I had already booked a bed at a youth hostel, but out of impulse, I did a search on CS just to see if there were any interesting members in Kunming. Tao's profile caught my attention at once because it looked as though he was a true yogi. Yoga is in nowadays. There are loads of people who practice it, but true yogis are as rare as authentic TCM doctors. I sent Tao a message immediately to ask if he could possibly host me for a night or two. He replied promptly and said yes.
Tao was cautious not to reveal his address to me. He said he would meet me at a coffee shop. I think it was sensible of him to take such precautions in the wake of the lack of trust and accountability in today's Chinese society.
Tao had an ice hockey game that evening. I was really surprised that he played ice hockey. What a high carbon emission game, I thought. Imagine the amount of fuel needed to cool down the stadium!
I arrived at the coffee shop very early. When Tao finished his game and drove to the coffee shop, I had waited there for about an hour. I was glad that I passed his inspection from through the window of his car. He took me home.
On the way, Tao asked me what I did. Like many times before, I again stumbled over words over this simple question. What am I? Permaculture activist? Unwaged voluntary worker? Freelance translator? Global trotter in search of the Tao? I was not sure which identity would fit this particular context.
Tao was obviously irritated by my ambiguity because the next morning he asked me the same question again. It took me a lot of explanations to clear his doubts. We had no time to discuss anything further, as he got busy soon after. So I left to see my anthropologist friend.
I texted Tao to ask him if I could sit in on his evening class. He said no but offered me a special discount for a trial session which I gladly accepted. The session was a little too challenging for me, but I more or less managed to do most of the postures. It felt good to stretch the parts of my body that had rarely been exercised.
Tao was a very good teacher. The standard of his class was true to his fame as the first Chinese to graduate from the esteemed Vivekananda yoga school in India.
On my last night at Tao's, we finally had a chance to have an open-ended chat. He gave me some interesting and insightful perspectives over my mid-life crisis.
I was blessed to have made my first stop at Tao's in my quest for the Tao in amazing Yun'nan...
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