Have fun in class! what a nice idea. that’s the advice i received from my teacher Chuck, via email from Hawaii, upon hearing that i was here in Mysore. he also advised me to work smart more than hard. i can truly say that this was my experience the first day in the shala.
the energy is unlike any other place i have practiced, just the sheer volume of bodies present in the room. my starting time is 6:15, which is towards the end of things, so the room has been cooking for an hour and a half already. it’s nice starting late in that as people finish no one else is coming to take their space. so i can stay and do my whole practice and finishing in the same spot. The earlier folks have to go into the changing room for finishing and rest. I even had enough room for Upavisthta Kona, without being on somebody else’s mat, and there are no more calls for “One more, you come!” thundering through the room, as Sharath calls in the last students to enter from the waiting area.
Sharath is on his own right now, while Guruji and Saraswati are in USA, and he seems to be enjoying to have the place to himself. His attention to everyone in the room is impressive. He see all and he knows who is doing what, and if they are doing something he doesn’t feel they should be he lets them know it. I went all the way through primary, without any comments, so i took that to be a good sign. after my backbends and dropbacks, i waited for a moment and then quickly sat down to forward bend. After class, he says, “Weds. after backbends, you wait.” i told him i wasn’t sure what he wanted me to do, he said, “first day it’s okay.” but tomorrow i’ll be feeling his adjustment. everyone says how gentle he is, but he gets you in there, so we’ll see.
The other thing Chuck said to me was “Be a witness. (See)k the truth!” so i’m gonna use that as my mantra tomorrow while i’m being pulled deeper into the backbend.
peace
