Sunday, January 6, 2008

Yoga News!

I thought I'd share a little information about the classes here, as my impressions become more informed. we have class on Monday and Tuesday with Prashant (Mr. Iyengar's son) and then wed,thurs, fri, & sat we have class with his daughter, Geeta. sunday is our day off. we've still only had one class with Prashant, so I'll have to talk about that more later. the wednesday and saturday morning classes are for women only, which is interesting. there is a special area of the room for women who are menstruating or feeling unwell, and they have a different sequence. Our first class with Geeta was a terrifying experience - she is sharp and exceedingly demanding, and we were all shaking in our boots. actually, we were all literally shaking by the end of class - from a combination of a fear of being yelled at and the incredible exertion that she can extract from us. the other two classes with her, she was in a more cheery mood, but the intensity of the class did not lessen. I absolutely love it. she is so intensely demanding, and she requires from us that we be demanding of ourselves. Her skill and instruction are so profound. so far, she has only taught us very straightforward postures, but as I mentioned, she can turn them into incredibly new and demanding experiences. even for a simple pose like tadasana, she has details and awareness about every pore of the body - the breath, the mind, the gaze, the flesh of the outer calf, the inner heel, the pinky toe, the "armpit chest", the back ribs, the elbows, the "four corners of the knees", the front thigh-inner thigh-back thigh, the outer hip, and SO ON! It's wonderful. after class, my friends and I talk and try to remember the new and helpful things that we learned - but there are always so many! It's impossible to retain it all!

Not only that, but we all have a little trouble understanding the very strong Indian accent. Some sizeable portion of the instruction goes in one ear and out the other - with zero comprehension. there are also quite a few local ladies in the class, which is nice. and Geeta has a funny habit of just slipping into Marathi (the local language) - sometimes it's hard to know when she's speaking english and when she's speaking marathi!

The practice times are a wonderful opportunity to do our my practice and see which instructions come back to me... which elements from the classes I am retaining and incorporating. after just 4 days of classes, I can see that this is going to be a wonderful experience - with an absolutely incredible quality and quantity of learning.

4 comments:

Orca said...

Hello Dear Amey!

How wonderful to see you in India and all the life and beauty and wonder that surrounds you. The food sounds amazing (except caca baby --what a way to end a meal!)And the yoga--Wow! The four corners of the knee...I'll work on that. I'm glad you are so happy with everything and enjoying it all so much.

As Cynthia said, we had quite a storm here last Friday. Blowing a gale & raining like crazy. 4.2" Friday in dad's rain gauge. Rowland, Sara &I went to the wharf early in the day (before they closed it) & took some video for you. It was like being on a ship at sea in a storm. Giant choppy waves all over, wind blowing spray everywhere, hard to stand up, and the wharf shaking. The sea lions looked like big corks out there bobbing around and through those wild waves.

That night we camped out at dad's. Gathered 'round the fire by candlelight & enjoyed a yummy dinner prepared on the camp stove. The wind was so strong that it blew over some of my kale and broccoli in the garden. Today I staked everything back up and no serious damage.

Yesterday Sara, Dad & I went to Berkeley. Dad & Jon Chase went to the Cal-UCLA basketball game then we had dinner with all the Chases at Martha's house. Very fun!

I'm sending a BIG hug your way.

lots of love & XXs, Laura

jenstern214 said...

Hi Amey,

I really enjoyed seeing your pictures of your travels and fun in India. It was great to see your smiling face, too.
It sounds like you are having an amazing time.

Emma and I have some news! we are moving back to the Santa Cruz area. Emma accepted a new job offer over the break and resigned from her company yesterday! She will work from home now so we can live anywhere. I am so excited. Yay!

I'll check back in soon for some more blog treats.

Namaste,
Jen

Anonymous said...

Dear Amey

We thoroughly enjoyed your report of your travels and experiences in India. It sounds fascinating and I'm sure that you are having a lot of fun being exposed to new experiences and friends. We will look forward to hearing more about your adventures on your return, and in the meantime, lots of love and have a great trip!

Love,
Granddaddy (dictated to Cynthia)

Anonymous said...

Amey, I have been trying to figure out how to leave a comment on your newer postings but there is no Post a Comment link after this posting. It disappeared! :-( Not sure what the dealio is. That may be why you haven't gotten comments lately. I hope to post more comments soon? Love, Carey