a special guest
On Friday morning, we did the led primary series class as usual. In Guruji’s absence, Sharath has been skillfully guiding us through the sequences and counting the breath (slowly) through the most difficult poses. His pace differs slightly from Guruji in that he is a little slower – the class is closer to 1.5 hours. Guruji’s led class (nicknamed “the Pattabhi Express”) is rather brisk, I can recall several occasions finishing the entire primary series (including 100 breaths in Uth Pluthi) in under an hour.
Anyhoo, after the friday led class, I quickly went into the changing room to get dressed when a friend poked his head in and whispered that Guruji was in the office…
Ah, what a nice feeling to see “the Boss” back behind his desk familiarly receiving his students for darshan. I was overwhelmed with emotion. Everyone was so happy to see him. It is such a lovely sight when we can all become like children at Christmas having a peek at Santa…
Even when I’ve been in Mysore for longer stints, I never took for granted being able to see this living yoga master on a regular basis, but now that his visits to the shala are less frequent I can truly appreciate how lucky I and my fellow students are to see his loving smile.
Pattabhi Jois has often been regarded for his sense of joy and genuine enthusiasm for life. In fact I think that is one of the biggest reasons that people get hooked on visits to Mysore. I’m so pleased to report that Guruji looks great. He is as handsome and joyful as always. I don’t know if his visits to the shala will be a regular thing, we are just pleased to have been treated to his presence one more time.
Adarsh
Thanks Adarsh for the the update and I am SO HAPPY that Guruji is getting better and you were able to see him – how lucky!