Well, we survived our first week of classes. I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment We have a practice session this afternoon then the Insitute is closed on Sunday. On our day of rest, we may venture out, via rickshaw to FabIndia and Crossroads bookstore.


Last night everyone had class with Geeta this morning we had another ladies only class with Geeta. She worked a lot with the supta padangusthasana poses and linking that to the standing poses. It is very difficult to describe how awesome she is. She is so focused on the the present moment and the larger context of the present moment that you can't help but be brought along at least a bit with her. She has helped me a good bit with my shoulders and the chronic grip in my trapezius. it is a good question, "why are you so tense?" then she just touched me and I did relax.....

trying to do everything right creates its own tension, She did have a wonderful way of talking about how one might do in such a way that it doesn't create extra grip. When we were in sirsasana, headstand, she was talking about the ekagrata state, one pointed consciousness. So one could try to do headstand via the checklist, press, down the forearms, lift the shoulders, trapezius up, collarbones broad, tail bone in etc, or one could just try to become taller. If that is the single point, becoming taller than all the little instructions are part of that single stream.

I tend to get stuck with what is stuck.

Joe and the other New York people invited us to a party tonight. So that should be fun. A party in Pune!!

So Henry asks "What about the food?"

My good friends, Lenore and Henry, H.W.'s parents, want to know about the food. First, let me say I love Indian food. The first time I had it was on a trip to London with my Dad when I was sixteen. We were walked around jet lagged and tired and this amazing smell captivated us and drew us into this Indian restaurant. Second, I don't get to eat it all that frequently in that I don't cook much now a days (I know how to cook, cook well, even, I just don't cook) and I don't ever cook Indian food and well, Waco has no Indian food except once a year during the Arts Festival downtown. Third, I am really looking forward to the opportunity to get tired of Indian food. It hasn't happened yet.

We received a list of restaurants from experienced Pune travellers before we left (thanks to all those who provided a list). We did have an Indian Breakfast Buffet in Mumbai the first morning. There was some sort of spicy soup and sweet flavored something that resembled couscous. Also, there were hash browns and eggs and toast. So far so good. We went out the first night in Pune right after checking in at the institute. The restaurant closest to our flat and highly recommended by Randy was Hotel Ambience. Unfortunately, the restaurant was under renovation. This was highly disappointing, particularly given that it was raining! So we walked a couple blocks further to the Hotel Ambassador, which is not on anyone's list, despite its close proximity to the Chetak. We decided to give it a try. The first night we had paneer in masalana sauce and a vegetable curry, and fabulous garlic naan. We came back for lunch the next day, more naan, and we got an excellent vegetable briayni and (a spicy rice dish) and a dumpling dish that was sort of sweet with a green sauce. and then the next day we went back again. Tandoor veggies, a rice paulo, and excellent veggie raita. And of course naan.

So basically, we have gone to one restaurant. It is close by and good (this is early Frosolono childhood samskara, find one thing you like and stick with it!). We did see many of the highly recommended restaurants on our perilous journey down FC road yesterday and perhaps we will take a rickshaw to one of them some day.

But really the most noteworthy thing about the food is that we have a most excellent cook, Bebe. We actually haven't been out to eat since Tuesday when Bebe started cooking. For the amazing rate of 750 rupees a month she will cook our food, for another 100 shop for us, and another 150 do all the dishes! (more on that in a bit!)

The first day she cooked sag paneer, rice and dahl. I can't eat much spinach due to an inherited allergy... but the paneer part was great and the dahl was fabulous. Day two we had, peas and paneer, rice and roti (indian equivalent of a wheat tortilla, Day three we had a spicy okra dish, rice, dahl, and roti. Day four we had subji (mung beans) very spiced and yummy, rice, dahl, and roti.

She has the food ready at noon when we get back from class or practice and we've just been eating leftovers of lunch with supplemental snacks (like these yummy crispy fried treats from the local swati mart and extra roti).

We had extensive conversation with Karishma, our land lady about arranging all this the day we checked into the flat but some of the logistics didn't really get conveyed (Karishma is Greek, married to a German and though her English is excellent, it is accented and she is very excitable (She is somehow like a combination of Greek and Indian) and we were extremely jet lagged and perhaps not hearing everything correctly. Also, since we are "friends of Randy" I think she thought we knew more about the process than we did. But the upshot was she did not tell us (or we did not understand) that we needed to leave money Bebe money to actually buy the food. So poor Bebe had been buying our food out of her 2000 rupee a month salary (this is like 50 dollars a month) obviously we felt quite horrible about this and now we have the system worked out!

Christina wrote a long note about Geeta's pranayama class last night. I can only echo how stunning it was. The only thing I might add is that she talked a lot about the receptivity of the mind to learn. And her ability to pick people out of the room to illustrate what she wants us to see is almost magical. I know it isn't magic at all, but her ability to make us see a small sliver of the vastness of what she sees is humbling.

We had another great practice session this morning. We have been taking Mary and Eddy's advice and working on the class sequences in practice. With some supplement as we have three hours to practice and the sequences are two hours. It is fascinating watching Mr. Iyengar with his Indian students and also watching them teach and help each other. It is also great how public the practice is. In America, practice seems so much a private individual thing so much of the time. (I do practice with Christina and Devon and with the Dallas people from time to time, but this experience really makes me see the value of opening up/ sharing my practice time with my own students. Not sure how I will implement this yet. We'll see. Also, just seeing all the ways that people use the props in the institute. It is like being in a candy store! "Oh that looks great!. That would feel fabulous! Wow. I wonder what that's for?"

Near Death Experiences - Why the chicken really crossed the road

I kid you not. Crossing the street in Pune is not to be taken lightly. For a variety of reasons, needing a phone card, getting money changed, needing supplies of various sorts, and a break in the rain, led Christina and I to venture out of our immediate neighborhood and down Fergeuson College Road. I won't be doing that again any time soon. There is so much traffic, so little side walk, it is slow going. Almost every step involves some peril, some peril is minor like a wobbly sidewalk stone, other peril is major like an oncoming rickshaw or bus. At one point, we had no idea how we were going to cross the street and finally we saw an Indian woman making a break for it, literally, she was weaving between streams of traffic and we just stayed one step behind her and made it across.

One of the five obstacles that we need to overcome in yoga practice is fear of death, abinhivhesa. well, the pune streets are good practice in confronting that particular obstacle.

Somehow, I was prepared for the yoga to be gruelling on many levels, pyschologically or physically, I was not prepared for how much energy it takes just to navigate getting around here. The yoga is totally worth it, it is just funny what you worry about.

This morning we had a lovely practice time. b.k.s. walked right by our mats on his way in. That was thrilling. So far the practice hall times are my favorite thing about being here. we have pranayama class tonight. i'm looking forward to that as my nerves really need to be soothed.

it is hard to believe we've been gone a week! Every day has so many events and things to experience...it seems like I've been gone far longer.

What is the outfit of the mind?

Don't have time to post much. We are off to our afternoon practice session. we plan to do a restorative sequence. Geeta's women's class this morning was great, but a lot of hard work in the standing poses. I learned so much. She helped me with getting my shoulder action better and said, "Doesn't that feel better?" And I said. much better.

Christina and I have a cook with the flat and it is really great to come back from class or practice and have food ready.

the sun continues to shine today. Jet lag is pretty intense still, but it is getting better.

Last night we had our first Tuesday evening with Prashant Class. It was pretty much a philosophy lecture interspersed with triangle pose. He talked about the importance of having a diagnostic approach to our practice both in a global sense and a local sense. My favorite thing he said, is the title quote, "what is the outfit of the mind? we put our bloomers on and roll out the mat, but what is the sign that the mind is ready.

christina is writing more about it christina-india2007.blogspot.com

Some Sunshine in Pune!!

If I am ever advising people about what to bring to Pune during monsoon season, I would say an umbrella is not enough. (and one of those clear bubble umbrellas that were popular when I was a kid would be great). Galoshes, and a rain suit would not be out of order. Boy does it rain and rain hard!. finally, for the first time since we have been here, the sun came out and has stayed out. Heartened by this event, we walked around some this morning before practice and tried to find the grocery store, MORE, that was rumored to have more western items. We weren't sure quite where it was, so ended up turning around and heading toward the Institute, the institute is this absolute oasis of peacefulness in Pune. Just entering the gates is calming. It was still sunny after practice, so we tried to get to the grocery again, ended up not taking the right street but finally found it. What an ordeal! navigating the traffic here is a life threatening experience, first there is the opposite side of the road phenomenon, second the number of bikes, rickshaws, busses, all going at different rates of speed, honking constantly. Avoiding puddles, walking on and off the side walk, all while holding an umbrella, well, let's just say it is exhausting. The grocery store was not really all it was reputed to be and then there was this absolutely epic line, which is a posting in its own right, another time. A brief note about the yoga. Last night was our first class with Geeta. It was amazing. The "Real Deal" as Dean Lerner remarked to Christina after class. It is standing pose week. we worked a lot on grounding the femur bone and the head of the humerus. It is really fascinating seeing an Iyengar teach and comparing that to all the 'rules' of Iyengar yoga I've assimilated through the certification process. there is a link, but it is sort of like Plato's theory of forms, we are just participating in an image or a replica of what is most real... I was also struck by another connection with my Plato studies as I reflected more on Prashant's talk yesterday. Socrates wanted to teach philosophy, maybe not as a subject, but as a process as a way of life, and his students often focused more on him, becoming "Socratified" so to speak. After class, Christina and I came home wrote down the sequence and practiced it again this morning. It is great to have the time to devote to my practice in this way. Today in the practice hall, Guruji started off with the backward bending pose over the ceiling ropes. The Vanity Fair picture, live! He spent a lot of time working with his grand daughter and that was a fascinating process to observe. In all, I'm having a great time!

the first practice session

Well, one practice session at the Institute and I already feel it was well worth the trip over. We arrived for the first practice session, a little apprehensive, but everyone else, at least all the first timers and there are quite a few of us were in the same boat. It really helps just to introduce myself to people and break the ice. Anyway, we were milling about figuring out where everything was and we were all getting ready to go up in the practice hall and then were told to turn around and go back. Christina and I tried to go to the back and be unobtrusive because it really wasn't clear to us what was going on. It turns out it is Prashant's birthday today and everyone gathered around the desk where he was sitting and Christina and I ended up right in the front row!!! several people gave short speeches in his honor and talked about the privilege of being "PRASHANTIFIED." he insisted that he was after making us "SELFIFIED." He gave a short talk on the importance of learning the subject of yoga. He is a teacher of yoga, not a guru. He teaches the subject learning the subject of yoga prepares us to be worthy of a guru-sisha relationship. His humility was really remarkable. (Christina is writing a long blog about the speech, so I won't go into a lot of detail), but it was such an auspicious beginning for our study here. We are here to learn. It really helped me let go of some of the nervous worry about whether I would put my stuff on the right shelf or not!

After the celebration, we we went up into the practice hall. Guruji was there practicing, Stephanie Quirk, Dean Lerner, Everyone was just there, doing their poses. My overwhelming feeling about being there was one of serenity, peace, calmness. It was nice to be able to take it all in without being in a class. It was also very grounding after all the travel.

anyway, it was wonderful. we had a great tandoori lunch and I'm going to sign off because the power keeps flickering in and out.

More details about the first 72 hours in India

THE JOURNEY OVER

Really and truly the flights over were not nearly so bad as I was prepared for. The flight to Zurich was timed so that we slept at normal bed time, or sort of sleep, my legs kept falling asleep, more than I did it seems like. In Zurich, we got some great chocolates, an excellent expresso and croissant, but really only had like an 1.5 hour layover. The flight to India was a little longer, but still I slept a good bit. (mom and dad, thanks for the loan of the neckpillows, they were great). They fed us a lot on both flights.

IN MUMBAI.

The first thing I noticed about being in India is just how white I am. In race theory they talk a lot about the invisibility of whiteness, that white people or whomever the dominant group is, don't experience themselves as racially marked because they are the majority. Well, understanding that conceptually is one thing, experiencing the absence of invisibility is quite another. Also, there are not so many women in public, so being a white woman... I stand out. Two white women who look exactly alike really stand out.... There is a separate line in customs for unaccompanied women, so that was nice.... I think I wrote abit about the hotel last blog. It was nice enough, no hot water, Christina has a picture of me trying to take a shower without actually getting in the shower. I think it was good to spend the night in MUMBAI and regroup.

MUMBAI TO PUNE.

Vijay's Taxi picked us up in a Hummer or a close equivalent, which is good, because boy was the water high. People were wading up to their necks in places. We made slow progress, as Sathish the driver says, "problem for small cars, not for big cars, just be careful." Another great line courtesy of him, "Mumbai has too much water." Indeed, The ride took about an hour longer than usual due to the rains, I was pretty carsick. Once we got to Pune, we went to the Hotel Chetak. This is sort of THE gathering ground for Iyengar Yogis and Yoginis. Originally, we were going to stay here, because it was easy to arrange, but Randy was pretty insistent that we not and he arranged the flat for us. The Chetak did take us in for the night which was good, given that Pune in Monsoon season would not be a great place to be homeless. Last night, we sent a request for more info about protocol in India and at the Insitute to Mary and Eddy and Randy,,, ate some good India food and went to bed early (10 and woke up around 4). It is super noisy here. That is the biggest thing I notice besides the whiteness, how noisy and chaotic it is, in this country that developed the practices for inner stillness.

CHETAK to KARISHMA'S FLAT.

After doing some asana this morning, we ate toast and coffee (and some swiss chocolate) in the lobby. We met some nice canadians who hooked us up with the how to survive in pune guide that the BKS Iyengar Society of UK published, walked around trying to find the flat, finally started asking people, which facilitated the process greatly. Karishma's flat is wonderful. It is on the second floor and has nice big open windows. We've arranged for a cook for the month also. After that, we ate Indian food again and almost forgot we were here to do yoga....Just a lovely little vacation in Pune. Luckily, we got our class schedule yesterday as the institute is closed. We have practice times in the morning and then classes in the evening, except for wednesday and saturday when the times are reversed. We have the same schedule which is a relief. I was really amazed at how many questions we were asked at the Institute about who we study with and for how long.

Right now, we are at the Internet cafe, waiting out the rain. boy is it rainy. Reminds me of the days and days of rain in the Happy Valley....

Mary, Eddy, and Randy, answered our pleas for additional information on tipping and class protocol. Randy had some great advice applicable to all life circumstances, "the main thing is just adapt and don't let things bog you down." Or something to that effect.

Well, that's it for now.