I’m all prepped for my ‘happy yoga’ -- an experiential class -- loose pyjamas, tee, nervous mind, a stiff unexercised lazy body. ‘How hard can this be?’ I ask myself, when this is a basic class and I’ve been practising on and off. And therein lies the deceptive ‘ease’ of yoga, when, say, you compare it with the rigorousness of an hour at the gym. Very often you’ve been fed this idea that yoga is a ‘light’ exercise, and you need to be doing cardio too etc, etc. I have rolled out my yoga mat with a flourish and start feeling confident about myself when I see the others walk into the class - most are older than me.
The 23-year-old yoga instructor, Bhagyashri Rane gets us started with the prayer. My first challenge -- Vajrasana. For legs used to sitting on a chair most of the time, kneeling and sitting on my heels isn’t coming easy -- the stretch at my ankles is unbearable. Bhagyashri says Padmasana is fine, so I quickly, and embarrassedly sit cross legged, and defy instructions to close my eyes by taking a quick peek at the others -- most are in Vajrasana! ‘Sukshma vyayam’ comes next and I’m happy doing these little warming up and joint flexing exercises that feel good and relieve stress around the shoulders and fingers. Standing on one leg and stretching the other, I’m kicked I can manage not to fall. We move on to ‘Surya namaskara’ and Bhagyashri says we’ll do 12 repetitions (with variations). We do one cycle with her. Stretch, inhale, bend, let head drop, hold your ankles, bring foot forward, raise your arms, stick position, to mountain position, hold yourself midway up knees bent in Utkatasana, the other leg.... I’m all shaky and breathless, moving on the count of five each time. By the fourth cycle I’m sweating and thinking...really? I mean, who would think...except of course those who do it regularly and know.
This is what is presented as ‘yogic cardio’ to the millennial generation. I skip one cycle, feeling heady and exhausted at the same time. I rejoin in the next repetition, with newfound respect for 57-year-old Rama in the front row who is doing it all with ease, poise, and with a reiterated faith in the power of yoga. I manage nine cycles. I have stopped again to towel my flushed face and sip on water. Next come the asanas -- the Utthana padasana can show you that building core muscles by lifting your legs at 30, 60, 90 degrees, lying on your back, and holding it there is a toughie. My whole body is shaking. While I sail through Dhanurasana, Bhujangasana, and Sethubandhasana and feel stretched, Viprita karani is a challenge I predictably can’t meet -- holding up most of your body against gravity takes a lot more. Naukasana throws the abominable challenge of taming abdominal muscles – I’m back to shaky and achy grounds again and am relived by the time Bhagyashri says ‘Pranayama’ and have wound down to a relative calm by the time we start meditation.
Meditate on these
* Zorba’s ‘happy course’ on yoga is a holistic approach of five steps which initiates with basic stretches followed by yogic cardio, yogasanas, pranayama and meditation.
* Zorba Renaissance studios are in Sadashivnagar, Ulsoor, J.P. Nagar, and Basveshwarnagar.
* For details Check www.wearezorba.com or call 9841132345.
