Interview with Saraswathi from Namarupa

NE: What advice can you give to Ashtanga Yoga teachers who want to teach this method over a long period of time, as you have done?

SR: You don't want to change the method. What you learn in Mysore with us is what you should teach in your place. Guruji has told us so many things; you can't go changing it. If you follow Guruji's method, definitely everything is coming spiritual. It will change minds; everything will change. People like it the way it is - that's why it is spreading everywhere. For forty years nobody has taught like hiim. But in old age - seventy years, eighty years - you keep a few asanas and make them your regular practice. Just do primary, that's enough, but don't stop. You look at the people and see what is suitablele for them. You can choose what their practice should be. Even a very big man can do Surya Namaskara with the correct breathing - you can make him try. Soon it will be much easier for him. If you can't do Surya Namaskara, you can do simple asanas, with breathing and mula bandha and drsthi. Even sick people can do the breathing. Eventually they will feel happy ad their bodies will become light. So many people tell us Guruji has changed their lives with Ashtanga Yoga.

Westerners are very strong people - when they start, they keep going.

From the Fall 2007 issue of Namarupa, excerpt from an interview of Saraswathi Rangaswamy, the daughter of Sri K.Pattabhi Jois by Nick Evans.

Neti Pot How To

2 Girls for Every Guy...

Dear Katie and Friends at City Yoga, Just like the Beach Boys remind us in 'Surf City', the Mysore shala has the same ratio: "Two girls for every boy". (Sometimes it's three to one.) Today is Sunday and the first day of the yoga practice week. This class and the last on Friday are led classes. I don't particularly like the led classes since we all start well together, but by Navasana things begin to fall apart (Saraswati has a long five count in each of the repetitions). And just before the finishing asanas, it's a scramble just to keep together. But the led classes do allow a head count for the current population. Sixty-one in the shala this morning. Among the people I have met, therer are representatives from the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Jordan, Japan, Korea, Norway,Russia, Scotland, Sweden, Taiwan and Thailand and the USA. Two things unify this unique group, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and English. Some of these people are just beginning an Ashtanga practice and work with Saraswati one-on-one in the afternoons. Others are very advanced and there's every level in between. If you don't know where to stop during ypur practice, Saraswati will tell you when to sit and watch during the led class. Many of the people here are teachers. Some will return to where they live and teach until they've saved enough money to support them being here for another six months. Others, like myself, are only here for a few weeks. Whatever the reason or the duration, it is undeniably an experience of a lifetime. I'm already past my half-way mark in Mysore - time flys when you're having fun. Om Shanti, Lars

Happy Thanksgiving from Mysore

Happy Thanksgiving! A few of us are getting together on T-Day for vegetarian potluck. Today marks three weeks in Mysore and have only two more before going further south. It's going fast. I haven't been adjusted by Saraswati at all this week. Just help in drop-backs. I wait, but there are many more people now than last week and she just keeps moving around and gets the drop-backs for sure and if time (so it seems) she will come and assist in other poses. It's all good. My knee is getting better. I can take Ardha Baddha Padmatonasana with no pain again. The massage guy's work is effective. I've also been following some advice from Gregor. Speaking of Gregor, there's a woman here who goes to his shala in Australia. She says 'he's just such a lovely man and his wife is a dream'. Stay warm, Love from Mysore, Lars

Rick Davis Sculpture

Have you noticed our really cool bike rack embellished with om signs and yoga figures? Well they are creations of Rick Davis - you can check out his new website at http://www.rickdavissculpture.com/.

What happens in Mysore after morning practice?

Dear Katie and Friends at City Yoga,

As so many of you lucky Ashtangis have experienced recently with David's Immersion Workshop, a regular daily practice is the 'best' teacher. Still there is no substitute for a knowlegable teacher who can give sensitive adjustments and personalized attention to your particular body during those practices. That is the beauty of Mysore style learning. I'm becoming more settled into a routine here. My practice, as I may have written already, begins about 5:15 AM. So generally I am leaving the shala around 7:30 AM when the last batch of students are just beginning. because I am able to take extra breaths in poses I want to explore more deeply or repeat poses when asked by Saraswati. And if you want specific help you need to wait until she can get to you. There is no need to rush through and no one says you're going too slowly. During the rest of the day there are several options. For those who just want to do the complete tourist thing, lying beside a hotel pool and listening to their i-pods that's a possibility. Exploring the city of Mysore is a culturally and visually interesting touritst-type activity - although exhausting and not something you need to do daily. Although I have my favorite places that I enjoy returning to, where I always notice something new. In the spirit of deepening the yoga experience, there are an abundance of classes in which to participate. They vary in cost to completely free to quite pricey - there's something worthwhile for every budget. I am taking a Sanskrit class from a young Sanskrit teacher - it meets 4 days a week. After learning to write and read the Devanagari script for an hour we have chanting with the same teacher to emphasize correct pronounciation. Our chanting is from the B Gita, the Yoga Sutras, shlokas for Bhajan and some shanti pat mantras. On the days we don't have that class I meet with his teacher who is a Professor of Sanskrit (she has a lovely south Indian singing voice) and we chant from a variety of sources. The second class is completely free. There are some yoga students who have gone there, perhaps for months becoming years. That class is like going from my 4-day a week Kindergarden-level course to a college-level course. It's very inspiring and humbling at the same time to see yoga students from all over the world in a small room in an ordinary home in an older part of Mysore chanting these verses accurately, by heart. There are also classes in the local language - Kannada, Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Massage, Yoga Therapy, Yoga Philosophy, the Yoga Sutras and South Indian Cooking. All of them are taught by current or retired teachers and doctors. There's always something to learn. After a nap or two during the day I try to have a light early fruit dinner and be asleep by 8PM. It's gotten cooler here in the morning and I am glad that I packed a sweatshirt. Although the temperature is a probably a comfortable 60 degrees it is chilly especially after a hot practice. Hoping you are all well. Continue your practice and all is coming. Lars

Free Rice

This site is interesting: www.freerice.com. By participating in the vocabulary quiz with advertisements on each page, you raise money for the UN World Food Program a little bit at a time. The user wins by improving their vocabulary, the advertisers win by getting their ads seen, and the World Food Program gets support. By my calculations (assuming 20-30 milligrams per grain) they managed to donate around 1.3 to 1.9 tons of rice yesterday.

It took me very little time today to get up to 1500 grains, and it's good fun. The words actually get quite hard. My vocabulary level hovers around the low to mid forties.

Here's another interesting site. http://www.poverty.com/internationalaid.html

Did you know...

With your unlimited monthly membership, not only do you have one guest pass per month, but you also have one free Spokane Youth Yoga class that you can use for your child or give to a friend. The pass expires at the end of the SYY current session. If you would like more details let us know. Also have you seen their new Spokane Youth Yoga website?

My'sore in Mysore

Dear Friends,
After three weeks, the newness is beginning to wear off and things out of the ordinary seem quite normal. India is certainly a country of contrasts. Diwali Festival just ended (although I was warned that in a week there will be another grand night of firecrackers - again). I believe it was the night of 10 November - the last night of the Festival of Lights - that the firecrackers began at 6 PM and continued literally (and excessively) non-stop until around 2 AM. The noise was so constant and loud that neighbors in the house next to my bedroom window turned up the music they were playing and then were shouting at each other in order to be heard above the resulting din (gunga). The owner of one of the places where I eat meals said that the growing number of Indians working in the IT sector has produced this new affluence in the south resulting in bigger and bigger spending on events such as Divali.

Food in the south is mainly vegetarian and it is delicious. I did see a local place that advertised Fried Chicken. Just about a mile from where I am staying is a major intersection where you can find a Domino's, Subway and a Pizza Hut. I haven't seen a burger place yet. Visiting schools is quite an event. They have been very welcoming and generous with their time. Usually I meet with the Principal first, chai is served and we talk for a while then other teachers are summoned to meet me and we talk some more. Then we start off to visit the classes in which I have expressed an interest. I am escorted to evreything. The escort(s) stays with me all the time. At times they become bored with the lessons observed and suggest that we can leave now, but I insist on staying through to the end.

The students are eager to speak with me when given the opportunity. In class they are completely engaged in the topics. Sometimes they are called to do board work, at times they are simpley asked to explain a theorem or a technique. When the teacher has asked a question in class generally all hands shoot up to hope to get called upon to answer. When given a problem to solve, they get on it immediately trying to be the first to offer a solution. They use no calculators (log and trig tables are allowed) and they know plenty of short-cuts and quick-tricks to manage the arithmetic needed in either algebra, geometry, trig or calculus. All of the students wear school uniforms except for those in what they call junior colleges (this is grade 11 and 12 here and the students have a tough syllabus). I have purchased some books used for those grades to indicate the curriculum studied.

I have yoga class starting at 5:15 AM and I am finished by 7 AM. Schools don't begin until around 9:30 AM. The weather is pretty constant. About 80 each day cooling to about 70 - then the Indians put on scarves and sweaters. It's humid and I am still adjusting to that. Other things like cows loose on the streets (also ponies, goats, dogs) competing with ox carts, bicycles, pedestrians, mini Indian cars, larger SUV like vehicles, ornately decorated trucks, scooters, motorcycles and flower festooned, smoke belching 2-stroke auto-rickshaws amid a cacaphonous variety of horns and the way everything seems to mesh with little altercation makes life here even more unique. Everyone drinks filetered water - if they can afford it. I have a 20 Liter bottle delivered for 50Rs (about $1.25).
Wishing you could all have the opportunity to be here and enjoy the experience.
Lars

More lessons from Mysore...

Dear Katie and David and friends at City Yoga, Deepavali (or Dewali) celebrations started last night. Lots of firecrackers. My neighborhood sounded like a war zone. Friday is a moon day so no practice, but Friday is usually a led class day so Thursday is the led class this week. The led classes begin at 5am. I usually wake up at 3:45am to have time for a small coffee at home and some time to wake-up the 'system'. Maybe it was the explosions last night or that I needed an extra hour's sleep, or whatever, but anyway I forgot to set my alarm. So this morning I awoke at 4:50am leaving only 10 minutes to make it to the led class. Somehow I managed to get there before 5am. I was so grateful to Guy and Holly, who have been my practice neighbors this past week, since they 'kinda' saved a spot for me. I was able to get my mat out and street-clothes off and ready by the time Saraswati entered the practice room. Whew! For me it wasn't the best practice ever, but, fortunately, I was, at least, able to catch my breath and started practice in a calm state of mind. Nice challenge for Yogaschittavrttinirodah. Friday and Saturday are yoga holidays. Because of the extra day off in a row, some people have scheduled overnight excursions to areas of interest nearby. I have my Sanskrit and chanting class on Saturday morning and my first Ayurvedic massage scheduled on Saturday afternoon, so I'm staying here. There is so much to see and do here in Mysore that I'm not sure that I will bother arranging out of town adventures. There are a couple of local men that I have become friends with; we enjoy just sitting and talking over a coffee or chai, and of course, a sweet or two. This morning after practice, I was invited to participate in a short puja at the Ganesha Temple. The young priest was very kind and explained the significance of all the aspects of the ritual. There is a beautiful Krishna Temple, up the road from the shala, where some of us go for a short meditation sit in the afternoon. Enjoy your time with David. Om Shanti, Lars

Thank You Heather and Benjy!

Thank you Heather and Benjy for giving us such a beautiful and inspiring experience. Thank you everyone who came. We will see Shantala again next fall!

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. - Chief Seattle

More reporting from Mysore...

(photo from AYRI.ORG)

Dear Katie and friends at City Yoga,
Mysore ... it's worth the price of admission. Although I wouldn't want to be here when it's at the 250 - 300 level of practitioners. Now there are less than fifty. Among them a couple from Olympia, a guy from Victoria and another from Nelson; small world. This morning there were only about 35 in the shala. It's hard to know exactly since some start at 5AM and others come later, on the half hour. My start time is 5:30 and I have been arriving early and when I enter the shala's foyer, Saraswti motions me to come in so I really start around 5:15. The air is moist and warm most of the time. I brought a travel alarm with a thermometer and I have not noticed it less than 78 degrees in my room. This makes for me a very easy warm-up. I share the ground floor of a house (the family is upstairs) and have a short walk (about 53 steps) from my front gate to the shala. Everything urgently necessary is within easy walking distance of the shala. The local people are wonderful; friendly, helpful and very outgoing and the food is fantastic. Papayas are in season as are pomegranetes, local apples and the ubiquitous bananas ( maybe five different kinds). Part of the reason there are so few people here now is that Guruji is not usually adjusting during practice (I've only seen him once - the day I registered) and Sharath is off teaching workshops in Japan, Hong Kong and later in Goa. So Saraswati is running the morning practices by herself. But, I haven't seen that it is a problem. She has an eagle-eye and watches everyone closely. It's hard to hide something from her watchfulness. After my first Mysore practice last week, she asked me as I was leaving if I did my back-bending. I said yes and she said "but no dropping-back". I said no. Then she said, with a smile, "from Monday, you are waiting and dropping back. Any pose you want help, you wait, I will come." Friday, the end of the week here (Saturday is a holiday) and Sunday, the beginning of the week, are Led Primary Series days. So today was "my" Monday and I was a bit apprehensive about the dropping-back. However, as I practiced this morning I observed her assist a man taller and much heavier than I. Saraswati is a small woman, but very strong. She uses no props, only her hands at your hips and away you go. She softly led me into the activity. My down and back up went well. Afterwards she said, with a twinkle in her eye, "Tomorrow you are doing two times." The time difference from here to there is 12 hours plus 1 1/2 hours ahead of Spokane time. So, when you-all are starting a Monday night class in Spokane I am just finishing my Tuesday morning practice and sending greeting home via the closing mantra. Afterwards I head to the coconut stand opposite the shala entrance for fresh coconut water and early morning chit-chat with folks from all over the world drawn here by the same ashtanga magnet. Hare Om, Lars

Karma Class Tonight!

If you have any old bikes (including kids bikes) in any state of repair, you can drop them off at the studio tonight (and take class at 5:30pm). The folks from Pedals 2 People will be there. We hope to see you then!

First report from Mysore...

Hey Katie,
Registered yesterday and saw and spoke with Guruji.First practice today. Saraswathi asked me if I was "a beginner or you practice?" I told her practicing 4 years. She said, OK you come at 5:30.Only about 30-35 people practicing. Plenty of room. It's muggier than inSeattle. I was dripping after fourth surya A.She gave me one adjustment. As I was leaving there were still a few practicing (I wasn't the last one out) but she nabbed me and said "you didback-bending?" I said yes, she said "Dropping back"? I said no, BUSTED! She said "Monday you wait, I will help. Any pose you want help you wait, I will come". So, the myth that they don't toiuch you if you're only here for a month is false. She spoke very kindly to me and reminded me thatFriday and Sunday are Led and start at 5AM.Met a woman from Olympia after the practice. Trying to get my bearings and fill up a long open day. It's hot and humid. My room is about 100 yards from the shala.I might be here for 5 weeks, and then to Lino's.That's it for the first Mysore report. I'm learning lots of what to do and what not to do for/if there are other trips. Despite all my attempts to get details, there's nothing like actually being here. Some of that internet advice is just bogus.Take care and say hello to everyone at City Yoga.
Love,Larsy
Listen to the NPR story about mysore... (thanks Judy)