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