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Travels Yoga

Of Old Friends and Pleasant Surprises

October 21, 2019

My line of work brings many pleasant surprises. I’ll often meet people who follow me on social media, or who have heard about me, or have read my blog. Now I meet people who read my book, and they send me photos with the book to prove it! Just this morning I met someone who looked at me for a tad bit longer than is considered polite and then told me he’s following ‘yogawithpragya’ on Twitter.

A month ago I received a mail from a friend I used to work with in Infosys. Ayumi and I were both recruited to the July 25th, 2005 batch of Infocions. We got to know each other pretty well during our month long training in Mysore. Eventually she moved back to Japan and Orkut shut down. With that went all her connections.

Teaching colleagues makes me feel that life has come a full circle. In today’s class we learned the nuances of the tree pose, something I’ve written about in this blog.

Fifteen years later Ayumi had switched jobs and was living and working in Japan. She had attended a few yoga classes and wanted to attend more. A month ago she ran a search on google and came across ‘Pragya Bhatt – yoga teacher’. Could it be the same Pragya, she wondered, and lo and behold! it was. She promptly shot a mail to the email ID listed. Fifteen years!!! I thought as I responded to her email.

A week ago she email me again to say she was coming to India and could we catch up? I said of course! As I hugged her I thought she looked just the same. She asked me if yoga made my hair grow so long. I told her about how MG Road no longer had the walkway, but the Metro. We spoke of how the Forum is no longer the only mall in Bangalore. We took her out to Arbor Brewing Company and she had locally brewed beer. We’ve been pigging out on idlis and filter coffee daily. She reminded me of the time we went to Ooty for New Year’s. How we rented an auto for two days and went sight seeing around Mangalore. How we escaped a bomb blast during Diwali season in Sarojini Nagar Market in Delhi. How we booked a one day tour to visit Agra and Mathura in a rickety old bus.

We did a private yoga session together and she came to my group class. It was surreal. From the swanky, state of the art Infosys Mysore campus we were meeting 15 years later, so much changed in mind and body. Thanks to the beauty of technology.

Fresh-faced, optimistic and ready to take on the world. Ayumi is in the front row, second from the right. Can you spot me?

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Yoga

Vrkshasana: The Tree Pose

October 16, 2019

Nature is about balance. When things go off-balance problems arise. A yoga practice is not complete without an element of balance in it.

In ‘Beyond Asanas‘ I talk about the significance of trees and why a pose is dedicated to trees. Trees have played an important role in the dissemination of knowledge from guru to shishya. I talk about the beginning of this parampara in Chapter 30 of Beyond Asanas: The Myths and Legends Behind Yogic Postures.

When you first start to practice the Vrikshasana focusing on balance is inevitable. However, I’ve seen students practicing it as though balance is all there is to it. Many teachers also encourage this notion. To aide the balance students are allowed to place the foot of their bent leg on the shin or next to the knee of the other leg. In one case I’ve seen a student rest the foot on top of the knee of the straight leg.

Balancing is only one aspect of this asana. The Vrkshasana, when practiced correctly requires you to engage the groin. The ability to do so has an impact on how well you can execute this posture. Try it yourself. The spine, the groin, the hips, the abdomen…all behave very differently depending on the placement of the foot of the bent leg. There is a unique ‘hold’ that occurs, the nature of which varies with the positioning of the bent leg.

Once you overcome the challenge of balance, you must start doing the internal work of the posture. What you must work on now is the mula bandha, which will bring more stability to the posture. The stronger the bandha, the taller and steadier you will be in the tree pose.

How To:

Stand in Tadasana
Shift your weight to your left leg.
Place your right foot close to the groin, with your toes pointing down. Make sure the knee points outwards, to give your hips a wide opening.
Keep your gaze focused and form a namaskar with your hands above your head.
Repeat on the other side.

Start in the Tadasana. Keep the thighs engaged and rolled in. The body weight should be distributed evenly on both feet.

The position of the heel makes a difference to the practice of the asana. Don’t be content with resting the foot just anywhere on the leg. Work on getting it closer to the groin.

Read more about the benefits and contraindications of the vrikshasana in ‘Beyond Asanas: The Myths and Legends Behind Yogic Postures‘. The book was published this year by Penguin Random House. The book contains beautiful images of the asanas taken by Joel Koechlin, along with a foreword by Kalki Koechlin. Available on Amazon and Flipkart and at your nearest bookstore.

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Travels

The 2019 Pune Visit

October 2, 2019

Taken on the way to Panchgani. Nature has a way of giving you perspective.

It’s my first ‘day at work’ after my annual Pune visit. A student asked me this morning about whether I gained new insights. During my first few years of yoga teaching and practice, I could easily quantify what I had learned. Stuff like “headstand”, “an arm balance” and “did some intense core work”. Now it’s more difficult to describe. Maybe because now my focus is not so much on the number of asanas in my kitty. Now I like to work with what I have and refine it further. I like to simmer in known asanas so that I can teach them better – or rather, learn more from the asana.

So if I had to recap my month in Pune I like to think about sum total of all the experiences I had. I remember the rush to finish last minute assignments before leaving. I tried (unsuccessfully) to look for a substitute. My students had to contend with no teacher for a month. But it was an auspicious start.

I arrived in the days leading up to Ganesh Chaturthi, things were as bright and festive as always. Once I registered for my month I created a list of things to remember for all prospective students of RIMYI.

The teachers who have had the most impact on me are those who have encouraged me to trust my thought process. My Yoga Therapy professor did just that. I also wrote about how my practice changed during my Pune visit when a teacher told us to ignore the stretch.

In September I discovered an app called YourQuote and started dabbling in writing again. I also attended the Pune International Literature Festival as a writer for the first time. I checked for my book in the bookstalls, I signed books for many readers. Meet other writers was a dream. My friends came out to watch my session.

In September I hit an all-time high in my blog views. Titled “Why Am I Not Losing Weight?”, this blog resonated with many readers.

We’re getting ready for the festive season here as well. Diwali cleaning, de-cluttering, decorating…all this and much more in October.

A Pune visit is never complete without an Irani chai and wada pav. Go to FC Road for the best.

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Books

The Pune International Lit Fest

September 23, 2019

A free flowing conversation about the process and experience of putting the book together.

I’ve been attending literature and art festivals forever. The Jaipur Lit Fest many years ago, the Kochi Muziris Biennale, the Bangalore Lit Fest, the Venice Biennale and finally the Pune International Lit Fest. For years I’ve always been an attendee, always wondering if I would ever be on the other side. The writer’s side.

And this weekend, at the Pune International Lit Fest, it happened. I was officially on the writer’s side.

Always good to see your work next to those you admire.

It was amazing. I registered as a speaker and was shown into the author’s lounge where I met other speakers and writers. I checked for my book at the bookstalls, signed books, took photos, hobnobbed with other writers.

Our session was scheduled for the last day, to ensure that my RIMYI schedule didn’t clash. Joel Koechlin (the man behind the beautiful photos in the book) and I were speaking about Beyond Asanas with our editor Gurveen Chadha of Penguin Random House. The three of us had interacted with each other extensively during the making of this book, and the comfort level was evident on stage. We had a free wheeling chat about the process of creating the book, the challenges we faced, the importance of yoga, why it is worthwhile to read the history and mythology of asanas, inspiration….the hour went by pretty quickly. We fielded as many questions from the audience as time would allow.

The fest was well-organized, the sessions were varied and interesting, the goodie bag was great and the bookstalls were well stocked. A heartfelt thank you to the organizers for this amazing event.

With poetess and friend, Tanushi Singh. Check out her latest collection of poetry called, In Pursuit of Sunshine in Rain.

Always thankful for those who can share my little joys with me.

Came with a great goodie bag too!

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Yoga Books

Ardha Chadrasana: The Half Moon Pose

September 11, 2019

When I started writing Beyond Asanas, it was going to contain about 100 asanas. After all, I was writing my magnum opus. As the book took shape this number dwindled down to 30.

I chose asanas that I had been practicing for a few years. Ones which I knew and understood. There were, of course, the mundanities to consider. Visual appeal, my ability to execute the posture well, would my research yield interesting information about it?

The Ardha Chandrasana made the cut. I found a connection between this asana and the story of the near-destruction of the universe. When Shiva swallowed the halahala to save the Universe, the poison turned his body blue. Chandra stepped in to help.

Then there’s the story of why the moon waxes and wanes. Lord Ganesha and his temper are responsible for the moon manifesting in its ‘ardha‘ or half stage.

The Ardha Chandrasana is Chapter 5 of my book. To read the stories and the significance in more detail get your copy of the book.

Below are the step-by-step instructions, with images.

1. Start on the right with Trikonasana.

For more on Trikonasana see Chapter 4 in Beyond Asanas.

2. Bend your right knee and reach forward with your right hand. Place it on the floor diagonally opposite the right foot.

Note the extension on the right side of the torso as the outer edge of the left foot stays firmly on the ground.

The right arm and right foot must be diagonal to each other, else balancing is hard.

3. Engage your right arm and leg, so that you can balance and support yourself on them. Slowly lift the leg up until it is parallel to the floor or slightly above hip level.

The key to balance is your gaze. The steadier and more focused your gaze, the better your balance.

Behold! The final posture. The gaze swivels up to the left thumb.

4. To come down, bring your left leg back to the floor in the same way you took it up. You should end in the Trikonasana again.

5. Repeat on the left side.

These beautiful images are done by Farhan Khan of @khan.clicks and David of @deavalin_david_dsouza. The makeup is by Henna of @makeupbyhennaanbaree.

If you have any questions or queries, do leave a comment.

Get your own copy of ‘Beyond Asanas: The Myths and Legends Behind Yogic Postures’ here.

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