I Must Be in India

36 hours of travel and I finally arrive in Mysore, India. My intention is to spend the next few weeks doing yoga at Sri K. Pattabhi Jois’ yoga shala and focusing on my volunteer work with Curriki.

After practicing Ashtanga Yoga for the last 8 years I have decided its time to practice the Primary Series at the birthplace. I won’t be allowed to move into the second series (despite finally making it to Ardha Matsyendrasana in the second series with the most inflexible back in the history of yoga) because I can’t not stand up on my own from doing a backbend. This is fine by me…I find primary series soothing and comfortable while second series is full of vulnerability and strange sensations in my lower sacrum (which I will happily put aside for the next month or so as India alone makes me vulnerable and full of strange sensations).

I arrive in Bangalore 4 hours earlier than my taxi is scheduled to pick me up. I decide to dive in to India and wander around outside to search for a coffee and water – a few minutes later I have my own trail of taxi and rick-a-shaw drivers, but this time with no beggars? Already Bangalore seems wealthier than Delhi. My coffee and water mission is accomplished and I pat myself on the back for adjusting so quickly to “India time” and wait in the airport for the next few hours.

Twelve hours later as I write this, I no longer am patting myself on the back. After a four hour ride to Mysore, I checked in to my fancy hotel, waited for 2 more hours for the room to be ready, failed to get money out of 3 ATMs despite my in person conversation with Wells Fargo prior to leaving, failed to sign up for yoga because the shala closed despite saying it was open until 6, failed to get online for the last three hours despite the “IT expert” at the hotel helping me. I must be in India.

Tomorrow my hope is to get money out of the ATM and sign-up for yoga.

I love the signs in India, here is what is on my window. I didn’t capture it today but we passed a truck carrying petrol with a beautiful painting on the back stating “Warning: Highly Inflammable Petrol.” Perhaps an attempt at reverse psychology? If we state its inflammable we won’t blow up?

Oh, speaking of which, I learned today that two terrorists were captured in Mysore this morning??