September 11, 2018
Ever so grateful for a month of study in Mysore with my teacher R. Sharath Jois.
I have had numerous trips to Mysore since 2004 and to India, since 1988. It is not easy to find the words to say what happens in that shala at KPJAYI. Each student practices in their own pace like it’s been done for years, ‘Mysore Style’… and each student arrives at whatever place they do according to themselves, their efforts, motivation, dedication, devotion, discipline and understanding. We all walk the path in the way we know how, within the method and more, and arrive within ourselves. It can be mystical for some, arduous for others, or sometimes even magical, or all of these things rolled into one life-changing experience or ongoing journey. For certain, there is transformation on levels that very often we are not even aware of until we get back to our respective homes. The fruits can manifest months or even years later from the seeds planted during the practice and our time in Mysore.
From my own experience, in all my trips to Mysore, whether pleasant or unpleasant and mostly both, the time spent there has been grist for the mill for my personal growth and evolution. It always leaves me profoundly changed, ever grateful, hopefully more refined as a human being, and somehow always a bit aching to go back. Till next time… Vande Gurunam. To all the teachers, I bow.
