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<p>Managed to arrive just in time to see Guruji &#8211; I knelt down and told him that it was my last day and thanked him for allowing me to come and for his teaching. He said &#8220;God Bless You&#8221; and blessed is exactly what I felt. Surprisingly managed to get absorbed in my practice even [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Oh what a BUSY day. Regretfully skipped observing Geeta&#8217;s class in favour of practicing myself and getting on with the jobs that need to be done before I return home. However I did get a full report from Eva (see below) when she floated through the door after a &#8216;Geeta special&#8217; pranayama class.  &#8220;The eyes [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Great practice at home, I should have done this all along  &#8211; I am feeling much stronger and happier with my own yoga. After practice headed to Dimplex – a small shop selling handmade batik items; yoga shorts, t-shirts, mat bags as well as Iyengar Yoga supplies; ropes, belts, blankets etc. After I had placed [&hellip;]</p>

<p>  A wonderful day! Woke up naturally (always a good start to the day) and practiced in the cool solitude of the apartment. Worked very hard on the realignment of my body in sirsasana – it’s going to take some time before my body will accept this new shape, somehow when my lumbar and dorsal [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Pranayama week began today with Geeta’s class this morning. A sequence of supine poses and rope sirsasana / chair sarvangasana followed by ujayii and anta kumbhaka. The tone was very different to how we teach pranayama back home – very severe and strict despite the peaceful nature of the subject matter. After class went off [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Had perhaps the best practice of the month, staying at home suits me so much better. Headed off to Laxmi Road in the hope of finding presents for the girls, this experience also better solo. The time to wander in and out of shops without inconveniencing anyone else. No pressure, no hurry. Well perhaps not [&hellip;]</p>

<p>What an extraordinary day! Started with observing a phenomenal Geeta backbend class. She gave no less than 13 Urdhva Dhanurasana – gradually aligning and refining until the class stopped the gross poses, grunting and groaning and became sleek and aligned and able to work quietly despite the monumental effort they were putting in. She had [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Guava Anyone? Started off observing the old folks class, the days and weeks are taking on a rhythm that is starting to speed up alarmingly. After practice headed off to the market and bought tons of fresh produce. Breakfast of figs, strawberries, chinese gooseberries, watermelon, pomegranate and porridge. Felt so much better afterwards. Medical class [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The plan was to get up and go to the ear / nose /throat clinic to get my deafness sorted, so set the alarm early. Sat up in bed and the ear popped, deafness finally gone. Good practice session today. Abhi&#8217;s father bought the baby up for a visit and it was delightful to watch [&hellip;]</p>

<p>  More RIMYI 39th Birthday celebrations today. I skipped the first part of them, opting for a more thorough practice at home (memories of yesterday evening&#8217;s agonisingly long sit still fresh in my mind). I arrived at 12.30 which was when I had been told lunch would be served and found everyone still packed into [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I suspected it would be a backbend class today so spent some time at home in chair back arch before heading to the institute &#8211; experience has taught me that in such a large class the teacher is unlikely to get the chairs out (it&#8217;s enough of an organisational nightmare to get a blanket each) [&hellip;]</p>

<p>One of the Murals adorning the outer walls of the Institute The day started with my own practice at home, remembering feeling lousy as I sat and watched Geeta&#8217;s class last Wednesday. All the work to strengthen my back body is really starting to take hold and I did best ever navasana. I&#8217;m finally tackling [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Got up feeling a bit ropey after swimming yesterday &#8211; very mild cold symptoms. Got ready for practice session at the institute, only to find that I was locked into the apartment &#8211; my flatmate Eva had bolted the door on the outside when she left for Prasant&#8217;s class at 6.30am. Undeterred I got out [&hellip;]</p>

<p>&nbsp; A wonderful day starting with yoga on the balcony, getting my teeth into practicing the new work Guruji and Stephanie have given. Although I didn&#8217;t have a trestle, the fence around the balcony worked just as well. Met Lynda at lunchtime and headed off in the rickshaw for the Solaris pool out at Koregan [&hellip;]</p>

<p>&nbsp; Guruji is away for 10 days down south, so I won&#8217;t have the possibility of being taught by him again until the 20th. I will use this time well to practice the work he has given me and strengthen myself for the next onslaught. While I am grateful for this space to prepare, I [&hellip;]</p>

<p>&nbsp; Woke up feeling physically well, but mentally shell-shocked. As I walked to practice the little stray puppy that hangs out by the Toyota Chowk who has always been completely benign, suddenly decided to attack &#8211; not teeth bared scarey attack &#8211; but little puppy jumping and nipping.I couldn&#8217;t seem to deter him, so I [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Started the day observing the women&#8217;s class with Geetaji. Was sad not to be in it but it was interesting to watch and get the opportunity to take some thorough notes. Although she was not too well, her voice struggling despite the mic &#8211; she taught a beautiful forward bend sequence. Spent the afternoon resting [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Had a very interrupted sleep as I woke needing glucose 3 or 4 times. Got up and headed into the institute to observe the seniors class. A different teacher this year, the class was busy with about 35 local senior citizens. She gave them a tough class, which they clearly enjoyed very much. Just in [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Practice was really busy and Guruji seemed to be focussing his teaching on his nearest and dearest. Each day there is a small group of select students close to the trestle where he works and as he does his practice he teaches them. There is always an audience that gathers to learn from what he [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The day got off to a great start with the women&#8217;s class taught by Gulnaz. She was very relaxed and easy going but still taught a really thorough and deep reaching class, starting with 20 minutes of Adho Mukha Swastikasana! So helpful to be reminded the power of repeating poses so that they can fully [&hellip;]</p>