iyengar yoga Archives - Page 3 of 4

Travels

Dengue Fever – My Story

October 15, 2017

Baddhakonasana.

I was supposed to come to Delhi on the 18th of this month and leave on the 21st. Since I took two months off from teaching to study in Pune, I felt I should get back as soon as possible. With this in mind I messaged my students that classes would start on the 2nd of Oct.

But on the 28th of September I started feeling a bit tired and my appetite disappeared. I found out from some other students that it was a 24 hour virus that was going around. I managed to drag myself to class on Friday and Saturday, but collapsed in bed post class on both days. My sister was slated to visit me for a day on Saturday and I willed myself to get better. I popped a few Crocins on Thursday and Friday and hoped the fever would sweat out of my body. On Saturday the sis arrived and I was still a little shaky. But I was tired of laying in bed all day, infirm. We set out for the Osho park and I hoped that being out and about would make me feel better. I returned that night as tired as ever.

Kakuli & I in the Osho Gardens.

With Sneha in the Osho Gardens.

The next day was the 1st of Oct. I got to Bangalore and once again collapsed in bed. The virus was supposed to be only a 24 hour virus and I was sure that I would be better in the next couple of hours.

I took classes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It was great to see my students again, but I still didn’t feel 100% myself. I didn’t have the energy to do my own practice and I couldn’t figure out why. I felt that if I was able to drive myself to classes then I should be able to practice too. At the same time I started to question the meaning of life and dwell on its futility.

I pinged my sisters that someone had given me the evil eye because what else could be wrong? I had no appetite and I was listless. I asked a friend of mine how to get rid of the evil eye and went out and even went out to buy a packet of red chillies.

Upon my mom’s insistence I went to the doc. I’d never had to go to the doctor and so actually had to ask some people in my building for the closest reliable and trusted doctor. The doc asked me to get a platelet count done and also to check for Typhoid and Dengue. The results showed my platelet count was 80000 (below normal range but not life threatening) and I tested positive for Dengue. The doc and my mom gave me an ultimatum. The doctor hooked me up to an IV and pumped glucose and Paracetamol into my system. My friend booked a ticket for me to Delhi. I went home and threw some stuff into a suitcase. Then I collapsed until another friend arrived to drop me to the airport.

No one in my family has ever had Dengue fever, but because this disease reaches epidemic like proportions every year in Delhi, everyone knew what to do. Since I fell sick I’ve heard of so many other people who’ve fallen sick during or after their time at RIMYI. Usually Dengue fever lasts anywhere between 5-7 days and it takes a person almost 2 weeks to completely recover. Because of my regular yoga practice I feel I was able to fight the infection relatively quickly. I had fever for about 2 days and was able to attend and conduct classes soon after.

This was the first time I fell sick (thanks to the yogi lifestyle) and my recovery was remarkably quick too.

Here are a few things I learned from getting this disease. Hopefully this will help you in combating the disease.

Use your mosquito repellent. I’ve heard Citronella oil, Eucalyptus oil and Neem oil also keep the mosquitos away.
Don’t fight the idea that you might be infected despite taking all sorts precautions. I was almost in denial as I told the doc that I was going about my normal active life and didn’t understand how I could be infected.
Take care of yourself – as yogis we sometimes put self-care on the backburner. Cancel your classes and try and sleep. Allow the fever to do what it will and focus on resting.
Allow someone else to take care of you. You’ll have someone to tell you that life isn’t over. I can’t remember the last time I spent so much time at home, but it made my recovery that much faster and more pleasant.
When I had a fever all I felt like eating was apples and drinking cold water. Looking at even a slice of toast made me want to throw up. Before I found out it was Dengue I felt I should force myself to eat a little bit or I would fall sick. Now I know that loss of appetite is a symptom of Dengue and my body craved hydration.
Monitor your platelets count daily!
Papaya leaf juice works like a charm. Take some papaya leaf juice and water and grind them in your mixer. Strain and drink.
Sleep!
Catch up on your reading. I renewed my Kindle Unlimited subscription and my Goodreads saw a lot of activity too.
Don’t worry about your practice/classes/work. Once your mind and body are well rested, you’ll be back with a bang.

I hope to never ever be sick again. This illness has reinforced my belief in making healthy choices every day without fail or excuses. Sometimes getting an infection can’t be prevented but being in good health ensures you fight the infection like a boss. This illness has also made me grateful for all the wonderful people in my life. People who wake up early to drop you to the airport, people who check up on you in the middle of the night, those who ping you from around the world to make sure you’re OK. I was lucky to be able to fly home at a moment’s notice and my mom was ready. I’m grateful to my mother’s maids who knew where to get papaya and giloy leaves and promptly brought them home. Even my tattoo artist reached out to me!

Any disease takes a toll on you physically, but if you have people around you who love you and care about you, you win the battle sooner. I had loads of people who were there for me, and for that I can never be thankful enough.

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Yoga

What Pune’s Weather Taught Me

September 15, 2017

pc: Joel Koechlin

Until today I had been lucky to avoid getting drenched in Pune’s sudden downpours. Today I went out for lunch with another and on our walk home the pleasant drizzle steadily and surely grew into a monstrous torrent. Too much for my little umbrella to handle. My capris were all wet as I pulled the umbrella low over my head and waded through the veritable rivers that the streets had become. As I walked I noticed the cobbler who was calmly trying to prevent his entire business being washed away in the rain. I noticed the fruit and vegetable wallahs covering their carts with waterproof sheets. I noticed the coconut bhaiyya had shut shop. I crossed the road and got on the sidewalk of the Agriculture college.

When I have the 7 am class I walk across someone sleeping on this sidewalk. This person is always wrapped head to toe in a blanket. I’ve never seen him stirring in his sleep. The early morning traffic doesn’t seem to bother him. When it rains he props an umbrella up and hopefully it keeps (at least) his torso dry. Once when I was walking to class (in the middle of the day) a yellow snake slithered out from the bushes and, perhaps realizing that it had lost it’s way, slithered back into the bushes. Slimy serpents don’t seem to bother this person. I’ve seen him there after a night of nonstop torrential rain, after a hot and humid night, after the Ganpati celebrations, on a Monday morning, on a Saturday morning…

To renounce everything and find peace in a remote cave in the Himalayas is easy. To stay ethical and honourable in the absence of temptation is no big deal. If we want to quieten the chitta, we must accept the noise that is creating the vrittis. If we want some rest, we must get it despite the traffic, fear of snakes, the rain or the heat. If we need to find peace, we must do so in the midst of chaos. Wrapped in a threadbare blanket under a tattered umbrella. Because that’s where we need it the most.

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RIMYI Experiences

Finally some progress…

September 11, 2017

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Our goals form the blue print for our lives. As kids we think of growing up and becoming so and so. Once we become so and so our goals change to the kind of cars or houses we want. The kind of person we want to be with. More common goals are to lose 10 kgs before year end, learn how to swim, run a marathon, travel the world, complete a reading challenge.

My first ever goal in life was to be Nancy Drew when I grew up. As I grew up I became more laid back and wanted to spend all my time reading and writing. My only goal in life was to spend as much time as possible reading as many books as possible. I also wanted to write books for a living. I finally ended up writing code for a living and that period of my life is conspicuous by a total lack of goals to aspire to. Everyone else wanted promotions, raises, onsite trips. People were flaunting cars, homes and eligible marital prospects. One day I realized that if I didn’t start working out I would have nothing to wear since I had steadily outgrown many things in my closet. That led me to the gym and then to yoga class.

As with most yoga students my first goal was to touch my toes. I remember that I was elated when I first did that. Even more when I touched my forehead to my knee. Today I cringe at how bad my form was then. Lots of people want to do the headstand and handstand. Studying at RIMYI has made a lot of my goals accessible to me (Kurmasana for one).

As an Intermediate 2 practitioner you are expected to be comfortable in many variations of sirsasana. You’re upside down in all classes (unless you’re menstruating), so headbalancing is crucial for an Iyengar practitioner. There are bound to be many who topple over or come down for a little break. When this happens you hear everything from ‘Shouldn’t have had so many modaks’ to ‘You call yourself teachers!!!’ to ‘In Intermediate 2 for so long and still not able to sustain?!’ Usually accompanied by a barrage of Marathi.

When I was here last year I used to fantasize about holding the headstand for 10 minutes. I knew that was a prerequisite for the next level. I’d heard of classes where students have been upside down for 20 minutes at a stretch. All of last month I’ve worked on steadily increasing the amount of time I stay up. I started with 5 minutes and then held it for 8 minutes for a while. Then this morning I decided to be a little more adventurous and see if I could hold on for 10 minutes. And I did!!!

Needless to say, it felt amazing!!! Achieving these goals only prove that with only a little bit of discipline and smart work you are closer to your goals than you think. Even goals that are mere fantasies for you right now.

Aga Khan Palace

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Yoga

A New Vrkshasana

September 6, 2017

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I love the basics. Even though advanced yoga poses can be exciting, there is still something lovely about the simplicity of the basics. Basic asanas are like the comfort food of yoga.

My schedule has changed a little bit for this month, so I now have Devki’s class on Wednesdays from 7.45-9 am.

In today’s class we focused on the groin. I’ve been here for a month and so far I haven’t done a blog on any class I’ve attended, but today’s class was different from any so far. We focused on the spine and the root of the spine (moola). We were supposed to grip the spine and the root throughout the sequence. We started with the Swastikasana and went on to the Baddhakonasana.

The class had a pleasant tempo. It didn’t feel like I was struggling in the asanas and pushing my limits. Yet, as the class progressed I could clearly feel that I was settling into the asanas rather than fighting my way into them. As though my limbs were moulding and unfolding effortlessly. I feel I was discovering what the body can do when the mind is quiet and the ego recedes. By the time we got to the Trikonasana I felt light and lithe and it was the best Trikonasana I’ve done while here in Pune.

I always learn something new in Devki’s class. And it’s always something fascinating. POMELO_20170906094836_save The Vrkshasana/Tree Pose is perhaps the first balancing posture that we learn in yoga class. Over the years I’ve heard a lot about the symbolism associated with this pose. The more common ones are to be rooted and strong and to find balance despite what is happening around you. But today Devki said be like a tree and provide shade and protection to all that come to you. A tree doesn’t judge a good person or bad, an animal or a human. It provides shade, protection and relief to one and all.

Although as human beings we are constantly evolving and growing (as we should), we can also be like the tree and ensure that external factors don’t diminish our light or detract us from the work that we are meant to do. We should be compassionate towards all who we come in contact with and see the larger picture even in the midst of the most sticky situations. The tree that provides protection is larger than those that come to it for relief and has a greater purpose. Think about this when practicing your Vrkshasana next time.

Towards the end of the class we went into Baddhakonasana once again and performed it like the Savasana – with the intent of relaxing the body. I couldn’t help but smile when I realized my spine, the root (moola) of the spine and the posture had all come together effortlessly in the Baddhakonasana.

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Paying Homage

August 24, 2017

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Last Sunday was BKS Iyengar’s punyatithi (death anniversary). There was a function organised by the institute in which Abhijata spoke.

When I got to the institute (half an hour early), it was buzzing with activity. Students were helping to arrange mats on the floor for all of us to sit on and technicians were taking care of the audio/video system. The program started with the invocation to Patanjali and then Abhijata took the stage.

Her speech was a combination of personal memories of her grandfather, his approach to yoga, his method of teaching, his commitment to the subject and his belief system. A nice little addition was the re-enactment of scenes from BKS Iyegnar’s classes, where the rest of the teachers went up on stage and pretended to be students as Guruji taught. Abhijata did her best impersonation of the disciplinarian Guru while we tried to imagine our teachers in the plight that we so often find ourselves in.

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What I really liked about Abhijata’s speech was how she wove the lessons learned with personal anecdotes. When talking about how Iyengar yoga helps us in cultivating a sense of peace or understanding who we really are, she said the Guruji had once said ‘My sole and soul is the same.’ Meaning that it is through the understanding and awareness of the gross body that he was able to cultivate insight. You need to work so hard, make your body so potent that you can escape gravity. Although anatomy is a rigid structure, you can’t pinpoint where the body ends and mind begins. Your inner working has to be revealed through your outer self.

She also said that yoga is a living art. Asana is a metaphor for life. Yoga teaches you how to navigate through problems in life. Chitta vritti has to come so that you can learn how to deal with it. Action can’t guide, reflection does. The prakriti has infinite potential, so it is possible to change our lives. As an analogy think of a farmer laying the groundwork for his crops. He does his best without thinking of the mechanics of how the seeds will sprout. He lays the groundwork and the seeds sprout on their own. Similarly, we must put in the practice, and everything else will also fall in place.

Life is to live. Your sensitivity to yourself and the world around you increases through the practice of yoga, and this heightened sensitivity helps you to solve your problems. For this your tapas has to have fire. Your practice should have drive, passion and zeal.

It was fitting then that Abhijata ended her speech a little teary eyed and saying ‘He taught me how to live.’

Recounting experiences with BKS Iyengar

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RIMYI Experiences

The Use of Props

July 28, 2017

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Blocks and belts have become a permanent fixture in most yoga classes. If you are into this practice for the long term it might be helpful to invest in a few props right now. For me props are indispensable and I use them daily. Some I use more than others.

Mat – There are many different kinds of mats I use depending on what I’m practicing. I have a thick mat for when I need to practice the Halasana or any other pose where I feel I need some cushioning.

Most Iyengar teachers call your regular yoga mat the ‘sticky mat’. I own two sticky mats and I’ve had them forever. One stays in my car and the other one I use for my personal practice. And I’ve had these mats for over 5 years now. I think the best thing to do for your yoga mat is to wash it regularly and hang it out to dry. The stickiness somehow gets replenished and they are as good as new. Someone gave me this tip during my teacher’s training and I’ve recommended this to others. I haven’t heard any complaints from anyone (yet).

Floor – I think it was in a Manouso Manos workshop that I heard that the floor is your first prop. It gives you a solid foundation. It stays strong during your standing, seated, prone or inverted asanas. A clean, uncluttered surface looks inviting. In my teacher’s class it’s a clay floor. When it’s really hot I sometimes practice on the cool bare floor. In my house I get the floor cleaned every day so that I have a fresh palette to play on daily.

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Wall – I started practicing the Adhomukha Vrikshasana in Pune last year. I continued to practice it at home and have steadily moved away from the wall. When it comes to some asanas – like handstand or the headstand – you need to determine when you are ready to move away from the wall. In this way, the wall helps you in exploring yourself and taking risks, but at the same time staying available for you always, should you need it.

Blocks – My first blocks were foam ones that I got as part of a ‘yoga set’. Foam blocks work well when you’re just using them for minimal support. However, when I’m working on chest opening or the Setubandhasana, I prefer the sturdier wooden variety.

Chair – during my last retreat I shared a personal story about the Viprita Dandasana. Basically, I would have a horrible reaction to this pose. I would feel queasy, my heart would start racing and I would start sweating profusely in only 20 seconds. When I went to RIMYI last year the dreaded asanas was part of a the women’s only class. I resigned myself to 2 minutes of queasiness. But I was pleasantly surprised. The way Gulnaz explained the asana was so clear and concise and it opened up the asana for me. It was one of my biggest takeaways from my time there last year. An asana (or a problem) can seem unsurmountable until someone guides you correctly.

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Blanket – When I think of blankets I think of softness. I use my blanket under me when I do forward folds.

Ropes – I use these daily. Because I do traction for my back daily. Because you should do traction for your back daily. Because everyone should do traction for their back daily.

Belt – I use belts mainly when I need to work on shoulder opening in various asanas. In fact, watch this video illustrating an easy shoulder opening trick using the belt. Also, as most of my students know, I almost always use belts in the final relaxation.

Props ALWAYS enhance your practice. I know a lot of people think that they don’t ‘need’ props. I used to think so too, but I now feel that if you utilise your props well then you uncover nuances of the asanas that you wouldn’t otherwise.

Leave me a question if you have one!

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Yoga

Hello Wonderful World!

June 13, 2017

welcome

“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.

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Travels Yoga

When the going gets tough…

September 22, 2016

I watched ‘Eat Pray Love’ and later devoured the book. I loved the book and the movie. I remember googling to find out what ashram Elizabeth Gilbert had checked into. My friends and discussed the book and its ideas to death. We planned similar journeys. And finally, all of us hoped that should we ever experience a life altering event, we would have the courage and strength to overcome it just like Elizabeth Gilbert.
Elizabeth Gilbert went on to write another book about her life post marriage with the love of her life (whom she met in at the end of ‘Eat Pray Love’). I haven’t had a chance to read that book yet, but I do hope to pick it up soon. Over the past few weeks the internet exploded with news that Elizabeth Gilbert has divorced her husband of 12 years – for the woman she’s in love with. The thing is, this news wasn’t brought to the world through newspapers and magazine stories; Gilbert put it up on her Facebook page herself. She included a picture of herself with the woman she loves.

Today while in the Sirsasana, with rivulets of sweat running down(up?) my torso and onto the mat, I think I gained a new perspective. This morning we were taught how to balance our shoulders and torso in the headstand. The teacher took us through various moves that helped us understand the positioning and behaviour of our shoulder blades and other parts of the torso. This was to give us insight into how we can improve our headstand. I was experimenting with my headstand and the experiments had me almost toppling and definitely very very unstable.

I’m sure falling in love while married, deciding to commit to the woman you love (despite knowing she has terminal cancer) and finally calling it quits on a relationship of 12 years with the love of your life (and which has been immortalized in a couple of best selling books) wasn’t easy. And it didn’t happen overnight. There must’ve been moments of uncertainty, of fear, of helplessness, anxiety, doubt, anger…and an overwhelming sense of insecurity. Deciding to go public with an intensely private matter of this kind also couldn’t have been easy for a woman known the world over for her soul searching trip to India and Bali. No one in the public domain is impervious to criticism. With social media being so pervasive, every detail of your life can be analysed. You can be publicly berated for your actions, opinions and personal choices. Therefore I think it was very very brave of her to be open about the choice that she made, and to risk a lot of bad publicity, ‘unfriends’, ‘unfollows’ and ‘unlikes’. In an age where lifestyle choices are beamed out to the world the second they are made, we are constantly under the scanner.

For health and fitness professionals, it is imperative to look their best in every post. Even pictures of them looking less than their best are always pictures of them looking fabulously less than their best. The constant scrutiny from fans and followers creates intense pressure to look a particular way or make certain choices. For fitness professionals choices such as drinking, smoking and indulging the sweet tooth present a challenge – to broadcast or not to broadcast? I wonder, for instance, as a yoga expert what if I were to one day get a condition that yoga is meant to prevent – how would I go public with it? Would I, like Gilbert, have the courage to talk about my experience? Or what if I were to gain all the weight back (a fear that I constantly live with)? How would I even begin to talk about it? Which is why I feel like the protagonist on ‘Eat Pray Love’ is more courageous than what was portrayed in the book. Her courage is uncommon and her quest for herself is very honest.

This is something we can all learn from. What if an event in your life forced you to re-evaluate everything you’ve stood for so far? Most of us are so fixated in our opinions and lives that we can almost never admit that we are wrong. And what if we had to do so publicly? I can’t imagine what Elizabeth Gilbert went through, but I think it would have been a process of immense growth and fulfilment.

When was the last time you were faced with a situation that challenged your basics and how did you deal with it? Was it a process of growth and learning? If yes, what did you learn?

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RIMYI Experiences

The Standing Asanas – Day 17

September 17, 2016

It’s been raining non stop in Pune for the last 3 days. The last time I experienced rain like this was in Wellington. There the rain was accompanied by mist and the smell of Eucalyptus and Citronella. Here I’m hurrying to RIMYI as quickly but as carefully as I can so as to make it to class on time while avoiding getting muck on my shoes and clothes.

The 7 am class this morning was taken by Abhijata. We started with the Uttanasana and the Adhomukha Svanasana. We frequently start classes with these poses. Then we were asked to get bricks and then started the series of standing poses. We did all the standing poses without a break. We did the entire sequence on both sides taking a break in between. It took us only about 10 minutes. Abhijata then told us that we can do the entire sequence of standing poses every day and in only 20 minutes. In Iyengar yoga we start with the standing poses. These poses are sort of like the entry point to other poses and also the entry point to start correcting alignment issues. Structural and postural defects can be corrected only once the corrections from basic standing asanas are experienced by the body.

Another reason we begin with standing asanas is because while doing the asanas you focus on nothing but the asana. It’s difficult to think about how much you hate your boss when your thighs are screaming in Virbhadrasana 1. So for 20 minutes (while you are performing the sequence of standing poses), you get a mental break from whatever thoughts disturb you for the rest of the day. This state of focus and concentration is what meditation tries to get you to. In Iyengar yoga we use the asanas as a means to attain the meditative state.

When you try to sit and actively concentrate on emptying your mind or focusing on an object/word/thought, it’s difficult. It could lead to frustration as well (the opposite of what we hope to achieve through meditation). However, practicing asanas with consciousness and with an attention to detail ensures that for the time you are practicing you are also in a meditative state.

Perhaps this explains why I feel a sense of lightness here. (Starting to wonder if I want to make it back to Bangalore….)

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Travels Yoga

Stretching – Then and Now

September 11, 2016

@Malaka Spice

It’s been close to 10 days here and my routine here is as challenging as ever. I realize that if it’s your first time here, then it does take a while to adjust and adapt. The first time I had a 4 hour practice I was incredulous … and didn’t know how to deal with it. Rather, I didn’t know how to make the most of it. When I practice at home it’s only for an hour and a half, and by the end of it I’m drained out. So the first few days here, I was always exhausted. So much so that I felt I couldn’t give the best in the asanas and always felt sloppy and ungainly throughout the practice. Mondays and Tuesdays specially, since practice on those days is almost 4 hours long, and by the time I’m done with practice its an ordeal just to walk home. My fantasies these days centre around buying an apartment next to the institute so that I can crawl home in no time and surface again only for the next class.

However, now I’ve started to get used to the routine. I’m actually able to make the most of the extended practice sessions. In fact, 2 hours is just about enough time for a satisfying practice…how I’m going to sustain this when I’m back in Bangalore is the stuff other blog posts are made of.

Yesterday I had my class in the evening (where I’m referred to as ‘Bangalore’, and another

girl is called ‘USA’, oh and then there’s ‘Madam China’ in the 6 am session). It was an amazingly intense session. The class was fast paced with a focus on stretching the lower body (Janu Sirsasana, Paschimottansana, Baddhakonasana etc). Finally we did the Upavista Konasana, which is a challenging pose for me. I slowly made my way down and eased my torso onto the floor. I remember the days when I started practicing yoga and this pose was a big challenge. I wouldn’t be able to extend my back and my hip joint was stiff. As the years went by, I was still pretty reluctant to practice this pose because it didn’t come naturally at all and it was frustrating. Even now, sometimes I’m able to execute this pose well, and sometimes I feel like lead.

Yesterday I was able to ease myself down and placed my forehead on the floor. I stayed there kind of happy and satisfied with myself. There’s always an element of pleasant surprise also, because some days your body can extend and some days it just doesn’t. This reverie lasted until I heard, “BANGALORE! You’re sleeping! Extend more! Walk forward with your hands!!! That’s it, that’s good. Trance mein chali gayi thi phir se.”

And I realized that for the most part, this is how I practice. I arrange myself into a pose and then my mind says, “This is it, you’ve done well. You’re done.” And then my pose goes dead, and progress stops. Or, as the teacher said, I fall asleep. So when I was told to extend more, I had to push through the limitations of my mind (kind of still the internal dialogue) and discover if I could, in fact, go further. I realized that I could, and for that little bit of time I experienced new life. And received a bit of enlightenment.

The Halasana is a pose that we do daily in class. We use props to ensure that the spine and neck are straight. The picture is of me doing the Halasana many years ago. When my internal dialogue was loud and overpowering. I’m sure it’s improved over the years. And after this class, I know how to work in this (and in all other asanas).

Halasana (Plough Pose)

How To

Lie down straight on your back making sure your head lies on the floor.
Exhale, bend your legs at the knees and bring your knees close to your chest.
Lift your buttocks off of the floor supporting your back with your hands.
Make sure to plant your elbows firmly on the floor.
Bring your body perpendicular to the floor, until your sternum touches your chin.
Gently extend your legs out behind your head.
Keep your face and neck relaxed.
Practice with your arms stretched out behind and fingers interlocked to relive pain and cramps in fingers, hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders.

Benefits

Relieves fatigue.
Helps to calm down the mind.
Relaxes your eyes and brain.
Controls hyper tension.
Improves digestion.
Lengthens the spine and improves alignment.
Reduces insomnia and anxiety.
Relieves stress-related headaches and migraines.

Contraindications

Don’t practice during menstruation and if you have cervical spondylosis.

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