New Post: "On the way to Pune - Part 2"- August 4, 2009
"Take a step, no matter how small." - BKS Iyengar
My dear students,
For those of you who have not been reading the blog, on my second day in Mumbai (Bombay) India I got food poisoning. I was violently ill for over 9 hours and then picked up, on top of the food poisoning, some sort of bacterial infection that required additional medical treatment. We stayed in Mumbai an extra day before trying to go on to Pune but several more obstacles presented themselves on the way there. At that point I was physically, mentally and emotionally depleted and, in a moment of absolute clarity, realized I had reached my own personal limit. I felt, deep down in my soul, that I was not going to be a better Yoga student or teacher because I forced myself to continue struggling to get to Pune. Rather, I needed to surrender my expectations of what I thought the outcome of this trip was supposed to be, and let the journey teach me the lessons I was meant to learn. And those lessons would make me a richer, fuller practitioner and teacher because they came, not from the forced effort of the ego, but from the depth and purity of the heart. I may not have made it to the Institute to study with Geeta and Prashant, but instead learned a lifetime of lessons from the people of Mumbai.
This was my first time traveling abroad and I was unprepared for what life is like in a third world country, not only for visitors who are not used to it’s challenges, but to the people who live there. Earlier in the day before I got sick, Robin and I spent 5 hours doing a private tour of the sites of Mumbai. We went to a Ganesha temple, several parks, and the Gateway to India, and everywhere we were faced with unparalleled suffering: in the beggars and “street children”, the uncared for dogs and cats going through the garbage piles looking for food, and, most of all, in the slums, where half of the population of Mumbai resides in squalor. It was beyond humbling to witness children in rags for tops, with no pants or shoes, defecating on a mound of trash; a woman lying under a tarp on the side of the road, offering herself for rupees; and trees, that instead of being green are gray, coated with the pollution put out by the cars, buses, trucks and auto rickshaws which clog the overcrowded streets. My view of the world up to this point had been an extremely limited one. Now that my eyes have been opened (vidya, "to see clearly") to the poverty that pervades India I cannot close them and pretend not to have seen it (avidya, "not seeing clearly, one of the kleshas or causes of suffering").
As Mahatma (the Great Soul) Ghandi says, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." In order to practice this philosophy of karma yoga, or the yoga of service to others, I am dedicating the funds raised by the workshop scheduled for September 12th to a charity that works to help the children being brought up in the slums and streets of Mumbai called PlanIndia . The workshop, originally entitled “Knowledge from the Source: Jnana from RIMYI” will know be called “Karuna Yoga: Cultivating Compassion through Backbendings” and you can find more information by clicking here. This workshop is for all level students and we hope to fill the studio with light and love and send it out to all beings everywhere. I look forward to seeing you there.
Even though I am back in town, I am still feeling very unwell. I am going to my doctor tomorrow and will need time to, as Patricia Walden instructed me "rest deeply" and recover. I am sure that you will see me around the studio earlier than we had anticipated, but will also still be taught by Vicki, Ron and Katrina. Thank you all for your loving support and messages on the blog! Robin did such a wonderful job that it was like we'd packed you up in our suitcases to cheer us on every step of the way.
