Every Wednesday evening Nuvana teaches an hour class at my gym. I decided to start attending this class again to get back into the gym groove. This is a bizarre place to do yoga. It had a very open arboretum type area, with huge floor to ceiling glass windows in a semi circle. The windows face west, so on a sunny evening, you have the sun glaring into the teacher's eyes. Up above us is running track and a work out area, where they have this marvelous set of gym equipment and exercise bikes. There is also a piece of equipment which serves great to tie ropes and hang down in rope sirsasana. I bought ropes back from Pune so Nuvana showed me how to tie them and hang down. I am certain we were being gazed at by the crowd in horror as I hung down like a bat.
Doing yoga in this gym is not as peaceful and quiet as you would want. There are people running up on the track and constant thumping and shouting in the 4 basketball courts behind the wall. Reminds me of RIMYI yoga halls in Pune, with all the noise from the outside. Its so noisy around, that Nuvana has to yell instructions - one student comments "why doesn't she use the wireless mike?". Well she is probably used to shouting instructions from India I presume.
The class is intense. Its all about stretching your spine. Various twists and poses to lift up the sternum, stretching your spine, creating the space by further lifting the arms and eventually two variations of Downward Facing Dog by the wall, moving to Upward and Downward using blocks. My uttanasana seemed to greatly improve as I could finally touch the floor. I am sore, the whole class seemed to have a good workout.
This is what I like about Nuvana. Consistent well formed instructions and a flow of sequences to the final pose and then gentle pushes and corrections. Its all so logical. I am glad to be back in her class. Pune seems so much more different. But they all have the same purpose. Teach you great yoga! A fellow student asks me in the change room if I was as sore as he was. I said "yes" but its good sore and Nuvana is one of the best teachers in town. I think he is coming back again.
Namaste
The Yogi
Showing posts with label Nuvana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nuvana. Show all posts
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Getting back to your yoga routine
It was Jan 28th when this horrendous glute pain hit me and took me completely out of my 3-4 day a week yoga routine. And have I ever let go of my ego and kept patience to get beyond it. This Friday it was back to Nuvana for a restart of the routine. We started with a badakonasana, a good height with cotton blankets from India and the kids all jumping around me. Having these 4 munchins (2 of mine and 2 of Nuvana) running around while I practice and learn certainly may sound very distracting, but its a great test of patience and concentration for me. I can focus and concentrate on the pose with kicks, nudges and taps, not knowing sometime if they come from the kids or the yoga guru.
I persevere to a supported upavishtakonasana, with a blanket and block under each inner thigh and then to a rajkapotasana. Rajkapotasana (Pigeon pose) and it felt so good. It felt really good. Then I tried a supported adhomukhasvanasan (Downward Dog) in a support form with a rope around my lower waist and keeping myself high trying to stretch my hands and arms to a chair vs the floor. Painful on my left inner thigh, oh that dreaded shooting pain came back. Instant reaction to back away from this. So I tried adho-mukha virasana with my arms pushing the wall. Felt good, but getting into a downward dog from this didn't. The left leg is still tight from the injury.
We had an intellectual discussion about my left and right leg. Since I lean on my left leg so much, my right leg is much more flexible and left leg more tight. For that reason in pigeon pose I felt the pose easier to do when my right leg was stretched out and left leg folded in. Makes sense? If not post a comment and I will have the expert explain more. Ended with a viparita-karani, with kids wanting to sit on my uplifted feet. My left leg couldn't handle it. Nuvana had planned to give me a back traction, but the kids were cranky and hungry, so ended the session. All in all, it was nice entry back to into my routine. I will have to restart with level 1 and have to modify some poses like downward dog.
So a small step to start back into a routine. It will not be as intense for sometime - maybe not till I hit Pune and then I hope to be back in the same class I was in July. I can't wait to be yanked and yelled into place. Oh what a feeling!
Namaste
Yogi
I persevere to a supported upavishtakonasana, with a blanket and block under each inner thigh and then to a rajkapotasana. Rajkapotasana (Pigeon pose) and it felt so good. It felt really good. Then I tried a supported adhomukhasvanasan (Downward Dog) in a support form with a rope around my lower waist and keeping myself high trying to stretch my hands and arms to a chair vs the floor. Painful on my left inner thigh, oh that dreaded shooting pain came back. Instant reaction to back away from this. So I tried adho-mukha virasana with my arms pushing the wall. Felt good, but getting into a downward dog from this didn't. The left leg is still tight from the injury.
We had an intellectual discussion about my left and right leg. Since I lean on my left leg so much, my right leg is much more flexible and left leg more tight. For that reason in pigeon pose I felt the pose easier to do when my right leg was stretched out and left leg folded in. Makes sense? If not post a comment and I will have the expert explain more. Ended with a viparita-karani, with kids wanting to sit on my uplifted feet. My left leg couldn't handle it. Nuvana had planned to give me a back traction, but the kids were cranky and hungry, so ended the session. All in all, it was nice entry back to into my routine. I will have to restart with level 1 and have to modify some poses like downward dog.
So a small step to start back into a routine. It will not be as intense for sometime - maybe not till I hit Pune and then I hope to be back in the same class I was in July. I can't wait to be yanked and yelled into place. Oh what a feeling!
Namaste
Yogi
Friday, February 15, 2008
No Yoga Today with Nuvana
Since I am in resting mode and waiting for physical therapy to start next week (I found a therapist who is also a certified anusura yoga teacher), I didn't make it to Nuvana's place for yoga therapy. Instead she advised I roll up a towel and sit on it while I work and try a supported "supta padanga gusthasana" on the stair case at home. Worthwhile try. I have mostly just tried to relax the leg with the pigeon pose folding of my left leg. The pain continues to sustain itself and experts tell me it could be sciatic pinched nerve.
I do plan to attend her her back-care class at sunset yoga center tomorrow http://sunsetyoga.com/ which should be less taxing and more rest-full. In the meantime enjoy another one of my iyengar yoga video picks from youtube. It has no music but a nice set of surya namakar. And for those of you interested in expressing an opinion please visit my alter ego at http://haveopinion.blogspot.com/. May the sun shine in your life with vigor and energy of surya namaskar pose! And sunshine is renewable energy!
Namaste
Iyengar style:
Ashtanga Style just for kicks:
I do plan to attend her her back-care class at sunset yoga center tomorrow http://sunsetyoga.com/ which should be less taxing and more rest-full. In the meantime enjoy another one of my iyengar yoga video picks from youtube. It has no music but a nice set of surya namakar. And for those of you interested in expressing an opinion please visit my alter ego at http://haveopinion.blogspot.com/. May the sun shine in your life with vigor and energy of surya namaskar pose! And sunshine is renewable energy!
Namaste
Iyengar style:
Ashtanga Style just for kicks:
Saturday, January 26, 2008
My yoga guru is back!
Since mid November last year, Nuvana Zarthoshtimanesh (http://sunsetyoga.com/teachers.php) my yoga guru has been in India and with the holidays in December my yoga routine was turned upside down. I first took her class in January 2006, upon my return from from a business trip to Pune, when I was inspired to take a yoga class. It was at Hawthorne Athletic Club (http://www.hfac.com/) and hers was the only class on a Sunday morning. I just about died in that class. It was hard. Imagine 250 pounds of inflexible and atrophied human waste, with an ever expanding 42 inch waist. I could barely touch my knees and I was at my worst lung capacity. I could barely breathe and my asthma had come back with a vengeance.
I had done yoga as a child, and all I recalled was padmasana (which I no longer can do), dhanurasana, and sarvangasana. I even wrote a play on yoga when I was 13 in 1977, a knock off the only yoga show on Indian TV then by Swami Dhiren Brahmachari, who never performed any asanas, and I doubt if he ever did, he was more known for his friendship with the Mrs Indira Gandhi and his private jets. He later died in a plane crash. So I digress....
Back to the point, so this first ever yoga class at my home base was one rough class. I just about collapsed trying to do the downward dog pose, but it felt good. I felt like I had run a marathon and done weights at the same time. I had no clue Nuvana was teaching "Iyengar yoga", it just felt good but very difficult at the same time. I then took an evening class with a lady named Muir, who had spent 2 months in India at Sivananda in Kerala. She was teaching it differently. There was music and she used no sanskrit names. I couldnt keep up with her, it was Vinyasa, flow yoga. Wow, pretty cool I figured. After the first session I was in a lot of pain and hurt my back. But I persisted and went to both Nuvana and Muir's classes. The Vinyasa class became wierder and wierder. She was doing partner yoga all of a sudden and that felt a bit strange. She coupled me with a guy and I had to grab on to these ugly feet to strech my arms out for the child pose. That pretty much did it for me. I decided to just stick with Nuvana, but an hour class in the gym was not enough. I asked Nuvana if she would give me private lessons and she accomodated. So once a week I would go to her house for a yoga lesson. It changed my life forever. It became a family affair and my kids started to join me. We all did yoga together.
Nuvana had taught Iyengar Yoga in Mumbai, India before she moved to Oregon.
She came from a family of serious yoga practitioners. Her grandmother, uncle and cousins were all serious Iyengar Yoga practitioners. Her cousin Zubin is an accomplished yoga teacher and runs one of the best yoga studios in Mumbai and is one of Guruji's most senior students. He travelled with Guruji around the world in the early to mid 1990s. Fate brought me to Nuvana and Iyengar yoga and that led to a series of coincidencesand connections, that included introduction of Iyengar Yoga to my employees in Pune India.
My connection with Pune started in 1997 when I hired my first employee from Pune and then again in 2001 when I started a company in Pune. Little did I know that right accross the street from the hotel I stayed at when I visited Pune, was the heart and soul of yoga and a yoga guru whose style would completely change my life. Looking back it all makes sense now. It makes sense that of all places in India I would choose Pune. Add all the connections -- from Nuvana, to others who inspired me to bring yoga back into my life and it all makes complete sense. It was bound to happen because it was meant to be and there was a cosmic connection to Guruji. Awareness of such connections are important and they are inspiring to one's soul.
I was very fortunate to find Nuvana and be trained by her. I feel that one on one teaching I received from her propelled me in a short period of 18 months from a novice to someone who could take an advanced yoga class and not be intimidated. It awakened my body and mind, and within a year I had lost nearly 6 inches off my waist and 60 pounds of weight. She inspired me to teach yoga to my kids and bring them into yoga at such a young age.
She also inspired me to join Sunset Yoga Center as a student and experience other great teachers like Nina Pillegi, Julie Burtis and Terry Peterson. By experiencing different teachers I built more confidence which in turn increased the awareness of myself and encouraged me to try harder. I may not be the most flexible, but I am not afraid to try a new pose, or a new way to do the same pose or attend an advanced class, even though I maybe the rookie in the class. Every pose I do, I do it with all my heart and soul and all the pain I can bear and my painful grunts and heavy breath when I am in agony during class are a testament to that. I am truly inspired by these awesome teachers who have such commitment, love and passion for yoga and they have really inspired to keep on the path. They have made a huge impact on my life and I salute and thank them.
So with Nuvana's return I am inspired to get back on my yoga path 4 consecutive days a week.
Namaste.
I had done yoga as a child, and all I recalled was padmasana (which I no longer can do), dhanurasana, and sarvangasana. I even wrote a play on yoga when I was 13 in 1977, a knock off the only yoga show on Indian TV then by Swami Dhiren Brahmachari, who never performed any asanas, and I doubt if he ever did, he was more known for his friendship with the Mrs Indira Gandhi and his private jets. He later died in a plane crash. So I digress....
Back to the point, so this first ever yoga class at my home base was one rough class. I just about collapsed trying to do the downward dog pose, but it felt good. I felt like I had run a marathon and done weights at the same time. I had no clue Nuvana was teaching "Iyengar yoga", it just felt good but very difficult at the same time. I then took an evening class with a lady named Muir, who had spent 2 months in India at Sivananda in Kerala. She was teaching it differently. There was music and she used no sanskrit names. I couldnt keep up with her, it was Vinyasa, flow yoga. Wow, pretty cool I figured. After the first session I was in a lot of pain and hurt my back. But I persisted and went to both Nuvana and Muir's classes. The Vinyasa class became wierder and wierder. She was doing partner yoga all of a sudden and that felt a bit strange. She coupled me with a guy and I had to grab on to these ugly feet to strech my arms out for the child pose. That pretty much did it for me. I decided to just stick with Nuvana, but an hour class in the gym was not enough. I asked Nuvana if she would give me private lessons and she accomodated. So once a week I would go to her house for a yoga lesson. It changed my life forever. It became a family affair and my kids started to join me. We all did yoga together.
Nuvana had taught Iyengar Yoga in Mumbai, India before she moved to Oregon.
She came from a family of serious yoga practitioners. Her grandmother, uncle and cousins were all serious Iyengar Yoga practitioners. Her cousin Zubin is an accomplished yoga teacher and runs one of the best yoga studios in Mumbai and is one of Guruji's most senior students. He travelled with Guruji around the world in the early to mid 1990s. Fate brought me to Nuvana and Iyengar yoga and that led to a series of coincidencesand connections, that included introduction of Iyengar Yoga to my employees in Pune India.
My connection with Pune started in 1997 when I hired my first employee from Pune and then again in 2001 when I started a company in Pune. Little did I know that right accross the street from the hotel I stayed at when I visited Pune, was the heart and soul of yoga and a yoga guru whose style would completely change my life. Looking back it all makes sense now. It makes sense that of all places in India I would choose Pune. Add all the connections -- from Nuvana, to others who inspired me to bring yoga back into my life and it all makes complete sense. It was bound to happen because it was meant to be and there was a cosmic connection to Guruji. Awareness of such connections are important and they are inspiring to one's soul.
I was very fortunate to find Nuvana and be trained by her. I feel that one on one teaching I received from her propelled me in a short period of 18 months from a novice to someone who could take an advanced yoga class and not be intimidated. It awakened my body and mind, and within a year I had lost nearly 6 inches off my waist and 60 pounds of weight. She inspired me to teach yoga to my kids and bring them into yoga at such a young age.
She also inspired me to join Sunset Yoga Center as a student and experience other great teachers like Nina Pillegi, Julie Burtis and Terry Peterson. By experiencing different teachers I built more confidence which in turn increased the awareness of myself and encouraged me to try harder. I may not be the most flexible, but I am not afraid to try a new pose, or a new way to do the same pose or attend an advanced class, even though I maybe the rookie in the class. Every pose I do, I do it with all my heart and soul and all the pain I can bear and my painful grunts and heavy breath when I am in agony during class are a testament to that. I am truly inspired by these awesome teachers who have such commitment, love and passion for yoga and they have really inspired to keep on the path. They have made a huge impact on my life and I salute and thank them.
So with Nuvana's return I am inspired to get back on my yoga path 4 consecutive days a week.
Namaste.
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