Yoga

I have to admit I got a little nervous on arrival in Pune when the driver didn’t turn up and I didn’t have a contact number or knew the address of where I was going - standard me! But somehow everything seems to work out and it turned out the driver was just 10 minutes late so I arrived safe in Pune and I’m now on my 8th day of the yoga course.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to write anything about yoga as I’m still fairly new to it, but I thought it is a part of what I’m doing here and I’m learning so I might as well share some of it.

People keep saying to me that I must be really flexible since I’m doing yoga, but believe me I’m not. After playing soccer for 10 years, horse riding for a few years and tried everything from basketball to karate and never stretched properly, I probably don’t have to tell you how stiff I am. But now, after just over a year with regular practice I’m finally seeing improvements in myself; I’ve gone from not being able to touch the floor while standing with straight legs to suddenly put my whole hand on the floor! Of course it doesn’t have to take that long time as we’re all different. But even so it doesn’t really matter because it takes exactly how long it has to take.

The yoga they are teaching here is called Iyengar yoga, and after trying a few different styles I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the way to go (for me anyway). B.K.S Iyengar developed this form of yoga from the classical yoga described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. The special thing about Iyengar yoga is that they are very focused on the technical parts to prevent injuries and to correct body alignment. They use props such as bolsters, blocks, belts, ropes and blankets for you to go in to the positions in the safest possible way; it is designed so anyone can practice, regardless of age, physical strength and flexibility, as every position can be adjusted to your own body. And that’s the whole thing; you really don’t have to be flexible to practice yoga! In fact I remember one of the instructors at the studio at home said that balance, strength and stability are all a lot more important than being flexible, which suits me very well.

I’ve been to classes in India where they pretty much sit on you to get your hip-bones opened, but it seems like in Iyengar yoga you get flexible through building strength and from there you can push your knees down etc. For us who hasn’t grown up sitting cross-legged it will probably not come natural to put our legs in lotus position straight away; it takes time and patience. But then again it feels so much better when you finally can.

My teacher here, Gulnaaz, teaches daily at the Iyengar institute as well as running her own studio (the studio in the pictures above, this is also where I’m having classes with her). Most days it is one-on-one classes but I’ve also been joining the general class and it is so cool because there are people from the age of 12 to around 70. Age really doesn’t matter in yoga!

The great thing about having one-on-one classes is that I really get to work on the things that are specific for my body. Gulnaaz has been practicing yoga for about 20 years and having been trained by B.K.S Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar and Prashant Iyengar she is an absolute perfectionist (in a good way)!  She knows exactly what to look for and she is a fantastic teacher; I have learnt so much in the week I've been here. After my first class I was told I have ‘de-formed’ calf muscles (ha-ha) and uneven shoulders; the way I’ve used my muscles when playing soccer and everything else is apparently the reason for this. Especially my left leg will not do what I want and Gulnaaz is pretty much punching my calf muscles to help me use the muscles in a controlled and correct way. And she notices every single thing I do; if I loose focus on something she is there straight away; “Tighten your calf muscles, roll your thighs in, tailbone down, shoulders down, head in the centre, lengthen your spine!!” Who said yoga is all about stretching and incense?

The Iyengar institute is only 5 min down the road from where I’m staying, and yes I have been walking up and down the road quite a few times in hope of getting a glimpse of the man himself. Not looking creepy at all walking around with my camera….

B.K.S Iyengar will be 94 years old at the end of this year and he’s still doing headstands, shoulder stands and backbends. And he is of course still teaching! The best of all is that he is supposed to be a great person.

This is the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. This guy told me I couldn't take photos, but it was ok as long as he got to be in it. I ended up leaving with his address and a promise of sending him the photo.

It is funny how things sometime turn out; I used to be anti-yoga (and anti-sushi) and thought it was boring and only for wannabes, but after two of my very good friends convinced me to join them for a class it has become one of the things I love the most. I could go on and on about how good yoga is for you, but as many of the yoga teachers I have met say; yoga will come to you when you’re ready for it.