Signs of the Times!

Pune never disappoints!  I am constantly amazed!  Imagine having a photo printed on your cake.  I am tempted!!  In an attempt to “Think Beautiful,” please do not spit, park or litter!  And if you desire a painless childbirth experience, there’s a hospital here in Pune just for you.  Remember no shouting, teasing or clicking of photos! And lastly, enough of that ekagrata one pointed focus stuff, use diversion instead!

Veggie Love

Laxmi Road, named after the goddess of wealth, is the heart of Pune and the site of the Old Market.  It’s a hustling, bustling place, but I found veggie love there.  Name that crop:  your guess is as good as mine!  (You can click on any photo to enlarge it.)

 

 

Classes at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute

All over the world Iyengar Yoga classes begin with three Oms and the Invocation to Patanjali.  At the sound of the first Om, I feel immediately at home here in Pune half way around the world from Portland.  We have had classes with Gulnaz Dashti, Prashant Iyengar and yes, (lucky us!) Geeta Iyengar.  In addition to our daily classes, there are medical classes and open practice times.

Medical classes are for those who have a specific medical issue.  After submitting a letter describing their unique situation, Geeta Iyengar will create an individual sequence for them, which they are expected to practice three times a week here at the Iyengar Institute.  Frequently a family member will accompany them in order to learn how to assist them in their poses.  The poses include a large number of props, as this better ensures that the pose is accessible to the student.  The props also serve to support the areas of the practitioner’s body that may be tight, in pain or closed down.  Support, both physical and emotional, is an important element in healing.

As in the past, I have been assisting in the medical classes.  Yesterday I was working along with two of my colleagues helping a person living with Parkinson’s disease.  This was particularly exciting for me, as one of my students in Portland recently told me that a loved one had just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and wanted to know what Iyengar Yoga might offer.  Each person’s situation is different, dependent also on their age and physical health, which is why we cannot just glibly apply one person’s sequence to another, but while I am here I hope to learn some of the yogic principles involved with working with this disease. 

From Portland to Pune 2014

"I’m all ready to go.  Really??!!  I need a visa to go with you to India?"................Rusty

This was the easiest trip to India ever……..a mere 28 hours door to door!  Along the last leg of our trip we were reminded that the major highway linking Mumbai and Pune is a relatively novel concept.  The “Observe Lane Discipline” sign reminds drivers to stay in their own lanes.  See my “Pune Traffic” post from my 2011 trip for a bit of back story on this.  See side bar for previous posts.

Arrived!  Jet lagged, but thrilled that we finally arrived at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, Michael and I just sat for a very long time in the courtyard that is situated between the Iyengar’s private residence and the yoga practice hall.  Just taking it all in…..

Pune to Portland

When in India, I read Indian authors.  This time it was Chitra Banerjee, One Amazing Thing and Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies and The Glass Palace.  Toward the end of my stay, I traded books with my friend Elise and, for a change of pace, I read Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck.

“Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put in process, a new factor enters and takes over.  A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys.  It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness.  A journey is a person in itself: no two are alike.  And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless.  We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip: a trip takes us…….......…..Maybe understanding is possible only after.”   

~ Steinbeck

After a mere 36 hours from door to door I arrive home.

During my last flight from Seattle to Portland all the mountains from Baker to Bachelor stood highlighted by the sunshine to welcome me home.  Our moist, verdant city feels comforting…………….ah, back to my own bed!

Practice Tip for just about anyone:

Make it a habit of putting yourself in unfamiliar positions and situations.  Observe your reactions, resistances and insights.  Does it change you?

Asana, life, asana, life.

Pune Traffic

Pune traffic circa 1989.  Notice the two camels and the number of bicycles.

Pune traffic with pollution, 2006.  This photo is not very clear, but I couldn't resist showing you the elephant in the street along with the motorcycles and cars.

Pune traffic 2011.  Motorized vehicles only.


There used to be only one traffic light in Pune.....and I am talking about during my lifetime.  Now there are not only many traffic lights but also many busy, crazy intersections.  

When Geeta Iyengar was in the USA for the very first time in 1996, as the chair of the Estes Park Iyengar Yoga Convention, I asked her what surprised her the most about the USA.  She replied that the cars all stay in their own lanes!!  This is unheard of in Pune and most of the rest of India.

On Sunday we witnessed a most amazing drama unfold in front of our eyes.  We were in the rickshaw with Nana doing a tour of some temples in Pune.  We pulled up to an intersection, the light turned red and one car went speeding through anyway.  Nana pointed out a policeman at this intersection and he explained that the traffic policeman was using his mobile device to send the license plate ahead to the policeman at the next intersection who would pull the speeding motorist over and give him a ticket.  When we reached the next traffic round about, it was just as Nana had predicted. Policeman was busy writing a ticket the chagrined driver was arguing with him.  Portland take notice!

Pune Practice Tips for our Portland Iyengar Yoga students:

Level 1 students:

Bring the spirit of Savasana to an upright, seated position such as Sukasana.  What does this teach you?

Level 2 and 3 students:

The movements of the shoulder blades and the spine are important elements in both Salamba Sirsasana and Salamba Sarvangasana.  In one of these poses, the spine ascends easily and the shoulder blades require considerable concentration and precision to engage.  In the other pose, the opposite is true (the shoulder blades ascend more easily and the spine needs more attention in order to lift in and up.) Practice these two poses.  What is your experience?  Figure out which is which.

My Typical Day

7 am – 9 am:  Class with Prashant Iyengar  (4 days a week)

9 am – Noon:  Open Practice

Noon – 4 pm:  Lunch with friends, rest, visit Institute Library (Guruji is usually there), or shopping, etc.

4 pm – 6 pm:  Assist in the Medical Class

6 pm – 8 pm:  Class (The Indian teachers rotate teaching the class.)

8pm……….Dinner and fall into bed!

Most hours of my typical day are spent in the practice hall above.  Notice the photos on the walls from B.K.S. Iyengar’s definitive book, Light on Yoga, the ceiling ropes (similar to JLYC’s pelvic swing) and the variety of wooden props against the windows.  Imagine this room filled with 120 people doing yoga…......mat to mat!