Almost time to step out of the rat race!

It’s almost time to step back and remove myself from the rat race…. almost, but not quite yet.

In the next 2 days I have quite a bit to do – I need to finish about a weeks worth of work, get out of jury service, buy some summer clothes, get my visa (oops left that a bit late) and some USDs, have an x-ray and MRI (hip still sore), have a massage, have dinner with the family, call my mum and get my eyebrows threaded. Sort out Christmas presents. I need to check the driver is going to pick me up from the airport, pay the bills and do my washing, pack my bags and GO! Geeze – I hope I haven’t forgotten anything.

Craziness! How did my life get so chaotic?!?

I’m really looking forward to the trip though… the plan is to go straight to Mysore from the airport (a 3hr drive), stay at a posh hotel and get some much needed sleep. I will spend a day chilling by the pool, will visit my teacher, catch up with friends and sort out somewhere to live.

After a few days at the hotel I will move into a suburb called Lakshmipurum, I hope I will stay at the same place as last time (see photos here). Then as of Sunday I will be participating in what can only be described as 4 weeks of yoga bootcamp. It doesn’t seem as scary this time because I know what to expect, but perhaps that makes me complacent about what is in store for me. Oh well, what will be will be. I think it’s going to be a very interesting, challenging and rewarding 4 weeks.

After Mysore I think I will need some real R&R; so the plan is to head to Goa for a few days of sun, sea and chill out (REST) before flying back to New Zealand in time for some real summer weather!

So… 3 sleeps to go! Watch this space.

The travelling kiwi ‘settles’ for a while (Mar – Dec 2009 in NZ)

I am home. Happy at home. It’s GREAT. I get the feeling my friends have setup a couple of sweepstakes… how long will it last? I don’t know… my gut instinct is that I will be here at least a couple of years.

So – what have I been up to in NZ? Well, just living the in the rat race really.

I got my old job back; I’m working with the same bunch of really cool people as last time and have been working on some pretty cool projects. I also got my old flat back and am living with some really cool people. I even joined my old gym. I’ve been hanging out with the same people…. it seems everyone has moved on and changed a little bit – but it is almost as if I had never left!!

The main point of difference between now and then is the yoga… I am slowly easing myself into the Wellington yoga scene. It took several months but of after a bit of a yoga crawl I finally found a great studio in Wellington to practice (Yoga Unlimited on Tory St). I’ve spent the last couple of months practicing there, the teachers are GREAT… I love it.

The other thing I did this year was study… I started a postgrad somethingaratha in Information Systems through the open university in the UK. That was a bit challenging on my time management skills (or lack thereof) but well worthwhile. I really enjoyed the studies (more so when they were finished) as they kept me busy and focused on the now (opposed to having my head in the clouds scheming future trips abroad).

So – I’ve been keeping myself busy and have been enjoying being back home. No big trips planned (yet) although I do have my first overseas ‘normal persons’ holiday planned. Yep – I haven’t been home a year and I am heading back to INDIA! I am going back to Mysore for 4 weeks of Pranavashya yoga with Vinay Kumar and then will have a few days of R&R at the beach in Goa before heading back to NZ for another year (or two) of wonderful Wellington!

So – that is where I am at. I am heading to India on 17th December until 23rd January – I can’t wait! I will update the blog again to record my travels in India and the 2nd round of yoga in Mysore. Watch this space!

The end of the ‘Mysore Story’

Ok, better later than never… its time to finish the story of Mysore. This will be short and sweet because I am writing several months after the event! In fact, all I really want to do is post the last of the photos.

The last blog entry, was on the 10th Jan – so really it was only 5 days in Mysore that I didn’t get around to blogging about. From memory, the last 5 days were a bit hectic – picking up contact lenses, last minute shopping and missions to the post office to send stuff directly to New Zealand.

I remember being very unsettled and finding the pranyama difficult, this was mostly because the travel was about to end and I was preparing myself to get back to ‘reality’, I was sorting out getting work and planning the eventual move back to New Zealand. My mind was revving up, filling up with plans and ideas and I guess I was a little anxious about returning home ‘for good’. I remember in the last week my yoga practice improved a lot (after pushing through that really difficult period) – I do remember thinking that it would have been good to stay longer. … even an extra 2 weeks! But, alas – all good things must come to an end.

I am so glad that I finished my Nepal/India adventure in Mysore doing yoga, it was the best thing for me… it was great to stay put for 6 weeks, slow down and focus on my mind, body and spirit (wow, that sounds so hippy). I loved learning about the yoga lifestyle, I arrived in Mysore thinking that yoga was just a form of exercise – I learnt that it is much much more than that.

I am so grateful for my teacher Vinay Kumar… he has shown me that it is actually possible to take control of my mind (very very difficult, but it is actually possible), he taught me the importance of ‘the breath’ and of course – he taught me so much about what my body is capable of in the form of the yoga asanas. I remember the first few days thinking ‘I’ll just be happy if I can touch my toes at the end of this’ and towards the end I was doing all sorts of amazing things… often I would be doubtful of my capabilities but Vinay always knew what I was ready for. He is an amazing teacher, I am so grateful for having the opportunity to be in his class.

So – that is the end of my Mysore story. Something tells me I will be back – Mysore has a certain charm and of course some great yoga schools. : )

Some photos of my little “studio apartment” in Mysore….

Here are some photos of where I lived for 6 weeks in Mysore. I stayed in a little ’studio apartment’, it was very basic but it had everything I wanted… even hot water!

My Crazy Dog Friend

It would be a shame not to mention my crazy crazy dog friend. Every day on the way to yoga this dog would come running out to greet me with an excessive amount of enthusiasm. I thought this dog was annoying but hilarious. He would chase me down the street, jump up on me and follow me for a good 5 mins before his little A.D.D brain would get bored and he would find something else to annoy.

A random mix of photos from Mysore…

Yoga photos

Jeanne (Charlies partner) was taking photos of Charlie during his last back bending class and took a few sneaky shots of me – she makes a great paparatzi!      It was really freaky to see myself in the back bending poses… being upside down is really disorienting so you don’t really have much of an idea what you look like!   

These are the two poses I was talking about in this blog entry.

Here are the photos [big thanks to Jeanne for taking them]:

The upwards bow

Vinnay helping me reach my feet after I bent back on my knees

The final pose... once I was there it was actually really relaxing!