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The Pune Diaries – Day 2

August 2, 2018

While registering for classes yesterday I had specially asked to be in one of Gulnaz’s classes. I was unable to attend class with her last year. But during my first year here, her classes were the highlight of my schedule. She’s energetic, spry, proficient, kind, shrill, entertaining and an overall awesome person. And I’m glad that I started my month at RIMYI with one of her classes.

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We finally rolled out of the Halasana and lay there for some time, recuperating.

It had been a pretty challenging class. We worked on shoulder opening and rotation. We went through Trikonasana, Virbhadrasana, Parsvakonasana, Ardhachandrasana.

And finally the Sirsasana, Sarvangasana and Halasana cycle (where I got screamed at for using a blanket where none was required).

So when we were asked to roll our mats out again, all of us breathed a sigh of relief and sat down.

‘Urdhvahastasana!’ We lifted our arms up.

Gulnaz looked at us with a slight smile playing on her lips and told us to stand up and do the Urdhvahastasana. A couple of us groaned as we stood up.

‘From here go into the Sarvangasana.’

She was expecting my puzzled look and with a twinkle in her eye said, ‘Yes! From here go into Sarvangasana.’ And went on to show us. From a standing position she rolled back into the Sarvangasana and then rolled forward into standing Urdhvahastasana. Watching a teacher demonstrate some things makes them easier, but 10 reps of this move had most of us breathless. I was glad to sit down and let other people have a go at it.

Until Gulnaz walked by again and said, “Chal chal, aise kya baithi hai?! Phir se kar. Do another 10!”

I love it when a teacher gets so involved in a class that their energy seems to touch every single student in the class. A student ceases to be just another body to be taught to move. Instead, the student becomes another soul to guide and mold. That’s when a class actually has an impact on you. Beyond being able to transition from Urdhvahastasana to Sarvangasana and back again.

I have great memories of Gulnaz from the first time I took a class with her. I recounted it here: https://yogawithpragya.wordpress.com/2016/09/02/a-yogi-in-pune-day-2/

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RIMYI Experiences

The Pune Diaries – Day 1

August 1, 2018

I got in really late to Pune last night and after some dinner could hardly keep my eyes open. I drifted into a deep long sleep….

…and woke up this morning to head to the institute for registration. This year I have a mixed bag of teachers and most of my classes are in the morning. Practice times remain the same, as always.

As I was telling some other students who registered along with me, the month in Pune always has a lot to teach you. The learning curve is steep and you learn more than you can sometimes process.

I’m still not done with the registration formalities. I have to submit a letter from my landlord, some kind of identity proof and the duly filled out registration form. However, in the true RIMYI spirit of ‘practice first and everything else will follow’, I’ll go for the evening self-practice. As Pandu told me this morning, ‘Aap shuru to karo. You’re a known face here.’

“Ok sir, theek hai.”

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RIMYI Experiences

Three Surprising Facts About Pune

November 17, 2017

At the Aga Khan palace, on a day we were free.

By Pune I mean the Ramamani Memorial Iyengar Yoga Institute (RIMYI). For Iyengar practitioners ‘Pune’ is synonymous with ‘RIMYI’. After studying for five years under my primary teacher here in Bangalore, I started going to Pune last year. I’ve written about my time in Pune in previous blogs. This blog is about the little known and surprising aspects of the RIMYI experience.

RIMYI is the most famous institute for Iyengar yoga on the planet. It is the epicentre of all Iyengar yoga related activities in the world. There is a wait list to attend classes at the institute, and you may have to wait for up to a year or more to get a spot. To even apply for a spot you need to be studying Iyengar yoga for at least 5 years under a certified teacher. We reserve our seats and accommodation many months in advance. Sometimes years in advance.
Everyone cries. Yes, RIMYI has a lot of grownups in tears. Teachers at the institute aren’t known to mince their words or to bother about the political correctness of their words. The experience can be intense and nerve wracking. What’s interesting is that despite quaking with fear, dread and nervousness on our mats, we still return year after year! I’ve broken down countless times. The experience can be very cathartic and just goes to show that the path of yoga takes your blood, sweat and tears.
Teachers hit you. While we’re not being shoved into doors and walls, a sharp slap on the quads or the back of the knees to take our awareness to our ‘sleeping’ body parts is routine. I’ve had teachers slap my quads, the back of my knees, the sides of my thighs…even had my toes flicked painfully because, ironically, they weren’t relaxed enough. We joke that ‘BKS’ Iyengar stands for ‘Beat Kick Slap’ Iyengar!

So you see, studying at the best yoga school in the world is not a blissful-gentle-stretching-meditating-all-day experience. It’s actually a tremendous achievement to make it through and back again the next year!

At the Osho Gardens. I had Dengue during this time!

Sundays looked like this. A joke we will never forget!

Weekends at a farm, amidst nature, never get old.

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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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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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