Mysore Family and Parties

This week has gone so fast. I have been practicing every morning with Sharath and doing those extra exercises at home. My practices have been good, sometimes I don’t have that much pain after practice. Only my leg keeps bothering me and it’s the problem with the drop-backs, too. I can’t keep my heels down and because of the nerve pain on my right leg, the toes ain’t staying on line. But the extra exercise is building more strength on my legs and keeping my back more aligned.

Yesterday was a fun day. My unbalanced neighbour is now gone, so this building is full of supernice yogis. My neighbour Anna had her birthday yesterday. We organized a suprise party for her and had Indian Mane cooking for us maybe the most delicious Indian food I have ever had. During this season we have been totally spoilt, because we have had our own pastry chef Sam here. He had again baked the most amazing B-day cake. Anna was in tears, because the food was so good and the cake was her absolutely favorite. I think that partly she was in tears, because it was her first birthday during ten years away from her husband. Birthdays and other traditional family parties here are hard. You miss your family and friends so much during those days. People who don’t stay here for a long time, don’t get it. This is not some relaxing yoga retreat, where you just rest, this is actually an ordinary life with ups and downs. But Mysore family is very strong, too. Because we all go through similar periods in Mysore, when practice is hard, you are injured or sick, India is just too much or people are crazy. We know what it is and everyone of us takes turns to support each others and tell them to wait brighter days.

Yesterday I got good support from Anriikka. I was supposed to do the exam regarding my distance studies, but the exam was so late local time, that internet cafés were closed. I went to Anriikka’s house to use her WIFI and did the exam there. When I left, it was so dark that she gave me her flash-light and literally lifted me and my things over the gate. When I got home, she called that I was back home safely.

I got to my bed around midnight and my alarm rang after three hours’ sleep. I felt like I was totally waisted, so I thought that it’s too risky to practice with my back. So this morning I got three calls, where I had been. People thought that I missed the class because of my back. And because I don’t normally miss classes, they all called, what was going on. This is, how my Mysore family works. Without all these special friends, life could be hard in Mysore. Now it’s mostly just fantastic!