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In 1986 I
wrote the Ramamami Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. I sent
pictures of my poses. I sent references from my teachers.
I told of my yoga study history. I asked to attend an
intensive. The secretary wrote back that the intensive
attendance for Americans was being organized by a senior teacher
here in the United Stat es. I should contact him. He
was not helpful. Rather than being assertive and making it
to India within the next three years I let the issue drop. I
decided that I had other things to do, raise my family, finish
school, study with wonderful teachers available to me in my home
country. The following year an Iyengar Yoga Convention was
held in Boston. I attended and did not feel that I was
missing the chance of a lifetime by not making it to India.
In 1998
Guruji celebrated his 80th birthday with many yoga students
from around the world in attendance. Months before the
celebration Manouso Manos was encouraging students to attend.
At the time, my family life was far from settled. I felt I
had too many obligations to make it to India. I explained
Manouso the circumstances that I felt had kept me from making the
trip over these past years. He encouraged me to write to
India that week. Make plans to attend classes within the
next 3-4 years. He said my family and I had at least 3 years
to figure out how we were going to manage this. The plan was
so simple. I wrote to India.
It's 2001 and
I have made plans to go to India. I leave the end of
September and will study at RIMYI for 2 months. I have never
traveled overseas. I have never traveled where I needed a
passport. I am excited at the adventure to come.
October
7, 2001
Have survived
over a week in India and one week of class and practice at the
Institute. Am very glad I came. It is challenging on so many
levels. One of the other students here said that "There is
nothing subtle about India." Sums it up.
The Institute is
prop heaven. Everything you could imagine being even remotely
useful is there. Even found wedges like my chiropractors used for
my sacrum. I have two women's classes a week, one pranayama, one
advanced and two general classes. The general classes are made up
of foreign students who had to have been practicing Iyengar yoga
for at least eight years and receive a recommending letter from
their teacher as well as locals some of who have just recently
moved up from a beginner's class. It's quite a mix. The Indians
for the most part are the sweathogs (remember "Welcome Back Kotter")
of the group. They don't take things as seriously as we do. Some
are very pushy when it comes to props lifting them from an
unguarded spot, pushing their way into the prop room. It's really
very funny. Everything works out though as the assistants yell
"Quickly, quickly" along with other instructions to make things go
more smoothly. Some class groups make a more cooperative effort
than others. The classes are very large. I can't even say how
many, but we are too many to even use mats. When we lie down for
Savasana we must have crossed legs because there is no room to
stretch out.
 The assistants
in the classes range from poorly prepared, just shouting and
adjusting by rote, to brilliant with wonderful suggestions and
helps. One, Mr. Shah, is perfect. He teaches one of the men's
classes and they have good reports for him also.
Most of my
classes are with Geeta, I have only one with Prashant. They have
two very different teaching styles and I like both very much. In
Geeta's class it's not uncommon for Guruji to break in and give a
pearl of wisdom. This week was primarily standing poses. We
worked quite a bit on the hips. To my students: the hip work we
have been doing, that's what we have been doing this week, only a
whole lot more - we have not been working near hard enough. Also
on lift of the spine. It's been simultaneously invigorating and
exhausting. My practice sessions on four days a week are at the
same time as Geeta's and Guruji's practice. Have been able to
watch their practices and Guruji has helped some students during
their practice so have gained that teaching as well. This
experience has the feel of an intensive even though there are
really only six classes a week. The practice sessions are
invaluable and I wouldn't miss them.
Next week I will
begin observing in classes other than my own and taking notes. To
be able to do this you need, first, permission, next money. There
is a charge, which I paid and I can observe as many classes as I
can get to. I don't how many I will observe as my plate seems
pretty full just trying to live and follow my own schedule. I, at
least, plan to observe the medical classes. But, since I have
only one of Prashant's classes a week, I want also to observe one
or two of those to get some of his pearls. He works so
differently from Guruji and Geeta.
Living in India
is difficult. Everything we do is hard and really can't say why.
It's just such a wild place. It's difficult to walk anywhere as
you dodge traffic, cows, goats, dogs and other people. Also, the
street signs are in Maharathi so addresses often mean nothing
unless you just happen to know that the street you are on is the
one you intended. Yesterday a group of us went in search of
a batik shop and got very lost ending instead at a beautiful field
at the border of a very quiet neighborhood. Someone said it
was mustard. A nice change from the chaos where we live.
 To
get to the Institute I can walk through a park which is very nice,
but it is open very few hours a day, I think 6-9 am and 3-6 pm.
Often I eat
lunch at a local lady's apartment, Chitra. She cooks
Ayurvedically. She is multi-talented. Before she had children
she sang on the radio and still gives music classes. She also
gives cooking and philosophy classes. She knows just about
everything that is going on and really takes an interest in us.
Our yoga mommy. She and I are planning on going to a lecture with
Dr. Vasant Lad next month. He is in town. Maybe next week I can
get over and have a consultation. It costs less than $6 American
. What an opportunity, this really great Ayurvedic doctor who is
associated with the place I am doing my correspondence work with
right here when I am.
Going to the
German bakery, an old hippie hangout, today to have a good cup of
coffee. Mostly the coffee we get is Nescafe with lots of sugar
and milk. The German Bakery is by the Osho Commune so may get to
peer in at the opulence there. Raining today so will not really
get to walk through the gardens that are around there, another
day.
Tonight we are
to watch a video of a Q&A with Mr. Iyengar that was done in
Washington, DC. Don't know what year. It is expected that we
attend. This is like school. If you miss much you're out. They
have special programs regularly. They have hot off the press an
audio cassette of two pranayama classes with Prashant for only 30
rupees, that's less than $1 American. It's good that some things
are so cheap, because many things (including my Institute tuition)
are really more expensive than expected. Apparently Pune is
one of the
more expensive places in India to be.
Hope everyone is
well. Email whenever you like. I love to get messages from
home. The internet cafe is less than 5 minutes from my hotel. I
usually stop in every day.
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October 15
Last week at the Institute was forward
bends and twists. Some classes I thought would never end, but at
the end of the week, Friday to be exact, we got what I call a
great reprieve. The Institute will be closed the last Friday of
the month, so Geetaji progressed us to the next week's syllabus,
backbending. It was the best class I have had since attending the
Institute. Geetaji was in rare form. She seemed
to feel good and have a good time with the class. The class
had a good time. It was most excellent. This week there will
be a physician giving a lecture on the physiological body.
It's our monthly meeting. We are expected to attend. I, of
course, have no problem with that. Saturday's women's class was
the post-menstrual series. Since I have been doing this
series for quite some time I was in my element, but women who have
not been doing this regularly reported that it was very
challenging. We all have our talents and likes.
For
an
outing,
a
group
of 9 arranged for a van and went
60 kilometers out of Pune to the
Bhaja-Karla
Caves. It was great just going on a road trip and getting out of
the city and the noise. These caves have temples carved in them.
The
first one we went to, the Bhaja Caves, is up the mountain from
a small village. There were many waterfalls around the mountain
and at a few we could see the village women washing clothing and
dishes and gathering water for their homes in big copper pots. It
was a very colorful sight. The village is not too small to have a
train station. Both coming and going we had to wait for trains to
pass. Basically, the rail is let down manually sometime before
the trains are scheduled to pass by and we wait until they
actually do, then the rail is
brought back up. The Bhaja Caves
are Buddhist. The main temple has a huge stupa which is round and
reaches near the ceiling, about two stories high. There are
pillars also carved from the cave rock along the sides of the
temple with teak arches topping them. This teak is said to be the
original wood from the 2nd century BC. We were there by ourselves
for quite some time. It was very nice.
There were caves that were used for
individual monks for living and meditating. One cave had 18
stupas with slight variations from each other carved and placed
seemingly haphazardly. Apparently, no one knows exactly what
their purpose is, one person suggested practice for the big stupa
in the main temple. We could see forts up on the ridges high
above, just like a Gunga Din movie. The second cave, Karla Cave,
was a bit more recent, larger and Hindu. Though is did have some
Buddhas carved in the walls. There was much more carving in this
temple. It was about three times as large.
There were elephants carved in the
entry way that were said to originally have had ivory tusks.
Walking up to either temple was a very steep climb and was quite
an effort. At the Karla Caves, being more visited by the locals
there were "gift shops" all along the way up. There were gifts
for the temple (flowers, coconuts), gifts from the temple (like
amulets, pictures of gods), there were cold drinks of many
varieties, there was music, there were other touristy type
things. There were also beggars, quite a few.
Directly in front of the main cave was
a small Hindu temple which was busy with people walking in for
Puja. The flowers and coconuts were for people going into this
temple for blessings. It was busy when we went, but I could tell
it gets much busier, as there were railings, like at Disneyland,
to create a queue for entering the temple. As each person came to
the temple door they rang one of the many bells that hung there.
It was a wild experience, with lots of India flavor.
 Went to see Chitra's Guru. Chitra is
a lady who serves lunches for anyone interested. She makes
Ayurvedic food and helps us to find sites and shops we are looking
for. She is the one that let me know that Dr. Lad was in town.
Her Guru, Shri Parwadeshwarey, was visiting Pune from his ashram
south of here. He was a very beautiful man. It was a great honor
to visit and hear him speak, though I did not understand what was
said - he does not speak English. He was receiving people in an
apartment of one of his devotees. When we arrived we met a man
called, Sweet Baba. His story is that he was just a farmer until
1981. He fell asleep beneath the statue of the three headed god
from which he received a blessing that night. Ever since all he
touches tastes sweet. Water that passes through his hands tastes
of sugar. He first noticed this ability the week after this
blessing when everything he touched was sweet. All his food
including chilies, his bicycle, everything he touched was sweet.
He went to the doctor who said he was normal with all tests, save
this sweetness thing. Now his food is normal, but everything he
touches is sweet. It is said that when you drink Sweet Baba's
sweet water, you will reach your goals. One group particularly
mentioned was alcoholics who, once they drank the sweet water,
turned away from alcohol.
After meeting Sweet Baba, who says his
website is onemansugarfactory.com.sweetbaba (I thought he was
kidding, haven't checked it out yet), all of us who had come were
fed a meal on banana leaves. It was very good, cooked by the
women in the group. Afterwards we met and spoke, through Chitra,
to the Guru. It was an amazing day.
The lesson this week from India is
that nothing in India ever gets finished. We traveled over roads
that were being repaired, etc. There seemed to be no real
planning involved, just begin somewhere and when you get tired of
it quit. The roads are not very good, so the short trip seemed
quite lengthy. The roadwork is completed by men being used as
machines. There is a real difference in life here in India. It
creates either an incredible frustration or great patience.
Return to Top
October
23,2001
Last Wednesday evening we were on Laxmi
Road which has lots of shops. As we left we noticed some
additional shrines and lots of activity around them. It was the
beginning of a 9-day festival to the goddess Bhawani, who I am
told holds the aspects of 3 different goddesses: Parvrati, Laxmi,
and Arwaswati. The festival is called Ghatasthapana. Saturday
night at about 1:30 AM a parade of sorts went past our hotel. It
consisted of a tractor pulling a small wagon which was piled high
with large (rock concert size) speakers from which emanated
rhythmic, visceral music. There were men and boys dancing around.
Behind the small wagon was a larger one, about the size we use for
hayrides, which had a shrine and a gaggle of women. The whole
deal was lit up brightly and they would move about 25 feet, stop
and dance, then move about 25 feet more. It took them quite some
time to pass the hotel. It was really grand. All week there will
be women dancing and playing music down around Laxmi Road, and
Friday night is the culmination of festivities. I have class
every evening, but Friday the institute will be closed so maybe I
will witness some more Bhawani celebration.
Sunday we went to the Parvrati Temple
which is on a very high hill from which we can see the entire
city, which is so much bigger than I thought. This is a large
metropolis spreading out over miles. Since this is festival time
there was music in the temples and nicer chalk paintings (which
have a name that escapes me right now) at the entry ways. The
walk up was not for the faint of heart. Even the steps themselves
were steep, not horizontal. But it was well worth it.
Last week Geeta's sister's
father-in-law passed away. So, the evening that the family went
to call we had Mr. Shah for class. We were very pleased when
Geeta made it back the next day for Friday night class which so
far has been the best (for me) each week. Geeta is such a great
teacher and she really seems to enjoy teaching Friday night. This
in great juxtaposition to Saturday morning women's class where we
get on her nerves right quick every single class. Lots of yelling
and chastising during women's classes.
Pranayama begins later this week. It
seems like the beginning of this week is a potpourri, pretty much
what they feel like. Prashant's class yesterday (Monday) did
seated twists and this morning did a whole lot of padangusthasana,
on the floor, standing, on the floor again, etc. Last night in
Geeta's class we did backbends. So, who knows what we are in for
this evening with Prashant.
The classes are very full. The rumor
is that 15 Americans cancelled this month. We wonder where 15
additional bodies would be placed. We are hedged in closely for
every class. The biggest project each class is the collection or
removal of props. The prop closet has one door which is almost
too narrow for two people (one passing in and one out), let alone
if one has a prop or two. Putting away the props is usually a
coordinated effort among us, but getting them is another story
altogether. Geeta and Prashant are very good looking out that all
students have a place and what they need, still some people seem
to become pretty desperate when on expedition for props. The
women's class is the worst. Last week in one class Geeta wouldn't
even let the door to the studio be opened until everything was put
away, that way everyone pretty much had to help. Pretty funny.
Geeta's class always begins with adho
mukha virasana, uttanasana with feet apart, adho mukha savanasana,
and uttanasana with feet together and hands down. While the main
group does this she can make sure that anyone with ailments or
menstruating is set up in the back of the room for their
practice. Prashant's class is always something different. In
Geeta's class we often receive lightning strikes of wisdom from
Guruji who can be found practicing in the studio just about
anytime we have class. In Prashant's class Guruji does not offer
additional information. His insights follow right along with
Geeta's instruction. Prashant tends to be a little more esoteric
and more involved with the energies of the body so his class has a
totally different feel. Every class has inversions.
To keep from getting ill I've been very
careful: clean hands, clean food, and clean water. So, I caught a
cold anyway. It has been raining quite a bit and many people are
walking around with colds, including Guruji (maybe I have his
auspicious germs). I went to see Dr. Vasant Lad who is in Pune
for a few months. The visit cost 200 rupees which is just over
$4. Amazing. He is a wonderful man. I told him about taking the
correspondence course with the Ayurvedic School in Albuquerque and
asked to attend his lectures in November. He said I should and I
should also visit him in Albuquerque. It was a kind doctor visit –
even better than our American doctor ideal, Marcus Welby. He gave
me some ayurvedic remedies that seemed to keep the cold from
getting worse, but it really saps my energy walking about in the
heat, doing asana in the heat, trying to find meals, practicing at
the institute. Practicing at the institute is so intense.
You just don't realize how much
Guruji's and Prashant's and Geetaji's presence, and others'
practices, and the space, and the props can do. Every time I
enter it's an event. How many of us have multiple "events" each
day?
Return to Top
November 4, 2001
Things never get dull
here. The rains have stopped so construction of all types is
visible, including road repair. In a couple of days the prime
minister will be visiting Pune so there is a crackdown on all
corruption (one such activity being our fruit vendor who works the
street in front of our hotel), the hotels had to register guests
with the police, and there are a lot of police looking officials
wandering about. We'll see how exciting the actual event turns
out to be.
The festival that ended
Friday proved to be quite an exciting time. It celebrates three
different Goddesses. At the end a Goddess destroys a demon. This
is acted out and dancing and fireworks and hilarity is all around
as all is good with the world. That final day, when the demon is
gone, is a day in which the Lord's light shines on us all. It is
a time to begin new projects, relationships, make investments,
make purchases, ask for a loan. So, it was an auspicious day for
shopping. We went shopping.
Also went to the top of
Hanuman Hill which is on Deccan College grounds. This hill has a
small Hanuman temple at the top and another great view of the
city. This one was especially interesting to us as the Institute
and our hotel are just up the road so we could identify our
neighborhood.
Another day we made it to
a Ganesha Temple and museum at Peshwa Park. This temple was quite
busy and a wonderful place to rest. Peshwa Park contains some
very pretty grounds, but also a zoo and other park type
amusements, like miniature rides for very small children and
refreshments. One of the common refreshments can be had from a
stand: peeled cucumbers. When you purchase one, it is sliced
into strips about 2/3 of the way down and dunked in what may be
ground peanut. (I haven't tried it, as I have been trying not to
buy anything from street vendors.) Across the street from the
park is a Jain Temple. This temple is about 150 years old and has
been newly restored in the past 30 years. It is what you think of
when you recall the India that decorated elephants with paint and
jewels. The temple is completely marble. It is so beautiful.
The ceilings, walls, floors, everything is marble with beautiful
ornament. Offerings are made on little trays. Each person gets a
tray on which they make a symbol of rice (I saw Om and
swastikas). On top of the rice symbol is placed your offering of
sweets or money.
Pranayama began at the
Institute. It is a very exacting practice and difficult. We
begin standing poses again the end of the week. Studying with
teachers with such clarity is a wonder. I am filled with awe at
what Geeta, Prashant and Guruji know and share. The backbending
week was loads of fun. The Iyengars like backbends. So do I. I
have been diligent in taking notes and hope to have some
interesting sequences available to students in the next year.
Those of you who have not
spent a lot of time with Iyengar teaching may be interested to
know that even though there were other Iyengar Institutes around
the world, the Institute in Pune was not finished until 1975. It
was begun with donations from students and friends. Guruji's
wife, Ramamami, for whom the institute is named and dedicated
performed puja at the ground breaking in 1973 and died 3 days
later. There is a memorial statue to her in the front and picture
of her in the lobby. The Institute has certificates, honors,
statues all around. The main hall has pictures posted of Guruji
all around the room. They include the photos from Light on Yoga,
but also later photos. There is a library which has many books on
yoga, philosophy, and medicine in many languages. Classes are
taught by Geeta and Prashant and there are other teachers as well.
Return to Top
November 14, 2001
Well, India continues to
astound me. For those of you expecting pictures don't get too
excited. I totally blew one roll of film which had some really
great pictures. Whether they would have looked as great printed
as they did through the lens, we will never know. Let's assume
they were some of the best I have ever taken. Am again trying to
take some pictures. Next week ought to reap some dillies,
assuming that I and the camera both function well. Things are
gearing up for Deewali. This is a huge festival which is kind of
like Christmas, New Years and July 4th rolled all into one.
Actually, it is a new years. It's the time of year when
everything is cleaned and lights are hung everywhere. It is the
festival of lights. Gifts are given, families visit each other
and party, people travel. Fireworks abound. Not just in-the-air
fireworks, but you can have firecrackers, really large ones,
thrown about on the street. Apparently there are many injuries
each year with the firecracker
battalions.
The Institute will be
closed so many students are traveling. I have opted to stay close
in. I had originally planned to see more of India during this
time, but with the adjustment time I required and the illness I
experienced I have decided it would be better for me to take a
less strenuous vacation.
I am settled. The real turning point was the week of pranayama
classes. I am so sorry I waited so long to come study with the
Iyengars (lesson to any of you on the fence). They are beautiful
teachers and there is so much to be gained here. The classes are
no larger than workshops back home so it feels relatively
intimate. Anyway, a week of superbly lead pranayama settled me in
so many ways. It was with this that I felt the ties that bind me
loosen. There is such freedom in releasing the useless
connections to unworthy sentiment, the only worthy sentiment being
compassion, love. That will be my work this coming year.
Since there is a week's holiday, this week was combined standing
poses and backbends. The week after Deewali will be twists and
backbends. We had two excellent sequences this week. Look out
students and teachers, you're going to like these! :) One given
by Geeta really softened the tension (and pain) in my sacrum with
supine poses, but included the activity of standing poses and
backbends. Everything anyone could ask for. The other was
Prashant's, pure bliss. In this sequence we worked towards
standing poses as the theme, rather than their often relegated
spot of warm-up. The warm-ups were arm balances, backbends, and
eka pada sirsasana! Whenever he took time for explanation we had
to repeat warm-ups to build up the fire, water, and air in our
legs. After three trikonasana, he asked, "What was the fabric of
your first trikonasana, what was the fabric of your second, your
third?" As for me, mine went from burlap to silk. It was
awesome. In the third, when asked to lift the back arm towards
the ceiling I re-posed into the best Trikonasana I can recall for
a long, long time. My arm was neither heavy nor light, connected
nor loose, back nor forward. It rested in the air. You are going
to love these. I have also been picking up lots of things to do
with props we don't (yet) have and ropes.
My weekend activity was going to a musical performance. This
contributed greatly to my sense of balance, ease and centeredness
(any of those corny words we use to describe our practice). The
first act was a tabla player and sitar. During the performance I
wondered how much Jimi Hendrix was influenced by this instrument.
It was wonderful. The audience enjoyed the performance on so many
levels. They were tapping their feet and hands, gesturing to the
performers as though they were friends, oohing and aahing,
smiling. They enjoyed viscerally, cerebrally, like members of a
jazz audience. The people I came with enjoyed the sitar player
the most. I liked the second act, the female vocalist. She was
tremendous. She played to the audience, gesturing and singing
from the belly. Though I didn't have a clue what she was singing
about, it was like opera where you can enjoy without stories
because it is such great music. I was blissed when I left. The
concert was 3 hours in length. Seemed like 30 minutes.
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November 20, 2001
 Deewali is the festival of
lights, it is celebration of light over darkness. It is similar
to Christmas, New Year's and July 4th all rolled into one. I have
celebrated a Deewali in Pune and that should be that. The lights
around the city were beautiful, like we will doing next month.
There were Christmas style strings of lights hanging off the roofs
of taller buildings creating a light waterfall. There were
strings of lights hung at eye level that were colored bulbs with
ornate chandelier configurations made of styrofoam. There were
light covers of all shapes and colors on strings of lights. There
is family, gift giving, shopping (it's an auspicious time to shop
- good karma), travel, sweets, lights and fireworks. The
fireworks was the most unusual for me. They began before Deewali
and on THE Deewali day they were going
off all day, a tremendous amount in the evening. The fireworks
sounded like it does when we watch 4th of July displays, lots of
very loud booms in very quick time, except it went on for hours
and was all around you. We were out in a rickshaw for the early
evening (helping a shop celebrate Deewali and investing in a
little retail therapy for myself). There were firecrackers going
off in the road, beneath the rick,
everywhere. It was nice to get to safer surroundings where we
were indoors and the fireworks were out. By Saturday, I was
totally exhausted of the fireworks and prayed they would end.
Also, by Saturday I didn't want to see another sweet. Everyone
gave us sweets, one of the favorite is something like raw cookie
dough, only much richer, made with sugar, flour and ghee.
I really missed being able to
go the Institute, but was very glad for the rest. By Sunday I
felt rested and more than ready for class to begin. The first
class was taught by Pandu who is the secretary for the Institute.
Geetaji was not in the hall, so he was relaxed, so were the
assistants, so were we. Though I surely missed Geetaji, I was
grateful for the only calm yoga class I have had since coming
here.
Prashantiji's are blissful, not necessarily what I would call
calm, however. Geetaji's are hectic, demanding, lots of
pressure. Pandu's class was a seated forward bend and twist
sequence that even I enjoyed (some of you may know it's far from
my favorite thing to do). Last night's class was Prashantiji's
"Post Deewali" special for us. It was forward bends and twists.
Same as the night before, seated forward bends and twists, but
with abdominal/bandha focus that really twisted all the
food right out of you.
It's hard to believe that I
have only a week and a half left. I have been gone about 8 weeks
and am now beginning to miss my husband so I guess it's about time
to come home. I wish I could have Pune and my family life
simultaneously.
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November 29, 2001
Last week a group of us
went to a nursery on the outskirts of town that has a garden
restaurant. It was very nice. There was a bonfire (much
appreciated - it's getting nippy in the evenings and mornings),
beautiful surroundings and wonderful company from the owners.
They are Sikhs, have lived quite some time in the west, so are
different to talk with than the less westernized version of
Indian. The owner is writing a book and compiling a website which
she hopes will inform more people about Sikhism. She feels that
westerners have not really gotten the full picture.
For those of you who don't
know (I didn't), the Sikhs have had equality for women for 400
years. I also now know that their names Singh and Kar mean Lion
and Princess. Every Sikh man is a lion, every Sikh woman a
princess. We were there nearly 4 hours. The way out resulted in
a great rickshaw driver-passenger dispute, which we lost. The way
back was a 6-passenger rickshaw stuffed with 9 westerners. The
driver and his buddy were chewing beetlenuts (spelling?). A good
time was had by all. I laughed so much my stomach hurt.
This week is pranayama week at the Institute. It is the best week
of the month. It would be great to return often just for this
week. In some classes there are preliminary postures, especially
in the AM classes just to get yourself open to the experience.
In some classes it is
total pranayama with just enough restorative and savasana to keep
us relaxed. Because it is a practice that requires relaxation the
manner in the hall is always calm, no yelling, very little
frustration displayed. It's certainly a nice note to leave the
Institute.
Getting ready to come home. Had to buy a bigger bag to bring home
the goodies I bought here. Things are so much cheaper here. They
are nearer the source of creation so there's no shipping charges
to tack on, also I think the middleman (sales, etc) does not get
as much for their work as in the West.
Am already planning on the next trip. Not doing any traveling
this time is a disappointment, but I have accomplished my goal
which is the yoga study. I am very happy with this introduction
to India and look forward to further study and some travel. I
will begin propaganda to husband, family and friends to see who
wants to come with or meet me here next time :-)
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