Reflections from YogaVahini: 2023

The Yoga Instructor Training Program from YogaVahini is a 200-hour program spread over a year. But why a year, some aspirants ask us. Why not be done with it in a month or two, like most teacher training programs do?

Am putting down some reasons here, based on my YITP learning experience:

1. Yoga is a relationship, as defined by Sri TKV Desikachar. This relationship could be with our breath, body, our self, or the world. And as we know, relationships take time to build.

Our teacher Saraswathi Vasudevan would begin each class with a “meet your breath” practice. “Have you met your breath today?” she would ask us. “Have you said hello to your breath today?”

The breath is our prana sakha (friend of prana, the life force), she’d say. It is important to meet your breath everyday and become aware of it afresh.

Most days, I had to admit that I didn't know how my breath was. I was breathing, of course, but had no clue how I was breathing or what the quality of my breath was.

To even become aware of my breath, it has taken me a couple of years. And that’s just one component of the three elements that yoga seeks to bring together, the other two being body and mind. Am not even starting on those two today.

So, the question should actually be: why only a year?

For, once we start on this path, we realize that everyday we begin anew and reinforce our learnings. That it is a commitment for life. That you understand the word “calling” a little better now.

2. Yoga is Nava Sarira Samskara, meaning a new conditioning of the body.

We often struggle with old habits that do not serve, nourish, or empower us. How many times have you said to yourself, “This New Year am going to quit smoking/junk food/binge watching Netflix...” Only to struggle against the might of these habits or patterns and give up soon after.

But yoga asks us to build a new, positive samskara. Sow the seed of this practice, water it, look after it. One day, it will grow stronger and taller than the old samskaras that diminish you. You can then rest/heal in the cool shade of this new tree you helped grow.

This new samskara also takes time to build. Sometimes, you cannot build it alone. You need the help of a teacher in doing so.

That’s why a year (or more).

3. At YogaVahini, I understood that teaching is learning. A major component of YITP is internship, during which the trainees start teaching under the guidance and close monitoring of their mentors.

The trainees are required to complete the stipulated number of hours and document their observations and key learnings from each class. No excuses.

This, too, takes time. That’s why a year (or more).

It doesn't stop here, but suffice to say that yoga is Adhyatma Vidya – it is a praxis that helps you to journey towards our real Nature. And, therefore we are students for life.

The new YogaVahini centre at Besant Nagar, Chennai

Dear friends,

It is monsoon and the rains are here to cleanse the earth and all its beings. In India and elsewhere in the world, this is a time when most people indulge in festivities and consider New Year resolutions. We hold un-manifest resolves, plans that are still on paper, aspirations that are waiting to grow into light. So, this is a great time to look back to where we have come from and look ahead to where we would like to go. One of the definitions of the word Yoga is Sannahanam, meaning to cleanse, to prepare. Right now!

We have two special programs lined up for the New Year to guide you towards better health and well-being, greater clarity in actions that bring peace, joy, and harmony! The in-person Yoga Sadhana will be extra special, preparing and fortifying your inner environment with practices that can enliven you at all levels. For those seeking further immersion in yoga, we have the 2-week study retreat that is both stand-alone and the beginning of a 200-hour Yoga Instructor Training Program.

We are happy to share a glimpse from our past and on-going programs that we hope will not just be news but something to learn from and be inspired by! Please do share with people who may benefit from our offerings.

We'd also like to inform you that we have moved back to Besant Nagar -- address in the footer. Drop in for a class, or just to say hi!

Enjoy your holidays and stay in touch, this Sanga is precious!

Much love,
Saraswathi

We inaugurated our new centre at Besant Nagar, Chennai, on Sri T Krishnamacharya's birth star day -- 21 November. It was a double celebration for us, as you can imagine.

Here's how Bharathy Ganesh Ram summed up the occasion:

"Listening to anecdotes about Sri Krishnamacharya from one of his direct students - Lakshmi Ranganathan - on his birthday was special indeed!

Lakshmi emphasised the need for a regular spiritual practice, the importance of Abhyasa in Vairagya! She led the chanting of verses on Pranayama from the Tirumandiram along with her long-term student Rama and Saraswathi. This was a text that Sri Krishnamacharya drew inspiration from, she mentioned.

We ended with a Trataka - Sanmukhi mudra practice where slowly the noise from outside faded away as the mind and the Prana came together in an intimate connection."

We will host a special immersion with Lakshmi Ranganathan, Saraswathi, and Rama on Prana in Tirumanidram from 1 - 4 February at our centre. Schedule details to come.

We hosted the third retreat for our current batch of yoga instructor trainees at CREST, Bengaluru. Practices and lectures were around the central idea of moving towards Antaranga Sadhana from Bahiranga Sadhana.

A treasured highlight from the retreat was the practice that Shri Shubha instructed us and the time she spent generously with us. Shri Shubha is Sri T Krishnamacharya's daughter and Sri TKV Desikchar's youngest sister.

Here's what our trainees had to say about her session:
"The power of silent observation and the use of the mind as a direct tool for learning."
"I found the analogy of music for yoga interesting - letting it flow within a basic structure."
"Level of concentration required while doing asana practice from memory without stick figure drawings."
"The grace while doing the asana, flip of the palm, from palm facing down to palm facing up was like a dance."
"What stood out for me was her simplicity (sahajta) and looking at or working with vinyasa like crafting a tune or a melodious note."

October
Exploring the Gunas through Mantra, Asana, and Pranayama
Teacher: Eniko Pianovszky, France
Through five Mondays in October, Eniko introduced us to the 10 pairs of Gunas as mentioned in Ayurveda. The Gunas are attributes of the manifest world, both gross and subtle. The sessions were a unique mix of learnings from Ayurveda and Yoga. It was a treat to hear Eniko chant, too.

November
Exploring the Senses (Indriya)
Teacher: Radhika Rammohan, Sholayur, Kerala
"Vayu is easily disturbed and this can reflect in our Prana. We feel Vayu directly on our skin, an indriya. The tanmatra that corresponds to the skin is sparsha or touch. And our palms are key to sensing this touch," Radhika said.

She led us through the session constantly emphasising on the breath and the palms and hands. The practice felt different when I brought my awareness to my hands. I look forward to attending all her sessions in November.
-- Vijayalaxmi Hegde, Sirsi

Recording of the latest Sangati session is uploaded here and is available until the next one occurs.

Join us for the last Sangati session this month

There are two forms of learning: Para Vidya (learning that takes us in the direction of the Highest Truth) and Apara Vidya (learning that aids our worldly life). Most of us struggle to balance these two areas of our life, the movement inward and outward…

On Vijayadasami day, Saraswathi led us through a practice which helped us dwell on the intent and strength of both Vidyas, necessary for us to thrive in this material world even while pursuing higher truth.

Re-live the class!

Excerpt from the September session
"When we look at the Prana as an energy that is moving in and out of us, apart from the breathing process, you also receive prana through the senses like sound, light, form, sensation, taste, smell and what is perceived and internalised by the mind. Everything we take in needs to be purified. Slowly, through the practice of pranayama, we learn to develop the sensitivity to take in what is pure and wholesome through the senses, reject, throw out what is unhealthy and toxic...

Also, it is not enough that you purify what comes in, you also need to purify what goes out. We don't want to throw out impurities into the world, through our speech, behaviour, and actions."

Excerpt from the October session
"Our breath is the most beautiful tool to use to be in the moment. We are usually not fully present in the body, even when we look at ourselves in the mirror. It's difficult to know whether a sense organ is fully present at this moment or I'm holding on to an impression from the past or imagined idea of reality.

But with the breath, you can be only in this moment. You're not concerned about your last breath or your next. You may have an idea of how your breath was in the morning or yesterday but that's only a memory. It's only this breath that you have now, that is true."

"The information provided in the workshop about macronutrients and micronutrients, including their chemical combinations and practical ways to incorporate them into our daily diet, was comprehensive and enlightening.

I was particularly impressed by Sandhya Gowtham's depth of knowledge. It made me realize that while we learn what is 'good' food from our elders, understanding what our bodies truly need was missing from my education. Learning about the body's nutritional needs has certainly changed the way I look at food and how I relate it to my health.

Workshops like these should be included in formal educational and medical systems. The knowledge shared here is essential for everyone and could have a significant positive impact on public health."
-- Deepa Itha, Hyderabad

Saraswathi collaborated with A Sunlit Path of Auroville to hold an immersive retreat, studying Yoga and the power of herbs!

Host Sudha Suthanthiram writes: "Our sincerest gratitude to all the participants of our first immersive "Yoga of Nature" Retreat and the two beautiful souls who guided our journey, Saraswathi Vasudevan and Parvathi Nagarajan. It was a beautiful co-creation through a heartful coming together of both teachers and all the participants in an intimate and intentional manner to create the magical experience. We immersed ourselves in nature and our community and allowed the teachings and experience to shift us from deep within."

We resumed our group online classes at the end of October and will continue to offer them. We'll soon be starting in-person classes at our new center in Besant Nagar, Chennai.

These group classes help the students inculcate the habit of a daily practice, as they come together every morning or evening to practise with a teacher.

Jyothi Shanbhag led the workshop on teaching yoga to children and young adults. She guided the participants on how to customise the practice and use tools and techniques to make it interesting for children.

Namratha Anantharam says, "Jyothi taught us some unique techniques to engage with young minds. I connected with the child within me which was refreshing and continues to inspire me while taking Yoga to children."