Delhi, December 30th: Yoga

I've just finished my two week yoga course, and I must say, I do feel a bit more limber and flexible.

I am taking the course at an Ashram which is only about a 5 minute walk from our apartment, called the Sivananda Vedanta Nataraja Centre. Apparently they have international sites in other countries, including one in Montreal and Toronto, and a retreat/ashram in the Laurentians as well.

Anyway, I wanted to take a yoga course, not only to prevent me from becoming a sloth, but also because India is the place to do Yoga! I didn't really know what to expect, but the centre required me to take the beginners course, even though I have done some yoga in the past, albeit the kind you take at the Y/sports complex and a couple of classes at a yoga studio. So, I signed up for the course, which included 4-90 minute classes per week for two weeks, plus a further week of drop-in classes. They don't have a charge, but a "donation" is requested, and was set for $50 - so cheaper than Canada, but not dirt cheap.

I arrived at class the first day, expecting mostly westerners, but I was surprised to see that I was the only one out of a class of 10 people. The centre teaches Hatha yoga, so there was a lot of emphasis on breathing and meditation. We usually started off with breathing exercises (forceful abdominal, alternated nostril, and retention breathing) which I wasn't that keen on, although I did find myself zoning out a few times while doing them, which is the point I suppose.

The breathing exercises were then followed by endless sun salutations and then into the 12 basic postures, which we learned progressively. There were no warrier or pigeon poses to be seen, which is what I am used to. Rather, we did headstands, the peacock, the crow, the locust and other poses which I was not that familiar with! However, I am happy to say that I can actually do a headstand (I still need a little assistance getting up there :)) and hold it for about 5 seconds before dropping ignominiously to the floor. Not bad for an old bag of 50!

While I must say that the breathing exercises were the least favorite aspect of the course, what I enjoyed most was the prayers at the beginning and end of each class. I was familiar with the "Om's" and "Shantih's", but I hadn't been exposed to the prayers before. I found them almost akin to a song, very melodious, and quite peaceful. Of course, I could only hum along as the words are in Hindi and I don't know a word!

Next week will be drop-in classes so we shall see how I fare in the general class. However, I must say that most of the folks in my class were very reluctant to try new/hard poses even though they were all younger than me, so I don't think I will be the worst by any means.

That is all for now. Jay and I have been exploring our surroundings, looking for a gym we can join (most of them are pretty sad by our standards) but there is a convenient one in a nearby fancy hotel that we will likely join -not cheap but clean and functional. Today is our booze quest - trying to see where we might purchase some gin and whiskey. Beer is of course plentiful and quite good, Indian wine not so good, and imported wine is twice the price as back home. Wish me luck!

Om, Shantih, Shantih, Shantih.