Om

Hey everyone and greetings from Mamallapuram!  As you may recall from my earlier blog post I decided to return to this lovely town to do some yoga with a local yoga master.  As a yoga novice it’s great to have the opportunity to learn the poses correctly from one-on-one instruction.  Magesh, my yoga instructor, is amazing and such a great teacher.  Each morning we would start our lesson with 3 oms followed by a peaceful and centering chant led by Magesh.  I actually took a video of him doing it so I could listen to it on the road and get inspired.  The chanting was in sanskrit so I didn’t join in, but I was able to google it to find the words.  It’s funny to see the real words and know what I was thinking in my head….sort of like my blunders with song lyrics.  I think my worst ever that makes absolutely no sense was to that 80’s song Rock Me Amadeus.  Instead of saying the most basic lyric, “Amadeus, Amadeus” I used to sing “Hot Potatoes, Hot Potatoes”….um, what?  Come and rock me hot potatoes?  Yeah, I’m a big time loser. 

I digress…  Let’s get back to yoga, shall we?  So after we did our chanting we slowly started our practice.  Magesh teaches Iyengar yoga so he is all about appropriate form and holding the poses to achieve maximum benefit.  Each time I’d get into what I thought was the appropriate pose, he’d come over to gently adjust me into the correct pose (i.e. twist my body so that I felt like a contortionist in Cirque de Soleil).  I quickly discovered that if the pose was comfortable, I wasn’t fully into the correct position.  Thankfully I had Magesh there to remind me to have strong legs, keep my fingers spread, twist this way, move this down, breathe normally, relax my facial muscles …you get the picture.  I really cannot say enough positive things about my classes with Magesh.  He is a true professional who loves what he does and takes great pleasure in sharing his passion with others.  If any of you are looking for one-on-one yoga instruction I highly recommend Magesh.  You can learn more about him and his style of teaching at http://www.yogdeep.net/.  You will not be disappointed. 

So enough of my blabbing, let’s take a walk to the yoga studio so you can see some of the sights I saw each day. 

Watch out, wide load! 

Next left, then a right, and we are there! 

The kolam featured below is made from rice powder and adorns the threshold of many Hindu homes in S. India.  Each morning the surface is cleaned with water to purify it and then a new design is created with the hope of bringing prosperity to one’s home.  The designs can be very elaborate and it’s wonderful to see the streets lined with such beautiful and intricate creations.   

Here are some of the sights inside the yoga studio. 

No, the contraption below is not meant for torture even though some of the poses these ropes helped me achieve made me feel like I was being twisted in knots.  Magesh is very clever and has created all of these wonderful areas where one can get deeper into the pose without the help of another person.  Of course I still needed help to know what the true position should feel like, but with time I’m sure I could swing this by myself. 

So here is the master showing me the correct way to do the poses. 

And here I am!  Whenever I’d try this pose without the block I’d announce to Magesh that I was going to fall down when he’d help me twist into the correct pose.  Of course he wouldn’t allow me to actually fall so he’d let me break form a bit to keep my balance and hold the pose myself.  Every time I’d wince, let out a cry or do some other freak stuff Magesh would just smile, sometimes laugh, and gently help me achieve the pose.  I’m a handful, folks, but I think by now you probably have already figured this out. 

Nope, I can’t get my head to rest on the ground just yet. 

All those years of gymnastics are coming in handy.  Wendy, I learned the correct way for us to do the headstand.  Headstand contest when I’m back in Atlanta.  We’ll teach Andrew as well and make Kip, Drew, Rob, Al and Alice watch us over and over again just like we used to do with our dance recitals when we were little.  While we’re at it, we’ll rope Matt and Chris into the party as well.  As you have probably guessed, Wendy and I used to torture my mom and brothers with our incessant dance routines.  Of course we’d mess up about 50 times and have to restart the song, but mom and the boys were great sports and would even indulge us by popping popcorn to watch the big performance time and again.  I miss those days, but I’m grateful for the memories.     

Notice the straps on my arms.  I have to pull a Harry Houdini to get out of these bad boys before coming out of the pose.  It took me a few tries, but I’ve got it.  I have every confidence that I could be tied up in ropes, sealed in a bag, thrown into a body of water and escape unharmed.  We’ll leave that theory untested for now. 

Eventually my arms should be straight.  Yeah, not quite there yet.   

At last, savasana.  Oh, savasana, how I love you.  I rock this pose. 

Notice the perfect form. 

Here is a picture of Magesh with his mom and sister.  They have a beautiful home further out of town with a stunning view of the ocean.  Magesh is converting some of the property into a residential facility where his students can come to live, learn yoga, work in the garden, meditate, etc.  How wonderful!  Girls, we are totally doing this.  It will be like Greece all over again.  Same, same, but different.  Divchunky forever!!!!! 

Here is the view from the property where he is building his dream.  It’s a little blurry because I don’t have a tripod, but even blurry you still can tell that it’s stunning. 

Here is a pic of Magesh and I after class!  Of course we had to bust out the fave self portrait shot.  I mean, it’s a given, folks.  I just can’t help myself.  I look a bit deranged after all the twists and turns while Magesh looks calm and relaxed.  Clearly the student has much to learn. 

Here are some pics from around Mamallapuram.  These schoolchildren were thrilled to have their pictures taken.  In fact, tons of people in India love to have their photo taken.  They will actually instruct you to take their picture and then race to see the shot after it has been taken.  It’s so much fun. 

Some college students from Chennai also wanted to get their picture taken.  We had to do this shot a few times so that everyone was happy with the final shot.  Haha!  I love it.  I also had to pose with each of them individually so they could get pics with their camera phones.  This is another thing that seems to be very popular in India.  I was constantly posing in pictures with people from all over India.  I think I was in at least 25 photos when I was at the Taj Mahal.  You’ll remember the same thing happened in Thailand, but there they were a bit more shy.  In India, they are definitely not shy.  People are very outgoing and will ask you for a photo and then strike up a conversation about where you’re from, what you do, if you like India, etc.  I have gotten very used to having people openly stare at me, occasionally graze my arm with their pinky finger to touch my pale skin and tell me that I have yellow hair.  I’m a bit of a sideshow freak over here, folks.   

Aw, could this be cuter? 

I thought this looked funny with the lips touching the watermelon.  Of course within seconds of taking this shot I was approached by the shop owner and throngs of kids wanting me to take their picture.  No problem!  I love taking pics. 

And here are some sunsets in Mamallapuram.  Stunning!  India definitely does spectacular sunsets.  

And here are some of the peeps from my hotel.  Everyone here was so friendly.  I got to know almost everyone on the staff and they were all fantastic.  I would frequently have my computer with me while at dinner to select the pics I was going to feature on the blog and each time I’d have an audience that was thrilled to see the places I’ve visited in India and hear about how much I liked them.  It was so nice. 

The food in Mamallapuram was amazing!  In S. India the seafood is delicious and spicy.  I love spicy!   

As you may recall, my tour leader from S. India, Karthik, is from Mamallapuram and is the one who introduced me to Magesh.  As luck would have it Karthik finished up his tour that followed our tour and had a few days of crossover with me in Mamallapuram.  Yay!  He introduced me to his friends who were so much fun!  Like my time with Gade and her girls in Chiang Mai, it was great to be like a normal person and just hang out and not be a tourist.  I even got to see a movie!  Woo Hoo!  It’s been ages since I’ve seen a movie.  Of course it was in Tamil, but I was able to follow the storyline for the most part with Karthik filling in some of the gaps during the intermission.  Yes, intermission at a movie.  It was awesome! 

 I took it as an auspicious sign when my good luck necklace from Denise fell off minutes after I made the decision to come back to Mamallapuram and I was definitely right.  My time in Mamallapuram was fabulous for mind, body and spirit.  It’s back up to N. India with more from Rajasthan to come.  Big hugs to my family and friends back home.  I love you and miss you and I am sending lots of love and positive energy your way.