Third Post from India!

Friday, 01 January 2010, 10:40 pm

I woke up tired and a bit sluggish today. I had enough time for tea and pranayama before going to my practice session. My practice was slow paced. I moved through my inversions, Padmasana prep, Salamba Sarvangasana and then some supported backbends. I felt restored after my sluggish start. Mr. Iyengar did his practice in the Institute today. Students flock around him as he instructs his granddaughter and others in asana, does his own practice and pontificates. I stayed on the sidelines just doing my own thing. I must say it is cool to see what goes on here. Geeta came in to and setup on the stage.

Lots of Indian’s like to use their English skills and are curious to learn about us westerners. A sweet young man walked me home from practice today. He asked me about my certificates (schooling) and I asked him about his. The conversation was difficult but smiles can get your through most of them. When you say thank you they say welcome! Another thing to notice is the movement of the head from side to side which usually means yes. It is really endearing. I am practicing mine.

Heather finally made then scene again after her trip to Goa. Goa was once called the end of the hippy trail. Apparently lots of hippies ended up in Goa in the 70’s. Heather wanted to go out to eat and wanted me to help her get a phone because she did not have the proper ID. We went shopping for Arnica and tumeric cream for my bruised knee, some salt for the nette and some 100 times boiled ghee for dry feet. Found it all at the local pharmacy and the Ayurvedic clinic. We went to get a phone and the store was closed. I mentioned that I had been helped by this sweet guy up the street by my flat. We went there and they hooked Heather up with a sim card for her iPhone. Activated right away. Even though she did not have all of the perfectly correct documents they did it anyway. I told her if you need to get something done in India I’m your man. It was cool because they recognized me and were all smiles. Now she can call her husband and let him know what is up.

I am on a search for new blankets for the studio. I found some across the street from where I am staying but the quality was not very good. $750.00 for 120 blankets plus shipping. I’ll keep looking.

I had my first class with Getta tonight. She was in a good mood and the class was great.

Here is the sequence with a few of the points (don’t try this at home!!!! kidding)

Long Sukasana with the chanting
Supta Tadasana – extending into the feet and keeping them together, opening the back of the knees, outer thighs in
Supta Padangusthasana I – same points as above but the outer thighs back in the up leg
Supta Padangusthasana II - “ “
Supta Baddha Konasana- gently bouncing the legs up and down to open the groins, lifting the buttocks to help learn the movement of the sacrum in, tailbone in
Dandasana – palms down, lifting the chest, head back to help learn how to move the shoulder blades in
Urdhva Mukha Upavistha Konasana – same points as in Supta Tadasana and Dandasana
Urdhva Hastasana in Tadasana – head back, arms back, legs as in Supta Tadasana
Utthita Trikonasana – many repetitions to each side fairly quickly and not holding for long, here she started focusing on the memory of the body encouraging us to be really aware of what we were doing and not to loose the memory of the physical body, “Let go of the memory of the brain, it will fool you.”
Utthita Parsvakonasana – “ “ plus focusing on the firmness of the back leg
Virabhadrasana I – “ “ plus head back, arms back, sacrum in, tailbone in, pubic bone lifting, lumbar spine long
Adho Mukha Svanasana - long hold
Paschimottanasana
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana –block, thighs tightly strapped
Savasana - thighs tightly strapped

Awesome first class. Geeta reminded us that the practice is not about accumulating points for the asanas. It’s not like amassing friends on Facebook. She jokingly asked us how many points we would have by the end of the year.

I had a long conversation about modems and routers and computer stuff with Arwind Deo, one of my hosts. He has a wireless router he wants to setup for me. We already have a language difference but I could not get across that the wireless router was not connected to the internet. He had it plugged in to the phone jack (DSL) and the electrical outlet. Of course my computer and his could see it and connect to it. It was the next step that I could not get across. I’ll keep trying. It would be nice not to have to go to the glitzy mall and give them a copy of my license every time I want to connect.

TTFN

Saturday, 02 January 2010, 12:21 pm

On my walk to the Institute this morning I was feeling really well. Excited to be here and to have my first class with Prashant. It was 6:30 am my time - 5 pm Washougal time. I called home to check in and there was a kind and gentle voice on the other end letting me know all was well in the ‘Shoug.

Prashant is one of those teachers who people either google over or not. Hot or cold. I always like new teachers and given what I had heard about Prashant I thought I might like him. For one I could understand his English better than Geeta’s.

The class was amazing. No points in any of the asanas. Zero. I loved it.

Sukasana
Rope Sirsasana / Adho Mukha Svanasana / Utthita Trikonasana / Utthita Parsvakonasana – alternating groups at the rope wall and hanging ropes
Supta Padangusthasana I / Rope Bhujangasana / Rope Bhujangasana knees on bolster, feet to wall – alternating groups at the rope wall
Marichyasana III
Savasana

Prashant taught that we need to develop the Body – Breath – Mind and in that order. He teaches from a more philosophical point of reference. He teaches that we need to get our bodies together, our breath together - integrate – then the practice comes.

Body authority – Breath authority – Mind authority
Use asana to tone the mind!
Use breath to tone the mind!
You are the mind – not the body!
Don’t outsource your mind!
Don’t do so many poses, not gymnastics!
Don’t bankrupt your energy with overwork in asana!

For all first time students the majority of your classes are with Prashant. Every week I’ll have 4 classes with Prashant, one with Geeta and one with another Indian teacher. I am excited about all of it.

I have managed to make a friend at Om Super Market. He taught me right away that when I want to by soda water to mix with my fresh limes that I just say, Soda! Not soda water. He recognized me today when I came by with Don and Bill. I went to my flat for lunch and Billed called 15 minutes later and asked if he had left his camera in my room. Nope, maybe it is at Om? I raced over there and my friend looked at me and said, Camera? Nice. It’s good to have friends in all the right places. Like I said before, if you need something done in India you call me. I took his picture earlier and he will be getting a copy before I go. Check out his picture above.

Saturday, 02 January 2010, 9 pm

My friend Natasha, a Yoga teacher from Chicago, said I had to go to the Ambiance Hotel and have the Gopal Platter. After practice (padmasana prep) we headed over to the Ambiance. There was no Gopal platter so I ordered the only item with platter in the name. It was veggies roasted tandoor style. Totally awesome, the best. Thanks Natasha. Next time you are in Pune check out the ???? platter at the Ambiance.

Tomorrow is my only day off from the Institute. I’ll be going on a hike in the woods at 6:30 am with Don’s host – Manu. Sounds like a perfect start to my day off.





Monday, 04 January 2010, 12:30 pm

Okay, yesterday was my day off and I was out and about from 6 am to 10 pm. Maybe today will be a day of rest.

I saw the sun come up on the morning hike. What a cool spot. Right in the middle of the city and we ended up above E-Square which is right around the corner from where I am staying. The pictures are a bit fuzzy because of the pollution and fog. There were two temples on the hike and a huge rock quarry – that is now just a crater. Our guide Manu took all four of out for breakfast afterwards. What a sweet guy.

My host Arwind was texting me while I was at breakfast asking me if I was busy. He wants to make sure I leave Sunday’s open so I can meet his family and so he can show me the things he thinks I should see. His son Kedar and his wife Shama were going out into the woods/jungle to paraglide. We drove an hour out and met two other friends and then four-wheeled it out to the fly spot. The fly spot was beautiful. It got a little hazy because the pollution was rolling in form Mumbai so again the pictures are a bit hazy. This group knows how to have fun. Lots and lots of smiles and laughter. I explained to my friends that in the US they would be called weekend warriors – work hard all week, play hard all weekend. They laughed their bums off on that one. And they agreed that that was what they were. It was a typical fly day.

In the slideshow below there is a picture of Arwind (and above) and his wife Angali. Watch out for Arwind, he was fourth runner up for Mr. Pune in 1958. Also, note the modern apartment building – that is where Kedar and Shama live.

I took a workshop a month ago at Sunset Yoga with Janet MaCleod. When she heard I was going to Pune she wrote down the digits of her best friends in Pune and told me they would be expecting me to call and that I would be their guest for dinner. Heather is a student of Janet’s to so she had the same offer. While I was up watching the paragliding Heather arranged for us to go to dinner. My evening was now planned and as soon as I got back to Pune is was off to Sunil and Shubhanji House for an awesome dinner.

I slept very well.

This mornings class with Prashant was awesome. We did similar sequence as Saturday (see above).

Sukasana
Rope Sirsasana / Adho Mukha Svanasana / Utthita Trikonasana / Utthita Parsvakonasana – alternating groups at the rope wall and hanging ropes
Rope I / Rope II / Virabhadrasana II / Utthita Trikonasana – alternating groups at the rope wall
Rope I / Rope II / Virabhadrasana I / Utthita Trikonasana – alternating groups at the rope wall
Rope I / Rope II / Ardha Chandrasana / Utthita Trikonasana – alternating groups at the rope wall
Rope Adho Mukha Svanasana / Parivrtta Trikonasana / Virabhadrasana I / Utthita Trikonasana – alternating groups at the rope wall
Janu Sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
Savasana

Prashant Gems:

Do not do the obvious.
Practicing is not like shopping – The commercialization of Yoga. You do not pick things you like and don’t like and consume.
Learn what to take forward and what to leave behind.
Santosha, or contentment, is about realizing the divinity inside not about feeling good after a meal.

I wish I could remember more.

Poverty. I have been pre warned that the poverty here would be overwhelming. So far it is obvious that there is a large gap between the haves and have nots. The way some of the people live in a certain sense breaks my heart but I do not feel like I have the perspective to comment too much on the experience. The range of living situations is large. In one sense it moves from hi-tech modern living to rural living urbanely and everything in-between. My hosts are clearly upper middle class maybe more and their home is over 50 years old. Their children live in modern residences. Right next to these modern residences there are shanties made of tarps and cloth roofs. You see Indians cleaning their clothes on rocks while a Mercedes drives by. What seems really bizarre is that this is just the way it is. It is like I am the only one who is disturbed by it. It is all a lot to consider.

Love,

paul