Third trip to India

Well, on Friday I will apply to go to Mysore again and further studies with Sharath, more chanting lessons with Ranjini and/or Jayashree, and many other experiences. I am not anxious about it, I feel it will happen, but have chatted with many of my friends from around the globe who are anxious and excited and ready to register already. I am that, I am ready. I love it there and have written about it many, many times, so won't bore you again with that.

The thing that is concerning me is that this year I may not be able to afford the trip. The first trip I took I did a gofundme and made enough to cover the expenses and have a bit for my return home, it worked out well. Last year when I went I went earlier, directly after the summer where I make donations for a large park class I teach and I was on staff for a local teacher training which I had many hours in and so made enough to do the trip on my own and I stayed longer. I ended up having some money stolen and some ripped $100 bills, which are a big no no over there when trying to exchange it, so fell short on cash but had friends and family back home who helped me out with sending funds which was a godsend and I deeply appreciated it.

Upon my return home I quit teaching everywhere I had been teaching and threw all in with a new studio a friend was opening, for fresh blood so to speak. But more so because I wanted to set up a Mysore program and teach this Ashtanga Yoga that I love so much in the traditional way and give it my all. So I am making less money than usual, but have a great core group of individuals who are coming daily and am much more fulfilled by my teaching these days. But also, since I left the studio I was on staff leading the teacher training for I was not allowed to teach that again this year, which was a bigger blow to my income and to the money I could put aside for my impending trip to Mysore this fall, but also the donations at the park have been less than they have in over 5 years this summer, likely due to the state of the economy in St. Louis these days.

Don't get me wrong, I can still eat, pay rent and such so far and this is not a whining about the state of my life post by any means. My life is well and I have no complaints. I'm renting a lovely house, I have some great students and am building a great community with them outside the Mysore room as much as inside it, I'm even seeing someone which I never thought I'd want again but am enjoying it.

But I've come to realize this trip could possibly be a big trip for me and it is important for my growth in my asana practice, more importantly for my spiritual growth, and what I get from my trips I bring back home to my students and eventually hope to start sharing in workshops more and more and not just in St. Louis, but maybe could travel and teach a bit here and there in addition to maintaining the home Mysore program.

So, I have a question. If I were to set up a gofundme account again to help differ the expenses for this upcoming trip how would you feel about it? I'm considering it and almost might not have a choice in the matter if I want to go.

Thank you for reading!

Lately...

New moon

No class today, no practice either, in honor of the new moon which is something we do in the Ashtanga Yoga tradition. I still meditated, did pranayama and chanted my usual morning mantras and the sutras in the afternoon, but no asanas this morning. So because of that and not having to teach I stayed up later last night and then when I awoke this morning I lie in bed much longer than I ever normally would be able to. It was blissful and for these moon days that fall in the middle of the week I am forever thankful!

Now, there is a lot of hoopla going on within the online communities of the Ashtanga method since Sharath changed the rules and said that anyone coming there has to have practiced with an authorized or certified teacher of this system for at least two months prior to being accepted into his classes, and that they also took off the option for you to choose to study with him or with his mother on the online registration form.

There are many differing opinions about this and many of the ones saying the most have not even been to Mysore nor seem to want to go, so I'm not so sure why they would be in such an uproar, and many are also those who are naysayers of Sharath and have been ever since he took over the title of lineage holder from his grandfather. First off, he was the next in line for it and could have refused it, but it was not his choice to be next in line. He did close the shala for some months after Gurujis passing using the time to decide if he wanted to open it up again, and he chose to do so.

I was at first viewing of Mysore Magic (a movie made by students who regularly go to Mysore about going there and interviewing many of those where were there and have been going for some years) a bit upset because he had taken over and was thinking, no, Guruji was the guru, not him. And then I kept practicing and it became clear to me that he was the one to take over, Guruji wanted it, and had worked with him daily for some years to groom him to be the next in line, his mother even encouraged him to work with Guruji. And he fell in love with it.

Then I realized that if I was going to continue to be serious with this practice since coming back to it in 2012, that I'd have to go over there, there was no other way and when I met Sharath and heard him speak in conference with such passion and love for the system, and for the students and for the teachers whom he and Guruji had authorized to teach it I knew he was my teacher and fully accepted him into my heart.

So he's practicing and gleaning insights from this, this is what we all want to happen correct? And then he's sharing these insights with us weekly in conference and trying to keep the system as pure as possible in the wake of astounding numbers of people trying to come over there now, numbers triple or more of what was coming when Guruji was alive, so the decisions he's making seem to be upsetting to some, but it also seems like he's supporting his teachers with this latest one by requiring newbies to have studied with them first and that is great.

I'm excited to go back this fall and to see him and to work through this system once again in it's place of origin, and to be with all those I know from around the world and the locals that I've grown to love and appreciate as friends and family. I'm excited that this continued on after Pattabhi's death and I got the chance to go, because when I was originally going to go I was too chicken and never did it back in 2001 and after.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, just laying out some thoughts so that I don't have them polluting my mind anymore really. So, talk to you again soon!