I'm here, I'm here!
To be totally honest, things got sort of shitty after departing the Zurich airport (as a side note to those of you who are interested in duty-free: I'm passing through Zurich again on my way back, and the Hermes store there has the Twilly scarves, which are all but gone in the US, plus, they're cheaper. Let me know if you want one!) The duty-free with candy also has giant bins of Maltesers, a few of which may be coming home with me.
Sooo, the flight from Zurich to Mumbai left me feeling quite ill. Ill enough that I barely touched my dinner, and slept rather fitfully. Arrival in Mumbai was neither easy nor breezy--the minute you exit the airport, a crowd almost swallows you. They want to take you to a hotel, carry your bags, ask you questions, and you are so tired and so overwhelmed that you consider walking back into the airport, handing over your credit card, and booking a return flight home.
I couldn't sleep at all that night. I left the next morning in an aggravating amount of panic. Sunday, I flew from Mumbai to Chennai via Indian Air, checked into my hotel in Chennai, slept a bit, and headed over to KYM (Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram) for an introduction/orientation. There are 28 of us in the program and we are from all over. It seems the largest groups are from the States and Australia, but we've also got yogis representing Bulgaria, Spain, Singapore, the Netherlands, England, Italy and Austria.
We introduced ourselves to the group (I am a Becca again because there is another Rebecca) and received jasmine garlands and a bag full of books. To celebrate Ganesh's birthday, we ate sweets and tea. Once I started to get a sense of what my days would be like, and with whom I'd be spending them, I felt more at ease. I joined a small group for dinner nearby and our bill came to about $7--total. For five of us.
I returned back to the hotel to unpack my stuff and found that my shampoo bottle had opened and its contents were coating a good portion of my belongings, not to mention the inside of my suitcase. Argh! So, after a particularly OCD-fuelled cleaning sesh, I tried, again, to sleep.
And didn't. I looked at my clock every 30 minutes, fixated on a chirping bird and the faint sounds of a wedding nearby. Getting up for 7am yoga was really not a big deal, considering that a)I hadn't slept, and b)some considerate soul knocked on my door at 5:30am (I have no idea why). I took my first Indian shower (shower head in the wall, a bucket beneath it) and watched my bathroom floor fill with suds before wisely deciding that hair-washing would be saved for another day.
I hopped into an auto rickshaw* and started to relax. Before 7am, the streets are still busy, and tons of people are out, but it's not oppressively hot (yet) and careening through the streets does have its faint charms. Because there are few sidewalks, the streets are not solely for traffic, and watching who (and what) is coming and going is fascinating: children balancing huge baskets of fruit on their heads; families of four riding comfortably on Vespa-like mini-scooters, the mother balancing a kitten in her lap; people waiting for buses; cows walking contentedly in the road...
(*About auto rickshaws: these are three-wheeled vehicles that remind me of the little toy cars that parking police drive in New York. They can just seat three in the back, four if someone sits with the driver, and, like all traffic in India, you often hurtle into the path of a large bus before making a sharp turn. )
I arrived just after 7am to find asana class in full swing. I had worried that the class would be trying, especially since my regular practice has been inconsistent since leaving New York, but it was mellow and allowed me to chill out a little, despite my new tendency to point my toes, but I blame that on Pilates. At 8am, we went downstairs for breakfast--plain yogurt and small pieces of soft bread, with chai and coffee. There are two more morning classes, one focuses on theory, the other on philosophy, and there is also a Vedic chanting class that is optional. I went to Monday's class to see if I would join, and while I love to hear others chant, I always feel like an off-key choirgirl.
I had big plans for the break (chanting ended at 12:30, our next class is at 3:15), planning to catch up on email (okay, my first plan was to find the internet cafe) and run some errands. I made it to the grocery store, then back to my room, where, I am ashamed to admit, I fell into a deep, much-needed sleep, missing the afternoon classes. Oops.
Anyway, I've gotten some emails about how I found KYM and other yoga-related queries, so I will post a summary soon. In the meantime, if you have, in the words of Judy, questions, thoughts, concerns, or comments, write me and I'll answer here or privately.
Sooo, the flight from Zurich to Mumbai left me feeling quite ill. Ill enough that I barely touched my dinner, and slept rather fitfully. Arrival in Mumbai was neither easy nor breezy--the minute you exit the airport, a crowd almost swallows you. They want to take you to a hotel, carry your bags, ask you questions, and you are so tired and so overwhelmed that you consider walking back into the airport, handing over your credit card, and booking a return flight home.
I couldn't sleep at all that night. I left the next morning in an aggravating amount of panic. Sunday, I flew from Mumbai to Chennai via Indian Air, checked into my hotel in Chennai, slept a bit, and headed over to KYM (Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram) for an introduction/orientation. There are 28 of us in the program and we are from all over. It seems the largest groups are from the States and Australia, but we've also got yogis representing Bulgaria, Spain, Singapore, the Netherlands, England, Italy and Austria.
We introduced ourselves to the group (I am a Becca again because there is another Rebecca) and received jasmine garlands and a bag full of books. To celebrate Ganesh's birthday, we ate sweets and tea. Once I started to get a sense of what my days would be like, and with whom I'd be spending them, I felt more at ease. I joined a small group for dinner nearby and our bill came to about $7--total. For five of us.
I returned back to the hotel to unpack my stuff and found that my shampoo bottle had opened and its contents were coating a good portion of my belongings, not to mention the inside of my suitcase. Argh! So, after a particularly OCD-fuelled cleaning sesh, I tried, again, to sleep.
And didn't. I looked at my clock every 30 minutes, fixated on a chirping bird and the faint sounds of a wedding nearby. Getting up for 7am yoga was really not a big deal, considering that a)I hadn't slept, and b)some considerate soul knocked on my door at 5:30am (I have no idea why). I took my first Indian shower (shower head in the wall, a bucket beneath it) and watched my bathroom floor fill with suds before wisely deciding that hair-washing would be saved for another day.
I hopped into an auto rickshaw* and started to relax. Before 7am, the streets are still busy, and tons of people are out, but it's not oppressively hot (yet) and careening through the streets does have its faint charms. Because there are few sidewalks, the streets are not solely for traffic, and watching who (and what) is coming and going is fascinating: children balancing huge baskets of fruit on their heads; families of four riding comfortably on Vespa-like mini-scooters, the mother balancing a kitten in her lap; people waiting for buses; cows walking contentedly in the road...
(*About auto rickshaws: these are three-wheeled vehicles that remind me of the little toy cars that parking police drive in New York. They can just seat three in the back, four if someone sits with the driver, and, like all traffic in India, you often hurtle into the path of a large bus before making a sharp turn. )
I arrived just after 7am to find asana class in full swing. I had worried that the class would be trying, especially since my regular practice has been inconsistent since leaving New York, but it was mellow and allowed me to chill out a little, despite my new tendency to point my toes, but I blame that on Pilates. At 8am, we went downstairs for breakfast--plain yogurt and small pieces of soft bread, with chai and coffee. There are two more morning classes, one focuses on theory, the other on philosophy, and there is also a Vedic chanting class that is optional. I went to Monday's class to see if I would join, and while I love to hear others chant, I always feel like an off-key choirgirl.
I had big plans for the break (chanting ended at 12:30, our next class is at 3:15), planning to catch up on email (okay, my first plan was to find the internet cafe) and run some errands. I made it to the grocery store, then back to my room, where, I am ashamed to admit, I fell into a deep, much-needed sleep, missing the afternoon classes. Oops.
Anyway, I've gotten some emails about how I found KYM and other yoga-related queries, so I will post a summary soon. In the meantime, if you have, in the words of Judy, questions, thoughts, concerns, or comments, write me and I'll answer here or privately.
posted by Rebecca at 2:18 AM
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