Day 2 - Pranayama and Standing Poses

Upon first arriving at the institute I was momentarily disorientated as instead of walking around to the back of the building, we were herded off to the right and into a brand new entrance. Past new shoe racks and into a new lobby area. Gone are the tiddly little changing rooms and bathroom - replaced with bigger, brighter spaces, with western style toilets and a shower cubicle. The institute is still extremely quiet for in-person classes and class numbers are down to 25-45 rather than the huge numbers seen pre-pandemic.

Today started off early with a pranayama class with Rajalaxmi (details for yoga readers below). After class I left the others who were heading for refreshments and practice and headed back to our apartment to capture the notes while they were still fresh in my mind. This year I'm staying in the rather luxurious Pawar residence which is in a quiet and peaceful back lane over near Senapati Bapat Road, so we like to choose a route back that takes us through the shanty town (though we could stick to the main road). This makes for a very interesting walk home, always loads to see and I often get a bit lost trying to find my way through. I am not sure that it is advised to walk through this area, but I always find it relaxed and friendly.

I'm staying with Judy Waldman and Sue Forde and I think all three of us feel we have really landed on our feet here after having problems with the accommodation that we had booked. All the bedrooms are ensuite and have private balconies and upstairs is a wonderful terrace in the treetops, overlooking Hanuman Tekdi Hill. Our hosts have made us a living space up there with a seating and kitchen area. The palm trees are so close, you feel like you could practically reach out and pick a coconut. I opted to use this space for practice today and enjoyed that rare feeling of peace that comes when what you should be doing, what you are doing and what you long to be doing are all one and the same.