Teacher Training and Chamundi Hill

Hello Friends,
Life is really moving fast here with the Teacher Training in full swing. Last Friday night to end the week we did 120 Surya Namaskaras (Sun Salutations)- talk about moving meditation! Weekdays there is hardly time to breath and weekends go so quickly; it is intense, immersive, and the best way for me to learn. The following pictures reflect my life: while I would love to show everyone photo after photo of India, most of what I have for now are pictures of fellow students and Bharath my teacher. So, my friends, please try to enjoy pictures of new friends, as well as some from the sacred Chamundi Hill. More to come in a few days. Much love everyone, Ethan.


This is Bharath, my yoga teacher. He has began studying yoga with BKS Iyengar's book Light On Yoga secretively when he was 14 because his parents did not support it. For 4 years they did not know, but when his full page picture started appearing in the newspaper for winning major asana competitions, he gained their approval. Eventually he studied for two years with BKS Iyengar, as well as a number of other of India's most prestigious yoga guru's.


Now, with his humble shala Yoga India, he takes small classes of 9 students maximum and just radiates youthful light as he teaches. He's 30, but looks 20. Here he's in his breadfruit tree checking for ripe breadfruit to share.


Welcome to Chamundi Hill. This is Mysore's most sacred hindu temple, and the carvings are really impressive. Many of the Hindu Pantheon are represented here, and the temple itself is dedicated to Shiva, I think.


Fellow yogic adventurure Hanna and I got to the temple at sunrise, beautiful, and before standing in line to go inside we wandered around and met people. Everyone's first question is "What country?"





These were the most adorable kids... that is the most adorable kids we saw that morning. Everywhere you turn your head in India you see "the most adorable kids", leading one to the conclusion that every kid in India is, somehow, "the most adorable."


Quite a number of people had come up Chamundi Hill to exercise. We saw a lot of joggers on the way up, and at the top were lots of various exercises. I joined a trio that were practicing handstands and probably amused them far more than I impressed them.


Monkeys around the temple are trouble. They live by stealing offerings for the Gods and generally making roucus.


When the temple eventually did open people raced in, jumping barriers, to get inside. We brought with us flowers and gave offerings at several places. In exchange hopefully our prayers are answered (Please Ganesh, open my hips...) and a priest marked us each with a red Bindi (the spot on the forehead of Hindus).


I'll have to get back to you on which Godess this is... but the detail is great!


The rickshaw is a versitile thing, and so is, Rishal tells me, the coconut husk. Not wasteful people, coconut husks are collected, dried, and used for fire to heat bath water, among other things.


Outside the Yoga India, another serious discussion of yogic philosophy breaks out... that or they're talking about where we'll eat tonight.


Bharath on his scooter "Scooty Pept". I think the ever energetic Bharath supplies the Pep.



Rishal takes a stab at driving Elle's Vespa. Scooter's are a ubiquitous, easy way to get around town. The more adventurous rent a motorcycle.


Sandia's lunch is worth the trip to neighboring neighborhood Lakshmi Purham. This food is made with so much love, and the atmosphere is unbeatable. Yoko, in the yellow, tastes the love.


Sadly this was Hanna's going away luncheon. Now she's trying to stay warm in Finland after almost 6 months in India. Be well Hanna, Gokulam remembers you!


This is world famous rickshaw driver Siddu. He's driven yogi's from all over the world! Not all rickshaw drivers are created equal, and Siddu is probably the nicest, most reliable driver in Mysore.


This is Pemar, and he may be the most unique personality in our Teacher Training. From Azarbaijan, he's using yoga as training for boxing. Never taking things too seriously, he's a good one to help us laugh.