Ashtangaaaaaaa

OOooooo what a sweet little shady spot I've gotten myself into. I have ESCAPED the hustle and bustle of Mysore (Lonely planet was lying when they said that Mysore was a lovely city that rewards a slower pace- It does seem to be a tourist spot for Indians, but it is crowded, loud, littered, and has street after street after street of little shops containing every trinket you can imagine except the ones you're looking for) and now I find myself in pleasant Gokulam, about 4 km west of the city. Here there are very nice houses, big trees lending shady streets, quaint neighborhood shops, and tons of yoga people from 'round the world. Which is why I've here too, as yesterday I signed up for a month of instruction at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute (http://ayri.org). I've found a wonderful room to stay in on the upper level of a family home, and the women who live there were thrilled that I wanted to cook with them, so I'm headed home soon to learn some dish I'd never heard of. I'm sure it will be delicious though. If not delicious, at least spicy.

Today was my first day of class, we started with the first three parts of the Ashtanga sequence. I was a bit intimidated- the shala is a large room that fits 50+ students at a time and many of the students are quite advanced. In my "beginner" group there are several yoga instructors (does that make me a double beginner?). I'll try to explain the scene a bit better in a day or so when I've got a better grasp on it.

I'm in a wonderful spot though. Right now I'm sipping on a papaya mint lemon honey smoothie in the most incredible email garage joint you can imagine. Supposedly the banana chocolate peanut butter smoothies are where it's at, but unfortunately I'll have to miss out on those. This is definitely the social hub of the yogalites with a full restaurant, cooking classes, juice bar, wifi, and at this time of day 5 people outside waiting for me to finish this blog so they can have a turn. Poochie the Daschund is keeping them company though.

To my family that worries, have no fear! I have arrived! I'll send some pictures soon. Things couldn't be better, I am loose with the big smiles... and the funny thing is, everyone smiles back.
LOVE to you all.