Volume 3 Issue 1

January, 2002

From Pune, with Love

"How many times do I have to do this for you?”

That is Mr. Shah. 

I figure he will ‘have to’ until I get it or he gets fed up.  Hard to say which will come first. 

He has been with the Iyengars for 40 years.  He is very knowledgeable with therapeutics and corrections.  He is not very patient.  He has corrected my sitting posture about 4 times already.  In my defense, each correction comes after I fatigue from a previous adjustment.  Mr. Shah comes to me as I create a totally new faulty posture in trying to keep from slumping the way that he has already identified and adjusted.  He thinks I’m slow.  He’s right.  I am beginning to believe that I will never figure out how to sit up straight for longer than 20 seconds.  I consider just holding my breath so I can hold on, to what I believe to be correct, for dear life.  But, that won’t work.  I have positioned myself right in front of Geetaji, who asks us to make “slow, soft, deep inhalations”. 

I don’t mind so much Mr. Shah thinking I’m stupid, but it bothers me that Geetaji is thinking the same thing.  However, in that regard I’m in good company.  The Iyengars are so far advanced from any of their students that there’s only a handful of individuals on the planet that they don’t regard as dull.  It’s not that they keep what they know a secret.  Daily they are reaching out to thick-headed students like me through their teaching and their writing.  BKS Iyengar is in the forefront in the communication of the principles set down by Patanjali.  He worked with students to develop CD’s that detailed a yoga practice and explained the use of yoga in health matters.  He, Geetaji and Prashantiji are prolific in their writing of books and articles.  They read everything and respond to erroneous publications.  The Iyengars have allowed students to record and videotape classes and intensives.  Many are sold at the Institute and even more are available worldwide.  The transcript of the women’s intensive with Geetaji and Guruji was made available by the national associations free of charge.  They do not head a secret society.  They truly want us to know the wonder of yoga.  With all their efforts we remain unintelligent in the ways of yoga.

And, here I sit with Mr. Shah behind me once more.  Good news is, the adjustment is not so extreme.  His touch does not carry the previous frustration.  He sees I’m beginning to get it.  Geetaji has explained something to the entire class and as we try to follow her instructions she says, “Good, I see some of you are getting it.”  This is the closest thing to praise that any of us can expect from the folks at the Iyengar Institute.

For some students this is a daunting proposition:   to only hear about what we do wrong, to know that it is foolish to expect praise.  Not only that, but to be reminded on an almost daily basis how little we gain from our practice because of our inability to pay attention.  We have spent our lives learning from them.  We sacrificed time and money to come  study with them.  Their words do not say that they appreciate our presence.  Rather, they want more.  More effort, more attention, more thought in what we do.  They know we are capable.  And, they are helping us to dig deep.  That’s really the good news.  Because if they felt there was no hope, they would give up and leave us to our own remedies.  The Iyengars, too, have sacrificed their lives for their yoga and their students.  None of the teaching they received was any softer than what we get from them.  This is a tradition.  From stories, it seems that BKS Iyengar came to his knowledge of yoga in spite of his guru, Krishnamacharya, rather than with his assistance.  Still, Iyengar is of the lineage of Krishnamacharya.  All is not love and flowers in this world.  Sometimes the harshest lessons are closest to the soul. 

Now that I’m starting to ‘get it’ the session is over.  I have suffered so trying to be the good student for an hour and a half.  I’m just tasting pranayama, it seems like for the first time, and Geetaji says to lie down in Savasana.  Twenty minutes ago it would have been a relief, now it seems like punishment.  We lie down flat, nothing under our heads.  She explains that this helps us to identify alignment, even while relaxing in Savasana.  (I guess I wasn’t the only person Mr. Shah became frustrated with this day.)  As I lie in Savasana I feel my throat become very soft and little bits of tension drop away from there,  like a child’s building blocks just dropping to the floor.  My breathing has a changed tone.  The tension that seems to always be present in the roots of my thighs melts.  The color behind my eyelids is purple, then bright white. 

BKS Iyengar has said that most of our symptoms of ill health can be alleviated if we manage our stress better.  The key to stress management is the breath.  A prime indication of high or low stress is tension in our throats.  I have been focusing on my throat for over a year.    This release came from pranayama, but it could have as easily come from a standing pose, shoulder stand, or twist.  Our practice is potential recognized.  The Iyengars insist we attend and respond to this vast potential. 

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PRANAYAMA 101

The first lesson in pranayama is observing normal breathing.  After Savasana lying flat, set up in Savasana II:

£    Sit in front of a bolster or folded blankets.

£    Lie back on the bolster.  Place a pillow or folded blanket beneath the head.  The forehead will be sloped towards the chest.

With slow, soft, quiet inhalations and slow, soft, quiet exhalations let the body take on the design of Savasana.

£    Elongate the upper arms down towards the elbows.

£    Let the eyes relax back and settle deep into their sockets.  The eyes move deep, watching the back of the brain.

£    Relax the temples.

£    The abdomen softens.  Relax from the sides of the navel sinking towards the back.

£    Release the groins.

£    Relax the waistline.

£    The forehead recedes downward, right and left sides parting evenly.

£    Align the body and mind from within.

Begin pranayama by observing normal breathing.  Watch the breath, make no changes or adjustments.  Observe each of the following attributes individually as related to the breath in for 5 breaths.  Observation can be made on subsequent breaths, or with rest periods of a breath or two  between observed breaths:

£    Observe duration, depth, velocity of the breath. 

£    Observe how the breath shapes the body.

£    Observe the belly.    What is the shape, depth, duration and velocity of the breath?

£    Observe the chest.  What is the shape, depth, duration and velocity of the breath?

£    Observe the nostrils, cheeks, ears and temples.  What is the shape, depth, duration and velocity of the breath?

Rest. Then repeat the sequence observing each attribute relative to the breath out. 

Relax in Savasana lying flat with no support. 

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