We have been in Pune, India a week now and today, Sunday is a day of rest from the yoga institute. Landing in Mumbai (Bombay) the organized chaos of India is instantly mesmerizing and this being my third trip here I am satisfied to see, among the masses of Indian’s waiting to greet arrivals in the smokey heat of Mumbai, a man reliably holding up a placard with my name on it. As we are three this trip, I hired a car for our four hour drive south to Pune. This was so much more comfortable than a shuttle service which can be anything from a van to a jeep loaded with other traveler’s. We listened in comfort to Indian pop and Bollywood tunes as we peered through the dark at the streets of Mumbai and then later the approaching highway tunnels carved through mountains.
The Institute is more crowded than ever with people from England, USA, France, Netherlands, Germany, Russia, S. Korea, Japan and Israel (I’ve not run into any other Canadians yet). I recall my first trip thinking 90 students was a lot and now with more like 150 students crowding the room for most classes humour is more essential than ever here. Fortunately people are over all pretty good natured about the effort to make enough room and share props and on the occasions when I have lost my mat and props to another because I was helping to put the rope swings back I have relied on the Bhagavad Gita and the premise of karma yoga – to act for the sake of the action and not the fruits… So in this board game of musical mats why should I expect my place to still be there for me because I went off to perform a good deed? And smiling inwardly I am grateful it can all be part of my yoga practice; “the Indian way” something I’ve learned here.
For those of you who practice yoga, Geeta is as sharp and on as ever, in pranayama talking about how the tip of the tongue must rest in the top of the palate or else the throat becomes dry – how does she know these subtle things? And Prashant, focusing on exhalations, cautioning us to make our practice about the mind, not the body. One 2 hour class with Prashant was almost entirely spent on Trikonasana and Uddiyana bandha, which was very difficult but a wonderful lengthening of the spine and rotation would come almost spontaneously. It is always a difficult decision but as every other time I have opted for two weekly classes with Prashant (which means sacrificing one with Geeta) as his teaching is only available here. Geeta focused on chest and upper arms for two hours yesterday in a sequence of intense twists and standing poses that went deep into my thoracic spine and armpit chest and all the way down my forearms.
During practice times the Institute is so crowded, with only one practice time a day now for the many classes now available and with temperatures in the high 80’s (or 30C), I have opted to practice instead from our small apartment. Guruji is there, during classes doing his own practice, and in practice times endearingly instructing his granddaughter Abhaji – this is worth seeing and I plan to go with my notebook and observe. Mr. Iyengar is calm quiet and focused now, addressing only a very few.
There is a feeling of goal oriented direction at RIMYI I have not experienced here before. With Mr. Iyengar approaching 90 and his desire to leave a legacy, in his granddaughter, his children, RIMYI and in his home village of Bellur, fund raising at the institute is at an all time high. Our gift from Nova Scotia, where we raised funds in his honour is much appreciated and I have a personal letter of thank you to bring home. John and I presented Guruji with his BD card and over $12,000 rupees for Bellur with pride and gratitude to all of you who helped us by attending the BD celebration in Chester.
I spent an afternoon in the RIMYI library going over yoga research with Raji and discussing my research work on the Physical Benefits of Iyengar method yoga in Senior Adults. I am already familiar with most of the Iyengar yoga research available and enjoyed our afternoon of discussion and especially the assistance I may receive from Raji, who is more experienced in this field, with my final editing.
Life in Pune is as always intense, the air quality has worsened and the poverty has increased along with the economic boom. With IT based here, increased manufacturing, numerous colleges, a university and many call centres now based in Pune the cost of living almost matches that of the west in housing and textiles. Food is still inexpensive and fabulous. However we find ourselves able to afford less and more frequently pressed by children asking for money. Friends of ours belong to the Optimists society and through them we can make a donation to a school for homeless children but there is no relief from the discomfort one feels around the least fortunate.
Our small one bedroom apartment is working well for us and my daughter Lyra is finding plenty of opportunities to study cooking through classes offered and with our part time cook and to practice making food for us in our small kitchen. It is so different being here with my family (as opposed to a quiet solitary trip of yoga); we are dining out often for the food experience for our culinary artist Lyra and although I covet my quiet time these outings add to the journey. However I do know how tiring Pune can be and the importance of down time.
In the past five years Pune has had 100 new shopping malls built! Think of all that AC! And this is just Pune; now add Mumbai, Dubai, and Beijing etc. Yikes! It is going to take a lot more than recycling in North America but we knew that already…
Today Lyra is attending her third day of an ayurvedic cooking class she joined with some yogi’s from the institute; she is enthusiastically cooking and eating away her time here taking notes on every meal. John and I are having a peaceful lunch with Indian friends at the Turf Club, a weary artifact of the Raj, this beautiful old club hosts horse races during June and July when the rains are too much in Mumbai and horse race crowd moves to Pune. This time of year it is a lovely cool and graceful open air spread of stone floors, massive plaster columns and luxurious spaciousness.
Such a different trip for me from simply focusing only on yoga and the consuming of chai and good books – FYI, just finished “Three cups of Tea” currently on the best seller list and a riveting must read for anyone with both a brain and a heart. How very special to have my family with me. Now I can share what I know of India with Lyra and revisit old friends with John. End of week one. Tomorrow, as someone advised, arrive for classes an empty vessel and continue to be filled by the generous teachings of the Iyengar’s. Namaste, Leigh
The Institute is more crowded than ever with people from England, USA, France, Netherlands, Germany, Russia, S. Korea, Japan and Israel (I’ve not run into any other Canadians yet). I recall my first trip thinking 90 students was a lot and now with more like 150 students crowding the room for most classes humour is more essential than ever here. Fortunately people are over all pretty good natured about the effort to make enough room and share props and on the occasions when I have lost my mat and props to another because I was helping to put the rope swings back I have relied on the Bhagavad Gita and the premise of karma yoga – to act for the sake of the action and not the fruits… So in this board game of musical mats why should I expect my place to still be there for me because I went off to perform a good deed? And smiling inwardly I am grateful it can all be part of my yoga practice; “the Indian way” something I’ve learned here.
For those of you who practice yoga, Geeta is as sharp and on as ever, in pranayama talking about how the tip of the tongue must rest in the top of the palate or else the throat becomes dry – how does she know these subtle things? And Prashant, focusing on exhalations, cautioning us to make our practice about the mind, not the body. One 2 hour class with Prashant was almost entirely spent on Trikonasana and Uddiyana bandha, which was very difficult but a wonderful lengthening of the spine and rotation would come almost spontaneously. It is always a difficult decision but as every other time I have opted for two weekly classes with Prashant (which means sacrificing one with Geeta) as his teaching is only available here. Geeta focused on chest and upper arms for two hours yesterday in a sequence of intense twists and standing poses that went deep into my thoracic spine and armpit chest and all the way down my forearms.
During practice times the Institute is so crowded, with only one practice time a day now for the many classes now available and with temperatures in the high 80’s (or 30C), I have opted to practice instead from our small apartment. Guruji is there, during classes doing his own practice, and in practice times endearingly instructing his granddaughter Abhaji – this is worth seeing and I plan to go with my notebook and observe. Mr. Iyengar is calm quiet and focused now, addressing only a very few.
There is a feeling of goal oriented direction at RIMYI I have not experienced here before. With Mr. Iyengar approaching 90 and his desire to leave a legacy, in his granddaughter, his children, RIMYI and in his home village of Bellur, fund raising at the institute is at an all time high. Our gift from Nova Scotia, where we raised funds in his honour is much appreciated and I have a personal letter of thank you to bring home. John and I presented Guruji with his BD card and over $12,000 rupees for Bellur with pride and gratitude to all of you who helped us by attending the BD celebration in Chester.
I spent an afternoon in the RIMYI library going over yoga research with Raji and discussing my research work on the Physical Benefits of Iyengar method yoga in Senior Adults. I am already familiar with most of the Iyengar yoga research available and enjoyed our afternoon of discussion and especially the assistance I may receive from Raji, who is more experienced in this field, with my final editing.
Life in Pune is as always intense, the air quality has worsened and the poverty has increased along with the economic boom. With IT based here, increased manufacturing, numerous colleges, a university and many call centres now based in Pune the cost of living almost matches that of the west in housing and textiles. Food is still inexpensive and fabulous. However we find ourselves able to afford less and more frequently pressed by children asking for money. Friends of ours belong to the Optimists society and through them we can make a donation to a school for homeless children but there is no relief from the discomfort one feels around the least fortunate.
Our small one bedroom apartment is working well for us and my daughter Lyra is finding plenty of opportunities to study cooking through classes offered and with our part time cook and to practice making food for us in our small kitchen. It is so different being here with my family (as opposed to a quiet solitary trip of yoga); we are dining out often for the food experience for our culinary artist Lyra and although I covet my quiet time these outings add to the journey. However I do know how tiring Pune can be and the importance of down time.
In the past five years Pune has had 100 new shopping malls built! Think of all that AC! And this is just Pune; now add Mumbai, Dubai, and Beijing etc. Yikes! It is going to take a lot more than recycling in North America but we knew that already…
Today Lyra is attending her third day of an ayurvedic cooking class she joined with some yogi’s from the institute; she is enthusiastically cooking and eating away her time here taking notes on every meal. John and I are having a peaceful lunch with Indian friends at the Turf Club, a weary artifact of the Raj, this beautiful old club hosts horse races during June and July when the rains are too much in Mumbai and horse race crowd moves to Pune. This time of year it is a lovely cool and graceful open air spread of stone floors, massive plaster columns and luxurious spaciousness.
Such a different trip for me from simply focusing only on yoga and the consuming of chai and good books – FYI, just finished “Three cups of Tea” currently on the best seller list and a riveting must read for anyone with both a brain and a heart. How very special to have my family with me. Now I can share what I know of India with Lyra and revisit old friends with John. End of week one. Tomorrow, as someone advised, arrive for classes an empty vessel and continue to be filled by the generous teachings of the Iyengar’s. Namaste, Leigh
