Yoga

Hybrid Yoga

June 29, 2017

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Yoga teachers are frequently asked about their journey.  What drew us to yoga?  When and how did we know.  Much like their personalities, every teacher’s journey to teaching is also unique.

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The Urdhvadhanurasana has come a long way…

The more time I spent practicing yoga, the more I felt there wasn’t enough time!  I registered for a yoga teachers’ training course and started thinking realistically about the profession.  I knew that I was teaching to become a better student, and not the other way around.

Over the years, as demand for my teaching grew, I realized that I was constrained by IMG-20160731-WA0044time and geography.  There are many who express an interest in my classes, but are unable to travel from, say, Bannerghatta Road.  Just making YouTube videos, or creating a generic module wouldn’t work.  Live interaction is essential when it comes to movement-based practices.

The idea for the ‘The Yoga Practice‘, came to me while discussing ‘what more’ with a student during a break in class.  Why not create a hybrid module of customized videos and face to face interaction.  All students will get videos customized for them, and they will be able to practice yoga at their convenience AND in the comfort of their own homes.  Plus, once a week we schedule a catch up call where I observe students’ asanas, answer questions, clarify doubts and plan the next week.  Below is an example of a video we shot for a student.  It’s one of the prettiest videos we’ve done and I watch it all the time.

 

So, if you or someone you know wants to incorporate yoga into their lives but dIMG_20170610_172540_411on’t have access to a good teacher, or has time constraints, then you might want to take a look at this module.  It’s helped many people steadily improve their health and increase their wellness quotient.  Leave us a query on the blog with any questions you have.

Keep an eye out for the video about this module.  If you haven’t subscribed to the YouTube channel yet, do so asap!!!

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Yoga

We’re Working Hard And…

June 18, 2017

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“The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new,” -Socrates.

The last couple of months have been crazy busy for me.  I’ve been meaning to do this post for many many weeks now, but was only able to get to it today.  I’ve been teaching my regular classes, have a couple of retreats and workshops under my belt, have designed new classes and modules (including The Yoga Practice, which I’m so incredibly excited about) and have found time to travel as well!

The year is far from over, and I have my annual trip (study retreat?) to Pune coming up in August and September.  We’re also working on refining The Yoga Practice and getting the word out there as much as we can about it.  My practice is going well, and I see improvement in my students almost daily!  The first half of this year has been very rewarding.

I’ve also been working on consolidating everything I do under one platform.  As my practice gets more focused, so does my vision for ‘Yoga With Pragya’.  At the beginning of this year I had an idea of where I was headed and over the past couple of months the vision has became clearer.  Our new website is a step towards a more organised initiative.  As my practice deepens, my teaching becomes more refined and I’m getting very creative with how I can help people across the board.

We’re building something useful, helpful and, most of all, accessible to all those who are interested in yoga, holistic health and a wholesome lifestyle.  Most of you have been following this blog for many years.  I hope you will stay with me as I grow, expand and evolve further.  Subscribe to our new blog here: http://yogawithpragya.in/blog/.  While you’re there, please browse the site and leave us constructive feedback.  We’re really excited about the great things we have in store for you.  Please share with all your friends and subscribe to our other platforms as well (Facebook, YouTube & Instagram).

 

 

 

Yoga

Hello Wonderful World!

June 13, 2017

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“And suddenly you know…It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of new beginnings.”

Life is continuously changing, evolving and growing.  And if you’re a yoga practitioner who is also an entrepreneur then change truly is the only constant.  To be honest, I’m not very comfortable with the term ‘entrepreneur’ because I see myself only as a practitioner and a teacher.  I don’t consider myself a part of the energetic and pulsating Bangalore start-up/entrepreneur scene.  Teaching yoga came organically to me, as it has to many who decided to make it their life’s work…but who also have to pay the rent.  The philosophy and practice of yoga is ancient, mystical and vast.  I would need lifetimes of study before I can bring in innovation which can be turned into a business opportunity.  However, I do realize that I have been able to make a significant contribution to the lives of many individuals who have trusted me and have had faith in me to guide them through their own journeys towards holistic health.

In our closely connected world,  it was inevitable that word about my work would get out and many people separated geographically from me would evince an interest in working with me to give direction to their practice.  With that came the conceptualization and later the implementation of The Yoga Practice.  The process unfolded at its own pace.  Today this online module is a combination of what my students need and the best way for me to provide it to them.

Seeing my work and perhaps identifying with it, an old friend decided to come on board and help me structure and organize my work.  Once I recognized the need and accepted the help, the floodgates opened.  Mentors appeared with helpful guidance, supporters came in droves, constructive advice started pouring in…and the result is greater clarity and sharper focus.

For many years I have been designing and leading workshops and retreats, conducting group and private classes, helping people far away through online sessions, making videos etc…and now we are organizing all of these under one roof so that the message has more impact.  Most importantly, our work is accessible to everyone everywhere who wants to improve their quality of life.

This website is all of my work under one roof.  Here you can read my blogs, access my YouTube videos, take a look at my upcoming classes & events, see what others are saying about my work and even send me a few lines!  As we get busy planning our activities for the rest of the year, we hope you will subscribe to our blog and share it with your friends too.

I sincerely hope our work adds meaning to your life.

Yoga

Improve Your Digestion

February 12, 2017

img-20170201-wa0002.jpgA few days ago I mentioned in one of my updates that you may eat the best food that you can possibly find, but if your body doesn’t assimilate all the nutrients then eating healthy food is an exercise in futility.  To the right are 6 poses which are beneficial in stimulating and massaging the digestive system and maintaining its good health.  However, remember, as always, that yoga poses can’t be practiced in isolation.  For the practice of yoga to work for you, you must incorporate these asanas in a regular yoga practice.

Below are a few important points to remember when performing these asanas.

 

Setubanasana – The Bridge Pose

  • Elbows must be right under the wrists.
  • Back of the neck should be long on the floor.
  • Fingers should be touching while the thumbs are facing away from the body.
  • Knees should be above your ankles.
  • Thighs should be parallel.
  • Squeeze your glutes and lift from the hips.
  • Don’t rest your weight on your hands.

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Bhujangasana – Cobra Pose

  • Keep the neck long.
  • Keep the shoulders pushed back.
  • Push the chest forward and up.
  • Lengthen the spine and stretch the abdomen.
  • Tighten the glutes and the groin.
  • Shoulders and wrists should be in one line, arms perpendicular to the floor.
  • Feet not more than hip width apart.

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Dhanurasana – The Bow Pose

  • Neck should be long.
  • Shoulders should pushed back and chest should be open.
  • Keep your glutes and groin tight.
  • Push the legs away from the torso, which will also pull the arms back.

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Marichyasana – Lord Marichi’s Pose

  • Keep good engagement between the elbow and the knee.  Do this by pushing the elbow out and the knee in, creating a kind of tension.
  • Keep your backbone long.
  • Keep both buttocks on the floor.
  • Keep the straight leg active with the heel pointing out and the toes pointing straight up.
  • Rotate the neck and keep the chest open.

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Vajrasana – The Thunderbolt Pose

  • Keep your back erect.

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Pawanmuktasana – Wind Releasing Pose

  • Keep the back relaxed and be aware of the spine lengthening across the floor.

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Travels Yoga

Finding Balance

December 29, 2016

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One of the highlights for 2016 for me is the workshop with Manouso Manos.  Most yogis will recognize the name.  A long time student of BKS Iyengar, Manouso sold everything he owned and came to India in the 70s (in his mid-20s) with his wife.  And they both went back year after year to practice with the master and to discover themselves in the process.  And now, decades later, I feel that he was able to put us a bit more in touch with ourselves, though we only had 5 days together.  I usually blog about my trainings and workshops, however, this time I had resolved not to write about the workshop because I realized after the 1st day that this was more experiential and would require a little reflection, and therefore, it would be difficult to write about the ‘teachings’.

I’m still not going to talk about what I learned.  My students will experience the difference in class and my friends will hear about it all the time (as they have been for the last couple of weeks).  However, there was something Manouso would repeat during classes which I found intriguing.  BKS Iyengar said, “Yoga teaches us to  cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.”  Manouso would say something pomelo_20161218181317_save.jpgto the same effect.

Every once in a while he would say something like, ‘Find balance in the imbalance.” or “Find a state of equanimity in the chaos.”  And once even, “Use the problematic pose to fix the problem!”

During the course of the 5 days he would say variations of this every once in a while, and I would think if only he’d allowed us to take notes I could jot down his exact words.  But unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take notes.

However, what BKS Iyengar said decades ago and what Manouso was telling us now, is perhaps the single most important mantra for our lives and times.  Since the new year is just around the corner, most of us are thinking (if only fleetingly) about our resolutions for next year.  It’s important to think about resolutions.  Last night I jotted down a few thoughts for next year, and its a good way to let your subconscious know that there are a few things that need to make a home in it.  But I think the overriding idea and the main message we should all keep in mind is ‘Find balance in the imbalance.’

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2017 isn’t going to magically change us and the lives we live.  Your approach to your food or relationship choices won’t change overnight.  You won’t start to miraculously wake up early and magically stop procrastinating.  Because real change comes from within.  And instead of us trying to go the 100-0 way, what we can do is try our best to keep our resolutions, but at the same time accept that to change habits requires a little bit of hard work, time and patience.  Basically find a balance in the imbalance of life.

Taking it a step further, I would suggest to those of you looking at establishing a fitness routine to work with what you’ve got.  Don’t plan on waking up early AND working out.  That’s two resolutions you have to work on at one go, and if you’re unable to keep one, then you miss the other as well.  If you’re not an early riser, then sleep in.  Workout when you get up, if you have that sort of flexibility in terms of time.  Or workout once you’re done with work for the day.  It will be easier to keep your workout resolution during your waking hours than when you’re fast asleep.  And being under slept and cranky don’t amount to having a good time at the gym.

Whatever the constraints in your life, there is a solution.  Until then, find a balance in the imbalance.  Learn to endure that which you can’t cure.

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Yoga

Delicious Yet Nutritious

November 20, 2016

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I get a lot of queries about diet and food.  Since holistic health is largely about diet and exercise, I make it a point to attend as many sessions as I can to gain insight into different food trends and beliefs.  Your diet, like your style of clothing, has to be something that you are comfortable with and that works for you.  Food trends that may work for others may not be suitable for your body chemistry.  A diet which is convenient for others may not be convenient for you at all.  For this reason, I feel we should all be very mindful about our diets, and also willing to experiment.  Beliefs that we’ve been holding on to for years may not hold good for us.  Alternatively, things that we think are not true and ‘don’t work’ may actually show results!

Growing up around the world at a time when Indian food wasn’t easily accessible ensuredimg-20161114-wa0000.jpg that I’m a simple and unfussy eater.  I did have my quirks (like all kids).  For instance, for some reason I couldn’t stand tomatoes in any sabjis and dals and would always fish them out of my food!  However, living all over the world ensured great gastronomical delights such as candy apples in the famous carnivals of Brazil, khubz and fasulia in the by lanes of Yemen and mishti doi in the mangroves of Bangaldesh knowns as the Shundarbans.  Food is a big part of culture and to this day I enjoy sampling local flavors and cuisine.

Rekha Diwekar is a proponent of local food.  Her talk was aptly titled ‘Delicious Yet Nutritious’.  She wanted to dispel the myth that food has to be tasteless and bland in order to be nutritious. Her contention is that it is possible to remain fit and healthy by eating clean and local produce.

Below are some points from her talk:

  1. Your food is responsible for producing the digestive enzymes that will extract the nutrients that you body can use.  The process of digestion starts from the moment 20161115_122609.jpgyou see and smell the food and start to salivate  in anticipation of the delicious food.  Tasteless food creates no enzymes and therefore digestion doesn’t happen optimally.
  2. The process of aging occurs when the number of cells that are regenerated and renewed in your body are less than that number of cells that die.  This process starts at the age of 25.  In other words, you start to age at 25.
  3. We eat food, food eats us too.  Any food that doesn’t nourish you is eating you up from the inside.
  4. One of the main factors you need to keep in mind when choosing is the food miles.  The more local your food, the less it has travelled with artificial preservatives to  keep it fresh for longer.
  5. The food you choose should be traditional and seasonal.
  6. The best way to decided whether you should eat a particular food is to ask yourself two questions about the food: Can I eat this food repeatedly for 15 days.  For instance, panipuri is tasty and it makes you salivate, but in all honesty, can you eat it for 15 days straight with the same zeal and gusto?  Probably not.  The next question to ask your self is whether you feel light and energetic.  If you feel heavy and sleepy post lunch, it would be a good idea to analyse what you are consuming for lunch.  According to Rekha Diwekar, just like some clothes look better on the mannequin, some foods look better in the shop and should stay in the shop and not in our tummies.
  7. Rice is a superfood.  It is a popular myth that diabetics shouldn’t have rice because of the sugar content.  The sugar found in rice is different from actual white sugar.  Plain and simple sugars like glucose and cane sugar have a chemical formula.  They go into your system and react.  Rice has no chemical formula, so what happens to it once it enters your system is different from what happens when you eat sugar.  Rice is an anti allergen so its great for gluten intolerant people.  Also, rice contains Lysine which is the precursor to the Human Growth Hormone (HGH).  The reason you start to age at 25 is because the  HGH production decreases.
  8. Eating rice at night is a great option because rice is easily digested and you end uppomelo_20161115102745_save.jpg feeling light and fresh in the morning.  Although rice has a high GI (glycemic index), when mixed with something (such as curd or dal) the GI becomes low and rice becomes a superfood.  Single polished rice is recommended.
  9. The vitamin deficiencies that have become omnipresent now can be linked to the absence of healthy fats in our current diets.  Vitamins A D E and K are fat soluble.  So you need good quality fats to dissolve them.  Good fats are composed of SCFA – Short Chain Fatty Acids.  When we sit in the sun hoping to combat our Vit D deficiency, we need to also understand that the process of conversion from D2 to D3 will only happen in the presence of good fats.  Ghee is a good fat.  Traditionally we make gajar ka halwa during the winters.  When made with ghee, this combination contains good fats and Vit A.  Also, traditionally women are asked to eat a lot of ‘fattening’ food when they are pregnant.  This usually consists of ghee laden ladoos and panjiri.  During pregnancy your Thyroid has to work overtime and the healthy fats from these goodies ensure that your Vit D levels stay normal.
  10. Another source of good fat is coconut.  Coconuts contain MCFA – Medium Chain Fatty Acids and MCTs – Medium Chain Triglycerides.  Both these are responsible for your physical stamina and mental peace.  Coconut water helps in treating vaginal infections and muscle cramps as well.
  11. Many people I know (and I have to admit I’m guilty of this too) don’t have the coconut chutney with their idlis and dosas.  But the combination of the idli/dosa and chutney is optimal.
  12. Avoid LCFA – Low Chain Fatty Acids.T hese are found in biscuits, fried street food, bakery products and cakes.
  13. When cooking with oil, just use the oil once.  At high temperatures oil becomes rancid and not nutritious for you.
  14. Have local filtered oils.  In the south these would include peanut and coconut oils and in the north this would be mustard oil.  Seed oils are the best oils.
  15. When it comes to Indian food, you will get the most of the nutrients only by following combinations should be followed:
    • cereal + pulses (eg. dal chawal)
    • cereal + milk products (eg. kheer, curd rice)
    • milk + pulses (eg. kadi chawal)
  16. Another food label that we should become aware of is GRAS – Generally Regarded as Safe.  A lot of processed foods contain this label and it is misleading.
  17. The food plan for a typical day would be:
    • Wake up and drink water.
    • Have some fruits/dry fruits.
    • Tea
    • Breakfast
    • Mid morning snack: Fruit/Coconut/Sherbet
    • Lunch
    • Mid afternoon snack: Fruit
    • Another snack
    • Light dinner
  18. Eating a food for a particular nutrient (fiber, protein etc.) is impossible.  Food and our bodies have a complex chemistry and it is impossible to reduce the process of digestion and assimilation to a single nutrient found in a particular food.
  19. For those who are allergic to gluten, millets are a great idea.  Gluten is a non nutrient, so it is OK to eliminate it from your diet.  However, elimination of any food groups should only happen if you are allergic to that particular food.
  20. Sources of good fat: coconuts, nuts, filtered oils, and homemade butter.
  21. All sources of fructose have low GI.  So all fruits have low GI and are easy to metabolise by your body.
  22. Too much fibre isn’t good for you.
  23. Many of us rue our hunger.  However, hunger is a sign of youth.  A growing body feels hungry.  So revel in your hunger because it shows you that you are young and healthy.

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Yoga

Home for the Holidays

November 1, 2016

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The thing about Indian mythology, festivals and culture is that the role of the Woman is fundamental.  In the frenzy of the holiday season, and with our society becoming more consumerist, festivals like Dhanteras and Diwali have been reduced to shopping lists and return gifts and mandatory social visits.

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However, if we go beyond the surface to look at the origin of festivals, you will find the role of the Woman indispensable.  When we looked at the origin of Dhanteras we found the story of how an intelligent and somewhat precocious young woman who outsmarts Yama, the God of Death himself.  The story goes that it was foretold that the son of King Hima would die on the fourth day of his wedding by snake bite.  However, his new bride was an intelligent and empowered woman and decided that she wouldn’t just sit back and let predictions in his horoscope decide her destiny and fate.  So she came up with a plan with which she hoped to outsmart the God of Death.  On the day Yama was supposed to visit their house she spread all her bright jewels around their bedchamber and lit bright diyas and candles.  She kept her young husband awake by singing songs and telling him stories all night long.  Her plan worked because when Yama came (in the guise of a snake), he was blinded by the brilliant jewels and bright lamps and disoriented for a while.  When he slithered up to the top of the heaps of jewels he was spell bound by the stories and songs and listened to them all night long.  And just like this, the hour that the young king was supposed to be ruthlessly taken to the underworld by Yama, passed.  In the morning, Yama, defeated by a strong and independent woman, quietly left.

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Diwali is celebrated two days after Dhanteras and here again we see the role of women.  The time of the pooja is pre-determined (according to the Hindu calendar).  Then the whole family gathers together and prays to Goddess Lakshmi to bestow love, light, peace and good fortune.  In fact, drawing the Goddess’s feet walking into the main entrance of the house is a common practice.  Many families (such as mine) believe that Lakshmi visits the house sometime before midnight, which is why we keep the lamps and decorations up until then.  In fact, we don’t even shut the door to the main entrance of the house to ensure Lakshmi has an easy time getting in!  To turn the Goddess away is to turn away health, wealth, fortune and happiness!  And no one wants to do that.

Today I had the good fortune to visit one of my oldest friends.  You will find pictures of us pomelo_20161031184644_save.jpgsprinkled across my Facebook photos.  We’ve lived together, travelled together, partied together, started Bharat Thakur Power Yoga classes together, explored Bangalore, worked at Infosys, spent Sunday mornings drinking tea and watching YouTube videos, shopped together, fought together…and stayed in touch right through all of this.  Since she lives in Delhi now we make a point of meeting each other whenever possible when I’m in Delhi.  Every time we invariably start talking about old times.  The different roommates we’ve been through, the clubs we used to visit, the places we used to shop at….and we always end up laughing so hard my stomach hurts.  We’ve seen each other grow into the people we’ve become and, like all good friends, we’re proud of the people we’ve become.

I was lucky that her family celebrates Govardhan pooja, and on this day the oldest female member of the family cooks traditional fare.  I was invited over for lunch so that we could both sit together and have a hearty lunch.  After that some retail therapy and one of my favorite places in Delhi – Dilli Haat.

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Travels Yoga

On the 2nd of Oct

October 2, 2016

Today was my first Sunday after the gruelling month in Pune.  All I’ve been trying to do these past few days is to get enough rest and practice all I’ve learnt.  But I was lookingpomelo_20161002083729_save.jpg forward to today because I wanted to catch up on some reading and just relax (I don’t practice on Sundays.  I read late into the night yesterday and woke up without the alarm this morning.

1. 6:15 am: Geetanjali and I had decided yesterday to go to the library today to pick up some reading to get us into the holiday mood.  As soon as I woke up I realized it was Gandhi Jayanti and the library would probably be closed.  I texted her and then laced up for a walk.  On days I don’t work out I like to go for long walks.  I think I clocked 5 kms today around the lake.

 

 

2. 7.45 am:  After 2 coconuts (feeling nostalgic about my post practice coconuts in     Pune),  I headed back home and did a bit of stretching.  Post walk/run stretching is a must.  Most injuries are because of lack of before and after workout stretching.pomelo_20161002083719_save.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. 11 am:  Since Eloor was closed we decided to meet up on Church Street for brunch pomelo_20161002134238_save.jpgand book browsing.  There’s always something going on on Church Street.  This time I noticed a bunch of new stores and new artwork!  There are so many awesome places in and around Church Street but we decided to go for our usual India Coffee House.  By the time we got there all the idli and wada batter was over and so we could only have masala dosas.  The dosa was delicious and I had two :).  Reluctant to have coffee at the India Coffee House (fyi – they don’t have filter coffee), we headed to Adigas (down the road) for my first filter coffee after my Pune sojourn.  But before we headed over I quickly popped into Namdhari’s to pick up some stone ground organic whole grain wheat flour (Navadarshanam).

 

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Art on Church Street

 

4.  12 noon:  We decided to explore the recently opened Bookworm instead of Blossoms today.  They were still unpacking cartons of books, but we were able to browse.  They have a wide selection of books (used and new) and they even have beautiful re-furbished classics!

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5.  1 pm:  After this it was either sitting at Starbucks with a coffee or heading back to my house to relax.  Since Geetanjali wanted to copy ‘Downton Abbey’ we decided to come back to my place so that she could copy it.  We came back home, kicked our shoes off and settled down in my living room.  Geetanjali browsed my hard drive while I made us some refreshing lemonade.  It had just the right amount of ginger, mint and lemon (if I say so myself!)

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6.  2 pm:  Once Geetanjali left, I made myself a quick lunch and then dealt with the universal dilemma for book lovers.  Which one to read first.  The Ishiguro won, mainly because I’m returning it to Eloor for Geetanjali next week, and also because I’ve been meaning to read something by him for a while now and haven’t gotten around to it.  And also because ‘Immortality’ is too heavy for a lazy Sunday.  I spent my afternoon reading ‘Nocturnes’.

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7.  5 pm:  After an afternoon of reading I made myself a cup of tea and sat down to watch the latest episode of ‘Kalki’s Great Excape’ (Fox Life, Saturday @8 pm), an intriguing show where Kalki and Joel Koechlin explore the North East on these beautiful bikes.  This show is a travel reality show and it’s great to see how other travellers negotiate the road less travelled.

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Now for some dinner, maybe some TV and then lights out so that I’m geared up for the first day of classes after a month off!

 

RIMYI Experiences

A Chat with Mr. Pandurang

September 27, 2016

 

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A few Iyengar Yoga publications

 

The other day I walked into the practice hall and saw Mr. Pandurang sitting on the stage and the Chinese students gathered around as the audience.  I found out that the Chinese students had requested him to give them a talk about his experience with yoga and the institute over the years.  Pandu’s talk was informative and interesting.  Here’s what I remember from it.

Pandu came with BKS Iyengar to look at the site for the institute in the early 70s.  By this time there were many Iyengar schools around the world and none in Pune.  Guruji used to travel all around the world conducting workshops, but there was no institute in India where he could teach.  The earliest students used to convene in Guruji’s house and practice in whatever space was available.

The decision to build the institute was also fraught with uncertainty.    The fear that no one would come to practice at the institute was in everyone’s mind throughout the construction process.  At one point Guruji told Pandu that if they were unable to use the building for yoga classes, then they could always rent it out as a wedding hall!

The weekend that the finishing touches were being made to the building, Guruji was in Bombay.  His wife had been ill for a long time and she got worse during that weekend.  She eventually ended up passing away and Pandu and everyone else at the institute weren’t sure of how to tell Guruji.  Finally Pandu called Guruji and told him to head back to Pune as his wife was very ill.  Guruji would later talk about how he had in inkling that there was something seriously wrong.  By the time BKS Iyengar came back to Pune, his wife had already expired.  They decided that they would name the institute after her.

The first students to come to the institute were from England.  Some of the 70 odd pomelo_20160924112514_save.jpgstudents brought along thick mats with them.  Those thick mats (sort of like workout/gym mats) were a novelty here in India and localites were very curious about the mats.  BKS Iyengar, being the innovative man he was, thought of different ways to use the mats.  His creativity and love for his subject was such that he was constantly thinking of how to make the poses better and more accessible.  That is how he came up with different ways to use ordinary objects such as chairs, blankets and blocks.  According to Pandu there are 250 ways to use the Setubandhasana box.  He also added that if he were conducting the teachers’ exam he would fail everyone because nowadays teachers aren’t as innovative as they used to once upon a time (referring to the fact that we don’t know the 250 different ways of using a prop).

The story of the sticky mats is pretty much the same.  This time it was a German student who brought  the mat.  In Europe they were using such mats under their carpets so that the carpets wouldn’t slip.  The student thought out of the box and brought it back to India.  Mr. Iyengar looked at the sticky mat and his little grey cells started working.

 

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Mr. Iyengar’s many watches.  Useful when you need to do 20 minute Sirsasanas.

On the subject of modern teachers he said Guruji always said that you should only follow one teacher.  When he came across students who followed multiple teachers and schools he would say that you are not a lover, but a gatherer.  You are just going around gathering the knowledge of yoga.  There are many instances where people want to become yoga teachers without having practiced for any significant amount of time.  Pandu emphasized the importance of a teacher being fundamentally sound.  .Teachers with no personal practice and little experience may end up hurting students.  This would give a bad name to a discipline which was already infamous.  At the time Mr. Iyengar was teaching, yoga was looked upon with a bit of trepidation.  The vast majority of people thought that it was circus tricks at best or black magic at worse.  Changing people’s perceptions was an uphill task.  And teachers at the time had to ensure that yoga as a practice shouldn’t be vilified.

 

On the nature of Guruji’s practice and teaching Pandu said Guruji was a hard task master.  Students attending his class would be sore for a week afterwards.  And as for his own practice, though he had a large family; he would never make any excuses.  He practiced daily.  Early morning he did pranayama.  In the evening he would practice inversions.  Pandu emphasized the importance of a daily practice.  He said that those who don’t practice daily shouldn’t teach.  He also mentioned that he’s noticed that when teachers start to gain popularity, the first thing out the window is their personal practice.  All RIMYI teachers are regular with their own practice.  Remember that once you lose a pose, it’s a struggle to get back to it.  A Chinese girl in the audience asked how to balance teaching and learning if your livelihood depends on teaching yoga.  Pandu thought for a moment and said that he would always recommend teach less and practice more.  Give preference to your own practice.  That’s what Guruji did.

 

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The secret behind the ubiquitous tilak.

 

In the early 50s (between 1953-1954) Guruji was asked to teach at NDA (National Defence Academy).  BKS Iyengar had to cycle for about 20 kms daily in order to get to class.  Because of that he developed hernia.  He treated hernia as his guru and allowed the condition to guide his practice in order to get rid of the condition.  I was interested in knowing a bit more about the NDA days and found out that classes are going on their even now.  When Guruji was no longer able to go he sent Pandu.  Eventually Pandu also passed on the responsibility.  Pandu remembers that the classes were for one and all, from the cadets to the officers.  I do wonder if anyone posted in NDA during those days would have any pictures from that time.

 

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Playing catch is exhausting.

The oldest running class at the institute is the women’s class (these days conducted by Gulnaz Dashti).  Pandu was asked why was there a separate class for the women.  In those days, was it to separate the sexes?  Pandu replied that in Pune during those days women would be free only once the husband and the children had been packed off for the day and the housework was finished.  This was typically between 9 am – 12 noon.  So it was actually the women of Pune who requested that a special class be conducted for them, and that class continues to this day.

 

Your body is your guru.  However, don’t do asanas when you ‘feel like it’.  Sequencing is very important, else you will definitely experience problems.  When Pandu and Prashant were practicing under Guruji, the practice was different every day.  Tuesdays they would practice only forward bends.  They would practice the Janu Sirsasana for 40-50 minutes at a time.  Prashant and Pandu used to do all the forward bends in the sequence.  Pandu also advised us not to do only the sirsasana and end the class.  He said it’s important to do the Sarvangasana and Halasana.  Also practice the Setubandha Sarvangasana.  As far as be the body is concerned, there is a lot of bending in the circus.  Ballet also has a lot of flexible bodies.  But what happens in these disciplines is that the spine suffers.

Someone in the audience asked Pandu about the asana sequence that is described at the end of the books.  Pandu said that the books were written many years ago and that many things have changed since then.  Props have also changed.  The ideas expressed in the books are a product of those times, and as time passed, the practice, ideas and philosophies evolved.

Pandu then told us a story about yoga.  He said a long time ago when someone would fall sick they were told to take sanjeevani (a medicine).  Then one day all the sanjeevani in the world finished and people went to God to ask for more.  God told people that He couldn’t give them sanjeevani but he can give them yoga vidya. God told people that with yoga they will be able to maintain their health.  However, the yoga vidya went to the rishi munis.  And unfortunately, the rishi munis weren’t easily accessible to the common people.  That’s when yoga teachers came into existence.  They bridged the gap and brought the knowledge of yoga from the rishi munis to the common people.  This is the tradition that Krishnamacharya and his disciples are a part of.  For centuries they have de mystified an esoteric practice.  They have brought it to the masses, but; emphasises Pandu; they have done it properly.

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