...been a while since i have written, SO MUCH happens everyday in india, it is extremely hard to put into words. all the little things, constant honking, electricity going out with a bang, a family of 4 on a motorcycle, little child sleeps at the front with his head resting where the gas tank goes, eating at locals housrs, getting lost if u even try to walk more than a block, craving salad, locals always saying "no probem...come, sit, come eat ...its no problem, i show you..."
the best thing that has happened so far is meeting guruji BKS IYENGAR, I walked down into the tiny basement library at rimyi the first day i was accepted inti classes, just to check it out before class and there he was! it was him, no one else looks like guruji, you cant mistake it, he is an icon for all of his teachings, my hero at 93 years old, still walking down steps to study at his desk in the libary. i looked away and meandered to the books.
, a nice woman in a gorgeous sari, she was an elder offered me dried garbanzo beans and dates, said i could only have them if i was not on my period, her welcome gift,she said. then, i wanted to look at BKS Iyengar more and thought, this is my chance with only 5 or so people in the room, i knelt down before him and thanked him a few times, honor to meet him,tried to make small talk about dean lerner coming. i could barely understand him, he said "bess you,bless you......"among other things and i stood up, went to class, that was the start to my experience at the institiute, wow!
my 1st class was all woman, the teacher was very kind, mostly locals in the class who got in trouble for talking. i did good, the poses flowed pretty fast, good thing i know the sanskrit names. i loved it.usually, gunaaz dahi teaches this class, but she is out of india.
my 2nd class taught by a man was men and woman, restorative and pranayama class. he gathered us very close and talked for a long while about pranayama. he said "most people think pranayama quiets the mind, it is asana that quiets the mind so you are ready for pranayama. i LOVED this talk, then, we did headstand, not many people could do it in the middle of the room, i felt honored that si can, thanks mom for all of those gymnastic classes, now look yoga classes in india, who knew and who knows what we can become or do in the future! anyway, i will get my teachers names and write back later...then we did backbend thru a chair, shoulderstand in a chair, not at the wall. i am in the intermediate classes, by the way. then pranayama lying down. after that, our teacher demonstrated sitting pranayama with a "sharp, long exhale" teachers here talk about using "sharp"breaths. it was mind blowing to watch this masters chest expand and how far his shoulders roll back. he said "the exhilatin goes from the bottom tip of the chest bone down on an outward diagonal to the floating ribs"he had us use our hands to feel. then we tried. soooo challenging for me to do sitting pranayama, i have only tried it a few times. he guided us for3 rounds...aharo, long exhilation, inhalation,back to normal breath, again, he guided us for about 3 rounds, then we had to do our own. this was challenging, i felt like i might faint or puke, but i know being a student of yoga, that that is the begining, pranayama takes timeand dedication to learn. i also learned a trick while sitting to bring the arms slightly away from the chest, roll shoulders
back, bring the arms back closer to the chest, elbow tips desendin to the floo....very helpl!
savasana tips.."if the back o te heel
are touching the floor, your leds are not ready for savasana, the outer edge of the ankle should be touching the floor."
much to learn in deed, i really like this male teacher, very direct, yet kind, firm voice.
todat, sunday was a day off, i went to maher ashram, the orphanage and womans shelter. avery hard travelling day, i rode there on a rickshaw for an hour, anyone who has ever ridin in one knows an hour is WAY too long. i got very sick and once at maher, travelled for 4 more hours on dirt bumby roads, no bathroom break, very very sick, i even saw a mirage at one point...we were out in the very desolate dry, desert like india, even went to a tribal community in the middle of thedesert mountains.i would have enjoyed it more, except i was ill from the extreme, and i mean very tremendous amount of pollutuon and exhuast i inhaled from the rickshaw ride even while wearing a face mask(thanks to tracy)and a scarf! i finally was able to lay down for a while, then became worried about having to ride home in a rickshaw for another hour after 5 hours of bumpy pollutiony roads. sister lucy was kind to have her driver take me home, which felt like forever to come being so sick. maher is an amazing place, i will write more about it tomorrow as i am tired.tomorow, i look forward to my evening yoga class and maybe a massage after my rickety day, 7 dollars for a massage! on that note, good night!i
