monday 11/9/09

I'm going to the dentist tomorrow, the one Lois S recommended, Dr. Pingale. Doris and I went to the famous batik shop today and on numerous errands. I am having a tea party on Sat and I ran all over town with Doris looking for a good bakery. Ordered an egg free chocolate cake for the vegans. The cook is making rice pudding and some sort of carrot snack for the health food folk who don't want cake and are on a lactose free diet.

Prashant's class was good today and was recorded by Francois and Marie. More emphasis on uddyana banda in all poses.
Unfortunately, there were a couple of brown-outs. Prashant was very cute in his Marlon Brando undershirt (Re: A Streetcar Named Desire). Prashant says that most of us practice sincerely and honestly, but we are deusional about what yoga is. He says we are like a monkey that is given a precious diamond and pearl neclace. The monkey bites the neclace and the precious jewels scatter and are lost because we are ignorant. I would have preferred the analogy of a child rather than a monkey, for a child has the potential to grow and learn and to someday be capable of complex thought. Does he think there is no hope for us? And it would be nice if P told us "what yoga really is" rather than just saying we are ignorant over and over. We already know that! Students need a question and answer session and a couple of lectures in the format of a university class with terms like "Krias" clearly explained and perhaps written on a board. Students also need the opportunity to take notes if Prashant really wants them to understand what he is saying. A simple hand-out would be good as well. As it is, I suspect he is correct in saying many students don't understand.

I do wish I could have snuck into Geeta's class as wel today, but that is a total no-no. Word is she was ON FIRE tonight and taught a brilliant twist class focusing on parivritta parsvakonasana in stages. Drat. I will purchase the dvd and hope it works.

When Guruji came up the stairs and entered the practice room this morning I knelt and touched his feet. He paused a moment to accomodate. He taught again today and had Abby doing Sirsasana and Sarvangasana, pointing out how the bandhas or locks travel from the shoulders through thr ankles at each joint and lift the whole body up taking pressure off the neck. This is congruent with Prashant's lesson about the krias. Abbi's forearms were inside a very narrow box in both poses.

Guruji is a marvel. His skin tone is good and the backs of his legs are toned and muscular. Today Guruji did eka pada setu banda sarvangasana and I had cleverly situated myself so I could see the backs of his legs. They are strong and his skin seems to glow. He is living proof that Patanjali's promises are true. His chest is just as amazing as in the pictures I have of him when he was in his 60's. I like to walk behind Guruji to the prop room and look at his feet and legs when he is in his poses. I can make several trips between my poses to get a prop while Guriji is in ONE pose. He stays in sarvangasana and the backbends forever. I have watched him do backbends on the horse, the tall stool (which I can barely manage for 3 minutes) and other set-ups for long periods of time. Really , I could just sit and watch him for hours, but I have my own practice. He wears tight white pants and a thin gold string around his waist. Did I mention he puts 100 lbs of weight on his thighs in dandasana? There are special pads for the weights to rest on. He also binds his thighs tightly just above the knees with wooden dowels and straps. His cough is almost gone now.

I'm now fond of doing sarvangasana ussing the horse like Geeta and Guruji. It takes care of the pelvic issue. It's nice to do a whole practice of variations of sarvangasana and a few forward bends. One thing I've noticed is both Prashant and Geeta do many repitions of the same poses in their classes and long holds but not so long as to exhaust. If a person is sweating profusely and straining in the sequence, something is not right and it's probably that the krias are not being taught. Rajiv also emphasizes this and at Yoganga we practivrd pranayama and the lifting of the anal spincter in our poses, but never in the US except Karin O'Bannon classes.

Guruji practices more than 3 hours a day. When I leave after the 3 hours I'm allowed in the practice room, he is still going strong. He walks up the steep concrete stairs to the practice room unaided. As a person who did not have parents who provided an example of healthy aging, I look at my teacher and see a different path. The paradigm is shattered and I have chosen a new perception of reality. It's one of the great freedoms of being an adult. Since I've seen it with my own eyes, it's real and true to me. I don't have to see old age as giving up physically, having a round back, swolen joints, and giving in to pain and depression.

L