Wednesday, December 30, 2009

First Post From India!




Tuesday, 29 December 2009, 7 am

Made it to Pune.

The flights were essentially uneventful. Made it to London after a short delay in SF. Heather and I did not pay attention to our tickets and neither did the Virgin attendant who we checked in with in London. After 5 hours or so of waiting for our flight to be listed I went up to the Virgin counter and the attendant said I should hurry to another terminal about 15 minutes away. Turns out our flight to Mumbai was on Jet Airways not Virgin. We made it with plant of time to spare. The Virgin flight was okay and the Jet Airways flight was better.

We waited in Mumbai for a few minutes for our ride to Pune. As we stood outside the airport I knew I was in for a wild ride. The faces, the energy, the language, everything. Heather was in a hurry because she had a bus to catch in Pune to get to Goa. The driver and sales people seemed indifferent to her plight. We shared the ride with two computer programmers (engineers!) – one from Kerela (sp?) and one from Pune who lives in Marin county in California.

We could see some of the slums of Mumbai as we landed and got a better view of them as we made our way out of Mumbai. It is hard to describe and heart wrenching to see. We have a lot to be grateful for . Shacks attached to shacks with anything for roofs but mostly corrugated metal and garbage. Lots of people everywhere.

We made it to Pine in time for Heather to catch her bus.

The first stop was to drop me off at Arwind and Anjali’s. Heather knew where it was and directed the driver to the driveway. They had expected me a day earlier because that was what I had told them. I did not read my ticket correctly where it noted the arrival date as Sunday the 27th +1 day. It was the plus one day that through me off (Heather too, that’s why she was in a hurry to catch the bus). They were welcoming right away. The day before it was Arwind’s birthday, 74. I brought him two pairs of safety goggles to use hen he rides his scooter. He was happy to receive the gifts.

We had some tea and snacks, talked about my travels and the details of the house. I was given the tour. I have a large room with two balcony’s, a little pantry area and a bathroom. It is way more than I expected and perfect.

Arwind gave me ride on the back of his scooter and we went to the Institute so I could see where it was and then we went searching for some dinner. The traffic was crazy. There are more scooters, motorcycles, and bicycles than cars. A few buses packed with riders. The horns are always going off – mostly to let other drivers know that you are coming up on the side of them. There are lanes but that means nothing to the drivers. It is a wild ride – literally. We had a nice dinner and Arwind taught me how to eat with my hands as they do.

After the meal I was ready for sleep. Some people can sleep on planes but I am not one of them. I had been up for 30 something hours and was ready to crash. I slept well and woke up without any stomach upset. Good so far. I finally have a few minutes to journal.

Today I will register at the Institute and get some supplies for my room. Tea, toothpaste, soap, water and other stuff.

I hope to hook up with my friend Bill who has been here for two months and practice and then have lunch and a tour of Pune.

Tuesday, 29 December 2009, 10 am

I just registered for my classes at RMIYI. Pandu said I had to wait until Thursday to use the studio for my practice. While we were going over my papers we were interrupted by BKS Iyengar. He gave me a nod!

Here is the schedule:

Yoga classes:
M 7-9 a
Tu 7-9 a
Th 7-9 a
Th 5:30 p pranayama
F 6-8 p
Sa 7-9 a

Practice times:

M 9-12 a
T 9-12 a
W 4-5:45 p
Th 9-12 a
F 9-12
Sa 4-5:45 p

What will I do about Sunday?

I am off to exchange some money and get some supplies.

Tuesday, 29 December 2009, 9 pm

My kind hosts exchanged some money for me and I went back to the Institute to meet my friend Bill Moser. Bill, my man Bill. He hooked me up today for a whirlwind crazy tour. First lunch at his flat made by his cook. Curries, chapatti, lemon soda, rice – the works. Good conversation about Yoga and life.
Nana, Bill’s rickshaw driver came and met us at Bill’s flat. What a sweet man he is. This was around 1 pm and he dropped us off close to my place around 9 pm. We went to three temples, Gandhi’s museum and grave, an open air vegetable market plus, the incense/oils store and eventually out to dinner. The pace was crazy on the roads. Picture this: the vehicles do not stay in their own lanes and honk when they pull up beside you. People walking, on bikes, motorbikes, scooters, rickshaws, buses, trucks and cars all moving in packs honking like crazy. It was like a carnival ride.

A lot of the children wanted photographs taken and to know where we were form. What sweet smiles and warm energy. A lot of the women where traditional garments but few of the men do. You will see whole family’s on scooters – babies too. No helmets and buzzing around.

Even in India you can buy as much enlightenment as you want to. The temples cost to get in and there was stuff for sale all over. Flowers as offerings, t-shirts, books and otherstuff. The temples were beautiful even with all of the garbage around.

This is a town of 4.5 million people and wild goats, cows and pigs. Yup, I saw whole families of these animals all around. I saw one cow grazing out of a dumpster that had some green things hanging out of it.

I’ll write more about the temples once I go through the pictures and figure out the names and which one was which.

I will start classes on Friday and Pandu said I can start practicing at the Institute on Thursday.

There must be a party going on close by. Loud dance music – a mix of Michael Jackson beats and lyrics and Indian pop thrown in over the top. Very danceable – but right now I am looking to get some sleep.

It was a long and most excellent day.

More to come!

slide show of pictures.....

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Mindful Breathing

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are considering the topic “The Breath of Life.”

Mindful Breathing

We spend most of our time caught in the memories of the past or looking ahead to the future, full of worries and plans. The breath has none of that “other-timeness.” When we truly observe the breath, we are automatically placed in the present. We are pulled out of the morass of mental images into a bare experience of the here-and-now. In this sense, breath is a living slice of reality. A mindful observation of such a miniature model of life itself leads to insights that are broadly applicable to the rest of our experience.

- Henepola Gunaratana

The homework is to learn for yourself what it means to “truly observe” the breath. Consider how Dharana or concentration, the fifth limb of Yoga, can assist you in learning about your breath and your Yoga practice.

Blessings,

paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com

Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003

Monday, December 14, 2009

Breathing as Conscious Practice

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are considering the topic “The Breath of Life.”

Breathing as Conscious Practice

Every breath can be a practice. With the inhalation, imagine drawing in pure, cleansing, relaxing energies. And with each exhalation, imagine expelling all obstacles, stress, and negative emotions. This is not something that requires a particular place in which to sit. It can be done when in the car on the way to work, waiting for a stop light, sitting in front of the computer, preparing a meal, cleaning the house, or walking.

- Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

The homework is to try the above practice 5 times a day for one week. Observe the effects of making your breath a practice.

Blessings,

paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com

Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Become a Vessel for Life

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are considering the topic “The Breath of Life.”

Become a Vessel for Life

Breathing is one of the simplest things in the world. We breathe in, we breathe out. When we breathe with real freedom, we neither grasp for nor hold onto the breath. No effort is required to pull the breath in or to push the breath out. Given the simplicity of breathing one would think it was the easiest thing to do in the world. However, if it were truly so easy there would be few unhappy or unhealthy people in the world. To become a welcome vessel for the breath is to live life without trying to control, grasp, or push away. And how easy is that? The process of breathing is the most accurate metaphor for life, how we live our lives, and how we react to the inevitable changes that life brings us.

- Donna Farhi

The homework is to notice the next time you create resistance in your asana practice. Observe the quality of your breathing and work to remove this resistance by bringing real freedom to your breath. Work to generalize this experience to situations off of the mat.

Blessings,

paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com

Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003