Archive for the ‘Yoga is my Bus’ Category
YOGA IS MY BUS (continued)
Day 1 of cramming for Faeq Biria’s workshop: The only word to describe myself on this first day of cramming for Sricharan Faeq Biria’s classes is SHAKY.
I was shaky while paying for the fee for this month’s classes and for the special classes by Faeq Biria. The miser in me was wondering whether I paid for classes that I will not be able to attend. I was also shaky while doing one of the most basic standing poses, Tadasana (moutain pose). Worse, I was shaky just assisting my partner get into a pose. Even worse, I was shaky even after the class. Parts of my body ached from non-use. My shakiness is discouraging to say the least.
I wonder whether I could actually will myself to attend class every day as, right now, even my will is shaky.
YOGA IS MY BUS (continued)
Preparing for Shicharan Faeq Biria’s workshop
Since the beginning of this year, I have not been practicing yoga as much as I should. My excuse: work, travel and getting the flu thrice. The real reason: I did not have the will to attend classes or practice on my own.
A few weeks ago, on that rare occasion when I willed myself to go to class, I was reminded that Sricharan Faeq Biria will be visiting the Philippines to teach our yoga classes for two days. According to the Iyengar Yoga Manila website,
“Sricharan Faeq Biria is the director of the Iyengar Yoga Centre of Paris, and Chair of the Technical Committee of the Iyengar Association of France. For almost 30 years, he has studied directly with B.K.S. Iyengar. He teaches regularly all over Europe, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, Southern and Northern Africa, Russia, and South and North America. Faeq Biria’s integrity and devotion to B.K.S. Iyengar’s philosophy are manifest in his teaching. His courses are a source of dynamism and inspiration for all yoga practitioners.”
Of course, I want to attend the classes of Sricharan Faeq Biria. The question is, will I survive the classes.
I have two weeks to get my act together, i.e., pull myself out of this lethargy, attend classes regularly and get my mind to focus on yoga.
Wish me luck!
TO STAR: A POSTSCRIPT ON BUDDHISM
Star posted a comment about my 29 April 2009 article, Borobudur has taught me Buddhism. I was about to reply to her comment and post several pictures. Alas, this dinosaur does not know if it is possible to post pictures together with a comment and does not have time to learn about it now. I am, therefore, posting my reply (with pictures) to Star. You may find this bit of information interesting as well.
Star - Wow! I did not realize there is so much one could learn from a lotus. Incidentally, I learned a pose in my yoga class some time ago. The pose is called Padmasana. Padma means lotus and asana means pose. In his book, Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar says that Padmasana ”…is one of the most important and useful asanas. It is the posture for meditation and the Buddha is often depicted in it.” While the position of the hands of the buddhas in Borobudur change depending on the direction they face, all of them sit in Padmasana. This is yet again another reason for me to believe that Borobudur takes its inspiration from the lotus.
Incidentally, I find Padmasana very difficult to do. I always feel as is my legs would get stuck in that position and I would not be able to untangle myself. As a result, I have yet to be able to meditate in this pose.
YOGA IS MY BUS (continued)
Lessons in humility
For a time, getting into many asanas was getting easier. More often than not, I even found quiet in the pose. Then I stopped doing Yoga for a time as I became busy with other things. When I finally had the time to go back to class, I was extremely disappointed that I could not find quite even in the simplest of asanas. To this day, I have not found quite even while sitting in sukhasana and simply saying “Om”.
I cannot describe in words this feeling of utter disappointment in not being able to find quiet in a pose. Perhaps I should just lift my arms up and scream my head out. Maybe then you will understand how I feel. Maybe…
When I tried to understand what was happening to me, I realized that I had been attending classes thinking that I had done an asana and there should be no problem in getting into it again. As soon as this thought hit me, I told myself that I had to disabuse my mind of this. This way, I would have no expectation and not be over-confindent in myself. I must learn humility. I must.
I thought that the best way to disabuse my mind was to attend the basic classes. I needed to re-learn the asanas.
I attended the basic class today, which is taught by Susan, one of my classmates in the General Class (the class for people who already have some background in Yoga). When Susan saw me, she looked surprised and immediately said that Rina was teaching during the week. I told Susan that I was probably not prepared for a class with Rina yet as I had the flu last week and had not been practicing since. I suppose that Susan was wondering why I was attending her class when were were classmates. At the end of the class, Susan asked me how I found her class. I told her that I thought her class was great and that her back was straight (for many asanas we need to keep our back straight).
Susan is actually one of my classmates who does very well during the class as she is focused. Most of the time, Susan stays in the back of the class and she hardly says anything. Susan is also a devoted practioner of Yoga. She once told me that, when we do not have classes, she practices at home. I am not surprised that she has been chosen to teach one of the classes. The thing about Susan is that, she is very humble. Unlike me, she probably does not dwell on how perfectly she could execute an asana.
In today’s class, I learned the lesson of humility, not so much from doing the asanas, but from being inspired by my classmate and now teacher, Susan.
YOGA IS MY BUS (continued)
My relationship with Ferguson
The question is not who is Ferguson. The question is what is Ferguson.
Ferguson, whose name I just recently learned, is the plant stationed in the window sill of Rina’s studio. In a way, Ferguson and I have developed this platonic and seemingly one-sided relationship, i.e., I look at Ferguson and Ferguson just sits there being itself, a plant.
Earlier on, I was told not to close my eyes while doing an asana as it is necessary to focus my eyes on a reference point in order to get into and sustain an asana. On many occasions, Ferguson enables me to get into and sustain an asana at it is my reference point.
YOGA IS MY BUS (continued)
On learning compassion
After the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum experience, I was greatly disturbed by the idea that people are capable of committing such atrocious acts that bring untold suffering to others. To this day, I cannot accept that people could be innately evil. To somehow understand why it is that the torture at Toul Sleng took place, I told my friend Simon that those who cause suffering probably did not understand what it felt like to experience pain. Consequently, the child torturers did not realize the extent of the hurt they caused others.
I am relieved to know that, in one of my Yoga classes, my theory was somehow validated.
At that class, Rina asked us to take a partner, bind that partner’s outstretched leg and step on the other leg that was bent. When Rina was demonstrating what to do, she repeatedly told us to be merciful to our partner. Of course, I was too distracted by the instructions about what to do to really understand what it is that Rina meant by being merciful.
I asked my Thai classmate, Ubon, to be my partner. Ubon was one of those naturally lithe and flexible girls who could get into most of the poses easily. Ubon got into the pose quickly, I bound her leg and stepped on the other leg that was bent. Until she frantically signaled for me to get off her leg, I paid no attention to how Ubon was doing. After all, the pose seemed like a piece of cake to her.
When it was my turn, Rina came over to help me get into the pose. Guess what? I could not even get into the pose. Just bending my leg was extremely painful. Rina did not even get to bind it. It was then that I realized that poor Ubon was probably in pain the whole time she was in the pose and I did not even know it.
Mercy or compassion literally means “to suffer with”. This presupposes that one understands the other’s suffering. In that Yoga class, I realized that it is impossible to be compassionate without knowing how the other is feeling. My experience with Ubon taught me the importance of placing myself in other’s shoes in order to be compassionate.
As the child torturers in Toul Sleng had no idea of the pain they had inflicted on the victims, they probably had no qualms about executing the acts of torture. I do not see how it is that they could have done those acts if they had know what suffering was like.
YOGA IS MY BUS (continued)
Virabhadrasana
I am not privy the to nuances of Hindu religion and myth. My thoughts about the story of Virabhadra do not, therefore, purport to be those of one who is well-versed with Hinduism, but rather, of one who is grappling with the experience of this bus ride called Yoga.
Virabhadrasana is a pose that is named after the Hindu warrior, Virabhadra (which literally means warrior-friend).
From what I have read and what was told to me by my Yoga teachers, Virabhadra was created by the Hindu god Shiva in his rage, sorrow and frustration over the loss of his beloved wife Sati. Sati’s rage and humiliation at her father Daksha’s deliberate refusal to invite Shiva to an important feast, caused her to “self-combust” and die. Virabhadra was created by Shiva to kill Daksha and avenge Sati’s death. While Virabhadra did kill Daksha, he was later reborn to make his peace with Shiva. Sati was likewise reborn as Parvati, Shiva’s second wife. (more…)
YOGA IS MY BUS (continued)
Asana
Perhaps I am one of those people who likes to do things with a purpose. Perhaps this is why I took a liking to Yoga as each asana (pose) has a purpose.
When I execute an asana, I am aware that I am not merely moving my body but that I am also trying to make myself feel better or determine my state of mind. I first came to know that each asana served a purpose when Rina told us that, after doing a proper salamba sirsasana (head stand), one can tell whether one is tired. According to Rina, a salamba sirsasana could perk you up when you feel sluggish or lethargic but in reality have a lot of stored up energy. A salamba sirsasana could also make an active you realize that you are tired and your body needs to rest. A salamba sirsasana is also an instant cure to nasal congestion. Having done salamba sirsasana on several occasions, I can attest that what Rina said is true.
In his book Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar says that the asanas that could provide relief for some ailments. I was told by my other Yoga teachers that many people visit the Yoga center in Pune, India on Saturdays to get treatment for various ailments through execution of asanas. Evidently, Yoga transcends mere physical activity.
In the CNN interview of B.K.S. Iyengar, I recall him saying something to the effect that, when one runs on a treadmill, the body does work but is abused because there is no real purpose to the activity. You keep running but you are going nowhere. In Yoga, the body works to get into the pose because it serves a particular purpose like curing a cold, stomachache or backache, or perhaps, even teaching one how to live.
YOGA IS MY BUS (continued)
On learning how to stand, dreading the standing poses and standing on my head
I suppose that my parents taught me how to stand right before they taught me how to walk. That was the first time. The second time I was taught how to stand was in Yoga class.
In teaching me how to stand, I remember my yoga teacher, Sari, giving me these instructions: (a) straighten your legs; (b) put your feet together; (c) lift your knee caps; (d) roll your shoulders back and down; (e) do not over-arc your back; (f) soften your gaze; (h) relax your throat; and (i) feel the balls of your feet. With the number of instructions I was given, I was so disoriented that my mind could not even command my body to stand still. I literally lost my balance from simply standing. Besides, it was unclear to me how I was supposed to relax my throat. Could such act be done?
Who would have thought that standing was so difficult to do? When I had to re-learn how to stand and found that it was not such an easy task, I learned not to take the seemingly simple things in life like standing for granted. As soon as I learned this lesson, I also learned how to relax my throat.
YOGA IS MY BUS (continued)
Aummmmmmmmm
Alya, one of my Yoga teachers, said that if the universe had a sound, it would probably be Om.
At the beginning of each Yoga class, we sit in sukhasana (similar to lotus-style sitting) with palms pressed together and thumbs resting on our sternum. With eyes closed and our minds emptied of everything except the here and now, we take a deep breath and on an an exhalation say “Om.”
Out of curiosity, I Googled, “Om” and was surprised to learn that, like Yoga, this two letter word with a three letter sound (”a”, “u”, “m”) has many nuances across many religions, philosophies and life practices. Reading about it got me all confused and made me doubt my gutt feelings about this word. I later realized that, it is best not to over analyze this word. Like Yoga, I think the best way to understand “Om” is to say it rather than to read about it. (more…)
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