An insightful class with Julie Lawrence!

My friend Care, a fellow Iyengar Yogi invited me to attend a level 3 class with Julie Lawrence, director of the Julie Lawrence Yoga Center in Portland. Julie has been teaching Iyengar yoga for a very long time and many of my teachers were her students. Wednesday nights are becoming my yoga adventure nights; to try a different class with a different teacher. This class was quite different and Julie is a legend amongst the Iyengar Yoga teachers in the community.

The class was packed. Her yoga center is in the heart of downtown Portland near the Max-line, packed with restaurants, including my favorite Indian called East India Grill. It was a warm evening, probably the last warm evening of fall and the windows were open and you could hear the hustle and bustle outside as it was end of the day office hour and the restaurants were turning on their stoves with the wonderful smell of food being cooked gently floating in...

Julie had a sign up on a small whiteboard in front of the class. It had a quote from Yoga Sutras about friendship. She asked the class to make that the theme of the class this week. The invocation was done in Virsasana style and this pose was carried through many of the initial poses in the class. Additionally we performed an Adho Mukha Svanasana with arms flat in the Pinch Mayurasana form. All in preparation for poses such as Eka Pada Bhekasana (one legged frog pose).

I had a stiff neck and stiff upper back from an introductory personal training session at the gym- yes I am back on the dark side again to improve my fitness level, strength and cardio vascular training. Just a kick in the pants to get me back on my walking track.

I couldn't get into Adho mukha Vriksana, but I did get into Pinch Mayurasana twice. Julie's instructions were similar to Jen's on how to position your index finger and thumb on the blocks, along with rolling your wrists from the outside to inside. Up I went, but no balancing. Push your feet together .. I heard in the background. That's hard with my tightness.

We then migrated to Supta Virasana which I did just fine. There was not much adjustment needed and then onto the One Legged Frog Pose. That was my first time in this pose. I think I got a real appreciation of being able to push the sacrum down while raising yourself in that interesting contortion. Then it was onto Dhanursana - back bend. One of my readers mentioned that back bends connect you to your past as it gives you a chance to observe your past while you are in back bends.

In that moment I was so sweaty and exhausted, I was really only focused in the present. Julie said earlier yoga helps you be in the present - that made so much sense as I didn't seem to have any connection to my past. I wasn't thinking much in the class and neither was I feeling the pressure to grunt or groan or not. It was a challenging class, but I didn't feel like I needed to prove anything to anyone, including myself.

I was truly feeling myself and enjoying every moment of the warm breeze flowing in from the open windows. I was reminded of RIMYI, in Pune with the open windows with a lot less noise. But who cares about the noise - this is just part of the ambiance... there was no focus on the noise, external or internal as it really didn't matter. I was more focused on enjoying the poses and the pain that you are in when you are in long virasana position. Wait! Wasn't that mentioned in the sutra at the start of the class?

The last major pose was Halasana (with some variations). Since I had to use the chair, I couldn't do the variations. It was harder than usual, as my upper back was really hurting and I had frequently bend my knees which needed correction from Julie. She walked the whole class and there were lots of questions being asked. Once out of Halasana we went into a longer than normal Shavasana.

My eyes couldn't shut initially, so I just stared with a blank mind in the darkness and eventually the eyes shut. I was not asleep but I was out - I didn't hear the bell ring. It was very quiet. Julie then chanted another heart warming sanskrit shloka.. I don't recall all the words, but the last few were Bhavantu, Om Shanti, Om Shanti, Om Shanti! Peace is what that implies and peace is what I got at the end...

I enjoyed the class very much. Julie invited me to come back again which I will. My friend Care and I then walked across the street to the best Indian restaurant in town and I broke my 3 day vegetarian diet with my favorite Rogan Josh.

The lesson I learnt that evening was that being yourself is the best thing you can do for you. By focusing on yourself, you empower yourself to be who you are and try not to be who you are not. I realized that I have to strive to be present in the moment and not worry too much about the past, though I cannot forget my past. Being in the present means being surrounded by what helps you to who you are and not what others expect you to be. That is what yoga teaches you the most - Just Be Yourself! Thank you Julie Lawrence, I will be back! For more information on her yoga center visit jylc.com

Namaste

The Yogi

Advanced Yoga with Terry - Pranayam Relaxes and Energizes

I attend Terry Peterson's level 3 class last Friday. His quality of teaching is immaculate and he engages you in the best possible way and you don't feel intimidated - especially being the most inexperienced level 3 yogi in class with the least flexibility. Given the tightness of my hamstrings and quads, it is not possible to for me to perform a perfect Supta Virasana. This is a pose that I am continually getting more engaged in along with a simple Virasana. With continued practice I find I can perform Virasana for a longer period of time without hurting my ankles. Supta Virasana is back-bend that reaches back to the floor. I can only bend 30%, so I need support of at least two bolsters and 2 blankets. I have been performing this way for some time.

Terry corrected me in his own gentle - asking me if I needed some help with setup. How could I refuse help! He used a different set of support. He pulled in a chair and placed it upside down. Then place one bolster at a 120 degree angle. Then placed a blanket on the bolster for additional support. Then asked me to lie back on it in Virasana position. Wow! It felt great and you could finally feel the pose. Terry and his cool yoga tricks! You can see them all in the book Cool Yoga tricks by Miriam Austin. Many of those tricks are performed by him together with Nuvana.

We ended this great session with about 10 minutes of pranayama in sitting pose. He showed us how to use the fingers of your right hand to gently hold the nose while breathing out in Pratiloma pranayama. We also performed sitting Viloma inhalation. This session was so invigorating and energizing, I couldn't close my eyes during Shavasana. Terry said its ok to have your eyes open during this pose - the purpose of Shavasana is to calm your mind down.

That's powerful! If you can really reach your inner mind i.e if you can truly be in Shavasana your eyes cease to be a cause of interference and distraction to your mind. You can really detach from the noise. Reaching your inner mind is the best way to detach from noise in your life. That is the essence of yoga.

Namaste

Yogi

Monday Night Advanced Class with Nina - Intense groin opening pose to make you sweat and relieve back pain!

Yesterday night's class finally made me sweat. The theme of this class was "groin opening poses". Read "intense poses that generate heat and really make you sweat". So all of you who think yoga doesn't give you an intense workout - eat your heart out! This was hard, intense and sweaty.

The class was estrogen majority. I was the only male (what happened to the other two) in class and probably most "pose challenged". With tight hamstrings, I couldn't dare stretch the back leg in "Hanuman Asana". We did a number of groin openers and supporting poses to allow the groins to really open. Supta Virasana, variations of Adho Mukha Svanasana, Raj kapot Asana (Pigeon Pose).

Nina borrowed some inspiration from Nuvana's back-care class. Its strap trick. A small strap tight around your lower waist. The belt is wrapped around your sacrum, and high part of the gluteus muscles real tight. I use this trick when I have lower back ache or when I am long flights to India. Then you add a wider belt at your sacrum in loop around the tight belt. You then pull down the wider belt with your feet. It pushes your buttock muscles down, releasing the back. This provides amazing relief to your back.

This trick was taught to me by Nuvana early on in my training with her. Back and shoulder ache were to most persistent problems I encountered - both of which are now much better since I started yoga. There are so many benefits to yoga, but I must say I use this Nuvana trick all the time to relieve lower back pain. If you are in metro Portland or visiting try the saturday morning back care class at Sunset Yoga. You will be amazed!

Namaste

The Yogi

Day 5 - 100 degrees and HOT YOGA!

April 16th - 9 pm

I woke up wednesday AM sore. My head was sore from the shirsana and the back from the fall. Despite the blanket the hard cement floor can be harsh. We (yes I include myself in the foreigners group despite being Indian born) are spoilt by our nice and soft hard wood floors, extra thick mats, extra firm and long belts and softwood blocks. The blocks in Pune are called "bricks". They are wooden, but they weigh a ton more than what we are used to. They are heavier than real clay bricks and you certainly wouldn't want to be in the way of one that maybe used as canon fodder. These bricks along with the short belts, the thin mats, the hard cement floor; for a tall guy like me can be quite harsh. Add the 100F temperature - whoo! this is hot yoga folks - seriously! I can see why there is a moratorium on foreign students from April to May.

Today's class was at 7 pm. I arrived 15 mins early only to witness the medical class on my way to my hall. This is probably the most intense part of yoga at RIMYI. It was an amazing sight, with several teachers including Raya and Abhi with guruji at the helm helping students with yoga therapy. All the amazing props in the main big hall were out and in full force use. I see a young disable girl being helped with various poses including Uttanasana using these props. What an amazing sight! I am reminded of the hustle and bustle of the outside world suddenly in coming into this hall, along with the heat and intensity.

My class today was intermediate and this might as well be advanced by our standards. The instructor simply gave the pose name and you are expected to "do it". There are no instructor demonstrations. There is not much one on one assistance, unless you tell the instructor in advance. Given the hot temperatures this evening, he asked us to do mostly restorative style hip opening and back bending poses - LONG restorative poses.

We started with call and response chanting and prayer. I love this part - the echoes in the hall make it so much more dramatic. Everyone sings loud. We started with Supta-Virasana, transitioned to folding legs in padmasana pose (or half for folks like me), then to Supta Badha konasa, followed by a Setu Bandha. These are usually relaxing poses - but the heat made them unbearable. I wish this was in the morning... - I just had to tolerate it. The uncomfortable feeling was there, but I recalled a comment from Nina Pillegi, the night before in an email, the essence of which was that the Sutras say that you should be indifferent to uncomfortable situations. It helps to maintain tranquility. That led to some tranquility for me this evening, but being indifferent to discomfort is really hard.

We moved on to Viparita Dandasana on the chair, that was very uncomfortable. Then a badakonasana on the chair with a back-bend. This was supposed to be very relaxing. I did the best I could. Then on to Setu Bandha Sarvangasana on the hard floor with the hard wooden brick. I had to keep the "brick" at the lowest height and then to Shavasana. Each pose was probably done for 10-15 minutes. Its rare to experience this. All in all the heat made it challenging - I can't imagine what happens to folks who do Bikram Yoga. What I took back with me was indifference and seeking comfort in the moments where I did feel relaxed, which was in the shavasana. I could have just fallen asleep.

As I left I could see the Iyengar family having their dinner through their open windows in the front of the house. Guruji on a chair in their TV room presumably with his dinner plate on his lap. Prashantji eating at an office desk in another room that is the main enterance to their house. I always see Geetaji in this room in the morning. I was humbled by the simplicity and dedication of this family. It reminded me that life is not about comfort and material things, but about inner peace and happiness which they spread through their love and dedication to yoga. Every time I return from India, I come back with this feeling that we can live on less and still be much happier people. I feel blessed I can afford to make several trips every year to experience this joy and happiness and simplicity of life. Its a life I once grew up in as a child and the universe has thankfully has brought me back to it.

Namaste

The Yogi