Beginning of a new Circle

After Guruji's passing in 2014 my journey of yoga on this blog abruptly came to an end. I left yoga (at least physically) and due to cervical spine surgery I receded from regular practice..The fear and lethargy took over. While it wasn't a logical reason, that journey of my life was concluding and a new one was beginning (We will get to that eventually). I had no idea what I had written in all these years but a chapter got closed and I closed the book and moved on...till today. Someone had been quietly reading the 169 posts I had written in a span of 5 years and I had no idea I had written that much and that some day someone would remind me of what I had written.

So much has happened in the quiet of these last three years. My life has been propelled in a new direction, a direction I feel is far more meaningful. My munchkins have grown up into loving, confident and beautiful young women.  The pain has transcended into fulfillment of my time with them. There is contentment and I learned to enjoy every bit of the time I have with them and despite my limited time with them I  know these two young women will carry on into amazing lives. It made all the pain worthwhile.

So one of these munchkins has been reading my blogs and today inspired me to re-open
the book and write a new page (I will let you ponder, wonder and guess which one). While I may have temporarily left yoga, yoga never left me.. I am crawling back Nuvana... be patient!!!

Namaste

The Yogi

The Yoga of Chai!

For many of us caffiene crazed yogis, Starbucks is a daily jaunt for a morning, post lunch or post dinner caffiene kick. Yes folks, I am a Starbucks addict and have provided my share of financial support for this company since the day it landed into downtown Portland. Wish I had put the same amount of money in its stock. All for the joy of a great "experience" -- yes that is why we started paying $1.20 for a cup of coffee. Starbucks became an experience versus a daily Folgers kick to wake you up from bed.

I must say it got really terrible when I spent a year in Seattle in 1993, because there was a Starbucks in my office building in downtown. You could barely turn a corner in Seattle and not see a Starbucks or an SBC or some knock off of it. A TNF (Tall Non Fat Latte) was $1.20 and barely a pinch. Now its $2.45!!! I recall they used to have loose leafe teas as well, such as Irish Breakfast and then the horrible chai masala tea bags. Occasionally I would try it, but TNF seemed always more appealing, despite its obnxious taste. Terrafizione was so much better, but then it got gobbled up by SB and put to rest. I guess the chai taste was worse. Chai at Starbucks never caught on with me till they bought Tazo Tea and started selling "Chai Latte", a horrible concoction of sugar, honey, vanilla, mixed dried herbs and spices. But then you don't have much choices if you are attempting to get off bad coffee. Especially when my 5 year old tells me "DADDY NO MORE LATTES, ONLY CHAI". I have to pay attention to that or I am in deep trouble.

Now you must know, I come from a culture of "teas" and a large variety of them. There must be at least 10 flavors of Darjeeling Tea (Lopchu, Orange Pekoe, Green .. yada yada.. yada). Chai became a forgotten vernacular in my vocabulary since I moved to North America. I was introduced to hot black freshly brewed folgers. Growing up in India I only tasted instant coffee and that too only with milk and iced. I stopped caring about the boiled black tea with an overdose of fatty milk and sugar.. I prefered our more popular Lipton "Bland" tea bags with a drop of cream and no sugar and tepid water (why couldn't they heat up the water as much as the coffee pot next to it). I was "canadianized and then americanized" as far as tea was concerned and the chai at even the best at the run-of-the-mill india restaurants was disgustingly strong and unrefreshing. No one really paid much attention to flavor, quality or anything else for the matter as far as "chai" was concerned.

That was till I ran into "Oregon Chai" mix at one of those of corner neighborhood coffee shops in 1994 and had my first taste and was repulsed even further. All I could taste was the sugar and cinammon. Where was the "chai" and no this is not how chai was made in the Himalayas. And calling it "Chai tea" was such an oxymoron. Chai is "tea", so what does "chai tea" mean... "TT". . What a bunch of "crock" if there was one! But this is America and we are known for our ability to improvise and extend a tradition from afar to suit our taste, just like those amazing forms of yoga we can experience on late night informercials.

But how long could that suffering last. In 1997 one of my first software hires from from India who so seredipitously lived in Pune asked what I would like from India and I replied "some good darjeeling tea". He brought me a box of "Lopchu" and it changed my life. From then on never did I ever touch the lipton tea bag unless of course I had no choice -- such as a bumpy ride on an airplane or being held ransom at some gas station in a boon-dock location off a national highway where the coffee or the "espresso" was worse than a sip of motor oil.

I was rejuvenated with loose leaf darjeeling tea (ala Iyengar Yoga -- you see the similarity). It was rediscovery of my culture, my roots, something I had put behind me years ago as I blended into the north american culture with a burger, fries, milk shakes and yummy donuts. No one else in my house-hold cared for it. Only I and just I deserved the pleasure of this amazing tea, but only at home. All the darjeeling tea in grocery stores was not the real thing and speciality tea caffes had not yet hit our culture. I dreamed of starting a "chai house" some day. Well it is still just a dream!

The 'tea' from India became a requirement for any employee that was hired and yes we would hire them in "six packs". Six at a time. So every time a six pack arrived, I would get build a nice inventory of darjeeling tea, never ever to be repleted. I went from Lopchu to Orange Pekoe, to Assam and yes a new branded box of tea called "Roopak's" from a specialty grocery store in Karol Bagh in New Delhi. So no other tea but Roopak's for several years. Karol Bagh for any of you who have ever stepped into Delhi is an epicenter of craziness, traffic, pollution, an incredible culmination of man, animal, waste and machinery for the sheer joy of shopping and that too INCREDIBLE SHOPPING! Only next to Chandni Chowk and Old Delhi and yes some day I will write about my yogic experiences in those parts of Delhi. All my trips to India after 1998 included a trip to Roopak's in Delhi, if I was in Delhi to accumulate its tea, as much as I could carry.

So re-aligning myself back with "chai" -- in 2005 I had a chance to to visit Haridwar, India in cold January. Haridwar is a holy city on the banks of Ganges, the holiest river at the foothills of the Himalayas. It is where most Hindus, after they pass on and are cremated, like to have their ashes merged into the holy waters of the river. It is where they can trace back to their past generations as every death in their family is recorded. I traced back mine to the 17th century -- a HUGE discovery for me. It is also where I discovered the REAL CHAI, which forever awakened me to the power of chai! Ironically only an hour away was the holy city of Rishikesh, the yoga capital of the world!

Chai tea has now become a Global Vernacular...

PS. This blog was sitting in my draft folder from 2009

Whats your happiness quotient?

" Remember love conquers all" is what a stranger who became an instant friend said to me over a steaming dosa and coffee in Pune last week. It was a eureka moment. I have some far and few and so this came bang on my face, in a great way, like whiff of fresh air or the cool Pune breeze in the midst of monsoon rains.

It got the frown line on my forehead intense, and I transformed instantly to a scowl face, one that projects the repelling side of an otherwise somewhat magnetic personality. The words registered somewhere deep inside. I didn't want to analyse it further as I had just finished 2.5 hours of yoga at Abhay's who had been diligently working on my back and neck with Iyengar Yoga therapy. I was just too relaxed to think about it any further.

The day before I had taken his "Sports class" an hour of intense fast yoga poses with a group of noisy yoga students, who he calls his friends. There were jokes, laughing, grunts and crackling all over. I must say this was the most fun I had in a yoga class except, I was breathless half way. So those who think yoga is not cardio, eat your heart out and those of you who think yoga has to be some silent inward practice, devoid of expression, joy, laughter - eat your heart out further...Abhay's class defied all logic.

I had been attending yoga with Abhay from 7:45 am every morning. I had walked in with serious backache and neck and shoulder ache. He just had to look at me and he knew. I asked him and his father "How do you know? How does Guruji knows". Both raise their hands up and say "It comes from God!!!". Despite myself I am now starting to believe it as every day there was progress from the series of pain reversing posses he put me through. I asked is there any way to avoid all this. Out came the next set of profound comments "You need to fight as you know you cannot avoid it".... more frown lines..

Revisiting my frown line - both these comments from Abhay and my stranger turned friend were profound. We know how powerful love is, but do we really understand what it means. We know Guruji talks about salvation lying in the pain, but avoidance seems to be the easy way out.


Namaste.


PS. This blogpost was in my draft folder since 2009.. Finally taking light...

The end of the circle - Guruji BKS Iyengar passes away

Its been nearly two years since I wrote a post. So much has changed for me and my practice. I have been off practice since last year as I developed pinched nerves in my cervical spine and had a disc replacement surgery in April. I was asked to be off yoga classes till September, but had made plans to start practice at  Abhay's studio in Pune on August 20th, the day I arrived in Pune.

But that plan was not meant to be.  Last week there was news of Guruji being admitted to a Pune hospital with a weakening heart.  Late last night after  I landed in Mumbai the news became grim. He was in critical condition with kidney and heart failure. During the drive to Pune I spoke to my teacher Nuvana, who too happened to be in Mumbai. We were both praying for Guruji, but we were obviously concerned. I arrived inPune at 2 am and checked into my hotel. I was restless and something wasn't feeling right,  I couldn't sleep, so I spent the next two hours browsing the web, looking for any news on Guruji. And then I felt it!  but didn't want to believe the inevitable and feel asleep.

I was woken up by a text message from Nuvana at 8 am. Guruji had passed away at 3:15 am. I was disheveled. This was not planned. Then the sadness hit and the regrets started!  How I wish I had met him for one last time and had him sign my books, or  that interview which I had asked for  years ago for the blog, but never had the courage to ask .. or that trip I wanted to make just to see him as my neck issues worsened.. or missing his 95th birthday celebrations last year....

I delayed, I postponed, I procrastinated;  and then to arrive in India about the same time as the circle of life for guruji completed.  There couldn't be a worse or better time to be there. It was just the time to be there, and I feel fortunate I was there to be part of his last journey out of his yoga institute. All my yoga friends  I had planned to meet on this trip, everyone was there to be with him.  I cannot describe how I felt, because I just felt this indescribable feeling in wee hours of the morning and it was not jet lag. I am sure everyone connected to him, his family and students, all felt it.  Even though they didn't want him to go, we all hoped to see him alive for his 100th birthday and all believed that nothing could go wrong with this man even at ninety five, we all collectively felt that it was time for him to go.

I made two darshans (visits) hastily in the room where his lifeless body lay, in his final shavasana., covered in flowers, incense burning and close family members chanting prayers. I could see the energy and glow gone from his face in the lifeless body, as he had merged with his soul and left us. I took some video and pictures outside, as we all stood there for hours quiet and silent till his body was moved to the place of pyre to chants of Narayana.  Those were tearful moments, as many memories and thoughts gushed through me, not just of Guruji, but my parents and grandparents who passed and their last moments and the funerals. It was too much at the end.  As the family prepared for the pyre to be lit, I was just overcome with heat and emotion - this was time for his family, his relatives, I couldn't bare to see through the rest.  The legend, our revered Guruji BKS Iyengar, the yoga master, had already left for his next life and perhaps a new yoga master was already reborn.....to change our lives once again!

With heartiest condolences to the Iyengar family,

Thanksgiving

Its thanks-giving today and I am thankful for my life experiences, my children, my health, my friends and family. Every step I take into the next moment, I become more aware of my own self building on this self awareness that I am nothing but myself....

Namaste

Passion Makes Perfect

While my yoga practice might be waning recently, my blogging nearly extinct, my passion for life isn't and I have been redirecting a lot of it to my work, my children and helping young entrepreneurs seed companies.

I know I am off balance on yoga but I do try to keep up the practice anytime I can make it to the gym and can attend a class from Nuvana. The practice will return but the passion for yoga remains.. So let passion drive the practice for perfection... my wish for you..

Love you An and Sel..

D
Namaste

The might me..

As we get older and 'wiser' notice how we inflate both in body and mind! To keep the body deflated we are told exercise and eat less. Do we? And for the mind - we hardly do anything. Just as food and laziness to exercise can become a lifestyle, so can the inflation of the mind. Its the ego, the elevation of self over others.

Ego becomes a weapon of offense and self defense and self feeding i.e. the ego only feeds on itself to become larger and larger. Large enough to expand like a balloon and to a point where a little prick will burts it. I am stuck in this egoflation. Yoga is a way to help but I am still stuck in the muck and struggling to get out... hoping for the balloon to burst asap :). Realization and acknowledgment is the first step to a recovery and that gets you that mental pin to prick the ego-balloon. I am ready for my 3 miler and then a yoga class at IYISF. And for others around you who suffer the same, perhaps you can leave some healthy ego in yourself to prick their ego-balloon as well.

Namaste

Silence all the noise...but the music!

The last few weeks have been extremely noisy... I have had no break, not a moment, as my mind has been running faster than my body.. Two dear friends in act of kindness offered to take the munchkins swimming so I could focus on my pending taxes, but I realized as soon as I walked in the door was I need to just not focus on anything and lie in shavasana with my old favorite Thievery numbers on my ipod.

I know the Iyengar method of shavasana involves no music, but what the heck, I modify. The eclectic beat music fused with Indian tabla, sitar and all forms of other instruments actually helps me become silent. And silence for me is the music in the background with no other though, no other noise, quietness except the rhythmic chirping of the smoke detector in one of the rooms, which at 14 feet I can't reach, even with the tall ladder. But my brain is able to deflect that noise and if that is possible, I am sure the rest of the noise can be ignored so my brain can rest for a bit. I look into the nothingness behind the random lines drawn by my munchkins in this work of art, and I see silence in that darkness, peace, tranquility and that is all I want in this moment....

I hope you too can get that tranquility.....

Namaste

N

Jump start my yoga practice with Neeta Dutta's workshop

Sometimes when a car has not been driven (or battery continually charged with a drip, as I do to my two seater) the battery goes cold. My yoga practice went cold for nearly 8 weeks as the work, travel and stresses of life took over. One would think a committed yogi like myself would remain consistent and true to his practice. Nada.. I let it slip....the vegan approach didn't work for me, loss of energy combined with all the balls we juggle to survive results in exactly the opposite of what you want to do. The learning (its a re-learning for me) is that we are just not in control of ourselves, and we gravitate towards our habits of extremes. It also affirms that we never were in control and never will. So why fight it. There is a more powerful force that exists beyond us, in every sense, physical and spiritual that we must surrender to and live in the moment and be cognizant of the moment, so when the opportunity presents we reset to become calm, and understand how to get re centered and try to achieve what Patanjali describes in his yoga sutras. By giving up control, The Effort becomes effortless. That is what I learned (or relearned) last night from a two hour forward bending Iyengar yoga session with Neeta Dutta at Sunset Yoga. It was the jump start my cold battery badly needed after two months of winter hibernation. The new studio is awesome, full of light and energy. There is more (re) learning all day today and part of tomorrow. I expect to be physically worn out by then, but I am certain my mind will be refreshed...Thank you Neeta! Namaste

Cutting knives with forks, vege diet, exercise, pranayama and yoga

Last Sunday I saw a documentary movie "Forks over Knives". It was an eye-opener, a new wake up call, a eureka moment! The last time I had this moment was exactly 5 years ago as I stood on the side of a cold, smoggy New Delhi road puking my guts out after a severe asthma attack. I thought I was going to die and it started me on the path of yoga. "Forks over Knives" inspired me to go "cold turkey" vegetarian only since last Sunday. I had anxiety pangs, meat withdrawals and on two occasions I cheated a bit, but all in all I stuck with the plan of mostly plant diet.

I have had several shorts stints of vegetarian diet since last year in May when I had the pleasure of meeting Geetaji (Ms. Geeta Iyengar). The Iyengar family is strictly vegetarian. But each time I would give up. Today is my 9th day and I remain committed to remaining vegetarian and I think I can keep going at it.

I have also been practicing pranayama and my second class with Jen on Thursday evening felt even better. I realized I had been practicing Ujai 4 for the last many days on my own. I would say that makes me feel the best. I also increased my exercise regime, with short bursts of intense cardio, interspersed with brisker walking and more yoga stretches at gym.

On Friday I went for my physical exam and my blood pressure was was 98/68 from the typical 140/90 type. My pulse was 88, when its usually in the high 90s. The nurse was shocked. The doctor checked it again and it was 98/70. He suggested dropping dosage or stopping one of my BP-meds all together. I suggested waiting.

I am not sure if its just one thing, but even a few weeks of diet, regular exercise and yoga practice is making a difference in my health. My energy levels are higher and stress levels lower. "Long interrupted practice", is my mantra for diet, exercise and yoga! I will keep repeating this in my head as I travel to Hawaii/Maui tomorrow AM. I will be packing my own fruit salad as lunch to take on flight - a first!

Change happens slowly - one step at a time. A deep inhalation, a pause, followed by a deep exhalation - Shubh Ratri, Good night - Namaste!

Exhale out your stress in Ujai 2 - Begining of Pranayama

Finally, a formal 8 week pranayama class arrived at Sunset Yoga Center to be taught by Jen! I have been waiting for such a class and I wouldn't miss it for the world. The catch, no make ups or walk-ins. That will break my walk-in mode of attending yoga classes in Portland. I had become a walk-in drone for the last two years. Everything is sporadic when it comes to yoga, except when I am in Pune, when I can get to yoga for 2 hours a day.

I arrived to the class promptly, right from the gym and to my surprise found a small group with none of the regulars (those who attended level 3) around. Jen started with a great intro and some supine poses as preparation for pranayama and then in the last 20 mins of the class we practiced Ujai breathing - 1, 2, 3.

I found Ujai 2 the most relaxing and meditative, as those deep exhalations lead you to that empty space between the exhalation and the next inhalation. Its the nothing space, where you have let go for a moment every thought, desire and distraction and your mind is at peace and calm with yourself. I practiced it again last night before I went to bed and slept well.

A quote from Lord Krishna to Arjuna from the book "The Yoga of Bhagvad Gita"" perhaps best describes the feeling of Ujai 2: "O Partha, (Arjuna)! when a man completely relinquishes all desires of the the mind, and is entirely contended in the Self, by the Self, he is then considered to be one settled in wisdom".

There was great wisdom of being content for those few moments in Ujai 2 on Thursday night. I look forward to many more. Thank you Jen for a great class.

Namaste

Are you awake?

On my way to an Iyengar yoga class on the L muni line.
Attending a class with David Sirgany, an Iyengar teacher I had the pleasure of meeting at Gurujis 90th birthday celebration in India. I am thinking how my life has evolved in the last 4 years. What has yoga done to my life?

Yoga simply has brought me some clarity of thought and mind. Perhaps I deal with my stress and pain better. Perhaps I'm more compassionate. Perhaps more tranquil. But I'm just me. I just want peace and neutrality but then at the same time I don't want "anything" - I just want nothing.

What is nothing? Empty space ? That space between inhalation and exhalation or space between the vertebrae in my spine. Or the space in the sky filled with zillions of stars. I don't know what nothing means but I want it but then I don't want anything either. So here I am hanging in "space" and I'm wide awake.

Namaste

P.S. The class with David was energizing. A lot of chest openings through back bends..Then a couple who recently starting doing Iyengar Yoga and drove all the way from Sacramento to take this class, pulled me into the dumpling place after the class. It was delicious and divine and the conversation was wonderful...I was fully awake and in complete bliss.

Light on your feet with Iyengar yoga props

One of these days I have to post some pictures of props that are now in place at Sunset yoga center. Yesterday evening a level 3 with Nuvana was an amazing class. She subbed for Nina and since this was the last day of the session, a request was made of poses people liked and didn't like. I gasped when someone asked for Parivrata Trikonasana (revolved triangle) and Parivrata Ardha Chandrasana (Revolved Half Moon) and Vrksasana (Tree pose). All of the three I am unable to do well, ever since I discovered my lower back issues. But Nuvana made an amazing experience out of it by using props and spending nearly half of the class time in doing the first two revolved poses, using the stressler (horse), chair(s), blocks with wall support and the front desk table with the chair for support. Each time you had a different experience and it became challenging and exhausting (in a refreshing way). I felt like I had run a mile....

This was followed by the Vrkasana. I immediately went into it with my left leg standing and could feel the strength in my upper inner thighs to hold the right foot and balance. An attempt to do the same with the right leg standing didnt work, my left hip is tighter I said, but Nuvana had other thoughts. She asked me to turn around so my right side was along the wall and viola up went the left leg and I was in the pose. The unconscious mind is afraid of falling on the side with the leg is raised she exclaimed..made sense!

And finally a Tadasana where you could really feel "light on your feet" with energy in your thighs and hips to lift you up.. I felt like I could fly.... no back ache, no sciatica, I felt refreshed and energized - so much so that I woke up this morning at 6 am and went for an hour of walking up and down the gorgeous hills. Its been a while since I have experienced what I experienced this morning - perhaps the 25 pounds will finally get a chance to peel off once again and perhaps I will be able to fly once again.

Namaste

Yogi

Restart Refresh Unblock

I have been away for sometime. I locked up my blog for a while. I apologize for shutting the door suddenly. Sometimes you need to shut the door so you are safe from the outside. Nearly a month ago the Iyengar family which included Geetaji arrived in Portland for the US national Iyengar yoga conference. I had the pleasure to serve them. I had never spoken to Geetaji till now, though I have taken classes with Abhi, guruji's grand daugther, who was also here along with Sunitaji and her better half Parthaji. It was great to see some of my teachers from Pune including Rajlakshmi and Gulnaz and reconnect with Mondira and Zubin.

I had always maintained a respectful distance with my teachers in Pune, but during their stay I had a chance to open the doors of my heart, spend time with them showing them around our beautiful, and absorb the amazing positive energy that was all around this family and teachers from Mumbai and Pune. I was blessed that my munchkins had a chance to spend time with them as well. It was truly and honor and we all felt very blessed to have their presence for a few days. It was great to make new friends including Chris Stein and Gloria Goldberg.

Namaste

Happy Diwali

Yesterday was Diwali, the Indian celebration of lights. My children spent a whole day creating these beautiful crafts as decorations and parting gifts for close friends we had invited for an evening of dinner, pooja and lighting of diyas (clay lamps from India) and candles.

There was a gathering at my house. The pooja mandir was set, dinner was cooked (well made by a generous friend who has the gift of healthy cooking), the house was scrubbed clean, old keep sakes and lamps of diwali taken out, new keep sakes and diyas purchased - all the traditiona of Diwali I experienced from my childhood repeated. It started a week ago and the day before spent with children preparing for the auspicious evening the next day. So much of my childhood repeated but with some modifications of my own. Even though I am no longer in India, that spirit and joy of recreating my own life as a child repeated with and through my children.

It was a magical evening, something that has now become somewhat of a tradition in my household since the children were born. Its a tradition I inherited from my own parents.We had hoped to save one of these crafts, but the children just handed them out to everyone who came till nothing was left for them to keep as a memory. A school book report and a show and tell at her class was interrupted as a result younger one had nothing to take anymore.. Suddenly her desire and inspiration was gone. But this was such a pure and generous gift to our guests, that I now realize that there is no better book report or show and tell than the generosity and giving expressed by my children in that moment.

Perhaps it is this virtue of unadulterated giving that is the true spirit of Diwali, even though the history tells us it is the day of the win of the good over the evil and the return of a king to his homeland (amongst many other reasons and traditions).

Yesterday there was joy, laughter, music, lights in my household. Tonight, there is silence and quiet and yesterday feels like a distance memory. The only evidence left in the house of yesterday is the pooja mandir created by my kids and the sweet incense they loved to burn, and the colourful moong bean rangoli the children created with help from a friend "Kaye". I had no idea what she meant by making rangoli by gluing "beans" to paper - but it was simply divine. It created a new tradition in my family.

The makeshift pooja mandir will be left in its place and will stay for a while, till it is respectfully put away in its historical place on a kitchen nook. But this is a memory I will cherish always in my heart, because there was a lot of love and joy that was shared last night. I am wiser for it, because despite my loneliness and sadness of not having my munchkins tonight with me, I am comforted with the knowledge that they deeply share my joy and love of giving and the love of Diwali. These seeds are well planted, along with the seeds of yoga and when my young ones grow up from little seedlings to trees, this value shall blossom and I will have done my part of imparting my culture, language, tradition, and love of yoga to them, so they then can perhaps carry the same family tradition and history.

My hired help Erika left with her own special keepsakes of Bean Rangoli from the children had the most inspiring parting words.. "It was a magical evening!"... Yes Diwali is magical but not just for children, but for anyone of any age as it inspires you to spark that light in yourself and allowd you to experience the joy of giving so you too shine your own light in your unique way...

Happy Diwali to you all and I hope you too can shine your light with others...

Namaste

The Yogi

Fight the pain!

My writer's block has continued. It has been hard to motivate myself to collect my thoughts and put the "electronic pen" to the "electronic paper". I had prepared a synopsis of my India trip, especially 5 days I spent in Pune where I had the opportunity to visit Abhay's studio and get 2 hours of yoga every morning. It did wonders for my sciatica and lower back. I also took a very fun "Sports yoga" class where we did "fast poses" and the whole class.

I arrived in India and spent the first week in excruciating pain and the last 5 days were bliss despite long hours and nights at work. I got a chance to say goodbye to some friends from Chile, who had not only spent a year in Pune practicing at the institute, but travelled extensively and absorbed the culture to the fullest. I highly recommend this to folks who want to come and practice at the institute. I know many come for a month and have a packed schedule. But experiencing the people and culture is as important as 5-6 hours of yoga at the institute where you live in a bubble.

In addition to being in Pune, I had the pleasure to connect with my past from 28 years, my classmates from grade 10 and visiting the place I grew up. I left with a profound message from Abhay as I struggled with chronic back pain. "Don't try to avoid it, fight it"! I am fighting it..

Namaste

Docked with the mother ship - India

I landed in Mumbai very early this morning. Getting out of the Mumbai airport was a breeze and a pleasant surprise to see a lot of the outside of the international airport reconstructed.. I could smell the musty air - monsoon is in full swing but the rain gods have not been too generous leading to a drought. "Mumbai only as 200 days of drinking water in reserve" says the driver of the car who picked me up. Hundreds of people are walking the streets barefoot at 2 am in the morning. Its Ganesh Chatruthi on Monday - the celebration of Lord Ganesh and thousands will walk to the Sidhi Vinayak Temple mid town Mumbai barefoot, a walk that may take them an entire day. I will seek spiritual blessings from a distance, as I will be recovering from jet lag. Thousands of colorful effigies of Lord Ganesh will be immersed in the Arabias sea and rivers all over. Its symbolic... but with scarce drinking water and pollution I wonder the logic behind it in the present time.

My yoga has been scarce. I had two yoga sessions with Nuvana. All to work on my sciatica and back ache, which she has helped dissipate. I tried to get into a class in Bandra with Jawahar tomorrow, but its to early in the AM. I will have to wait till I get to Pune next week. In the meanwhile the Swine Flu scare hype has really been blown over the top. The airport had a whole horde of masked medical examiners sitting at a desk, just collecting a form which we were required to fill out on the plane. We were warned of a 5 min medical check when we landed to see if we had symptoms of swine flu and could be quarantined for 5 days. The list of suspect countries included USA. You had to mention if you were coming from a country experiencing Swine Flu epidemic. Guess what everyone answered that as!!!! I wondered what the logic was - India is one of them now.

So I hope that the swine flu hoop la will subside soon. I plan to reconnect with my yoga practice, detach from the stresses of life in America and have a productive trip. There will be lots to write about, so hopefully I will have more frequent posts. I expect to connect with interesting people and have a challenging task of getting my Pune work force out of the Swine Flu fear and back to productive work. There are milestones to be met thanks to the Obama Health Care Technology Incentives.

Namaste

Another day another _________________

The last few weeks have been hectic and full of travels and trips. I call them escapist trips, but incredible time with my children. I was in Hawaii last week for work and attend a coworkers wedding on the beach. I also had a chance to practice yoga at the Hatha Iyengar Yoga center of Honolulu. My sciatica had returned (the biking I think) and Ray Madigan was amazing in his instructions to help with it. It was a fun class. I wish I was there longer to take more. I learned a few new tricks in addition to what Nuvana had taught me on how to take care of it.

Then the nightmare began. I flew to Maui and took a class on the beach (a wet uneven grassy yard) organized by my coworker. The teacher was of a different style, one of those fusions of Iyengar and others. One student collapsed by the heat. I twisted my back and the showers of pain came from all directions. I have been in pain since. I had resisted going to this class, as I know I cannot handle Vinyasa, but fell to temptation. So I deserved this pain.

So here I am back to square one. Another reset. But tomorrow is my session with Nuvana and I expect some relief. My battles with pain and stress begin, especially since Pune is now the epicenter of Swine Flu in India and I have tickets to travel on the 21st.

Namaste

The balance is back - 7 days of yoga and counting

It was imminent that I would wake up one day and realize that I had gone astray. I had let myself go again! Over the last six months I had become complacent and let the stress consume me inside. Outwardly, I was starting to eat my stress out and had let my physical practice or yoga and walking slip to the sidelines. I was starting to balloon.

I had the usual excuses - too busy, too much work, travel, bad food. It all hit me at once, when I hit 210 pounds in June 2009 and then by June end I was 214 pounds. I couldn't fit in my pants, my asthma returned, and I was starting to slip into the hole of depression.

Finally there is a realization and eureka moment! "Just take care of yourself first"! In that awareness I made a pact with myself. I had planned Munoso's intense one week workshop in the first week of July in San Franciso at Abode of Yoga. I couldn't attend it as one of the days was a day with my children. That was more important that any yoga in the world. So I made a promise to myself - I would practice yoga every day I was denied time with my children starting July 1. That was a 14 day stretch. Not only would I practice yoga, but I would restart my walking, watch my food intake and let the stress go away from within.

It has been 9 days. I have taken a yoga class for the last 7 days. I have walked 2-3 miles every other day and I have restarted the healing of my mind, body and soul. I went on the scale today. I am down to 210 pounds. The soreness from the first few days has dissipated. I have gone back to the path of centering myself. It has been a re-learning of what I learnt for the last 3 years - how to calm your mind and how to connect to your mind and soul through your body.

Everything I learnt is steadily coming back. There is no more sadness as much as there is no more happiness . There is no more an expectation of where I "should" be in my life right now. I am where I am, and I couldn't be at any other place. So I accept where I am, and I just go with the flow of life, with the only one end goal and that is to remain in my neutral space. Everything else including the weight will simply melt away. The balance is slowly returning and I felt it in my sirsasana yesterday. I can really balance on my head now, better than I had ever before.

That was my realization today and with it melted away my writing block......I am back to blogging.. slowly but surely!

Namaste

The Yogi

Great Video Homage to Guruji from Russia

I ran accross this on Youtube.