Why not India?

There's another 2 weeks of teaching to go before I leave for 6-weeks of yoga bliss in India.  The studios where I teach have already let the word out, and some students have approached me on 'why India?'

Why not India?

I can understand, for someone who's never been there, just the idea of going to India, not to mention live there for weeks, can be extremely daunting.  It seems to be the land where the usual rules don't apply.

Sitting side saddle sans helmet

Look Ma! No Hands!

Freshly laundered clothes come wrapped in yesterday's newspapers

I mean, nobody can truly be prepared for India.  It is a beautiful destination..... incredible, no doubt, but compelling at the same time.  A fascinating land of mixed smells (yes, you get the whole nine yeards... pleasant AND non!)..... incessant honking at every road junction.... chai wallahs by the thousands.... rickshaw wallahs who slyly claim their metres are 'not working'.... kids running after you and asking if you've "got pen?".... cows and their droppings literally everywhere.... turmeric coloured food.... beautiful temples.... the gorgeous smell of jasmine in the air especially when there is a pooja.... ladies young and old, doing anything and everything in the most colourful of sarees, even sitting side-saddle on motorcycles.... old, really skinny men in white loin cloths, chanting or meditating along the Ganga, while further down, a body can be seen burning.... and everybody wants to know my name and if I'm from Japan!

And then, there's the yoga.... anything from big schools with fancy websites, medium sized shalas with ashrams, smaller non-descript shalas with just regular cement flooring, to free yoga practice at the temples at sunrise.

Most people who have gone to India all say the same thing... "you either love India, or hate it".

The sub-continent is huge and I've barely scraped the surface.  I've landed in Bangalore, found my way to Mysore and stayed there the longest for all things yoga, gone down to Kerala at the southern tip of the sub-continent, made my way up to Delhi, left footprints all over the kingdom of Rajasthan, wept over the sheer magnificence of the Taj Mahal, and left India with beautiful memories, newfound friends, renewed spirit and the dreaded 'Delhi Belly' stomach bug.

This will be my third consecutive year to India, and my second 'pure yoga' sojourn. 

I'm looking forward to, once again, detaching myself from the regular demands of life, and totally immersing myself into days of asana practice, pranayama and meditation. 

I yearn to be part of a daily ritual where yogasana is used to get into the depths of the mind and to tap into that inner sense of being, rather than being attached to trying to improve on postures. 

I want to open my heart and mind to the possibility of being more dharmic, in my outlook and response to what life has in store for me. 

In order to look after others' needs, I also need to look after mine.

To be able to teach well, I must continue to learn.

Do continue to practice and share the light.... because when I return home, I will share my light which will be burning oh-so brightly within me.

Om Namah Shivaya.