Day 3

Well, what a good night sleep can do for a good attitude and overall energy. The air pollution is really challenging, even with mask on. Both John (Schumacher) and I are of the few wearing masks except for the Chinese. I can feel the tickle in my chest and it’s not good.

That being said, I am trying not to dwell on it.

Class was taught again by Prashant. Since I am not taking notes, as I want to be fully present to absorb his words, it’s difficult to relay the power of the class. One of the main focus of the morning class was using the breath to serve the body and mind. It was a different approach than when I might say, find your breath or relax your breath. He directed us to work first from the breath in the abdomen and see what the impact was on the body and mind. He talked about the importance of breath and agni, fire, and the abdomen being a seat of power in the body. And he noted that three of the main chakras (wheels) that exist are in the abdomen.

Though he did not go into detail, to share with you briefly:
The Root Chakra is called Muladhara, meaing ‘root and groudning’ and yes, it is what grounds you to the Earth.

The Sacral Chakra is called Svadhishana, which translates to ‘the place of the Self’ and gives you your identity.

And, the third is the solar plexus, called Manipura, and it means ‘lustrous gem’. It can be described as a place of personal power, identity, and self confidence.

It’s really all about directing your attention, right? And this class was a really interesting, way to feel your asana through the breath. Again, we did many, many Utthita Trikoṇāsanas. We did Śīrṣāsana, Pārśva Śīrṣāsana, Parivrttaikapada Śīrṣāsana. We also did Sarvāṅgāsana and variations.

I wanted to mention, that we are in quadrants that move around the room, and I am meeting interesting people. Though we don’t have time for talking (of course) during class, it’s nice to be with familiar faces. I hope to meet some of them. There are two Iyengar yogini’s in my group: Marla Apt and Manju Vachher.

The afternoon session included a powerful talk by B.K.S.’s grand-daughter Abhijata. She is an excellent speaker. It was powerful: funny and poignant.

OK, so it is 4 am in California; 5.30 pm in Pune. I am going to have some quiet time.
I hope to make it out for some City life tomorrow

The pictures are: Morning sky from my hotel room; a totally picture perfect Indian truck. Check out the wood door. And on our way to class, there was a group of locals doing yoga!