Yoga

I have been a Yoga and fitness enthusiast from the time I was in school. Been practicing its various forms on and off from that time. Sometime the gap in practice is as long as 10 years but I have always come back and started again.

When I was in school in Pune, this is 1988 to 1991, I remember we had Yoga teachers (was it Iyengar teachers) come to our school to teach us Yoga twice a week. We had to bring proper clothing on those two days. I have vague memories of stretches that we did, pranayam and the chantings. It was one hell of a cool feeling post the session. I also remember those early morning TV chat shows where once a week, Yoga practitioner would come, teach Yoga and answer the questions sent by viewers. Those were the days of sending letters to the TV station address. The teachers stressed on the fact the Yoga practice is about focus and peace of mind, flexibility. Its about making a connection with self, rythmic breathing practices, holding the poses and feeling the pleasure. Of course the Yoga practice also stopped as we got transfer to other state. Second wave of Yoga practice came when I was in college and placed my hand upon Iyengar's books on Yoga. All nostalgic of those memories, I practiced again for a few years on my own, attended a few meditation classes as well ( while in college in 1999  at the age of 20 something). Loved the experience but due to lack of company and guru, the practice stopped after a few years.

That was then.

I am in Pune again (the land of BKS Iyengar) the city of health conscious people and I am again introduced to all kinds of Yoga. This is 2012 now, lot of water has flown over the bridge. We have all kind of Yoga derivations now like Hot Yoga, Cold Yoga, Rain Yoga, Power Yoga and may be a dance form of Yoga and what not. All focused on fat reduction, calorie burning for the modern well to do pot bellied instant gratification generation. These are all aerobics where no attention is given to breathing and flexibility.

Yoga when done with the mindset of quick weight loss and aerobics instead like a meditation, it does not help in the long run and people quickly loose interest.

I remember that BKS and yoga gained wide spread acknowledgement due to its famous pupil Yehudi Menuhin who while on his tour in India got acquainted with BKS and the rest as they say is history. BKS travelled the world with Yehudi, giving demonstrations and lectures and gaining followers. Stories are replete of his success with various country heads. This is my holy grail.

Since I am no Yehudi, I had to hunt for my guru who could teach me those principals and practices. I tried various trainers and classes only to reject them after a few class.We see these muscular weight trainers with crash course on yoga teaching in glamorous gyms. They seem to be more worried about how much you sweat rather than how much you pay attention to your posture and breathing. That is the problem with crash courses. In three months practice of theory and practicals, one can not aspire to become a trainer and that is why the fickle followers who jump from trainers to trainers and gyms to gyms looking for a quick solution.

Yoga is like meditation, it increases your focus, gives you peace and happiness. This can not happen in a matter of few months, it takes a lifetime of commitment to the form.