Yogarosa Blog

If you know what Supta Baddhakonasana is, and the effect, recall how you feel in class when the teacher announces it in class. In my 20+ years of teaching, it is the second Sanskrit name of a pose my students recall (first one is Savasana!) So imagine how I felt this morning, when I arrived for Prashant’s class, and the thick black cushioned mats were out instead of our regular sticky mats. That could only mean one thing. Restorative and pranayama class. YES!! It’s just what the doctor recommended. After I settled into my space with my pranayama pillows and blankets, I embarked on a Prashant expedition.  We started with rope Sirsasana or supine poses. Our choice of supine poses. (When I have a choice, I find myself asking , body, which one do you need?) Since I had extra blankets and pranayama pillows, I gave some away to share with some of the latecomers, as sometimes the props are not enough for all. It is expected for those who need less props to practice aparigrahah (non atta

“Abhijata, I’m recovering from having a very bad cold for 5 days. Shall I take the class today or observe?” She answered me, It’s up to you. You decide. I’ll do what I can and see how it goes. I was excited she didn’t say no, but already exhausted from walking to the venue, I knew I had to pace myself. When Raya started teaching the class, I realized I had set myself up right under the fan. Ugh. Blanket around my shoulders. Problem solved temporarily. Raya started to say we were doing standing poses, so ladies on their period and those not well could use the wall. My chance to find a fan less wall. Lucky for me there was space on a column. Never mind my back would be to the stage. I’ll make it work. Prasarita Padottanasana. Ok. Don’t need the wall for that. Already out of breath and we haven’t even started. Why are people so slow in getting a wall? Ok standing poses against the wall. Vriksasana, Trikonasana, Parsva Konasana, Ardha Chandrasana. Body happy to be moving, grateful for th

Observing and participating in Prashant’s classes are two totally different things. Feeling weak after five days of a very bad cold, today I decided to watch it. The benefits were that I could write his ideas as he spoke. The bad part was that I was writing, and not really doing and feeling what he was instructing. It was also difficult to sit on the stairs and be mindful of students coming and going into the second floor space for classes. It was, however a wonderful experience to watch a room full of students from all walks of life, from all corners of the world, the young, the older, and all body shapes and constitutions. It was educative to watch many variations being modified according to people’s conditions. Everyone was really doing their own practice, but like an expert chef, being guided to have a delectable outcome.  I watched as some faces went inwards, and others were distracted by their neighbors. I watched the students that knew exactly how to set up for the request

FOMO Fear of missing out is a real thing. Have you ever thought that you wish you had done something that you didn’t, or you went somewhere that you really didn’t want to go to, but didn’t want to miss out? I have been home sick with a very bad cold since Thursday. (5 days). 5 days at home would be inconvenient, but 5 days in India is a different story. Coming from Miami to Pune to study for a month with the best teachers in the world is a big huge treat for many of us. Missing 5 full days is a travesty. Each day, each moment, each class, is filled with learning that is spilled on us so fast, that the learning really comes later on during practice and contemplation. We are really exposed to the teachings here, not everything is absorbed or understood right away.  Part of the adventure of traveling, is that we are exposed to bugs that our bodies may not know. Having been couched and sneezed on pretty much all of last week with nowhere to hide, I caught a very bad cold that sta

Saturday Geeta’s Class Sequence  Adho Mukha Virasana Adho Mukha Svanasana  Half did Supta Padangusthasana with the belt, the others did Utthita Hastasana padangusthasana with wall support We started with the top leg at 90degrees so that we could move the hip down. We were to move the buttocks down and middle buttocks in. Lengthen the sides of the trunk. Second time set up the hip properly with leg at 90, then raise leg without losing the hip. Half did Parsva Supta Padangusthasana with belt, the others did Parsva Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana with wall support  Start with leg at 90 degrees to acquire proper action of the buttocks. Second time set up hip at 90, then raise leg without losing the proper actions. There was a woman doing Parsva Supta Padangusthasana who had a hip replacement. Geetaji had us watch. She was bringing the foot up in line with the shoulder (as many of us have been taught), and she showed us how the pelvis goes wrong. She then had the

Abhijata’s Pranayama Class I remember when Abhijata was first coming to the US for the first time. There was a lot of talk about her “qualifications”, as she is so young. What could she possibly teach the more senior teachers who had been studying with Guruji for so many years? She ended up shining, and proved herself in her own right as a knowledgeable, confident, strong and charming teacher. Growing up with a yoga master has certainly given her a gift. I remember watching Guruji two weeks before he passed away teaching Abhijata. And watching her wondrous eyes as he told her in their Marathi language some details about Sirsasana. Then Guruji giving her some other points in Urdhva Dhanurasana. I watched as she obediently followed her Guru’s words. And how she would run to him to make eye contact in between postures. They seemed to have a very special bond between them. The love could be felt. What a beautiful way to learn, not only from this century’s greatest yoga master, but fo

Prashant always tells us that he does not teach postures. That yoga can’t be taught. We need to discover our own inner guru. When we take a pose, and then stay in it, we are to observe all the processes taking place. Mind to breath, breath to body, body to mind. He guides us using various poses to observe what is happening on the inside. Repeating to exhale further and further, and to evacuate the mind, evacuate the breath, evacuate the senses, has an effect in us. Even just taking a breath creates chemical changes in us. This is what he is helping us to see rather than just doing and doing, adjusting and readjusting.  We come to RIMYI to learn. Most teachers want to have students come to him. He smirked today while telling us that he never told anyone to take yoga from him. That most teachers get sad if their students go away. He laughed as he told us that if all his students went away he would be very happy.  Prashant teaches us not to practice yogA, which is an outwa

Geetaji’s Ladies Class  July 11, 9:30-11:45am When Geetaji arrives, she finds her seat and sits straight despite her age and ailments. She is sharp, witty, direct, and seems omniscient in the way she can detect students problems and foresee future problems. She is catching us in our mistakes, and our lack of understanding in the poses. She rightly gets frustrated that some basic points have not been understood, so she clearly points out how to improve. She sees the missing links. And not only reinforces them, drives them into us sometimes with a loud voice, sometimes by explaining the damaging effects of improper actions. She cares so much for our wellbeing, that she hammers into our heads what we are supposed to be doing, and doesn’t let us off the hook until we do it. At least she says “ok some of them are doing.” And for a moment she seems satisfied.  Today she spotted a young woman (in the back of the room) and asked her to come to the front. She asked her what her prob

Monday July 9 Prashant’s Class 7-9am Adho Mukha Svanasana Baddangulyasana in Tadasana Sirsasana, Rope Sirsasana or Setu Bandha with brick  Bharadvajasana  Upavistha Konasana Marichyasana 3 Ardha Matsyendrasana Ropes 1 Sarvangasana, Viparita Karani, or Janu Sirsasana Savasana  In today’s class, Prashant was guiding us into understanding the difference between doing a pose, staying in a pose, and being in a pose. He compared it to being in a relationship. When you are dating, if you will spend a short period of time together, you will be a certain way. The more time you spend together the better you get to know someone. If you get married, and you have to spend the rest of your life together, then too, you will be a certain way. He joked about only being able to stand him for two hours in class. If we had to spend more time with him, we may not want to, because we may think there’s only so much we can take of Prashant. (I wonder if he knows there’s some o

Day 5 RIMYI Part of the adventure of coming to study at RIMYI, is the community that has evolved from Iyengar Yoga. Being at RIMYI reminds me of when my children were in Montessori school. The older ones help the new ones, which helps the older ones really engrain what they have learned, and the younger ones look up to the older kids because of all their knowledge.  I remember my first trip to Pune, and the people that helped me understand the rules, many of them unwritten, some of them given out on the first day. I also recall feeling overwhelmed. India is already overwhelming with all the sights, sounds, and smells. The food is always extreme. Extremely spicy, extremely sweet, or extremely salty. Even the bland food always have a surprise ingredient to spruce it up. The change in time, different sleeping arrangements, all contribute to one feeling a little vulnerable.  I have met ladies that have looked a little lost walking around, and just saying hello and inviting th

Day 4 RIMYI Today I am finding it hard to write, because I don’t really know what happened. There is always a gem that sticks to my mind in Prashant’s class. So I asked my suite mates what the class was about because I just didn’t seem to remember. They all said they didn’t remember anything either. That it was an amazing class, but it was all a fog. Prashant started by talking about what happens when we have breathing problems. We go to the doctor. Does the doctor ever check the pelvis when there’s a breathing problem? Is the pelvis not important to our breathing? Isn’t the pelvis a support to the breath? There are some things doctors don’t know. Science doesn’t know.  We took turns in ceiling rope Sirsasana, Parivritta Swastikasana, rope Adho Mukha Svanasana to accommodate the probably 100 people in class. That coordination in itself is a gift that the Iyengars have. That everyone has a space. That he knows if you didn’t get a rope for rope Sirsasana. That he gives a bi

Day 3 RIMYI Morning Ladies Class and Afternoon Medical Class Before class, the hall was set up and the rules were given. Ladies on their periods or anyone feeling unwell were given their place. When Geetaji teaches the class, it’s a blessing. Upon first glance, her body has weakened over the years. But as soon as she starts teaching, her power shines through. With the capacity to see the back of our bodies from the front, (I want to learn that) she commands us to see our blind spots.  Starting with open eyes for the invocation, she instructed us to open our mouths for the chant, to keep us more alert and prepare us for learning. Perhaps to open our minds. (that we evacuated yesterday!) To make space for everyone, we put away the mats. Without any mats, she wanted us to experience what it was like in the old days without mats. They didn’t always have mats. The mats have made us lazy, because of the grip of the mat, we don’t work our feet properly, especially our back foo