I woke up really tired this morning and almost missed my 7 am class. Geeta’s twist class fired up my energy. Twists do not usually do that to me but there I was after midnight and still reading and wide awake.
Prashant’s Class Saturday the 16th
Sukasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Back and forth between…
Rope Adho Mukha Svanasana
Bharadvajasana I
Marichyasana III
Rope Sirsasana
Supta Padangusthasana I
Utthita Parsva Hasta Padangusthasana
Rope II
Supta Padangusthasana II
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (with Udonic breathing)
Janu Sirsasana
Savasana
He went over some of the basic stuff he has been talking about for two weeks and taught us the Udonic breathing technique. Basically it involves pulling the abdominal area in and out creating a sucking and squeezing feeling. Hard to do and still stay in the pose mentally and physically.
I plan on resting for the remainder of the day to prepare myself for the Karla cave trip tomorrow.
Monday, 18 January 2010
My trip to the Karla caves, Bhaja caves and the Lohagad Fort was incredible.
Angali, my host, gave me some sage advice as I left the house at 6 am for my day’s adventure. She said,”Don’t eat any sweets given to you by Saduh’s because they sometimes drug you and take your money. Just take the sweets, do Namaskar, and toss the sweets out later. Do not look any Saduh’s in the eye for very long because they can hypnotize you and steal your belongings. Take the train back by 6 pm.” Points well taken. It was the advice that her son had given me a few weeks ago that I should have heeded.
I thought I was taking the local train from Pune to Malavli but about 45 minutes into the trip the train stopped at Talegaon. I was the only one who stayed on the train and this kind sir asked me where I was going. I told him Malavli and he said I had to get off because the train was going back to Pune. He told me in an hour and fifteen minutes there would be a train to Malavli. Good to know. I walked into the village and had some tea. This was the first time I encountered a woman Chaiwalla and I saw women drinking tea. I ordered some chai and stood around sipping my tea. I think I was in the wrong place. It appeared as if the tea drinking was gender segregated because right next door there were a bunch of men drinking tea. Again, leave it to the clueless westerner to not follow the customs.
The trains have “Ladies Only” sections because men have been acting gross and groping woman in the regular cars. Too bad it had to come to that. Big surprise.
At Talegaon I met Amar Dongus who was a 20 year old engineering student. His English was okay and we had a fun conversation. It turns out he knows about Mr. Iyengar because his Guru’s Guru is Mr. Iyengar. He was excited about the connection. He introduced me to a few of his friends who were also engineering students. Nice young men.
I also met another young man who was going to Malavli and to the little village of Bhaja and he said he would guide me there. I rode with him on the train and he led me towards the Bhaja caves. He turned to go to his sisters and pointed me in the direction I needed to go. There is freedom in not knowing where you are and having no clue what is around the next corner. I had to pinch myself again reminding myself that I was in India way out in the countryside.
I continued to walk and was taking in all of the sites. I was watching a group of men laugh and converse on the deck of a pretty luxurious house and was looking at some construction that was going on. A ric came barreling around the corner heading right for me even though I was on the side of the road. I stepped back a little bit and ended up falling into a four foot hole. One of the passengers in the ric looked horrified as I climbed out. Kedar, Anjali’s son, has warned me to always look down to make sure I did not fall into a hole. I found my hole. A severely bruised left thigh, a sprained left wrist and a sprained right ankle were the result. I gathered myself for a minute and decided to forge on. I figured I could take it slow and since there were no broken bones I felt it would be better to move than let things atrophy.
I got to the steps to the Bhaja caves and asked this young man if I was on the right path. He confirmed that I was. I asked him where he was going and he pointed to a tall ridge across the valley and said it was the Lohagad fort. I asked if I could go with him and he welcomed me.
I was blessed tens times over by meeting Srinath Gopakumar. He is a 26 year old, masters in biology and general physical sciences, a snake expert, and a seasoned trekker. He often leads others on hikes and was checking out the hike for a trek he is leading next weekend. His last job would be my son’s dream job – quality control for Kingfisher beer. He said he had to go through about 5 beers a day as part of his job! We had the best time talking and hiking. All of his formal education was in English so his English was good and very formal. He told me of his plans to pursue a PhD in Germany and of the application process. He shared with me his interest in snakes and told me of the many he had personally handled. Personally, I think he should pursue a PhD. in snakes.
We made it to the top and walked around taking pictures and discussing the layout of the fort and how it might have been used. It was an amazing feat of construction and architecture. They had catchments areas for water and other interesting features. As we walked up the mountain he was hoping to see some snakes and maybe handle one. After we were at the top he said that today would not be the day for snakes because now it was too hot. We walked another fifty feet and I heard “Snake!” Turns out the day was a day for snakes. Srinath caught the snake and everyone gathered around him to view the snake. The snake bit him and everyone was aghast. He knew that the snake was harmless and he has taken it upon himself to help his fellow Indian’s overcome their fear of snakes. He said that when most Indian’s see a snake their first reaction is to want to kill the snake. He handled the snake for a while and then released it. It was a bronze backed tree snake. Srinath kept saying perfect day, perfect day.
We made our way down and had a conversation about religion. He is a confirmed atheist much to the chagrin of his family. They think it is just a phase. Given his biology background and what he told me I do not think it is a phase. Even though he is an atheist he is a very spiritual person. He is very concerned about the people around him and our environment. He expressed interest in being more patient, compassionate and loving in general. He said that once religion is politicized it because a dangerous weapon more so than nuclear power. I found him to be smart, sensitive, giving, a person of high morals and very loving.
Our next destination was the Bhaja caves. A short twenty minute walk up the hillside brought us to the caves. What an amazing piece of work. The caves were built in the 2nd – 1st century AD. It is hard to imagine how the work was done without our modern tools. The carvings are amazing. There were rooms all around the prayer hall. I called it the Buddhist hotel. There were water catchments areas that consisted of dug out caves that collected the dew. Nice work.
After Bhaja we walked back to Malavli and rested for a few minutes having tea and buying some water. I had forgotten my hat and my bald head was getting burned so I bought a scarf to cover my noggin. We took a ric up to the Karla caves trail head. More like a parking lot with all kinds of things for sale. It was another twenty minute hike up the hill to the caves. The place was packed with Hindu’s and a lot of them were covered in red powder. I was wondering why there were so many Hindu’s at a Buddhist site. Turns out that the Hindu’s built a temple right in front of the door to the Karla caves. It was like they kind of co-opted the place. There was tons of stuff for sale as we walked up. All the regular stuff for offerings, junk and food. These caves were bigger than Bhaja and had more details inside but it was a very dirty site and the Hindu temple kind of took away from the energy of the place. Like our “modern” culture the Buddhist had an unrealistic view of women’s breasts as represented in the carvings. Srinath commented that the carvings looked like they had had silicone implants. We made our way down and headed back to take our train to Pune.
As per Anjali’s instructions we caught the train before 6 pm. On the train ride out, there were hardly any people. On the trip back, the train was overflowing with people hanging out the sides. It was a super tight fit and we had to stand the whole way. Watch the video clip below for an idea of what it was like.
We made it to Pune and Srinath gave me ride on his scooter back to my flat. It was perfect because it is about a two mile walk from the train to my place and my injuries were bothering me.
Nana had called while I on the train and I called him from the station and told him about my injuries. Once back to my flat I called Heather and asked if she could get me some arnica for my injuries and some food. She jumped on it and helped me out. Nana also showed up and brought some Auyrvedic cream to put on my bruises. Anjali was also doing everything she could do to help me. I am blessed to have people to care for me while in India.
I had to miss class and practice today and it will likely be Thursday before I get back to it. I’ll practice on my own until then. The hardest part is getting up and down and putting my pants on. As Heather said, “Welcome to India Paul!”
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Rolling out of bed is hard too when your whole left side has been mashed. Things are better today. The postures that would cause me extreme grief are Malasana and Virasana – ouch to even think of them. In light of the hitches in my get-along I am moving better today. Tomorrow I will start to practice again. I am pretty sure I can do Adho Mukha Svanasana and Salamba Sirsasana because my wrists feel better.
The man in green worked me over today. Bhybu is the guy you want when it comes to Auyrvedic massage. I was scheduled for three sessions of Chavetty Uzhicull this week but due to my injuries we changed the focus to Uzhicull, full body massage with hot oils and Ela and Podi Kizhi which involves boluses filled with herbal leaves and/or powders and hot oil. The Kizhi helps with sprains and other muscle problems. It was amazing. After the full body treatment Bhybu heats the boluses up in a little wok with the oil and then dabs it on the tender spots and squeezes out the herbs onto my body and rubs it in. I felt better instantly. Bhybu is a master at understanding how much to do and when and where. Sounds like what we need to do in our Yoga practice. Two more of these and I’ll be ready for something foolish again. I did reschedule the Chavetty Uzhicull which is where the therapist holds onto a rope attached to the ceiling and massages you with their feet. It comes from a martial arts background and is described as the culmination of massage, Acupressure, Acupuncture, and Marma Abhyangam. This type of massage is performed for rejuvenation, vitality, lower back ache, Vatta Raga, to provoke Marma points, to keep the sputa dhatu in balance, to provoke the chakras, for enhanced blood circulation and to increase mental strength. I’ll get back to you as far as the above benefits are concerned.
One thing about going to AyurJoyti – Fab India is right across the street. Careful, it can draw you in and next thing you know you have yet another short sleeved kurta.
While I was getting through my emails today at the internet café I heard these loud booms and what sounded like a marching band. I finished up and hobbled outside. There was Ganesh on the top of a truck being led by a marching band. Yesterday was Shiva’s day today it’s Ganesh’s turn.
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