A Talk with Sharath...

On Friday I went to my first led practice. The woman next to me had one of those practices that only a dancer can have. Everything had a flourish. She was also doing things like supta kurmasana without using her hands to put her legs in place and jumping into all the janusirsanas.

My ankle got worse after doing full primary in mysore class with all the half lotuses on the right side. So I decided I had to not do any half lotuses on the right during the led class. Everything went well through supta kurmasana. Each time I had to do a half lotus on the right (such as Marychiasana B and D) I put my sprained ankle on the floor instead of in lotus. Then, for garbapindasana, I put my left foot in lotus, turned my right knee in but not in lotus and started to put my left arm through. Sharath, who was standing next to me, his arms folded across his chest said, "Put your right leg in lotus." I pointed to my bound right foot (see photo for a recreation of what he saw). He made a circular motion with his finger indicating again to put it into lotus. I said, "It hurts." He said, "Then stop till finishing."


So I sat and watched... which was interesting. And Sharath was right about my not hurting myself. As you can tell from the photo, he was pointing out the obvious. If hurt; be hurt - even if I am in Mysore. If I were home I would not be pushing it.

I am sure he sees this a lot.

In sirsasana, I was thinking a little too much and thought, "...well, it could be worse. I could live in that tiny reed hut that my maid lives in... with no water or electricity and use the area out back as my toilet. Born a woman into a society that would definitely prefer a boy baby."

My problems are trivial.

On a much nicer note, I met C.K. and we went to a craft exhibition (that had some beautiful Tamil jewelry) and then to the Southern Star and had chocolate cake!

On further reflection on the led class experience, I have realized that I can now be lazy until I hopefully heal! Just kidding... I will focus on my bandhas or something.

If you have read this far, let me describe an image. There is a 1951 black and white movie "A Christmas Carol" with Alistair Sims that is aired every Christmas on television in a lot of English-speaking places. In it, at the end of his visit, a now aged Ghost of Christmas present opens his robes to reveal two thin, impoverished children. It is a stark visual that keeps coming to mind since I arrived in Mysore. From the Dicken's Novel:

"They are Man's,"” said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "“And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased."