The rest of the trip...

So, what happened to days 8-14? Where did we go, what did we do?
Well, there was no WiFi at Yoga Nikaya, so we kind of dropped off the grid for a week, which was actually great! Yoga Nikaya was so peaceful and quiet, such a contrast to the busy city of Bangalore, and a welcome change.
So, I'm summarizing the rest of the trip. First let me start with a sum total of what we saw and did:
Aside from having Bangalore 'do us' (ha!) we saw Leela Palace, a fancy posh hotel which I already blogged about; lunch at Koshy's--I call it a 'flash back restaurant,' with a complete menu of Indian and American food, plus the infamous 'Thums Up' soda-pop (sweet, syrupy coke--actually made by Coke); Nandi Temple; Mysore Palace; Krishna Consciousness Temple; Halebeedu Temple; Vishnu Shanti Ashram; Belhur Temple (Mr. Iyengar's birthplace); Yoga Nikaya (the brand new, beautiful retreat center just south of Bangalore; attended the Harvest Festival, complete with decorated, dressed up cows getting blessed with water and fire; and a visit the the most amazing organic farm run by Ghandians (people who follow the teachings of Mahatma Ghandi).
There were so many wonderful things that occurred during our stay at Yoga Nikaya. The first real delight for me was being greeted with a fresh coconut. I don't know, I must have been really thirsty and hungry from the 2 hour drive into the country, but nothing ever tasted so refreshing and delightful, and the meat inside the coconut was so sweet and soft, I ate the whole thing!
The daily invocation (several times a day) to Patanjali must have brought him to me as the first night I was there, I dreamed of snakes--not in a scary way, but just lots of beautiful, colorful snakes. It wasn't until a few days later that I realized the significance of it. I had lots of vivid dreams during my stay there--perhaps it was the energy of the place and my energetic response to the Indian experience, or the really firm (ok hard), thin mattress I attempted to sleep on which was organically stuffed with coconut hair, or maybe it was the cold-water bucket baths--so refreshing and enlightening--I have a new appreciation for water running hot from the tap. These dreams could also be influenced by the amazing Chai, and delightfully spiced food there, enhanced by the experience of eating with my fingers, and the sweet soft friendly voices and company of the local Indian students, and international students with us--from Chili, Argentina, and Denmark.  But truly, it must have been from the amazing, I mean amazing classes that Arunji taught. His expert, precise instruction combined with such an artistic way of using props was truly the highlight of India for me. The consistency of practicing for several hours a day along with great great food, sweet company, and relaxed atmosphere just lends to an opening in the body, mind and spirit. We were even more blessed by the array of exposure to art, dancing, music and ayurvedic lectures we received while there. What an experience for all the sense organs! Even in writing this last long entry about India here on this blog, I feel I am not doing it justice.
I wrote in my journal, "I have changed. Go home changed. Spend more time with those you love, with the activities that inspire you, and worry less about what doesn't really matter."
And, Arunji is the real deal--he has a way of seeing and teaching that transcends. One day, I heard him chanting/singing to himself as I walked by his room, I wished I could have bottled it up so I could open it when I needed to remember the feelings I had once home. His little sayings (so many of them) before class still stick with me. "Be silent first to practice anything" "Exhaling is most important. Life begins with an exhale, life ends with an exhale, we sneeze, cough, cry, and talk all with an exhale. And if you have been good in your life, your friends and loved ones will cry for you with an exhale." "Be doubly careful if you practice pranayama, if you aren't, it will eat you and you may become sick""You must have a personal practice; the teacher--your inner teacher arrives during personal practice" "Do not let you heart become dry and your chest to close--this makes us depressed"
Right now (it's been just a few days since I returned home) I am grateful for the fresh memories as I know they will fade (as all things do) with time. For now, I can still see the vivid colors of the sun rising and setting, the incredible full moon, the sensual delight of a few hot water/bucket bath :), and the lingering tastes, smells, and sounds of India.
Where are the pictures? All you need to do is check out the Facebook page of any of us that went--there are thousands (I took over a thousand myself, including video) for you to view and enjoy!

Will I return? You bethcha! I can't imagine not returning...come join me next time!

Day 7...

Oh man, I wish posting pictures was working! I've taken over 700 photos so far and they have really turned out great. It'll just have to wait until I get back.
So what happened to day 6? Well yesterday was a great yoga day for me. I was able to take 3 of Arun's classes. His ladies class have over 50 women in it. The Indian women practice in their Salwar Kameez outfits with grace and beauty and humor. I feel so honorednto be with them, they are all so welcoming and sweet.
We also went to the Krishna Conciousness Temple in Rajajinagar. The temple in an active place of worship for Hindus. When we arrived late in the afternoon, it was packed, but for some reason, they waived us right to the front of the line. All I can think of is we are obvious foreigners visiting and maybe might donate a little money, which of course, we did. Andy, Maria, if you are reading this, Darcy, Jim and I thougt of you guys because the entire time we were there the Hari Krishna, Hari Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, (etc.) chant was being piped in. We chnted it with a priest performing an Arati ceremony just for us, received prasad, and joined in on a Kirtan jam! No cameras are allowed in the temple though, so we didn't capture the moments on film. :( Anyway, the experience was just so amazing, it is hard to put into words. But visualize an old enormous temple made of stone, filled with thousands of people all chanting, prostrating, crying, and worshiping Krisha and Rama. After receiving our blessings and supporting the gift shop (where ingot this amazing tulsi mala and frankincense) we revived another form of prasad--some very tasty, spicy, kitcheree. It was delicious and piping hot and so we all ate it of course with our hands, no forks or spoons here--you eat with your hands, including kitcheree, which is a mixture on rice and dahl, the consistency is like oatmeal, which makes eating it with your hands a little challenge. But where there is will, there is always a way, and we managed just fine.
On then way back from the temple (heading to a shopping district) I saw a cow, yes, an actual cow standing inside the bus stop, as if he was waiting for the bus like all the other passengers. As I mentioned previously, the cow is sacred, so he was not shooed away, but rather treated justnas any other person/being waiting for a bus. Anyway it was a hilarious sight, and one I will not soon forget.
So that brings me to today. Today we drove 200 kilometers into Belhur to see the Halebeedu Temple. The temple Is an eleventh century architectural phenomenon that is beyond words to describe, but was well worth the 4 hour drive in. Then journey itself was such a rich experience. Just like the scenes from the movie, "Slumdog Millionaire," we drove through slums as we left the city, through yards and yards of garbage, saw a beautiful sunrise amidst the hazy air, and really felt the reality of the billion plus people that live here. We left very early (6am), so we witnessed the rising day, the beginning of the sound assault as the beeping, honking, literal laying of horns began. The smog was so thick it was difficult to see some kids practicing yoga on their school lawn, oxen and cattle being walked by their owners (this vision appeared when we got out of the city), the women walking with large jugs of water on their heads, and the carts full of reeds and kindling wood slowly moving down the road, and the ever-present colorful sari clad women floating down the streets (both in the city and out in the country). There are sad disturbing visions as well, like the polio inflicted beggars in the streets, hands outstretched, sitting on tangled limbs all turn the wrong way.
I wish I had film of Jim telling Darcy the story of the Bhagavad Gita along the ride, it was a beautiful sweet thing to witness, and the Gita is told in so many different written ways, it was delightful to hear it casually verbalized. Anyway, when we got there and forged through the entrepreneurs selling trinkets (btw, in Mysore there was even a kid with 2 cobras and a monkey selling the opportunity for you to take a picture of him and his pets) the temple was almost surreal. Elaborate carvings, intricate work, layers of stories all carved into stone back in the eleventh century.
I am going to explain more tomorrow in detail about the temple...
It's now past midnight and I have a 6am class to get to!
Jai, jai. Stay tuned...

Is it really day 5 already?

So today we went into Mysore. What an experience! We visited the Ranganatha Swamy Temple in Karantaka State where we paid respects to Vishnu, Lakshmi, and Ganesha. I received a water blessing from a priest there in front of the Lakshmi Temple.
Then we visited Mysore Palace, one of the best known and most photographed monuments in India. The palace exhibits many royal artifacts and is an incredibly beautiful place. Many people go to visit the palace including Indians. We were quite the spectacle there, I don't think the locals see a lot of foreigners. We were asked to take pictures with families, and school children walking along would say "Hi" and when we replied back would squeal and giggle with delight.
It was quite along bus ride out and back though--a totalnof 5 hours on the road, so I am pretty tired (no yoga today as we had to leave at 6am). I am looking forward to yoga tomorrow and then we will be visiting the Krisha Conciousness Temple. Whew!

Day 3&4!!!

Oh my, here it is already day 4! The trip yesterday to Leela Palace was such a contrast to what we've been experiencing so far. Leela Palace is not a palace at all but it is a 5 star hotel where important people like our President stays when he comes to Bangalore. I've tried like the dickens to post pics both here, on MobileMe, and Facebook to show you all but with very little success. Anyway, Leela Palace was very, very luxurious. Decadent, well manicured grounds, fancy foyers, huge fountains filled with rose petals, and a big beautiful pool were just a few of the incredible things to see. Aside from that, we were there to indulge on their elegant brunch. All the foods we might not be able to get in Bangalore were certainly available at Leela Palace. We had choices from lamb brains to chocolate souffle! I personally passed on the brains, but make it a religion to never turn down chocolate! Anyway, we did a bit of fancy mall shopping as well there and headed home.
The traffic during rush hour is absolutely crazy. There are no established lanes anywhere in the streets. The road is shared without any seemingly rules (at one point our driver was driving the wrong way down a one way road) with cars, buses, mopeds carrying families of 3-4 (complete with side-saddled, sari-wearing moms on the back, child in the middle and baby in front of dad who is driving), cows, pedestrians, and what or who ever needs to use the road. There are no real cross-walks so to say, and pedestrians do not have the right of way, so it's an insane dance and I mean really insane of darting vehicles, animals, and people shooting across the road in all different directions. It is incredible, but it seems to work in an eerie sort of way. It sure looks like somebody will get hit, but in the nick of time they or the vehicle makes a sharp dart out of the way, all preceded by the honk, which I think
translates as a language, an entire dialect of its own. There was not an evening yoga class that night, so we skipped that, went out for dinner and retired around 10am. at about 2am we were roused by barking dogs. The barking literlly went on for hours. We summized somebody must have been in heat and drove all the local male dogs crazy. Oh yeah, and then we couldn't get back to sleep, so it's been a long day today!

Today started with an early morning back-bend class, a little break for chai and veggie biyrani, a late morning class for women only, (what an amazing sequence; and the studio must have has 40 women in class) and then a bus ride to a quaint little bistro called Koshy's (which was like stepping back 50 years but had some really good food including milkshakes and the infamous "thums up," a sweet Indian style cola), and a visit to the Nandi Temple. This temple is situated in a little forest and in addition to having big beautiful statues of 5 goddesses, is a tribute to the Bhagavad Gita. The verses of Gita are carved out in stone tablets and displayed in a beautiful ashram. I could have spent the night there as it was a surreal and spiritual experience to touch and read the tablets in this sort of glory. After that we did some shopping at a fun local place called, "Fab India." And then it was another crazy ride home in commute traffic, back the the hotel (I actually opted to skip dinner, take a shower (India is very dusty and the trip today left me feeling an urgency to wash off the dry, dark, dirt)), and get ready for a long, big, important all day trip tomorrow to Mysore, Mr Iyengar's birthplace.
So it's off to sleep I go in order to be ready to rise at 5am, get on the bus for 3 hours and see more of India! This has really been an amazing experience, truly a different world. Right now, 8:45pm I hear then local Temple chanting prayers and ringing in their puja as the same beeping cars, barking dogs and busy pedestrians travel home and retire for the day. So good
night for now! I promise I will do my best to keep up an the blog tomorrow!!!

Day 2

Right after yesterday's blog we went to Arun's advanced practice class. It was an amazing class that consisted of very long holding of poses. 5 minutes in Supata Padangustasana 1 & 2 each side twice, 10 minutes in Sirsasana (headstand), 10 minutes each side marichyasana 2. Needless to say, after the long flight, staying up all day, and truly slipping into a deeper kosha after the evening class, I hit the proverbial wall, skipped dinner, and went to bed. I think I was fast asleep by 8pm. So now it's 5am and I am wide awake. The sweet assault noise is beginning outside my hotel room--cars speeding by, 3 wheeled motorcycles aka taxis zooming around, birds squawking, horns beeping (which by the way conitinues all day long) and chanting off in the distance at the local temple. My roommate, Darcy wants coffee. There is a local chain of coffee shops called "coffee day" we are going to take a little walk and see just how early they open...
This morning we will have a 2 hour class with Arun (it's Sunday morning here) and then we are off to brunch at Lela Palace (a fancy place) followed by our first official shopping expedition. :)
Well, I'm off to look for coffee or better yet those delectable piping hot, thimble size cups of chai sold in the corner street cafe's.

First Day here

Well that really was the longest flight ever! What does one do up in an airplane for 20 hours? Actually the flight wasn't so bad just the duration. But we are all here in Bangalore now safe and sound and have already gone to our first yoga class with Arun. We arrived in Bangalore at about 4am got the the hotel and was able to make Arun's 6am class. What a welcome yoga was after that long trip! India floods the senses. It is hard to describe but I'll try. Even at 4am the moment stepping off the plane floods the senses with smells, colors, noise, people, stray dogs, corner temples and energy that is so stimulating. The combination of smells alone--sweet, smoky, and pungent is enough to put you in an altertate state. the food is spicy, hot, and sweet. The colors are vibrant, enticing and beautiful. The people are quiet, polite, friendly, dark, and lovely. It's true what they say, India does you, you don't do India. So sorry for the slight delay in blogging. Internet access is spotty at best ;)

This is it!

Well, this is it! I am finally packed, printed my boarding pass and I'm ready to go!
How do I feel? I am excited and  anxious.
I have a long wait at the SFO Airport as well, so maybe I'll take a few pre-boarding pics there of the group and post another blog today. If not, I'll see you in India!

48 Hours to India!

I need to pack, I need to pack, I need to pack! But that's all I have left to do...
I think my big yellow Kitty Cat is going to miss me though, what do you think?

Day 2 Getting ready for India Day only...3 days left!

Well, whew, I figured out how to work and download the pictures from the camera! Don't you just love this day and age--it is so easy with all our great technology, don't know why I was stressing about it. My plan for pictures is to use mobile me as the application. Let's see, does this work? Click in the link below...

http://gallery.me.com/sandycarmellini/100074/DSC%5F0019

So today, the plan is to pack (well at least start packing), and get a much needed pedi/mani. Does one wear color on their nails in India without looking too much like a tourist?

Day 1!

Happy New Year everyone!
I am just learning how to blog, and just in time for my big trip to India! It was one of my big goals to get this going before I leave!
So, here goes (I promise it'll get more exciting as the days roll by)
In just 4 short days I'll be boarding a plane for a very long ride--20+ hours--oy!
I am very excited about taking this trip--it has required more preparation then any other trip I have gone on, but 3 vaccines, 1 valid passport with a current Indian Visa stamped in it, 3 prescriptions, 1 new camera, 1 new i-pad, 2 suitcases (one full, one empty), and a lot of mosquito repellent, and I'm almost there! Today I plan on figuring out how to work and download my new camera and start packing! Stay tuned...