Practice yoga 30 times in 30 days

Venkat can home to practise with me.

I pulled out an Alan Finger DVD because I though Venkat would appreciate his teaching technique. Yoga Zone’s Yoga for Conditioning and Stress Release.

Before we started, Venkat asked me to try a technique he was working on. He asked me to get into Halasana. Halasana is not the most comfortable pose to stay in. Venkat asked me to hold the asana. He asked me to breathe deep and long breaths. He asked me to try to observe myself as a spectator rather than experience the pose. To guide me with this he asked me to notice my knees, then my feet, then my palms, then the movement of my abdomen as I breathed. After a while, I indeed felt more of a spectator and the mild discomfort of the holding the pose was alleviated. He then guided me into a Lingasana which is a slightly more difficult version of this pose. Again as observer, it was much easier to hold. Even perfecting form is much easier when you observe yourself rather than live in the pose. Here are pictures of me in the Halasana and Lingasana from a previous practice.

We moved on after this little experiment to the DVD. There was a lot of stress release and a bit of conditioning. I have filed it mentally under suitable after tough cardio or weight training.

Although it is one hour in length the time flew. Many lovely stretches that are not too intense, yet left me feeling like I had received a wonderful massage. Yogiraj Finger leads the best Shavaasanas as compared to any other DVD instructor. Venkat too, was very appreciative of Yogiraj Finger.

I wish I had put more thought into planning my last Yoga practice at this goal. This one was indeed satisfying. As I told Venkat, having him around made the event special. I still wish I had created a more sparkling finale.

Wonderful team of Yogis and Yoginis, I will graduate to the alumni goal now, where I will wait for you to join me. I will visit often to see how you are doing.

Yoga Countdown: 43/43
Days remaining: 0/43

On Friday, Jan 19, it was Rainbeau Mars again, with her Pure Sweat 35 minute practice.

She leads a nice sequence of Vinyasa variations on the Surya Namaskar.

A standard pose included in almost every Power Yoga routine is to lift one leg in the air when in Down Dog as in the pic. (Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana or One Legged Downward Pog Pose.)

Rainbeau does a nice variation after the standard lift to the rear. She makes you lift one leg to the side. It is tougher!

She also does the leg lifts to the rear and the side while in a standing forward bend which I found unusual.

She does the Garland pose Malasana but guides you to do it with feet apart. This is a pose where you are in a complete squat (your bottom just off the floor), with feet flat on the ground, spine erect and hands in prayer Anjali Mudra. Feet apart is more achievable, as compared to the full pose which is done with feet together.

Yoga is even more wonderful than I thought. I have enough resources and tools in my collection to do Yoga twice every day and still have tremendous variety. I have not even started with free Yoga podcasts yet. I wish I could do Yoga twice every day!

Yoga Countdown: 41/43
Days remaining: 2/43

....I did no Yoga.

Today I made up.

In the morning I practised with Alan Finger, Founder of Yoga Zone. He led me and two other Yoginis who were on his side of the TV through Yoga for Flexibility and Tone. This was my first class with Yogi Finger. He is superb. If you want to perfect your asanas, this is the DVD to pick. Did you know, for instance, that on Warrior 2 you need to shift weight to the little toe side of the foot that is facing forward (not the foot that is facing in the direction of your outstretched hands, the other one)? It causes a subtle body realignment. Yogi Finger is the next best thing to a live class with a good Guru. This practice takes 1 hour. While it is not as challenging as 108 sun salutations and has no unattainable poses, it is no stroll in the park either.

On Yoga Zone DVDs, one demonstrater always seems to show modifications while the other does the full version. I wonder how many arguments it takes to decide who gets to show off the full poses.

I just finished gentle Yoga with Rainbeau Mars a few minutes ago. Yoga for Tranquility I thought of Ooty because this is just 30 minutes and has some gentle hip opening. Good as a post run stretch when hectic Yoga seems too much.

Yoga Countdown: 40/43
Days remaining: 3/43

I figured that muscle soreness post-weight-training and post-Yoga are quite different. Weight training makes me stiff and very sore in specific body parts. Yoga makes me feel loose, yet mildly achy all over.

Who picks Power Yoga the day after 108 Sun Salutations? A sucker for punishment Yogini, that’s who. Yoga Zone’s Power Yoga For Strength and Endurance with Lisa Bennett.

Have you ever played the game where kids sit around, and one says “I went to the market and bought article of choice” and the next kid tags on another article…and so on?

All those who said “Yes”, proceed directly to next para. Those who said “No”, read on right here. You missed a game that could have been useful when you had your fill of squabbling with siblings and driving parents nuts on long car journeys. Let me explain the game. Assume all of us in this team are playing. Ooty goes first. She says “I went to the market and bought a Cardio Coach workout.” Next in line is EBear. He has to remember what Ooty bought and tag on someting of his own. He might say “I went to the market and bought a Cardio Coach Workout and a Snuggly Teddy that cures insomnia?” Leeann is next – “I went to the market and bought a Cardio Coach Workout, a Snuggly Teddy that cures insomnia and the Bhagvad Gita to keep my Upanishad company.” Got it? We could keep playing, but since this is about Yoga, you ought to join the rest at the next para.

This DVD starts with (Oh No, not again!)a Sun Salutation with a Chair Pose added to the end. Then the whole sequence, except Twists to the left and right with hands in prayer are added to the Chair Pose. Then the whole thing again with Warrior 1 thrown in, between the flow. Next repeat, add Warrior 2 after Warrior 1. And so on. The flow is fast. A move for every breath, except for the new pose, which is held for a whole 5 breaths, often more. In the next flow, that pose becomes fast and the next new one is slow.

One part of me wished we could get the hell out of this market. The other was greedy for the next article. And the next article never disappointed. My muscles were protesting, but I could not stop. I was so inspired that I applied myself to doing every pose with all the effort I could muster.

Then (Oh my God!) Lisa asks to repeat the entire sequence in the same shopping an article at a time style, leading with the other leg.

That takes a whole 40 minutes.

But no. Not done yet. A lovely balance Vinyasa that is usually easy, but seems tough as hell because the muscles are so fatigued follows. I could not apply myself as well as I wished to, because I was quite fatigued.

Next Crow Pose or Bakaasana (I fell over trying and had no time to try again because Lisa moved on), Bridge Pose with one leg raised (mine refused to budge upwards after standard bridge). Finally relaxing stretches (Aaah felt good) and Shavaasana.

One person demonstrates an easier modifed version throughout the Vinyasa flow. The other person demonstrates the full-pose version.

This was my first attempt (and there will be many, many more, God willing) with this DVD. Especially if the preceeding day did not entail 108 Sun Salutations.

Yoga Countdown: 38/43
Days remaining: 5/43

Today is Pongal, the local Harvest Festival.

Venkat and Balaji came over. Venkat suggested practising 108 (54 sets) Surya Namaskars. 9 is considered an auspicious number by Hindus (108 adds up to 9). There are 108 beads in the Yoga Mala or rosary, so one Surya Namaskar for each.

We rolled out our Yoga mats on the terrace and practised under the stars. It was a lovely windy evening. Often the breeze would whip our Yoga mats off position. We did the simpler flow (from Chaturanga, drop to the floor, and do Cobra rather than Up-Dog). No breaks except for quick sips of water.

It took as about 45 minutes to finish. EBear is absolutely right. Sun Salutations are aerobic exercise! We did the Shoulder Stand and Plough Pose and a few gentle stretches after we finished. Finally Shavaasana and some Ujjayi Breathing.

Venkat read a few passages from Swami Vivekananda’s Raja Yoga. I was amazed at the references to physics to describe the effects of Yoga.

108 Surya Namaskars is a traditional Yoga practice. Although I do not understand the full significance, I am glad I had the this opportunity thanks to Venkat, during my 43 in 43.

Yoga Countdown: 37/43
Days remaining: 6/43

Venkat and Balaji came home for Yoga.

My fascination with Yoga (as is the case with my fascination with almost anything) was inspired by the Feline. I would practise with her on visits to her city.

One of the first DVDs I practised to, with her, prior to formally learning Yoga, is Bryan Kest’s Power Yoga 1: Energize.

I picked it for this session.

This is Yoga for fitness. The nice thing about it is that every pose is accessible and yet very challenging (Bryan holds poses until your muscles burn from the isometric contraction). There is not even Chakrasana, Bakasana or any of the first few awesome poses a person learns in a live class. There are countless plank-Chaturanga-Up-Dog-Down-Dog flows that make triceps, shoulders and pectorals work. It feels almost aerobic because it elevates heart rate with high-powered Vinyasa. It does not feel peaceful to me like Rodney Yee’s Yoga (which manages to be both challenging and conducive to the mind-connection).

Seeing Balaji trying to cope reminded me of how I followed along with the Feline. I would try to emulate but things would move too fast. She and Bryan were onto something new before I could even get into a pose. Getting even one third of the poses was an achievement.

Not having learnt the exact Asanas (foot placement, hand placement, nuances like whether to point or flex the foot, alignment, little tricks on how to move a body part by just a few inches to make an extreme looking bend accessible) makes Yoga seem far more challenging and inaccessible than it really is. Learning Asanas in a class makes them instinctive. Vinyasa is so much easier when the Asanas and breathing come naturally.

Bryan Kest is a talker. Sigh! Like Baptiste, his routines are so good when I am in the mood for exercise-Yoga, that I can overlook the talking.

Yoga Countdown: 36/43
Days remaining: 7/43

Venkat and Balaji came home to practise Yoga.

I pulled out Ravi Singh and Ana Bret’s Kundalini Yoga DVD – Yoga Beauty Body because it is so different from the style Venkat teaches. He thought there were some very good ideas, but I think his enthusiasm is less than mine for this style of Yoga.

I suggested some more familiar Yoga next and pulled out Rainbeau Mars Pure Power. She does some interesting Vinyasa like a one-legged Chaturanga that I wanted Venkat to see. Venkat seemed far more satisfied with this practice.

I saw the un-Yogic side to Venkat for a brief moment. I wish I had clicked a pic. I showed him the DVD cover of Yoga Beauty Body (of the lovely Ana Bret) before we started our practice. Venkat exclaimed. He had no words. But if anyone wants to know how to pronounce an exclamation mark, they should contact Venkat.

Conclusion: Venkat is professionally impressed with Ms Mars and could not help being momentarily impressed for reasons that had nothing to do with Yoga with Ms Bret. :)

When we finised, we shut off Ms Mars Shavaasana. Venkat guided our Shavaasana.

After Shavaasana we meditated with a candle. We shut the lights and sat around a lit candle. Venkat asked us to stare without blinking at the candle. After about a minute of this staring he asked us to shut our eyes and try to “See” the flame.

Both Balaji and I interpreted this as “remember and visualize the flame”. I shut my eyes and saw nothing for a few seconds. Before I could start visualizing…the flame appeared! Between my brows. Deeper and further than than the actual flame. More white, not flickering like the candle’s flame. I had no expectation of this! Each time my focus wavered, the flame would disappear, but it would come back when I concentrated.

Physical Yoga and meditation improve ability to concentrate. This may not be new to you. I was not interested in this actively when I started Yoga. I took it up because I enjoyed it when I followed along with my sister, for reasons I could not explain to myself.

I am finally reading, listening to Venkat and discovering -Coordinating breathing with movement, getting into and holding asanas, balance poses – all these force the mind not too let itself be distracted, to concentrate. This is why Physical Yoga is therapeutic to stressed executives and people with ADD.

Meditation takes this to the next level. Here, you do not have Physical Yoga to help you still and focus the mind. Physical Yoga improves your ability to still you body and hold it in the right posture and therefore prepares you for extended meditation.

And finally, you are ready to use the control that you have developed to still body and mind and use that concentration in the quest of the spiritual.

If you knew all this already – I apologize.

I was vaguely aware, but it is coming together for me now. I could not help sharing.

Yoga Countdown: 35/43
Days remaining: 8/43

...practise Yoga with Venkat, at 7:00 pm on Jan 12, 2007.

Arumugam, a Commando with the City Police force was to join us.

Until he arrived, Venkat did a crash-read to me of the Katha Upanashid book that he had gifted me for the New Year. He skipped pages, reading out the passages that he thought were important. We finished the book in 20 minutes. Here is the essense of why Venkat wanted me to read the book:

-> The body, the organs, these are not the Self.

-> The Self is beyond death.

-> Pleasure and pain is like man’s body. Transient.

-> Man can spend his life seeking goodness or seeking pleasure. He makes choices each day and often these entail choosing between the good and the pleasureable. The man who consistently chooses pleasure, misses the point of life.

-> To recognize the true Self, to understand the true meaning of existance, man must first re-orient to consistently choosing goodness. This is the first step to getting to know the Self.

-> When man recognizes his Self he learns his identity and is freed. A state that is both joyous and beyond joy.

-> Yoga is a tool in the search of the Self.

-> To practise Yoga without practising goodness is to miss the point of Yoga.

-> Physical Yoga is just the first step. Before man conquers the mind, he needs to conquer the body. Once man can control his body, he can begin to meditate. Focus on his mind. And then beyond…to find his Self.

Eleonor, I found out why Venkat calls me a good person. He thinks I try to choose goodness. I try. But I fail so often. Today was special for me. This is not new to me. This is the same philosophy that I have heard since childhood. Having the Katha Upanishid read at break neck speed to me by Venkat, who was too impatient to wait for me to make time to do it myself, renewed my commitment to goodness. The will to try harder when short-sighted choices seem tempting is stronger.

Hinduism can be a religion – praying to Hindu Gods, living by Hindu codes of conduct, and practising Hindu rituals.

Or Hinduism can be beyond religion. Just a philosophy. The Upanishad says that when we recognize our Self we realize that race, religion, color – nothing separates men.

We did practise physical Yoga after express Upanishad. Arumugam arrived just as Venkat was finishing.

Arumugam is in the National Police swimming team. It was his second Yoga class. I asked him why he was interested in Yoga. He replied it was to work on his flexiblility because he was getting stiff. He is not bulky, yet looks like he is made of stone rather than flesh – his body is rock solid. This seemed a fair enough goal.

When we started with asanas my jaw dropped. He bent effortlessly and into the complete pose in every direction – forward, backward, sideways. He calls himself stiff? This was just his second class?

When Arumugam re-attains his desired level of flexibility he is going to be awesome.

I asked him if he would pose for Yoga pictures with us for my blog (43T is too complex to explain) and he agreed with a shy smile. Arumugam was much better off camera. I must get him to pose again in Asanas that show off his flexibility and balance.

Yoga Countdown: 34/43
Days remaining: 9/43

I will practise Yoga at 7:00 pm at the gym with Venkat.

He was covered recently by a leading Indian magazine. I’ve attached the write-up.

My body asked for gentle Yoga today, to have time to recover from my workouts of the past few days.

I pulled out another Yoga Practice that I have never done before – Linda Arkin’s Yoga for Relaxation & Rejuvenation.

I liked Linda’s Yoga for Flexibility. I had done this during my 43 in 43 a few days ago. It was not challenging but very enlightening on form and technique.

This one I found too gentle. It did have its moments. Linda does an interesting triceps and shoulder stretch. She starts with with the palms facing up and fingers interlaced just a bit above the head. Then she draws one hand down behind her back with the other, with the opposite elbow reaching down almost to waist level to the side of the body. She also does some interesting facial stretches. She opens her eyes and mouth wide. Next she scrunches up her face and nose like a piggy. She is very good looking. Very few people would look as good in these face asanas(?) When she finishes she says “Dont worry. I wont tell anyone how you looked.”

I am glad for the “Use all DVDs in my Yoga Library” rule that I set for myself during 43 in 43. Although I dont see myself doing this one again in a hurry, I am glad I am getting acquainted with everything in the collection.

Yoga Countdown: 33/43
Days remaining: 10/43