September 27th - Day 2 What, Where and Who

After another good asana class, it's 11am, I have my banana, yogurt and granola and I'm sitting at our little table in the patio / outdoor kitchen overlooking our garden ... life is good. Though, the weather is incredibly humid and muggy – very thick fog – I now understand why my flight was canceled ... It is the end of the wet season, later than usual – it should start to get dryer and cooler soon – both of which I am looking forward to!

So where am I and what am I doing? Good questions both – I'll start with the second. Rajiv and Swati, husband and wife, have been practicing and teaching Iyengar yoga for over 30 years - studying directly with Mr. Iyengar and since his retirement, with his children, Geeta and Prashant, at the Iyengar Institute in Pune. 8 or 9 years ago, they moved to Rajpur, built their yoga studio and began offering 3 week intensive courses - attracting students from all over the world. The also teach intensives in the US and Europe – I was able to study with both of them during my US trip and so decided to make India the final destination on this 7 month travel adventure of mine. I was accepted into two courses, the 2nd of which will also cover Ayurveda – something I know nothing about but am curious to learn.

Where am I? I am in Rajpur – a small suburb 10 km outside of Dehradun – a larger (500k people) city 225km north east of Delhi I think. We are at the bottom of the foothills of the Himalayas and have lovely views of the hills and valleys from a number of points – there is a lot of green – and bar the occasional car horn or Indian wedding (it's wedding season at the minute), very quiet and peaceful. Rajpur itself goes from the bottom to the top of a large hill – the main road winds it way down with businesses (corner stores, tailors, laundry, a couple of restaurants) and homes along the way – it's a 20 minute walk top to bottom, where the main 'chowk' or business area is with the larger general stores, internet cafes, post office, better priced fruit and veg stands, food stands and buses / vikrams to Dehradun. There is a large Tibetan community here – it's easier to find a Tibetan restaurant than Indian it seems ... though there are excellent samosas at the bottom of the hill :-)

We are incredibly well looked after – there are between 30 to 40 yoga students per course and we all stay in houses a 5 to 15 minute walk from the yoga studio at the top of the Rajpur hill. Some, like me, are in suites within homes – usually of retired couples, often with main homes in Delhi. Others are 7 to 9 yoga students in a house, with a caretaker and their family on the property. Swati and Rajiv also provide us with an information document – everything from local customs (like women don't shake a man's hand – I of course read this after shaking my landlords hand ...), to which vegetable stands have the least 'erratic' pricing, to how much to tip at the end of the stay, to taxi prices etc. etc. I was particularly curious about suggestions they give to women – Rajpur is a very small village and quite traditional and it seems there are very few Westerns in Dehradun – so they do encourage us to dress locally, to go out as a group and not to be out on our own after dark (common sense I suppose but feels a little restrictive at times ...)

So that is the basic set up ... and so far, it's been great. However, I do think life here could be very quiet ... especially with just me and Richard in the house ... and the fact that everyone tends to scatter back to their accommodation after class … and I am a little uncertain about that – imagine that, me the (increasingly former it seems) shy, reserved 'high' introvert, concerned there aren't enough people around – more than a little ironic :-) And it's true. The last 5 weeks, in Africa and London have been high intensity people experiences – and I've really enjoyed them. I will enjoy having a little more time and space to relax (there has been a lovely nap already) – and I am going to have to work harder to make the connections with the other participants (who btw all seem very nice so far). It will be a good challenge for me.