I had a good night’s sleep last night and here I am again the first one in the lobby, and I’ve already eaten my breakfast to the sound of early morning birds & a visit from a resident cat. 180Rs for 1 scrambled egg, butter jam toast (you have to say it this way) and a 2 cup pot of coffee. I’m going to miss this breakfast luxury, but am looking forward to moving to the new digs.

Last night’s Guru Purnima celebration turned out to not be a celebration at all. Geetaji said we can’t celebrate Guruji yet since it hasn’t been a year yet since his passing. She talked about how during the last 3 months of Guruji’s life he was too weak to recite the Sutras himself so he called his daughter, Sunita, to come in and recite them for him every day. She encouraged all of us to make this recitation a daily practice, as this is what Guruji would have wanted.

We first did a short Pranayama practice, followed by reciting the 108 names of Patanjali and then all four Padas of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. I have been reciting these along with a recording I have of Geetaji, so it was nice to be reciting along  in person. There was a bonus though, Guruji’s granddaughter Abijata sat beside Geetaji and led the chanting with her. Beautiful!

This morning’s women’s class was a 2-hour intense forward bend class led by Geetaji. My hamstrings and pirformis are feeling it.

My good friend Kathleen from Milwaukee arrived yesterday and we met up at her flat.

That’s the new wrap around skirt I bought the first day here. I wasn’t going to buy any clothes but I couldn’t resist. It’s an easy thing to put on over yoga clothes since you can’t walk around India in yoga clothes.

Here’s what the Pune post office building looks like.

Lunch yesterday at Charos (me & Jill)

   
I had Channa Masala & Chapati, and Jill got some other concoction that had bell peppers which I ended up digging out of my portion.

Indian electrical at its finest.

It’s a common sight to see Om symbols around town. This one’s on a nursery school building.

After class last night I went with Kathleen to an Italian restaurant around the corner from the Institute. It seemed odd having Italian food so soon, but it was really good.

Kathleen ate that whole pizza by herself! I’m not kidding. I ordered this little flatbread appetizer which turned out to be garlic bread slices with cheese, mushrooms, capers & olives.

Now here’s a concept…

Blogged from iNdia with LOVE!