Day 4 in Pune - Bump on the head and fall on the back- Reality check!

April 15th 2008 : Tax Day

Jet lag can be great for early morning starts. I have been up since 230 am working with staff back home. At 6 am I get ready for my walk and then class at 7 am. The walk in the park is nice, and its much more packed with residents of the area, many drive to it I wonder why? The walk around the area is so quiet and peaceful. I get to class early. Upto level II hall. No one is there. Hmm.. what happened to the pump it up guy. Its nearly 7 and only a handful of unfamiliar faces show up. Then the teacher arrives. He is a young guy named "Raya" an upcoming prodigy. He is lean, fit and looks like a young indian sadhu. He immediately asks why I am in this class - I am puzzled. I explain and he says that this is a beginners class not intermediate, which starts at 8 am, so I should leave and wait for that class. I say in mind so whats the big deal let me just stay... well before I could say anything he allows me to stay.

Beginners' class it was not. Since we are at the tail end of the semester the students were already doing more advanced stuff such as head stand. He was rattling off instructions - this would be seriously a level 2-3 class in the states. And of course my ego came in the way today. I didnt balance on the head stand properly and bruised the head. Then came chair sarvangasana - my mind was definitly not on chair sarvangasana as I put my legs through the chair vs above the chair and down I crashed flat on my back on hard cemented floor. Yes folks this is not wood and soft and comfortable. I was still in one piece.

While doing some chair twists Raya commented on how doctors (there was one in class) and executives have such bad postures and are so stiff. Apparently he is one of the few fortunate ones to be part of the medical classes with Geeta Iyengar. I nodded my head in agreement - my posture is bad as I am constantly on a chair typing or leaning back. Then came the ultimate comment about computer software professionals "they are stiff in the head". Voila ! that hit the nail in the head being an ex-programmer myself. We had a short discussion about it. It made sense that when they are in front of a computer all day long, thinking and typing, nothing else much moves and it can lead to physical problems. I will need to re-educate my Pune staff who a year ago were doing iyengar yoga in the office once a week. Now its all stopped as transitions to newer employees diminished interest.

The class concluded 30 minutes early - beginners is only 1 hour. Prashant's class downstairs was still in full swing. I sat on the stairwell and listened mesmerized by his discources in between poses on yoga technology, breathing, kriyas and philosphy. He is a true yogi. I was inspired.

Goji berries are for real!

Avi, the inappropriate yoga guy, just clarified for me that "goji berries" are not imaginary high-in-antioxidants berries from the himalayas, but for real! They are used in chinese herbal medicines and available in health food stores in LA (and around the country I imagine in stores like Trader Joes). Anyway, check out the link at the end of the post, for more information on Goji Berries. I am sure Avi is going to make this an important word in the yoga vernacular as he produces more of his funny yoga videos.

For those readers and yes many of you have come to visit this morning, please subscrible to any of the "subscribe email" links I have. There is feedburner and an RSS link on the right side of this blog. This way you are kept upto-date on new posts on it. For those who love tea and especially "chai", you must know I am a "chai yogi" and no not just the starbucks kind. I have some interesting recipes that I plan to share and yes maybe there is a chai blog on the way in the near future. Anyway, thanks for all those who came to read the blog today. And please, I would appreciate comments, critiques, suggestions and if you want to contribute to the blog, please do let me know by sending me an email.

Namaste
The Yogi

Link for Jogi Berries: http://altmedicine.about.com/od/completeazindex/a/goji.htm.

How to do a triangle pose? uthita trikon asana

1. Stand straight in Tadasana -- standing Pose. Feet rooted to the ground, joined together, knees and quads pulled up, chest and sternum lifted up, shoulders rolled back, head straight, arms pulled down, fingers and hands straight pointing downwards and parallel.

2. Then jump your feet apart and arms apart. Arms are straight accross. Stretch your arms out completely in both left and right directions. You should be firmly balanced on your feet

3. Now rotate your left foot out to the left. Your right foot is inverted inwards towards your left foot at an angle. Bend your left knee and extend is slightly over your left ankle to form a square. Do not bend your right knee.

4. Then bend or tilt on the left side to touch your left leg or shin with your left hand. Your right can either be raised or bent to touch your right waist. Straighten your left leg to form a triangle pose. Then pully yourself back to look up. Stay in the pose for 2-4 minutes and then raise yourself gently and slowly to come out of the pose and get back to standing pose. Repeat on the opposite side.

5. For beginners, use the wall for support. Also if you have trouble bending sideways completely to touch your feet, use a chair to hold and be more parallel to the floor.

Follow this link for alternate instructions:

http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaposes/a/triangle.htm?nl=1

Additional References: Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar