On behalf of RIMYI, Prashant is in Delhi today receiving the award for the outstanding contribution to the development of yoga. So his class was cancelled and we took The opportunity to go to the intermediate class on the second floor with Souchma. She is a short, stock, strong looking woman with direct and clear instructions and a kindness and
I thought I would write some of my general impressions of India through the lens of the senses. There are so many differences between this country and mine. It is hard to know where to start. I will start with smells. When there are as many people in one place as there are here, it takes some doing to move
Prashant continued his “exhale further and further” rap again today along with teaching from the back body. He encouraged us to bring awareness to the back and spine and specifically become aware of how the poses change when changing position or awareness. For example, sitting in swastikasana on the floor, how does the back feel? Sitting in swastikasana on a
After a taking a walk and practicing yoga, Lorene and I decided to go to the movies. We looked up the theaters close to our flat and looked at what was playing. Thank you Google Maps and the internet for making this so easy. We found two theaters within walking distance and settled on seeing Victoria and Abdul. At the
Suneeta came to class today with the same “If looks could kill” look in her eyes. If I think she is looking at me, I pretend I don’t notice, be casual, and keep looking. Frankly, her look is intimidating. There was some scolding/ridiculing today but less than other days and there were more helpful teaching points and specific instructions that
The store Anokhi was recommended for more fitted Indian clothing and bedding. So Lorene callled Nana, our English speaking rickshaw driver, to take us over to that side of town. The traffic going over was thick and slow on this bright sunny afternoon. We stopped at Happy Heart to drop off Lorene’s bracelet and tow ring so they could make
I can’t say much about tonight’s pranayama class except that it was nice. I enjoy pranayama, have a daily practice and know that it is one of the things that keeps me on and even keel. Rajlaxmi must’ve spent the entire day at the Institute. She taught the 6 am pranayama class, the morning asana class I was in at
Rajlaxmi (certainly not sure if I have that right) is demanding, brusk, and high (sometimes scattered) energy, rapidly firing instructions in a tone of voice that sounds somewhat disapproving. As much as I don’t care for the delivery, it was a fun, challenging, and good sequence. The class was full, more than 70 people in the room, so there was
“Exhale further and further and further and further.” Prashant continues to concentrate his instructions on the exhalation. At one point he stopped to tell us that lemons have different chemical reactions when combined with other elements. Squeeze a lemon into cold water, wam water, coffee, cottage cheese and you get a different chemical reaction, a different affect. As humans we
Suneeta was alternately scolding and direct again today. One of the regular locals to the class describes all of the Iyengars as “fiery”. She obviously knows her stuff, although, in my opinion, the whole chastising and name calling gets in the way of the delivery. It seemed like there were fewer people in class. In fact, before we began she