Mr. R.K. Sharma

Today i spoke with Mr. RK Sharma.
"Mr. Sharma!" i said, after phoning him on his direct line that Ailysh toddled all the way down to the embassy to get for me (gosh this is requiring aLOT of perserverance on my part, and hers). Mr. R.K. Sharma is the head honcho down at the Consulate of India in Vancouver. He's the guy who says "yay" or "nay".
"Mr. Sharma!"
"Please" he says.
"My friend came to the embassy last week and you gave her your phone number so i could call you and ask you a question" i say.
"Please" Mr. Sharma says again.
I launch into my plee for why i must have a visa for more than six months (I do not really want to travel overland in February to the awful fumey city of Kathmandu, Nepal to apply for an additional 6 months and wait for 5 days and cross my fingers and toes hoping to get it). I tell him about the two yoga courses i am taking that are more than 6 months apart, i NEED to stay for 9 months! (gestation period). Mr. Sharma wants to know which courses, which schools, where.
This man is very hurried. I have the impression that I have taken him away from very important and urgent business elsewhere. Perhaps he has 35 impatient Indians and Canadians queueing in front of him at this very moment, all angry and impatient, who knows, or maybe... his Italian meatball sub is getting cold at this very minute, as we speak.
Regardless, Mr. R.K. Sharma invites me to fax him the details of my case for him to review. I am happy with this. With this, I let Mr. Sharma return to his meatball sub.

sometimes the impractical is practical

This has all been a very self-indulgent process of weighing all the options. I hope when i am deep in the Himalayas the self-indulgence will cease.
In any case, a decision has been made. I am not altering my course in any way.
The Sivananda teacher training being full in October threw me into a full re-evaluation of why I am going, where, and when and how. Focusing on not panicking, i sat. I sat in the feeling of not knowing. I sat in the feeling of overwhelming and weighty decisions to be made. Unknowns and uncertaintities, each changing from day to day. I sat until it all became still. I felt introspective and like being alone was nurturing and restorative. A bear came to me, in a dream. Sure enough, when i looked it up, the bear is hibernating and introspective, messages from the Great Spirit.
I believe that in the stillness, the answer has distilled, trickled down its purity and truth.
For all my worries and concerns, thinking i wanted to save even more money to have MORE security, thinking maybe i should take the more conventional and practical route of spending my money on taking the professional yoga therapist training first before travelling to India...... i realized. Sometimes the impractical is "practical".
Things are changing. The old way, is coming to an end, I must let go into the new way without fear and have total faith, that all will be well. In this raging river, i must lean back in the water, floating and enjoy the ride. Trying to grab onto the shore or something solid will only drown me.
-river otter

dear universe...

ok universe.
i am sending out a prayer....
Due to the overwhelming array of options and possibilities being presented to me at this time, i need help in deciding. Please may i have the clarity and intelligence to receive guidance in choosing wisely the appropriate course of action. Thank you. and good night.

"no.8"

I just received an email from my Sivananda ashram.... they tell me i am number 8 on the waiting list.

gypseangie here

well, the countdown continues. Ran into a bit of a snag a couple days ago when i received an email from the place in the Himalayas for my teacher training. Its seems i dragged my feet too much sending in my deposit and the course is now full. Me, i'm on the waiting list and i don't know how far down. This has caused me to question seriously and re-evaluate my whole game plan here. Realizing that this is real, this is happening, and i've put all this work and time and effort into saving all this money to do this.... i better make sure that i am sure about what am doing. I don't want to throw money at something that isn't the thing i need or its just some fluffy course. anyhow, long story short... i'm researching alot right now to get this all nailed down. Turns out there is another one of these courses at this location in April 2009, and while researching, i discovered that there is a also 2 week course to which the teacher training is a pre-requisite that is even more what i am interested in, a very intensive two weeks of extremely disciplined practice and lifestyle, working mostly independently, not in a group. so i will do this course also, following the teacher training in april. My issue now lies in making sure i can obtain a visa for longer than six months (the standard visa) because the other course i am signed up for is in september and if these other courses don't start until april.... .that's....i need at least 9 months visa to stay for both courses. aahh, back to the drawing board. I have my friend Ailysh in vancouver making a personal trip to the consulate for me to ask in person about the one year visa, since, once again, i can't get anyone on the telephone to answer any questions.... aaaaah! wish me luck, and tell me it will all be worth it in the end. i know it will be.
meanwhile i have received an email from the rocky mountain institute of yoga and ayurveda in colorado regarding their summer session of yoga therapy certification. it looks really good, so i'm looking into that too.