assistant told me: "Beautiful!" She should know better than to feed my ego!
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| I have a goth sensibility even in India. |
When you leave class after closing in the changing rooms, all the students look for Sharath, wherever he might be in the room, and many wait for him to come out of his office, to bow and to give a gesture of respect and thanks. He always has a big, appreciative smile. It is quite sweet.
I have been reflecting more on my comments about the lack of aggression here on the streets in India. I am compelled to add some clarifications: being in the "honeymoon phase" of cultural adjustment, I think that my observations were a bit skewed. There exists a significant amount of aggression towards women here in India. In many circumstances, women are seen merely as property, servants or baby-machines. In many places, women are not able to walk freely in the streets at night, or even during the day, without fear of being harassed, molested, raped or even killed. There was an incident on New Year's Eve in nearby Bangalore. During the celebrations there was a group of men going around and groping women and doing other lewd and disgusting things. Some of the initial reactions among leaders and politicians were that the women deserved it because they were wearing western clothing!!! The situation is developing as I write this, but there has fortunately been an outcry over this situation and a demand for some kind of justice and societal change. Several of the assailants have been identified and arrested. Progress is being made here--but there is still much work that needs to be done.
In terms of male-to-male aggression, I think that it is rampant here to, but it manifests itself in different ways. Patriarchy, hierarchy, religion, class, and caste all determine how people interact with each other, and frequently in very disturbing ways. I am an outsider, so the way people here see me and treat me is automatically going to be different than they way that they might interact with other Indians.
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