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January 29th 2025 - End of trip Reflections and Abhijata Pranayama

Tamara Hockey


Final blog post from Mumbai airport awaiting my early hours flight home. I left Pune with a warm heart and a full belly courtesy of Dheeraj's wife Nikita. A lovely last day starting with a very early wake-up call from a relentlessly persistent yowling cat and another loud firecracker just outside the apartment. At that point I gave up and accepted there would be no more sleep for me. The UK may be cold and grey, but hopefully I will enjoy an uninterrupted night's sleep.


The class was absolutely packed and I ended up right at the back, close to Raya and Uday who were sniggering like a couple of school boys, particularly when Abhi told us to smooth out our 'knotty zone' which sounded very like 'naughty zone' with her accent, which she quickly clarified K-N-O-T-T-Y!


The class was mainly supported backbends which was brave considering the size of the crowd, but there were just enough chairs for all and it worked out fine. As is often the case in Pune, the Pranayama preparation was quite dynamic and the temperatures are seriously hot now. I had two big cups of green tea before I left for class, but had definitely fully sweated those out by the time we came down from Sirsasana - that classic Pune experience of your slippery fingers starting to pull apart as you feel the sweat trickling down the back of your knees (no dip there obviously!) My t-shirt was drenched, but the post-class conversation evidenced we had all had a similar experience there. At one point we were in Chair Sarvangasana and I was feeling a curious warmth on the soles of my feet, which I then realised was the heat radiating from the body of the person behind me. Perhaps it is just as well I'm leaving today as I think I would struggle with the temperature which will steadily rise through February.


As usual with Pranayama, pretty much the moment the instructions to help us passify the brain begin, the remembering part switches off completely for me. After I'd written down the bits and pieces that I could remember, I headed to Godaam Coffee Shop and collaborated with Debbie and Christine to fill in some of the gaps.





I took a cab with Vikram to the airport after saying a reluctant farewell to Debbie and Rosana and appreciated his very capable pair of hands as we weaved through the traffic on the often treacherous drive to Mumbai. He took the scenic route which I've never done before, through mountainous scenery backlit with a hazy orange glow created by the setting sun and hundreds of brightly lit Chiku stores lining the road for miles (seriously who is eating all that Chiku?) The visuals were endlessly fascinating as I got glimpses of a thousand lives so different from my own.


It's been a great month and I am determined to keep up the practice of some of the more challenging postures - I'm just hoping that my UK life doesn't swallow me up so completely that I can't maintain. If I was going to offer some feedback to the event organisers of the 50th Birthday intensive, it would be a request to timetable in at least two personal practice sessions per week next time, as the schedule was pretty non-stop for the teachers and students alike. Overall it was an amazing event with a diverse range of high-quality learning experiences with different teachers who had very different approaches, as Myka commented, like the various shining facets of a single gemstone.


Until next time!




January 29th 2025 – Abhijata – Pranayama


  • First we sat in silence for some time with the palms folded and just quietened in preparation for the invocation.

  • AMVirsasna

  • Uttanasana

  • A choice of any Uttanasana/ AMSvanasana / Parsvottanasana while half the class waited for the other half to pass the chairs.

  • Chair Viparita Dandasana with arms underneath catching the back legs of the chair. After some time we extended the arms over the head, reaching the legs in one direction and arms the other.

  • Repeat with folded blanket under the buttocks – What is the abdominal length? Find out what has been gained but also what has been lost. And that which has been lost – perhaps it is a catch somewhere in the back, sense and feel what can be done to lessen that problem. Chest has to lengthen towards the head side, but so too does the abdomen. Balance the coiling of the chest with the extension of the legs and pelvis and legs. Find the ‘knotty areas’ and smooth them out (much snickering at the back, because with her accent, it sounded very like naughty areas). K-N-O-T-T-Y. Back ribs coiling in but don’t project the the ribs.

  • Repeat with rolled sticky mat for spine – observe the difference – it was more spinal and allowed the front body to spread out.

  • Wall Viparita Dandasana – Feet were wall side and once you had lifted up into bent leg DPVD you had to climb the feet up the wall and then work on lift of the shoulder blades, coiling action of the spine, lift of the buttocks – if you don’t get a good lift of the shoulder blades, the buttocks will become heavy and fall.

  • Rest

  • Repeat wall Viparita Dandasana this time staying with no ‘biting of the teeth’ or other gestures of stress / strain. Any adjustments had to be made in synchronisation with the breath and we had to learn to stay with quiet breathing and calm demeanour. 3 such attempts.

  • Sirsasana – Diaphragm has to move towards the back of the body, do not push it forwards. Abdomen has to be soft so find out where and with what you are holding your Sirsasana. Root of the tongue, mouth, soft. Feet soft, no sign of aggression there. Most people take the weight too much on the elbows, so observe where the weight is falling and make it completely even between the wrists and the forearms. If there is unevenness in your pose, you will be able to detect this by observing either side of the navel – it will show where you are twisted or dropping. If you have too much weight on the elbows it means the legs are coming forwards and the pose becomes heavy – Sirsasana should not be heavy, it should feel like you are levitating! Science has now identified the different lobes of the brain but Guruji had said a long time ago that the intelligence has to be in the back brain, not the front brain in Sirsasana.

  • Chair Sarvangasana – but not as you know it! Feet on the back rest of the chair, hands grasping the back legs and lifting the buttocks up, like a chair Chatushpadasana. Search the root of the spine, close to the neck and see that it does not sit down into the bolster. Inject that upwards so that you lift from there, don’t sink. Several long holds, followed by Chair Sarvangasana for a minute or so with legs extended over the back rest as more traditionally done. Shoulder blades move towards the spine, unlike Sirsasana where they spread away from the spine. If your neck is shortening, release the hands and lengthen the neck away from the shoulders.

  • Seated pranayama sitting through the chair. Hands holding the back rest. Sides of the trunk, armpit chest well lifted. Trapezius muscles soft.  Breath observation.

  • Calves supported on chair Savasana – Eyelids rolling away from the eyebrow and the eye has to move deeper into the socket. Diaphragm resting on the floor, don’t move it upwards.

  • Seated pranayama sitting through the chair. Jalandhara Bandha. Yesterday in the class we worked on clavicular breathing, but here I want you to breathe a little lower from abdominal region to central chest. Back moves towards the front, but the front does not push forwards, lift the front up. Uninterrupted inhalation from abdomen to outer corners of the chest. Bring the contents of the chest towards the outer container, pause for anta kumbhak but only pause until the moment just before the contents start to withdraw from the container, then exhale.

  • Flat Savasana – We all know where the ears are, but have you sensed the space inside your ears. Observe the spaces there and let them be open. Eyes also have their space away from each other. Tongue finds its own place and shouldn’t push forwards, let it recede. In this way we can make space in the sense organs.

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4 Comments


Guest
Jan 30

Thanks Tamara, I have enjoyed reading all the blogs with my morning coffee, the photographs have been good too. Have a safe journey home and see you Tuesday (although I have missed several lessons). Dave R

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Jenny Jones
Jan 30

I had a real upwelling of emotion reading your final blog for this year. Pune has been an important part of my life - the Institute and the experience of a tiny sliver of life in India. Thanks for keeping those memories and feelings alive. And thank you for taking the time to produce these daily blogs. I know the cost in tea and late bedtimes!!

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Tamara
Jan 30
Replying to

Did you spot me in Abhi's class Jenny. I was looking very serious I think! I have fond memories of our Pune trips X

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Annie
Jan 30

I am so grateful for these blogs. They have helped me aspire to a finer and deeper practice. I love the way you express your feelings and difficulties and aspirations!

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