Day one of Ashtanga Yoga Mysore teacher training course.

I had these ideas of where I was in terms of my yoga practice understanding, the spirituality of it, my flexibility and many other elements that are involved in the practice of yoga, but all of that knowledge was shaken up today. There is so much that I need to learn and understand about this practice which has existed for thousands of years. All the knowledge that I thought I had needs to be put aside and I need to be like a child. Learning from zero, taking everything in, understanding, believing, and finally, putting it all to practice.

The view facing the mountains.Studio on the left.

This morning's two hour Ashtanga Vinyasa practice was the hardest and most difficult session of yoga I have ever done, both physically and mentally. There is so much I still need to learn and practice, practice, practice. My body was shaking and so was my mind. As difficult as it was, after those two hours with Praveen, our instructor, I felt better than I have ever felt before. The yoga that I would do on my own everyday, did not even come close to the things we were doing in class today. There is a lot of work to be done but I am looking forward to the challenge. I am looking forward to pushing myself both physically and mentally and at the end of this month, hopefully becoming stronger, acquiring new knowledge and last but certainly not least, opening up my mind to a world beyond the physical me.

The yoga philosophy class with Dr. Mallika was so interesting as well. Her style of teaching was smooth, understanding, and patient. The philosophy that she started teaching us today is something that I really look forward to really getting into and understanding. She spoke about how we as humans see ourselves and how our ego tends to get in the way of the basic awareness of the self, the world around us and our interactions with others. It all is so basic when it comes down to it but it is something that I am so excited to explore, understand and apply in my own life and with some luck, pass on to others who are willing to listen and learn also.

I know it's only day one but I feel like this month will be a month of opening my mind, body and soul to the beautiful philosophies of yoga while healing through learning.

Our Ashtanga Yoga group is nice and small, only five of us and then there is the Hatha Yoga group which has three people. We practice separately in the morning but then come together to learn theory throughout the day.

Yoga Studio & Classroom

The yoga house has the main dining room and then bedrooms branching off from there. In the first room we have a couple from Australia, Jaya and Nathan who are both quite advanced in their yoga practice. Then we have my room which I share with my lovely roommate, Eva who is originally from Miam Yang, China. She has been practicing and teaching yoga for a few years now and naturally, is also quite advanced.
Lastly, there is a couple in the next room; Anisa from France and Timmy from Australia who is here to be with Anisa but he is not participating in the course. He did find a gym nearby and goes there to occupy his time.
In the Hatha Yoga group we have Joyce who is originally from Boston, which is a funny coinsidence, who has been living in Uganda for the last four years. And then there are two other girls one from Philippines and the other from Indonesia. I haven't had a chance to talk to them yet and my memory when it comes to names is absolutely horrible, but I will learn! :)

So that is it. It's only day one but already there is a lot that I have learned and the bar has been set pretty high. This won't be an easy month, but I am sure it will be a rewarding one.