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    Seen From the Bus

    ByElizabeth

    It’s hard to believe that I’ve only been home from India for a little over two weeks given how busy I’ve been at work.  I found some time this afternoon to pick out some photos to share.

    On this second trip to South India, I was even more conscious of the protective bubble in which we traveled.  I am not afraid or ashamed to admit that some of the places through which the bus drove would have been a big travel challenge for me without the bus and knowledgeable, competent, supportive guides.

    These photos were mostly taken on a long day’s ride that became that much longer to encompass a detour to incorporate a last minute addition to the itinerary of an older and beautiful Shiva temple (I took the photo of the jackfruit vendor I posted last week after this temple visit).  The detour was one of those only 20 kilometers extra detours that turn out to add three hours to the trip because it shifted from the main road to tertiary roads–I’m sure you, like I, have done that in the mountains somewhere), and it was truly someplace else from where I am used to being.

    It was hard to be on the bus for those extra hours, but it was powerfully interesting to observe.  Do click on individual pictures to see detail and facial expressions and in some, of course, the signs.

    bus ride 1a bus ride 1b bus ride 1c bus ride 1d bus ride 1e bus ride 1f bus ride 1g bus ride 1h bus ride 1i bus ride 1j bus ride 1k bus ride 1l bus ride 1m bus ride 1n bus ride 1o bus ride 1p bus ride 1q bus ride 1r bus ride 1s bus ride 1t

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    The Exquisiteness of Order (Winter Theme)

    ByElizabeth

    By order, I mean how things are arranged in space or time.  Even chaos theory presumes order in that sense.  On and off the mat, there is a certain order to things that is optimal.  We do not plant seeds and then till the soil.  Or think of the difference between peeling and chopping vegetables and then cooking them or cooking them and then peeling and chopping them.  One or the other is not necessarily wrong if you do not have a specific dish in mind, but which you choose will dictate the results. Once you have gotten started in the sequence, though, the path shifts and is partly set.  To reach an exquisite rather than a disgusting result, the next steps are ordered by the initial choice.

    If only one musician is playing a single note, then there is no possibility of discordance.  Add more musicians and more notes and who plays what notes when can mean cacophony, a catchy tune, or an extraordinary and ecstatic work of art.  None of us are alone and none of us are playing just a single note, so in the great fabric of our being, it is best to understand how to make music.

    Sequencing on the mat is more subtle than what poses should be done in what order in a particular practice to emphasize backbends v. forward bends and twists to be able to do the strongest poses with the least possibility of injury, as important as that is.  The order in which we apply the Anusara principles not only aligns the physical body, but brings symmetry to the physical and energetic bodies, helping us to feel more in harmony in everything we do on and off the mat.  I am, in this, a decent musician and not Bach, but the more I pay attention to the optimal sequence of things (keeping in mind that over most things we have no control as to when, whether, and how they happen) and the more I learn and appreciate the exquisiteness of order, the more I feel, understand, and experience the subtleties and joys of harmony.

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