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.
We’re almost done studying the Kena Upanishad in my Vedanta class. The Kena Upanishad is the third upanishad we’re reading (after the Katha and Mundaka) and the 5th Vedantic text (including the Bhagavad Gita and Tattvabodha). This text delves into the nature of Brahman, and through the dialogue format common to Hindu scriptures, helps the reader understand that the Self is Brahman. For the last few weeks we’ve been discussing a story that comes in the third canto of the text. It’s a story about the demi gods becoming proud of their strength after winning a battle. In this story the Guru appears as a woman, Uma Devi. This story is relevant during Navratri, when we worship the various manifestations of Durga. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a literary example of a female Guru.
Sign up for my newsletter to get all the updates right in your inbox
