The first day is always a day of exploration and learning.
My first class was on the second floor and we went through the standing asanas. However, because it was the Intermediate class we were expected to know how to do the Sirsasana, Halasana and Sarvangasana. In my class in Bangalore we did the Sarvangasana and Halasana with the help of chairs, however, here the only props we used were thick mats under our shoulders.
Post the class we had a break of 30 minutes after which the hall on the first floor was free for self practice. During this time we are allowed the use of the hall and all the props to further our practice. Since I wasn’t sure of what to expect, I decided to repeat what we had done in the led class and take my time with the asanas. Since I’m working on my Hanumanasana, I built up to that as well. Unfortunately, by this time (after almost 4 hours of practice) I was completely depleted of energy and didn’t give the practice my 100%. However, tomorrow my self practice and led class have a gap, so I think I’ll be able to use my time much more judiciously tomorrow.
Once I got home I searched for a good spot for wifi reception. The flora and fauna and the monsoons ensure the wifi signal is weak. However, good karma came to my rescue and my sister’s friend (who lives in the house next door)n offered me her wifi and the use of this space:
She happens to be a designer with a flair for interiors and this is her office. So for the entire month, this is what my workstation looks like. My desk is right next to hers, so I’ve got good company too. And hot homemade soup in the evenings (today it’s pumpkin soup). I I will be designing plans and blogging from here.
As for my pratice schedule, here it is for your reference:
Unfortunately my allergies have flared up. Leaving your house can be a messy affair for a homebody like me. I think of my house in my absence and I simply can’t tolerate the thought of a messy house left to it’s own devices. I need my house to be spic and span in my absence so that a thin film of dust is all I really have to deal with on my return. So for the past two weeks I’ve been cleaning along with packing and my nose has paid the price dearly. However, I managed to clear the table tops and the counters and ensure that things were in their rightful places before I went to sleep last night. And once settled in comfortably I Skyped late into the night with a friend of mine, excitedly catching up on all the old and what it feels like to be on the brink of the new.
I woke up early today and did a quick practice after which I showered and drove myself to a friend’s place to entrust him with the care of my car for the next few weeks, and to partake of whatever breakfast he could offer an excited yogi just about to embark on a great adventure. I still remember that the last time I came back after a long trip, the battery of my car fought a slow death leaving me stranded many a time. This time I wasn’t going to take chances, specially not with breakfast.
I managed to catch a few minutes of sleep on the plane before we landed, but airplane don’t really count by way of making you feel rested. The opposite, yes. I deplaned to find out that there was a transportation strike in Pune and therefore couldn’t get a pre-paid taxi to my accommodation. Ola shared cab to the rescue.
My accommodation is a room nestled in a culvert near RIMYI. I have a clean, freshly painted room all to myself. The kitchen is easily accessible and I spent a little while getting to know my hostess over a mug of (much needed) hot green tea. Turns out that the house is situated on Sudheer Pawar Path, and Sudheer Pawar was my hostess’s uncle! He was an officer of the Indian Air Force who crash landed due to a malfunctioning airplane and the government named the road in his honor. Add a bit of history to anything, and you increase my wonder for it manifold.
My hostess was kind enough to provide me some paranthas for lunch and after a quick rest I decided to go exploring. My hostess gave me clear and concise directions and I reached the institute in no time. The evening timings of the institute are 4-6 pm and I was a bit early. I made enquiries with the guard who told me that I should come at 4 and not to worry as there won’t be much of a crowd. I remembered the mad rush at KPJAYI and wanted to make sure. Finally he told me that there is only one day of the year when there is a rush (I forget which one) and after that since there are no new admissions, there is no rush. I did notice that there was a board on the gate which said that the admissions are closed until May 2017. And here’s where I felt grateful that I had somehow beat the queues.
I decided to explore a bit more and wandered a bit further down the road where a random lady walking next to me started lamenting about the transport strike. And she didn’t trust Ola. Not sure what she was planning to do. I bought myself a toothbrush, toothpaste and a coffee and answered some messages until it was time to head to the institute.
I decided to ask for the legendary Mr. Pandurang Rao at the institute and see if I could register today, since I was already there, instead of having to wait until tomorrow. I know these guys are sticklers for rules and I wasn’t sure I would be entertained. However, I was! Mr. Rao handed me the registration form and once I’d filled it out he drew up my schedule on a pink post it…only to ask me once again how long I’ve been practicing and then relapsed into deep thought. Then he decided to make a phone call and spoke to the person on the other end about ‘the student from Bangalore’. The conversation was in Marathi, so even though I heard it all, I couldn’t understand it. He came back and asked me ‘Can you do the Sirsasana?’ I said yes and he then took a while to figure out whether to put me in the Intermediate or the Senior class. Finally, the Intermediate it is and I have to report to the Ist floor tomorrow morning at 7 am.
My hostess is taking us all out for dinner tonight, so I get to meet some of my housemates as well!
Those following my Facebook updates would know that I attended my first Iyengar workshop last weekend. I had been looking forward to the workshop all month. Turns out, the workshop became special for me. It was conducted by 3 senior Iyengar teachers. It was held at Belur, BKS Iyengar’s birthplace. Iyengar teachers are legendary for being strict and no nonsense. So when, at the end of the first day I came up with the idea that maybe I could do my first ever interview for the blog with one of the most famous yoga teachers in the world, I didn’t think it would actually happen. But it did! And I was kicked. Below is the interview. At the end is the link to where you can hear it on YouTube.
PB: First of all Abhijata, thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview. I know its on short notice but thank you so much.
AS: Welcome.
PB: So the first question I wanted to ask you is in your opinion what is the role of a guru. In the modern context when the practitioners have changed and the practice has changed, and you know, lifestyles and I think times have changed so now what is the role of a guru in a student’s or in a seeker’s life?
AS: I think the word guru is used very..uh… easily these days…because so many people that we see I would say are teachers, instructors…I mean it starts off with you know being..instructing a class, conducting a class, teaching a class… A guru is not somebody who teaches you a subject, a guru is somebody who teaches you about living, a guru is somebody who teaches you life. So, not everybody can get a guru, not anybody can become a guru (starts laughing).
PB: Hmmm..ok..alright..and do you agree that, you know they say that when a student is ready then the guru appears. So and…I feel that is sort of taking away responsibility from a student, like y’know you just keep on doing your work and the guru will come on their own. But do you feel for students today who are seeking something more from the practice, do you think they should go out and actively look for a guru or do you feel that they should just wait and when they are ready the guru will appear.
AS: Ah….I’ve been lucky to have had my guru (laughs again), so I don’t think it will be fair for me to answer this question because fortunately I was lucky enough to have been born in this family and to have been taught by him and by my uncle and aunt, Geetaji and Prashantji too and then Guruji became my guru. So yes, in a sense you cannot make a guru, but yes a guru appears it is true in one sense, but at the same time you can’t expect someone who is teaching you a subject to be a teacher and then somebody just comes and there the guru has appeared. I think a teacher transforms to becoming a guru, a student transforms into becoming a shishya and it doesn’t happen so easily, it’s not so easy. (starts laughing)
PB: And so that’s another question I had for you, when did your grandfather, he was your grandfather and then what was the moment when he became your guru? What was that transformational moment for you when you realized that ok this transformation has happened. It’s like a paradigm shift which happens in your life. So when did you realize that?
AS: I don’t know. Honestly I don’t know when he being my grandfather stopped and he becoming my guru emerged. When I came to Pune I just wanted to see what this yoga was about. I mean, why there are so many people from all over the world who come to my grandfather to learn…so let me see what this is all about, that’s how I started my learning in yoga. And he was teaching me asanas, and somehow it just evolved into he teaching me …
PB: life?
AS: ..so many other things (laughs).
PB: And also, so you’re one of the more younger teachers in the world of yoga, so how do you feel your teaching has evolved from the time your grandfather was teaching, from the time his guru was teaching? You know because people have also changed, so do you think your style of teaching has evolved with the times or is different from what the style of teaching of older teachers has been.
AS: Ah…I have not seen the older generation teach..you know..8 years ago I don’t know how it was but I’ve heard stories. I’ve heard stories of how my grandfather told his guru that he can’t do Hanumanasana. And his guru: Why? And my grandfather as a young boy when he told his guru that I cannot do the Hanumanasana because my langot is tight and his guru said just bring the scissors I’ll cut off your langot and you just do the Hanumansana. It’s about doing the Hanumanasana (both begin to laugh), it’s not about your clothing. So the gurus of those days I guess were like that (laughs). So…uh…I have started teaching in this age, so I have seen people, moved around people of this generation so it must have evolved in this style. But like I told you before, fortunately because I’ve seen them, I’ve seen Guruji, I’m still seeing my uncle and aunt, it is different. Because being closer to the source…I guess makes a difference.
PB: And what is a typical day in your life like? You know, when do you wake up and when do you practice?
AS: (laughs) Now my daughter has started school (laughs some more), so its changed. So I wake up, make her … pack her off to school and then my practice starts at nine. Goes on til twelve in the afternoon. And then I…two three days a week I also practice in the evening from four to six. Other two days I teach. My grandfather has said that if you are teaching a one hour class your practice that day has to be of three hours so…(both start laughing)
PB: I see, I’ll keep that in mind. (laughs). Your tips for yoga practitioners of the Iyengar tradition in terms of diet, practice and code of conduct.
AS: Practice would come first. Diet and code of conduct would follow. Practice, practice with all your heart, practice with sincerity. You know, often we cheat ourselves and we don’t know we are cheating ourselves I mean, if the going gets tough we want to go away from that. We think this is my limit, this is all I can do, that’s how the human mind thinks. And it’s very difficult to challenge that if you don’t have a good teacher. I mean, Guruji was there telling me you are escaping, you are being lazy. At that time I thought I was putting in my best and I thought I couldn’t do anything more than this but then he would say no this is nothing. So he was there, to you know, push me through that. And again, its not just about the quantity or the intensity but it’s one part of it. The point is asanas teach you about your own thinking pattern. You know, we so often want to escape, you so often want to do so much lesser than what we are truly capable of so fortunately if you have a good teacher who can identify the weakness in you and push you along then it’s good. Otherwise you have to be really observant and critical of yourself, to see what you are doing. And once your practice goes up like that, your diet will change on its own because you will realize that if you had a late lunch it’s not working well. If you’ve had a heavy lunch it’s not working well. If you’ve had spicy food it’s not working well. So that will change on its own.
PB: OK and would you like to make a comment on vegetarianism….in today’s context you know…when…
AS: Ah..I’m a born vegetarian so I don’t know the other side of it. But what I have seen my grandfather tell people is that you practice and you…
PB: Yeah I read about that in ‘Light on Yoga’ also…And code of conduct? I know it’s a very vast thing but as a practitioner is there anything you’d like to say?
AS: Code of conduct is not needed just for a practitioner, code of conduct is needed to just be a good human being (starts laughing).
PB: Alright! And tips for yoga teachers, um…wanna be yoga teachers of the Iyengar style of yoga.
AS: (laughs) The wanna be yoga teachers of the Iyengar style have to realize that a lot more has to be put in before you can become a teacher. (laughs)
PB: Yeah…
AS: because it’s very … I don’t know whether the demand is so much…of late so many people have developed this interest to become a teacher. I don’t know whether it is because of the popularity, because of the media, because of the demand, whatever it is, but we shouldn’t compromise on the quality…so we shouldn’t hurry up to become teachers. My uncle often tells in class that you do all your schooling, you go for your graduation, you go for your post graduation, you do another degree and then you teach kindergarten. So you know you cannot learn for three years and then teach a one year old in yoga. So you have to have your own abhyasa before you are ready to teach, before you are truly ready to teach…
PB: OK, alright. So that’s pretty much all the questions I have. Thank you so much.
AS: Thanks.
And here’s a link where you can listen to the interview:
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
Milk tea just this once 🙂
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.
Ola. Not sure what she was planning to do. I bought myself a toothbrush, toothpaste and a coffee and answered some messages until it was time to head to the institute.
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Those following my Facebook updates would know that I attended my first Iyengar workshop last weekend. I had been looking forward to the workshop all month. Turns out, the workshop became special for me. It was conducted by 3 senior Iyengar teachers. It was held at Belur, BKS Iyengar’s birthplace. Iyengar teachers are legendary for being strict and no nonsense. So when, at the end of the first day I came up with the idea that maybe I could do my first ever interview for the blog with one of the most famous yoga teachers in the world, I didn’t think it would actually happen. But it did! And I was kicked. Below is the interview. At the end is the link to where you can hear it on YouTube.![POMELO_20160724194023_save[1]](https://yogawithpragya.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/pomelo_20160724194023_save1-1.jpg)
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