I arrived in Mysore just over two months ago when all was quiet and the busy season had not yet started. I had just completed my Ayurveda internship with Dr Joshi at his Panchakarma clinic in Nagpur and I had unscheduled travelling ahead of me.

When I told friends of my plans, many asked why I was going so early to Mysore – Sharath wasn’t going to be back from his world tour yet. And in the first few days of my stay, many of the local people asked me if the main shala was open and, if not, when Sharath was arriving. These conversations, along with the incredibly low numbers in the shala, gave me the impression that the focus of attention has not been spread evenly across the Jois family.

All of this would have somewhat concerned me but Nancy Gilgoff‘s evident affection for Saraswathi reassured me. Having known her since the 1970′s, Nancy was the first person to encourage me to spend time with Saraswathi.

My first practice in the main shala felt strangely uneventful, helped by the quietness of so few people and the lack of elbowing for mat space. I took the total number of students up to eight, so space was not at a premium and any nervous energy could easily disperse. This stillness remained during my time with Saraswathi, and when Sharath arrived I would realise how special this time was.

Because of the personal attention, the unexpected often happened… at the end of my first week Saraswathi came over to my mat after Setu Bandhasana, the last pose of primary and asked

How many poses you knowing?

I was unsure how to answer so she followed up with

You know second series? Okay, next week second you doing.

I was very surprised by this as most people had told me that one’s first trip to Mysore is spent largely practicing the primary series. I was also pleased as I had begun to miss my regular practice and the opportunity to do it with Saraswathi made me very appreciative.

Through the weeks with Saraswathi she would adjust me in the same poses each day, however, the adjustments themselves changed over time.

In Kapotasana, Saraswathi initially let me do the pose a number of times on my own to allow my back to open sufficiently before she would take my left arm to my heel followed by a somewhat uncooperative right arm. A few weeks later she began taking my right arm into the pose first, followed by the left. It wasn’t long after this that she would show up in front of my mat just as I jumped into the pose, thereby not allowing me to “warm up”.

Through this process of intelligent and intuitive adjustment, Saraswathi showed me that the student needs to be assisted but also challenged. Adjustments are not rote, it is not the same for everyone and it is not the same adjustment repeatedly. In this way the student can be supported in a pose but still do the work necessary for growth.

Saraswathi is one of the few teachers who have been able to fully adjust me in Kapotasana and Karandavasana – her age and height in no way affecting her exceptional ability.

A month ago, it was a tremendous surprise when I found out that we would be with Saraswathi for her birthday. I arranged a cake (eggless, Indian vegan style) and we sang to her after the Saturday led class, the day before her 70th birthday. In the quiet season, with so few students, the memory of this is very special to me.

I am now practicing with Sharath with many, many other students. Saraswathi arrives in the shala around 6:30am when she has finished teaching her class at a shala a few roads up and on some days I am fortunate enough to be adjusted by her in backbends.

My experience has thus far provided me with the best of both worlds – the bustle of the full shala along with the intimacy of the quiet shala.