After a pranayama class I feel like an unreliable witness. I know things were said and we did some breathing but it all seems as slippery as an eel. I can’t hold on to much.
After the invocation the third row was instructed to hand in rope Sirsasana and the rest of the class was in supta baddhakonasana. Prashant talked about using the breath for the skin, the flesh, the bones, muscles, sense organs, etc. The rap continues even in these long hold quiet poses. My take away today was the topic of using the breath to find your purpose.
Somehow he got on the topic of animals today. Something about how animals think and how we should try and figure out how (or what) animals think. He compared a cow and a buffalo and a bull and the eyes of a cow and how they are different from the eyes of another animal. He segued into talking about the difference between cats and dogs. He couldn’t understand why anyone would have a cat for a pet. “Cats are scoundrels” (he tends to use the word scoundrel frequently) and you can tell they are up to no good just by watching then slink into the kitchen. They KNOW they are up to no good! It got a chuckle. I suspect there are many people in India who have similar feelings. Cats are far and few between here. Dogs? There are a bazillion of them. Even Prashant seems to get lost in his musings. He will pause and say “Anyway”, regroup, change the subject, and go on.
For what it’s worth, here’s the sequence. He talked about udyana during all of these poses and encouraged us to change our arm positions in the supine poses.
Hang in Sirsasana
Supta baddhakonasana
Supta swastikasana
Swastikasana
Supported savasana
Flat savasana
