Pauline Schloesser, Ph.D., Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, IAYT Yoga Therapist
Hello everyone!
Dan is going back home this week. We’ve had a great time in our little apartment in Pune. I’m glad he’s gotten to see this place from the perspective of tourist and yoga student, not just through the lens of corporate work.
Every weekday, he takes an Uber to work and back, about $2.50 each way. By the time he gets home, folks in Houston are just waking up, so he usually has two or three hours of phone calls. “Blah blah blah,” I complain.
While he talks and talks, I prepare dinner by heating what was sent to me by tiffin. We both eat out for lunch, and I save my tiffin set for dinner. The tiffin set contains rice, chapati (flatbread), two vegetables, and dal. I supplement this with eggs or cashews, and it feeds us both for $2.25. On weekends, we have a big lunch out and just eat fruit for dinner. Mangoes are still good. We also get pomegranates, pears, bananas, papaya, and apples.
On Sunday, we toured the old city by rickshaw looking at buildings around 15—200 years old, seeing how groups of families would occupy one building with one common toilet. In the old days people would just sleep outside to keep cool in hot weather. We did in fact see one man sleeping on a park bench outside.
We also visited a Kali temple, a Shiva temple, and a Muslim community center (Azam Campus Mosque and Hall). We could only view the famous Ohel David Synagogue from outside, given current high security measures. We passed by convents and Catholic schools. All these different religious groups exist side by side in an area called Camp. We stopped for tea and samosas at an Iranian café, then rode to the Cantonment to see the park and statue dedicated to B.K.S. Iyengar by the Southern Command of the Indian Army.
Long before he had an institute, Guruji bicycled around Pune teaching yoga in schools and private homes. In 1955, the National Defense Academy hired him to teach asanas to new cadets. He described his way of teaching these fit youngsters as “fast and furious” vinyasa krama, going from one classic asana to the next in sweaty progression. No props were used except floor and wall. I read from the plaque near the statue that Guruji later gave an asana demonstration for Nikita Khrushchev. After Stalin’s death in 1953, the Soviets had grown closer to India to counter Western influence and support India in Kashmir.
If you have the time and can stomach the intense traffic, Pune offers incredible shopping at great prices. Everything is cheaper here because labor is abundant. Dan and I have kept shopping to a minimum, but I made sure Dan got some shirts and pants tailored. The store was owned and run by Muslim men in Camp who spoke fluently in English and did great work at reasonable prices. Choosing fabric, discussing style, and picking up clothing that looks and fits great is genuinely fun. He got three custom dress shirts and two pairs of wool pants for about $170.
On the yoga front, Dan has been taking two therapy (“remedial”) classes and one intermediate class each week. The remedial class has about 15 students, each with their own customized sequence and a senior teacher and with a junior assistant. I have been the senior teacher for Dan with hands-on coaching from Abhijata and Raya. Working with Dan at RIMYI has been a great opportunity to learn more about treating scoliosis.
Have a look at the sequence. The first 10 asanas are also helpful for anyone with lower back pain
Dan’s Sequence
- Pavana Muktāsana on bench with traction
- Pārśva Pavana Muktāsana with traction (right side only for his case)
- Prasārita Pādottānāsana on bench with traction
- Platform Uttānāsana (with wide Setu Bandha bench on platform)
- Vīrabhadrāsana III supported with same bench and platform plus stool for foot.
- Adho Mukha Śvānāsana with U-rope
- Ūrdhva Daṇḍāsana with U-rope
- Adho Mukha Svastikāsana on U-rope
- Adho Mukha Vīrāsana on U-rope
- Śīrṣāsana on U-rope
- Rope 1
- Śalabhāsana
- Dhanurāsana
- Platform Janu Śīrṣāsana
- Platform Triaṅga Mukhaikapāda Paścimottānāsana
- Ardha Halāsana
