Rose Yoga of Ashland

One thing I didn’t anticipate about being here for a month of yoga at the Iyengar Institute was the incredible connections I would make with yoga practitioners and teachers from around the world. Being here reminds me of what summer camp probably felt like for kids. I feel like the connections I’ve made are ones that will stick.

I now have friends from Spain, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Singapore, New Zealand, India (of course) and more. I also have made some domestic connections from Memphis, Illinois and San Fransisco. I don’t know when the reunion will be, which makes me a little sad. But I’m also grateful for Facebook and email–again technology at its best.

The instruction in the asana and pranayama classes has become more subtle in the past week and my practice has taken a turn that I didn’t expect, but is very welcomed. I have seen enough temples and done enough shopping to last a year, so now I am just attending classes, eating, practicing, reading and sleeping. And of course I’ve been meeting up with my new yoga friends for one last chai in between all of that.

Practicing in the room with Mr. Iyengar has been an amazing treat. In his nineties, he is as vibrant as ever. He practices 20-minute or more Sirsasanas (headstand) and 1/2 hour intense backbends over stumps, huge rolls, back benders and/or the trestle. When he isn’t doing asana himself (and sometimes when he is) he is instructing his grand daughter and close assistants while they practice. A few of us guests have had the honor of instruction from him as well during the practice sessions, having been in the right place at the right time.

I have three more classes and three more practice sessions. Although I look forward to those three classes and practice times enough to keep me in the moment, I have begun to pack and am ready to start the trek home. I’ll be on a plane Wedenesday night (Oregon’s Wed. morning) and will be in transit until Thursday night, Oregon time, when I land at the lovely Medford International Airport.

I hope to see you soon after Labor Day. And I look forward to sharing my yoga inspirations with you at the workshop on the 22nd of September or in class!

When every day is packed with adventures, yoga experiences that boggle the mind and newness at every corner, time moves differently. And depending on the perspective of the moment, it either moves very quickly or very, very slowly.

Today was a quick day, although not at the beginning. I got up early to get breakfast in well before 9:30 a.m. class. I was feeling sluggish and homesick, which happens to the best of us when we’re away from family for so long.

But no wallowing in that for me, because today’s asana class was a kicker! Taught by Abi and Mr. Iyengar, the class broke new ground for me in innumerable ways.

Abi taught a wicked hard Prasarita Padottanasana (concave back) first thing and for several reasons I was having difficulty (not the least of which being that my head was resting on the outer thigh of the person in front of me AND my head was tilted as it was to have any space at all)! Abi asked for feedback from the students. All seemed reluctant to respond, but finally did so after some prompting. We came out of the pose and were instructed to come to the platform up front.

The sea of humanity then parted, making space for Mr. Iyengar. He right away called our bluff–meaning he could witness lack of understanding in our poses and demeanor, but we were not willing to admit it. I appreciated his candid remarks (I was hoping he didn’t find my smirking disrespectful) because he couldn’t have been more “right on” about the atmosphere. The room felt thick with dullness and fear, and I knew for myself that I wasn’t getting half of what Abi was trying to convey. So he spelled it out for us, using Abi as the demo, and reiterated that if we are not honest with ourselves about a simple pose like Prasarita Padottanasana, how can we expect to go inward in our practice? How can we learn?

What a simple lesson. Satya means “honesty,” and is part of the first limb of yoga. He is a master in asana for sure, but also a master teacher, integrating the more subtle aspects of Patanjali’s teachings into the asana class from the very beginning.

The rest of class continued along that vein, focusing on the movement of the skin, which as an organ of perception, has a direct connection to one’s ability to go inward. The sequence left my mind quiet, my body cool, and my nerves soothed.

As usual, I can’t wait to practice, practice, practice. And then of course, share with you.

After class I ate mounds of food, and went on a short excursion in the rickshaw. We have been staying close to “home” this past week, observing classes and resting up for asana practice. However, Pune is rich with India’s history, and we visited Aga Kahn this week, the palace where Mahatma Gandhi was interned the years preceding Indian independence. We also had a lovely morning at Sinhagad, a fort in the hills just outside of Pune. This fort changed hands many times over the past thousand years, and was named Sinhagad (Lion Fort) for the general of Shivaji, who died in the successful campaign to reclaim it in 1670.

What do we still have to experience? Well, Pune is a wealth of sights and adventures. I don’t think we will suffer for things to do in our last 10 days in India. My priority is yoga, though, and I hope to keep a diligent schedule of classes, observation of classes and practice time until my return.

Below is a picture from my trip to Sinhagad and another little treat for the eyes from an open market in in Pune.

August 8, 2012

Another class with Geeta this morning, marking the first class of forward extensions. My, my, my….what a class. Twisting and hamstring stretching and more twisting, followed by a 10 minute Sirsasana (headstand) and Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) with variations. It was warm and very humid this morning, making every muscle maliable and fluid. But, it was really hot.

Tonight I am observing my first medical class. Guruji taught the class last night and I’m hoping he will appear again to teach, if not tonight, then at some point while I’m here. My neighbor, Maria, from Spain attended last night and was astounded by his teaching. I can’t wait.

My adventures with Nana have continued to be entertaining. An auto-rickshaw ride is more exhilarating than any roller coaster ride I’ve been on, for one thing. We’ve seen cows, camels, dogs, elephants, goats and pigs on the busy streets of Pune with motorbikes, cars, bicycles, pedestrians and, of course, auto-rickshaws! As my travel partner, Susan put it when talking about the roads, “Lanes? What lanes!” To my novice eyes the chaos of the road is like a bumper car ride at a fair, except (thankfully) no one collides. Instead they rather elaborately and miraculously dance around one another to get to their destination. To top it all off, they drive on the left side of the road here, to add to my awe.

We have visited many incredible shops filled with crafts, weavings, fabrics and culinary delights in this big city. We don’t start a morning adventure out without stopping for a ginger chai and yesterday I had my first lassi, a drink made from yogurt (good tip from my friend Renee). I also bought the best yogurt I’ve ever had (really!), which is almost gone after one day. I can’t wait to go back tomorrow for more.

Sight-seeing has mostly ended up being shopping, but I think we have that out of our system now. Sunday is the big day for visiting various temples around town. We have so far visited Pateleshwar Temple, which is fairly close to the Institute. This temple is a cave that was hand chiseled out roughly 1800 years ago. Not the oldest building here in Pune, but certainly a visual treat.

One other tidbit for today. Making a daily appearance around our house are the flying fox bats– one of the biggest bats on the planet. Their wing span is over a meter long. We can watch dozens of them from our kitchen window as they squabble the trees. I’ve been trying to get a picture of them in flight because they are spectacular, but to date I have not been successful. I’ll keep trying, though!