This is the last night of the workshop. As always, I feel like I’m taking a lot back with me – things I may not even be aware of yet, but that will manifest themselves in my practice, my studies and in my life.
Something I really like about classes at RIMYI is that they aren’t so much about learning asanas, but about the wisdom woven into the teachings. Students often ask
How do I practice?
How do I know I’m doing it right?
How do I sequence?
There’s a pigeon who has laid eggs outside the window of my bathroom. Every time I open the door of the bathroom, no matter how quietly, she gets disturbed. I feel bad, acutely. When I was shown into this room Dheeraj told me they noticed the eggs for the first time when they came back from Diwali break, and they didn’t have the heart to push them out. Every time the pigeon flutters in alarm and walks away from her eggs I feel an ache in my heart. I know how the pigeon feels. I don’t want to be responsible for its fear, I want it to know her eggs are safe.
In 2019, on my last trip to the Iyengar Yoga institute in Pune, I would have never thought it would take me 6 years to come back to the Iyengar institute in Pune. Over the years many visitors I was in touch with have told me about the changes – there’s a new entrance, even a waiting area. The old order (Pandurang Sir), has given way to the new.
A pandemic and a baby later, here I am, back in Pune’s verdant climes awaiting the commencement of the weekend workshop at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in Pune.
I’ve visited very few Jain religious sites, the most notable being my visit to Shravanbelagola. A few months ago I also got the chance to visit the Shri Mahaveerji temple in the Karauli district of Rajasthan, another important Jain pilgrimage site.
The temple is regarded as a Digambar Jain Atishaya Kshetra, which means signifying a miraculous site within the Digambar Jain tradition. Lord Mahaveer, the 24th tirthankara (an enlightened spiritual teacher who has conquered the cycle of birth and death), is the principal deity here.
…began with a plan.
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