Eight Post From India!!!

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

Today my injuries are much better and I will be back to my routine on Thursday.

I heard from Grant that Prashant was encouraging the students to integrate pranayama into their asana practice. First he taught uddiyana in a few asanas and then what he called angi (fire) which amounts to pumping your lower abdominal in and out fairly quickly while in an asana. It was Janu Sirsasana that he was having the students work in. I think I’ll buy the class since I missed it and find out what was going on.

I received a call from state side today from my sweet son Ryan. He had good things to report and it was a blessing to hear his voice and get caught up. His older boy, Logan Paul, has a birthday next week – six years old. Amazing. Ryan was just six and so was I!

I had a slow morning. Went for tea and then walked around Model Colony. The shops are packed in and are about 10 X 10. The butcher shop had a part of a tree for a cutting block, a few butchered goats hanging there, and a few goats tethered outside. Right next store you can get your muffler welded. It is like Pune has grown so fast that many things were left undone and/or left out. Next door to a bank a group of women are pounding their clothes out on the sidewalk. I use the term sidewalk loosely. They stop and start, have big gaps and sometimes the steps to the surface street are anywhere from and inch to two feet. Walking takes active concentration. Oh yeah, watch out for big holes.

My electric razor that I use to buzz my head gave up. Don suggested that I go to the barber down the street. I think it was a gift that my gadget broke down. For 140 Rs., around $3.00, I had a buzz cut, head massage with coconut oil, and a face massage. The barber used a vibrating gadget to massage both my face and head. One of them strapped to his hand and he used this on my front and back side as well. For another 100 Rs. he offered to provide me with a facial. Maybe next time.

I have another massage scheduled with Bhybu today. The work he did yesterday really helped.

Srinath came by on Tuesday to give me a dvd of a movie called Secrets that he was sure I need to see. He gave me a tour of the gardens at Pune University. The campus is beautiful. The main building was built by the British and was gutted for remodeling. It is sometimes referred to as the Oxford of the East.

When backing up most cars here beep or play a song. I have heard some Christmas Carols but my favorite is Amazing Grace. I have never heard it played on a beeping horn.

I finally got back to my practice on Tuesday. I felt okay but was still only at about 50%. Hopefully my final treatment with Bhybu will heal things up.

I took the Tuesday Pranayama class. Here is what we did:

Sukasana
Savasana with two bolsters with the shoulders in between, head supported – to open the dorsal spine
Supported Savasana - Viloma on the exhale
Supported Savasana - Viloma on the inhale
Sitting Ujjai
Sitting Viloma on the exhale and on the inhale

The teacher was an older woman, maybe in her 60’s, and she was fabulous. She spoke slowly and clearly, made some good jokes and the class was smooth.

Friday, 22 January 2010

I am back to at least 99% based on my Thursday and Friday practices. It feels good to back in the game. Good timing because Geeta’s class is tonight and they are very difficult. I’ll back off a little trying to keep out of her radar.

On my way home from practice I saw a totally supped up Ricshaw. Check it out in the photos below. The driver was very cool.

When loaded into iTunes, some of Geeta’s classes end up in the Blues genre. What should I make of that?

Geeta’s Friday night class was awesome and had some fun to it – at least from my perspective. Backbends, backbends, backbends!!!!

Sukasana
Adho Mukha Virasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Uttanasana
Urdhva Mukha Upavistha Konasana
Prasarita Padottanasana (concave back)
Salamba Sirsasana I
Hanumanasana in Salamba Sirsasana I
Virasana in Salamba Sirsasana I arching back
Focusing on the tailbone moving in…….
Urdhva Dhanurasana I X 6
15 minutes of moving props from the window walls to the middle of the room – absolute mayhem
Viparita Dandasana - legs bent X 6
Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana X 6
Another 10 minutes of mayhem as the assistants tried to get stiff people to get the posture. It was comical. During this time we cooled down to be prepared for:
Kapotasana
Bharadvajasana I
Janu Sirsasana
Bharadvajasana I
Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Ardha Halasana
Putting the props away at the window wall
Savasana

A good time was had by all – well maybe not the stiff folks who were getting forced into the poses.

Tomorrow (Saturday) I’ll be skipping class and practice and going to the Ellora and Ajanta caves which are out by Aurangabad. I’ll watch out for holes. This will be a two day trip.