August 17, 2010

The idea of writing more about my class experience at the Iyengar Institute (RIMYI) has been rolling around in my mind and yet I am finding it difficult to settle and put the thoughts down- my reactions are complicated, vary depending on my mood and the specific class. It’s hard to describe the full effect of the classes but here’s an attempt.

The schedule is set up so that there is an assigned asana class once a day, except on Thursdays when we have the regular 2-hour asana class in the morning and a 1.5-hour pranayama (breathing) class in the evening. Every other day, except the rest day, Sunday, we have the asana class in the morning or in the early evening. We also have a 3-hour practice time scheduled, which is optional. Twice a week are women’s only and men’s only classes. I would like to be in the men’s only group because I think those classes are about half the size of the women’s classes!

So, far, I have only been to one scheduled practice session. My apartment has a dedicated practice space and it is quieter and easier to practice here. The one practice session I attended, just this past Friday morning, was a bit chaotic. There are nearly 100 people practicing their own sequences but mats and props are not laid out in the orderly fashion of a class. As a result, space and props were even more at a premium. One person got very upset because her unattended mat was taken, innocently I think, by someone else who was confused about her place. All of this made my own practice challenging. The distractions are everywhere. The interesting thing, though, about that session was the opportunity to observe all these different people doing different or similar poses beautifully regardless of age, shape, gender, etc. It was truly inspiring and I really just wanted to sit and watch everyone instead of working myself. Mr. Iyengar practices along with everyone else doing mostly supported backbends and inversions. He is often teaching his granddaughter and other senior teachers, offering his comments and instructions even when upside down! I am amazed, not just at his practice, but mostly at the quality of his skin. It really seems to glide over the muscles and bones like it is a separate organ.

The classes have ranged from quite easy to very challenging. The first week, I have come to realize, was an introduction and preparation for what was to come. And here, I thought, I had sailed through – well, I did … and then that changed. Week two has been more intense, both physically and mentally. Here are some of the highlights so you can see what I mean:

• Effortless 10min Sirsasana (headstand) where the quality of instruction was such that I could have stayed longer and this is not the easiest pose for me!

• 20min Sarvangasana (shoulderstand). I usually enjoy this pose to some extent, but 20min was long!

• 35min of abdominal work right off the bat at the beginning of a class. I thought I would die and yet we all managed to do it. We started with 35 reps of Urdhva Prasarita Padasana (leg lifts) and just continued from there. Wow!

• A 7am class that started with a 10min Sirsasana (headstand) with Padmasana (lotus) variations right away. That was the warm-up for the backbends that followed. I was not very warmed up, having crawled out of bed with the minimum amount of time needed to get to class on time. That was hard – maybe the hardest class to date!

• In same class, 15 – 20 reps of Urdhva Dandurasana (wheel) with some Viparita Dandasana for a break. For the first hour, we did rapid repetitions to get the mind out of the way. For the second 45min, we held the poses and worked toward a certain mental quietness from the relief of staying in one position. I had a long nap and did restorative poses in the afternoon to recover.

• Working with the feet in standing poses intensely. The detail is fascinating and also frustrating! Sometimes, I just want to move. Plus, my feet don’t respond so well to this ….. lots of work for me at home.

The classes are supposed to be set up with a focus on standing poses in week 1, week 2 forward bends, week 3 backbends and week 4 pranayama (breath work). This is completely out the window. I long for forward bends and we have done very few. We are doing mostly inversions, standing poses and backbends. The seated poses we do are twists and we do several repetitions per side (perhaps 5). I am hoping that week 2 and 3 are more intense and then week 4 will be easier, slower, more integration before we leave. I am not keeping my fingers crossed though!

Before coming to India, I was trying to remember a way to be upside down using ropes (I have a set in at home in my practice space). One morning at the Institute, I saw an Indian woman using the ropes in the way I was trying to remember to warm up for the class. Here are some photos of Oscar and I playing at home with the version. You can be thankful or sad that we don’t have wall ropes in class!

Finally, on a different note, I am in love with the cows – really all the animals I see – but especially the cows. I could take more photos of them but am trying to limit myself. How many cow photos does one need? However, here is a photo of our neighbourhood cows. Cute!

One afternoon as I was heading to class, my rickshaw driver had to stop for 3-4 herds of goats and sheep (with the occasional cow) and their herders. They were walking down the side of a major 6-lane street (think Sherbrooke but wider and with more traffic). On the way home, all were happily eating away in a vacant lot near the apartment. Women and children, with packhorses, joined the herders. They stayed a couple of days and then moved on again. My rickshaw driver said there are nomadic peoples in India who move with their herds. I didn’t know. Sadly, I did not have my camera with me.