anand

anand is the hindu word for bliss…simple happiness that can’t be bought or borrowed, but simply comes when one is quiet enough to notice it softly creep in…that’s a good description of what i feel here in india. only two more days till this chapter of the adventure closes and the next begins…can’t believe how the time has flown by. it’s hard to put into words what i’ve found here. a hint of a glimpse of my mind wrapping itself around a perspective, a way of living so radically different from my own, and yet so familiar it’s like stumbling upon a favorite old pair of shoes i never knew i had…as comfortable as if i’d worn them every day of my life, but startling me with colors and textures i didn’t know existed before now. or, simply, anand. i think my favorite part of my first sojourn to this magical place is the new musical journey i’ve embarked upon since i arrived. i didn’t even know i was looking for it. but here it is, dancing before my eyes and enticing me to dive deeper. it’s like something in this place scans your soul the moment you arrive, and before you know it you are being showered with precisely the gifts meant for you. but that seems to be the way of things when you are on the right path…

mystical mysore

well, my partner in crime, my soul sister and world traveling yoga buddy lynn hodgins has just left mysore to return home to ireland and her baby girl sienna..i’m sad to see her go, but very happy that i got to romp around with her for two whole weeks! and i get to spend two more weeks in this magical place. mysore is an amazing place to meet lovely people from all over the planet. after two weeks, i feel like i am just settling into the rhythm of life here…it would be very easy to stay here for a few months! one month is barely enough to scratch the surface of india, but then i knew that when i made my plans…i will surely be back again, and probably sooner than i imagine. today i had my first bansuri lesson, with Ravi Shankar Mishra. my new friends Laura and Karen invited me along to their lesson, and what a treat and an honor! Ravi is an enormously talented musician, and it was such a pleasure to meet him and his beautiful family. i look forward to getting in as many lessons as i can before i leave…as with yoga, time spent practicing with the teacher is precious…so much inspiration, this place! i’m drinking it in…even a little dose of india is a feast for the soul…

mother india

have been in mysore a few days now…getting used to the upside down time and used to all the new sounds and smells and sights…somehow this place feels like home, and not at all as shocking as i expected. i think mysore is a very gentle introduction to India – indeed there is chaos and smoggy rickshaws and cows passing you on the sidewalks as well as sharing the road…and i saw a mother pig and her posse of piglets barreling down the street at full squeal this morning as i sat outside the vedic astrologer’s home reading yoga mala counting butterflies and recording insane bird songs interspersed with chainsaws and car horns…but still, the unlikely chorus is sweet music to my hungry ears. mysore is an amazing place to make fifty new friends from twelve corners of the earth in the space of as many minutes. everyone here, foreigners and locals alike, are so lovely and friendly and welcoming. not at all the intense overwhelm i was preparing myself for… i find this place feels very much like home. and yoga…what is there to say? it’s why i’m here!