A day of rest

A day of rest after 3 hectic weeks. Late nights, early mornings and very little sleep as I raced to meet some impossible deadlines along with institute work. Practice was a restorative sequence even as I listened to a class. Plenty of time in supine poses, some forward bends and savasana. While lying in supta baddakonasana, I watched the clouds in the sky. It was quite peaceful to lie there and simply allow the breath to settle into its rhythms. Quite like the waves, there is a series of movements until it becomes slow and almost nil.

view from where I lay

Coincidentally, Prashantji also referenced clouds later in the session in the context of the impact of aviation on clouds. Not quite what one expects to hear in an asana class but then his classes have their own language. It was in the context of the nature of science and ancient knowledge. The ‘why’ being the differentiator. It was a wonderful precept he unpacked through the 2 hour long class.

Body, breath and mind are the trifecta of a yoga practice and he points out how we are either body or mind centric, rarely are we breath centric. We use the breath for the body or mind, or the body for the mind or vice versa but how often do we use the body or mind for the breath? It changes the whole perspective of asana.

This week will bring another set of changes with a new routine that includes offline classes, some flurry around the kid and a new assignment. There used to be a time I would get overwhelmed by so much uncertainty but over the last 4 years, it has become a scenario that is comfortable. I am able to find my feet and sometimes dance to life’s music too. 🙂