Tadasana is standing up for yourself to withstand adversity in life!

One of the most amazing poses of Iyengar yoga is tadasana and how you are taught to execute and perform tadasana. The instructions flow in the following manner:

1. Join your feet together and firmly plant your feet evenly on all your toes, the ball of your feet and your heels
2. Pull your knees up (or in Pune speak "suck up your knees")
3. Roll your shoulders back to open up your strenum and pull your trapeziums down
4. Your head is straight in a neutral position
5. Your fingers pulling down and straightenyour arms all the way.
6. Your glutes tightened

Tadasana translates into the mountain pose. You are standing tall, sturdy like a mountain, that can withstand storms, rain, snow even when it blows its top off, the raging lava just flows down, it doesn't stick. Tadasana translates to that inert strength we have to stand up and withstand all adversity, and helps us be fearless and calm.

So if you are ever being beaten down in life, you feel overwhelmed, you lean too much on one leg or the other in stress and lethargy, just remind yourself to get into Tadasana and let all that negative energy, fear and lethargy, flow out of your body, from the tips of your fingers, the crown of your head, the gaze of your eyes, the opening of you chest, soles of your firm feet, and even spread of your toes. Then let your intelligence just permeate through and little you know it you will find that spark to withstand any adversity and help you to stand up and withstand it. This is how you stand up for yourself and your rights!

This is the power of Tadasana, the king of standing poses.

Namaste

The Yogi

Yoga is going from the outer to the inner deep within

Tonight was my first class for the fall term at Sunset Yoga Center. Advanced class with Nina. I went in apprehensive about how the one month in Pune would have changed Nina's teaching - I was expecting some strenous poses. I have been out of practice and tight.

We started the class with Nina describing some of her experiences in Pune and a few questions. What was one thing you brought back I asked - "Better Back Bends"... She was glad to be back home. Her experience in India was not to different from what many have in their very first trip.

She decided to give us a "Geeta lite" class. It was a light version of what she experienced with Geetaji in her first class with her at RIMYI. A combination of basic standing poses, starting with Adho Mukha Svanasana, Trikonasana, VB 1, 2 and 3 and Uttanasana. Then we transitioned to Supta Badha Konasana, a lying down Urdhva Hastasana and then a Sirsasana. I went right up and balanced - I was thrilled. I had had no practice since I got back from India, but my Sirsana balancing lesson with Nuvana paid off. It didnt last too long, but I was happy with my Sirsasana. I got a lot of confidence. We then transitioned to Setu Bandha on a black. All along there were instructions to subtly adjust the poses to get the maximum effect of the pose. We ended with a chair Sarvangasana.

Nina talked about how in Pune the ending "a" is rarely pronounced after any of the asan(a) name such as Tudasana, so she was going to try to use that pronunciation. A fellow student commented its asana in sanskrit and asan in Hindi. Right I said to myself, and Tudsana is really Taarrhdasan (a heavy r and d sound)... you say Tudasana, I say Taarrhdasana - at the end of the day we all are trying to achieve the same goal, and in Nina's final words "from the outer to the inner".

Day 3 in Pune - First Yoga Class at RIMYI

Intense class. I arrived 15 minutes early. Our routines are so different. We sit quietly on our mats and do light stretches. Here one of the first students to arrive was already pumping his heart out, doing stretches and push-outs on the rope. A 70 year old lady followed suit. I was totally intimidated. The teacher was familiar, I had attended his classes before. He loves to push you, especially standing poses. We are in the last two weeks of the semester. He gently corrected me a few times. As usual there is mad rush to switch props, and I lost my blankets to someone else. Suptapadangustana was intense and wonderful for my hip and sciatica. I learnt a new way to do Viparita Karani. At the end one of Guruji's pet students and an intermediate teacher came by and asked everyone to fill out surveys - one of the questions was how you were before and after taking classes at the institute. Great! Wish I was here long enough to do that. Enjoy the short video.

Namaste

Yogi