Treat the Individual

So, a little more on stuff I learned at KYM in August (quelle longtemps!)

One day, in an applications of yoga class, someone asked what you would do if a thyroid patient couldn't do sarvangasana, since that is the best pose for normalising thyroid function. The teacher, with a horrified look on her face, replied that you should Never. Never. Never. Treat the symptom. You treat the individual, and just moving the body in any kind of asana practice goes a long way towards restoring homeostasis.

It got me to thinking: it really is overly simplistic to say that this treat this and that treats that - basically like prescribing headache pills. We all get headaches for different reasons, so the solution will be different in each case too. It gives us far more, erm, flexibility in how we structure and practice our yoga.

For example, it may be appropriate for one person to do very little asana and a lot of philosophy, while the reverse may be true for another. I know I have said this before, but when I heard the shoulderstand exchange at school, it sank in just a little more for me.

Yoga Anywhere

I know most of us associate yoga practice with asana, and I must admit I really like to do a daily asana practice, as long-time readers know. I have managed a full asana practice almost every day since we have been travelling, with the exception of heavy travel days, when it just wasn't possible.

I can now say for certain that it is possible to practice anywhere. Really, anywhere. These are some of the places I have practiced in the last six weeks:

• Yoga school in Chennai (duh)
• Grubby apartment floor in Chennai
• Hotel rooms, of generous proportions, in Pondicherry, Mamalapuram, Mumbai
• Tiny London hallway, belonging to the friends with whom we are staying. There is no space to put arms out to the sides, or indeed really overhead, but I have managed a full practice nonetheless - it is the only space available!
• Guesthouses and hotels in Dublin, Kilkenny, Cork, Killarney and Dunlaoghre. Some of these we of quite petite dimensions, especially in Cork where our room was in an attic with a dramatically sloping ceiling, no room to stand up properly...

So asana doesn't really present me with a challenge: I would have liked to attend more classes but that hasn't been possible.

As to the other yoga, the real reason we practice, well, that has been more of a challenge. You know how with continued practice you are meant to find a deeper connection to your inner self? I thought I was doing OK on that front, until I realised most of my internal connection is with my Inner Control Freak (we shall call her ICF.) ICF is not happy about the holiday weight gain, caused by too many restaurant meals, treats and the like. She thinks right now is a great time to start a Better Eating Plan. Despite the fact that we will be home in two weeks, and until then I don't have as much control over my life and food routines as I would at home... Sigh.

The only sign of progress on this front is that I am able to see the process as it unfolds. Some progess, c'est bien.

Photos!

20070812 chennai amethyst, originally uploaded by Nadine Fawell.

Want to see more from the las two weeks? I have put a Flickr badge in my sidebar, but if you get this by email, just follow this link.

Another borrowed post

I saw this clip on Linda's Yoga Journey just now, and thought you might enjoy it if you haven't seen it yet!

Saluting the Sun

Dang, it is hot here in Chennai. You know I was saying it was hot the other day? Well, it got hotter. Yes it did.

Today at school, we saw a case study of a lady who has suffered from terrible fear and anxiety, to the point where she couldn't leave her house on her own. She has been practicing yoga since March, doing mainly breathing and meditation as prescribed by a KYM teacher, and now she travels the city alone, and has completed several computer courses, which she didn't think she had the concentration to do. The secret ingredients?

Her own faith in the effectiveness of yoga, and the sun. Or rather, the meditation she was given on the sun. She was told to imagine she was absorbing the strength of the sun, and to chant several sun-related mantra's. We did a similar practice in our meditation class afterwards, and it was wonderful, and after school one of the women on the course told me she healed a difficult relationship with an extended family member by chanting the Gayatri mantra and then 'talking' to that person mentally.

In such a hot place, just like at home in JHB, the direct connection between the sun and life is all too evident, and the power of the sun is unquestionable. Consider:

• The sun is always there: it rises every day, at the same time, give or take seasonal differences, and when we can't see it, people on the other side if the world are in its light
  
• Although the sun will one day die, by human standards it is immortal
• Without the sun there would be no life on earth

So if we tap into this immense and awesome power, anything becomes possible for us. Next surya namaskaras, remember this - you can do anything you want to with the help of the sun, and it is always there to help.

In other news, my never shop unless you need it policy is rapidly being eroded by the loveliness of India's textiles. And so cheap! All the teachers on the course wear these gorgeous punjabis or saris, and never ever the same one. One teacher actually told me she has now filled all the cupboards in her three bedroom house! They have as much trouble resisting as I do!

The principal culprit so far has been Anokhi, where my husband also got several kurta's, but tomorrow, since it is Saturday and we failed to get into the Ideal Beach Resort (fully booked) we will be having brunch at my old haunt, Amethyst. I anticipate that we will be parting with a little bit of cash. Or perhaps plastic!

This pic is from last year, a leisurely lunch at Amethyst. Pics from this year to follow when I (er, my hubby) figure out the USB picture loading thing.

Phew!

I am into day three of Yoga for Women at KYM, and I am back to meltdown mode. The actual course work is not as new and overwhelming as it was last year, but I am now with a group of women who are like PHD students with me in my third year of university. In one way, this is great, because I get to learn so much, but it is, of course, intimidating, and I am, as I did last year, wondering what the hell I am doing teaching yoga. I think this is a good sign though: there is nothing worse than a teacher who thinks they know everything!

We are doing quite a lot of practical: one hour of asana to start the day at 7, we are working with shristi krama, which is the ' first stage' of asana practice, usually taught to kids and teenagers, and it is basically vinyasa style. Nice, I am even a bit stiff. We will move on to the other three stages (sikshana, rakshana, adhyatmika) as the course wears on, symbolizing the different practices appropriate through a woman's life. We then have two lecture sessions, and before lunch we chant for an hour.

After lunch, we have half an hour of pranayama, a lecture on yoga cikitsa (therapy) and then a meditative practices class (asana, pranayama, ending off with meditation). It's a lot of exercise- about two and a half hours a day, plus the hour and a half I have been spending walking to and from school and around the suburbs. The heat is getting the best of me, though, and I suspect I shall be using auto rickshaws for transport in the heat of the day!

Chennai is as it is: loud, overwhelming, green, friendly, intimidating, welcoming. All at the same time. Next weekend, my husband and I hope to head to the beach, and after that, to Pondicherry. I will keep you posted!

Gurus, God, and carbon emissions

People keep asking me when I will be getting to the ashram. I keep telling them that I am not going to an ashram, but rather a yoga school. Why is it that all yoga learning seems to be associated with ashrams?

Why, you ask, am I not going to an ashram? Well, the short answer is that I don't play well in groups. For the long answer, consider this:

Take a group of people with disparate tastes, circadian rhythms, personalities, cultural backgrounds, belief systems, body types, and tell them you know the way for them to achieve yoga. It is as follows:

• You must all wear the same clothes
• You must all wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day
• You must all eat the same food, at the same time of day
• You must all do the same asana practice
• You must all do karma yoga, even if you are not so inclined
• You must show devotion to the Guru, for it is through the Guru that you will reach God
• No sex, not in this establishment!

Do you think this cookie-cutter solution will work for all of them? Er, no. A few, perhaps. But not all.

Now take the same group and say to them:

• You can wear whatever you like, as long as it is respectful of the culture you find yourself in
• You can wake up and go to sleep whenever you like, as long as you get to your classes
• You can eat whatever and whenever you like, hey, this isn't a residential program. You can even drink if you are so inclined (not that I am!)
• We will teach you tools to personalise your asana, breathing, and chanting practice so that it suits you on any given day in your life
• You can do karma yoga if you find it useful. Otherwise, don't
• Please show respect for your teachers and the information they are sharing with you, but you can choose your own path to God
• Sex? Not our business what you do in your private life, just please do it responsibly
  

OK, I know I am over-dramatising a bit, but let's be honest, option 2 is going to work for a whole lot more people. Still not all, but more. That is why I am going to KYM and not an ashram.

I think often of the anecdote we were told to distinguish between a Guru (one who who shows you the way) and an Acharya (expert teacher).

Guru: Do as I say, don't do as I do
Acharya: Do as I say, because I am doing it too

I am a Westerner, and a stubborn one at that, and the concept of gurus is not entrenched in either my culture or my psyche. I just can't understand why we are so often told we need a conduit to God, when yoga gives us all the tools to find enlightenment on our own, with the guidance of a teacher we trust. Note: guidance. Thank goodness for teachers like Mark Whitwell, who are saying just that: it's all in you right now, you don't need to change anything, and you certainly don't need a guru. Unless you want one, of course!

Now (blush) I must confess that I don't know how to offset my carbon emissions from all the flying, because I haven't done it before. I am running out of time before we leave on Thursday morning, so it may have to wait until we get back. Can any of you offer advice on this one? I would love to know what you have done.

In the meantime, I am looking forward to seeing the statue of Patanjali in the KYM courtyard once again.