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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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Travels Yoga

Practicing Together

September 12, 2019

I don’t remember when I came across the word ‘jugalbandi’ for the first time. Until now I thought the word meant a collaboration. Before writing this blog I thought I should probably check the meaning and found that it literally means ‘entwined twins’. The word is used to refer to a collaboration between two artists, usually a duet between two solo artists.

I’ve attended a few jugalbandis in the past and enjoyed them immensely. There is magic when great artists come together. They bring their art and ‘entwine’ it with the art of another artist. And it creates magic. It’s not only a mingling of art, craft, technical excellence but also a mingling of hearts, souls and great minds.

If you go to yoga class and take a look around you will see many things. Lithe bendy bodies and also not so lithe bendy bodies. People straining to touch their toes, and people balancing on their fingertips. But there is a common purpose that brings us together: to keep our bodies and minds healthy.

Which is why every once in a while I love to train and practice with different people. I came across Dayananthan on Instagram one day and was blown away by his asana practice. So I ‘followed’ him. And to my surprise he followed me back and said he finds my practice inspiring. I was thrilled. More thrilled when he invited me over to his studio Nrityog to practice together.

Teaching yoga (or maybe teaching anything) can get lonely. You’re either attending class, teaching class or practicing. You have few ‘work friends’, don’t go out for drinks after work and have no team-building retreats. So it’s always refreshing to find teachers who reach out.

I arrived at Nrityog early on a Saturday. Dayananthan was finishing a class. He is really as awesome as his Instagram profile makes it out to be. We chatted a bit during which I showed him the postures that were my ‘goal asanas’ such as this one and this one. We started stretching and decided to work towards the ek pada sirsasana. I’ve been working on the pose for years and was hoping he could give me new insight into it.

As we stretched I got to know him a bit better. He started Nrityog with his wife who is also a dancer. The studio is open, airy, full of plants. The vibe is calm, much like Dayananthan himself. He freelances at other studios too, which he loves because he gets to meet more people that way. So you can catch him around in different part of Bangalore.

In about 35-45 minutes he was ready to tackle the leg behind head category of asanas. My muscles were screaming, but I was game.

I look forward to practicing more with him once I’m back in Bangalore. The Yoga Jugalbandi.

Meanwhile, if you’re in Bangalore do attend class at Nrityog!!!

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RIMYI Experiences

Don’t Go After the Stretch

September 10, 2019

pc: @khan.clicks @deavalin_david_dsouza makeup: makeupbyhennaanbaree location: Cubbon Park

I had a late class yesterday. It started at 7.10 pm and went up to 8.40 pm. The teacher was new to me. After the usual queries (“Where are you from? Who’s your teacher?”) I spread my mat and got ready for a class.

All the teachers at RIMYI have a distinct style of teaching. The strong teacher-student tradition of yoga ensures that your attitude, approach and philosophy towards the practice reflects that of your teacher. Your students will be able to see the ‘Iyengar’ or ‘Ashtanga’ shades in your classes. If you go to multiple teachers/don’t go to any teacher – that is pretty evident too.

There isn’t much of a crowd at RIMYI this year. Last night’s class had about 15 students. We had enough space to spread out. The class was quiet. It wasn’t action-packed or fast paced. We did very few asanas. We held each asana for a very very long time.

As you continue to hold, you’re able to go deeper into the pose. You can intensify the stretch. You can observe which limbs are working, which are sleeping. I worked on lengthening and opening my torso in Trikonasana – I noticed that I could actually activate the hamstrings more. Similarly in Parsvakonasana.

“You may be feeling a stretch in your hamstrings and on your groin,” said the teacher. “But feel the quietness in your abdomen.”

I blinked a couple of times. It’s a mannerism Ive noticed recently. It’s an automatic response if I’m surprised or intrigued.

“Most of us go after the stretch. We think asana works only if we feel the stretch. But all asanas bring quietness in the abdomen too. Find this quiet.”

And with these few sentences, he changed my asana practice forever.

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Poetry Yoga

The Rigors

August 25, 2019

The rigors of a home yoga practice. ⠀
Messy hair, ⠀
sweat stained clothes. ⠀
A little music, ⠀
an old mat.⠀
Props strewn around. ⠀
A useless mirror.⠀

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Books Travels Yoga

Rubbing (Book) Shoulders With My Favs

August 22, 2019

My sister spotted my book at the Delhi International Airport.

Over breakfast with my boyfriend today I mentioned I have my book club meeting tomorrow evening. It got me thinking about reading and those who read. I said to him, “Reading is a bit strange. We all know how to read, but very few actually read.” Those who aren’t bitten by the reading bug as soon as they learn how to read, can never catch the reading disease. For them reading a book will depend on literary awards and bestseller lists. They will never know the pure joy of a juicy historical Walflowers romance followed by the heartbreak of a volume on partition and its consequences. They will never relate to, and therefore never benefit from the existential crisis of a desperate vampire. They won’t know the thrill of hours spent digging through piles of dust motes to unearth treasure in a second-hand bookstore. Their shelves will forever be prey to awards, notable mentions, even popular opinion.

I read ‘God of Small Things’ in high school. The book was one long beautiful breath-taking poem. Last year the magic reappeared in ‘The Ministry of Utmost Happiness’. To have my book next to hers is a little like being close to her energy.

I read a little known book called ‘The Gin Drinkers’ around the time I started college. I was smarting from culture shock, felt like a fish out of water on most days, wondered if things would ever get better and like most young people looked for familiarity that I never really found. (Have I found it now?). As clichèd as it sounds, I recognized a bit of myself in the characters of this book. When Sagarika Ghose spotted her book at the airport, I wonder if she registered the book next to her.

If you spot ‘Beyond Asanas‘ anywhere, do send me a picture!

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Books Yoga

Beyond Asanas – My Book, My Words

August 21, 2019

Thank you @zzeehphotography and @makeupbyhennaanbaree for this amazing shot.

When I was writing ‘Beyond Asanas’ my aim was to write a book which would give readers insight into little known stories about the asanas. This is an aspect of yoga practice which is never emphasized, so most practitioners only understand the asanas superficially.

Little did I know that through the book I would come in direct contact with people near and far, known and unknown. People who would read my words and appreciate them. And then take the time out to give me feedback, and share my work with others. So many of you have reached out to me on social media and through other means to express your thoughts and emotions regarding my work. You have no idea what it means to me. ??????⠀
⠀
‘Beyond Asanas’ was published this year on June 21st. The publisher, Penguin Random House felt that would be the apt day to publish a book such as this. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The beautiful photos have been shot by Joel Koechlin. The insightful foreword has been written by Kalki Koechlin.

Do get your copy now, and please don’t forget to share your feedback. It helps.

Buy on Amazon & Flipkart.

Available on Kindle too!

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Books Yoga

29th Sept – 4th Aug

August 5, 2019

Three times a week I have a student coming home early morning. For an hour we work with all our props and what follows is a deep, delicious savasana.

The first post of the week was a snapshot of my hand balancing practice. I’ve been trying to invert for many years now. Some days it’s good, some days not so much. But I do a certain amount of inversions daily. I find using blocks for pincha mayurasana and a bolster for adhomukha vrkshasana helps to activate, stimulate and access my core muscles.

On Wednesday, the 31st I had an amazing book talk hosted by Carrots Restaurant. Carrots is my default go-to for such events because their food is amazing and the vibe of the place is just the right amount of holistic health meets real life people. Geetanjali, a friend of mine since college, also attended and relegated us all with anecdotes of me from college. She reminded me that I was a huge fan of the Khadi Bhandar even back in college when such stuff wasn’t ‘cool’ like it is now!

All writers dream of when they will be signing their books. It still feels surreal.

Grateful for friends who partake of and enjoy your success.

In other new, I spotted my book ‘Beyond Asanas‘ at Higginsbothams on MG Road and was quite kicked about it. As usual I took a million pictures of it.

In the run-up to my book launch, RJ Grisha, a lovely lady based in Chicago reached out to me via my Facebook page to see if I would do an interview for her radio should called ‘Life Aaj Kal’. It was great because I got a chance to analyse myself and introspect a bit. After all, it’s when we come across major breakthroughs that we think most about the meaning of everything in our lives. When I listen to the interview now I smile in spite of myself. I sound excited and nervous, happy and cautious…a young girl on the brink of the greatest event in her life. You can listen to the interview here on the RadioPaaniPoori site.

Yesterday (4th Aug) I was kicked about doing an event for a company called Floh. My talk was about how yoga has helped me with my personal and professional life. I spoke about how our relationship with ourselves pretty much determines our relationship with others. Therefore, it’s imperative to work on that relationship. When I became more conscious of how I treat myself, talk to myself and perceive myself, then miraculously, others also became conscious of it.

But the best part of Sunday is my weekly runs at the Ulsoor Lake. Yesterday I clocked 5 km and followed it up with some stretching and hanging upside down.

Favorite thing on this planet – loads of time to practice, run, stretch and monkey around Ulsoor Lake.

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Travels

July 22nd – 28th

July 29, 2019

This week started out with me being all writerly. Many of you don’t know that I have a humongous collection of saris. Yet the only thing I wear most frequently are my yoga pants. So it was refreshing to attend the Guru Purnima celebrations swathed in six yards of elegance. And since I was presenting my teacher with my book on the same day I thought let me make it a Kodak moment and the result was the first Instagram update for the week.

Give me a beautiful south cotton sari any day. #noyogapants #sarinotsorry.

I’m still pinching myself about what a wonderful year this is turning out to be. Last year if you’d told me that next year by this time I would have conducted a yoga retreat in Italy, I’d dismiss you as senile. My book was in the pipeline, but I was immersed so deeply in editing that it ever seeing the light of day was almost mythical. The second update for the week saw me thinking about my unconventional journey and the twists and turns that it’s led me on. With no roadmap the only thing I’ve relied on to get to this point is my gut instinct and also blind trust on whoever wants to massage my ego! This picture was taken when my sister Ana, cousin Ishani and I were roaming the streets of Imperia trying to find Susanne and Stephanie (with whom we were going to head to Liguria).

Dancing all over Imperia.

The 25th of July is Abhijata’s birthday. In 2016 I went to Belur to attend an Iyengar yoga workshop for the first time. Abhijata was there along with Birjoo and Rajvi Mehta. I was nervous about speaking to Abhijata, but my classmates egged me on. And I finally did, thinking I’d like to remember myself as courageous enough for a ‘no’ rather than the coward who didn’t even dare. It was now or never. Abhijata not only told me to write to the institute keeping her in the loop but also answered a few of my questions. I did a blog on it and later put together a YouTube video.

And I ended the week with updates about my first book event for ‘Beyond Asanas’. The event is called ‘Feeding Body and Soul – A Book Talk. It is being hosted by Carrots Restaurant and they even curated a special menu for it!!! The menu included: Melon Mint Gazpacho, Raw Beetroot Ravioli with Herbed Cheese and Cilantro Hummus with Baked Lavash Chips. Exciting stuff!!! The first event was on Sunday evening and I spoke about my personal journey, why yoga, how I went about writing the book etc. It was an open, free-wheeling discussion and I look forward to doing the event again on Wednesday the 31st of July. Fingers crossed that this is the first of many book events. 🙂

Simply yummers….

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Yoga

The Unwitting Yogi

April 7, 2019

I was a little late jumping on to the ‘Bohemain Rhapsody’ bandwagon, but when I did I was spellbound. The movie was well done, and the portrayal of the characters was spell binding.

Freddie Mercury was perhaps the greatest rockstar of all time, but he was also an unwitting yogi. While going through a bunch of his pictures on Pinterest I started to notice that a lot of his moves on stage looked like yogic postures. The more pictures I saw, the more yogasanas I recognized. So I put together a bunch of Freddie Mercury’s pictures and the corresponding asana.

Trikonasana/Triangle Pose

I have a love-hate relationship with this asana, but you’ve got to admit it looks like Freddie is performing it in this iconic pose.

Vrkshasana/Tree Pose

That costume and balancing on the toes!!!

And variations of the Tree pose…

Chaturanga/Plank Pose

Every yogi knows the agony of getting this one right.

Those biceps though.

Virbhardasana/Warrior Pose

Marichyasana/Sage Marichi’s Pose

This is a bit of a stretch of the imagination, but you have to admit there’s a twist there. Also, Freddie’s flat abs, his chiselled body, the energy – is this the real life?

Backbends

My biggest challenge…but look at him.

Photo Collage Maker_hT4eaP.png

Can I just point out the clean lines and the lifted sternum?

Hope you enjoyed this blog. Leave me a comment and share if you did!

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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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