Thursday, January 6, 2011

Taking Class


Abhijata Sridhar, B.K.S. Iyengar’s granddaughter, teaches the class today.  Imagine Mr. Iyengar, 92 years old, in a supported back bend or headstand while coaching Abhi in her teaching of the class.  He talks to her in a low voice, she is near him, maybe even doing the pose herself for a moment as she instructs us.  Assistants encourage (read “correct”) us when we fail to grasp what she says.


This passing of the teaching from one generation to the next is a wonder.  He is sweet with her; she is respectful in accepting and relaying his information to us.  So…..yes, he is still teaching!

Pune practice tip for my Portland yoga students:
To keep the hips more evenly balanced when practicing Parsvottanasana or Virabhadrasana I, start in Tadasana and step one leg back into the pose.  Bring the back leg hip forward to keep both sides of the sacrum evenly broad.  Practice the pose.  Experience the pose.  What did you learn?

3 comments:

  1. Terry told us about how to find your blog and your narrative on the teaching technique says it all - the wonders of travel experienced at levels of generation and cultural communication. Enjoy your time and travel.

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  2. I remember seeing Mr. I. practice in 1997 when he was only 79 and being amazed at how firm & supple his skin looked. From this picture it looks like it still is. I don't know if it's the yoga or oiling the skin or what, but it's pretty phenomenal. In addition of course to backbending over a chair that I couldn't do today.

    Also he's probably talking to Abi in Marathi or Hindi and she's translating to English for the classas she teaches. For a monolingual American, that's quite impressive too.

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  3. Great pictures, and great stories...keep it up!

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