Day 8 - Finale

Sunday was the eight and final day of the celebration. This was a day almost exclusively ear marked for feting the volunteers. The owners/venue providers from all eight centres were represented and each of them spoke about how the Nikam Guruji Yoga activities had created, community bonding and health awareness in their immediate vicinity. Swami Muktirupanandaji of the Ramakrishna Mission the pioneer venue for Nikam Guruji yoga activities talked about our presence in the RK Mission with an excellent analogy:

He talked about an Arab who had pitched a tent in the cold dessert evening. In the night he found the camels snout was in the tent. On asking the camel said he was cold and wanted a little shelter for his snout alone...a little later he found the entire face and the Arab welcomed him...a little later more of his body parts.....and the Arab did not protest, by morning the camel had occupied the entire tent. Swamiji quickly added that it was a welcome camel and they would be willing to accommodate 10 such if space permitted!

Each of the centers and the V.I.P who represented them for the first time got an idea of the scale and breadth of the yoga activities we conduct. Each and every volunteer was given a memento and a beautifully worded certificate. In fact I consider mine a testimonial as worthy or more than any other. I would proudly include it among my other testimonials and certificates.

The finals days proceedings, especially the tribute given to the long standing volunteers was very moving, I felt once again extremely happy being part of this organization and wanting to be involved with it for as long as I can.

Day 7

Saturday was a day dedicated to the volunteer instructors. There was a 3 hour long yoga challenge. Competition was between the eight centers where we teach and the level of competition was very high and so were the spirits. Some outstanding performance by the volunteers put a lid on the fact that it is instructors of the highest caliber that teach at the Nikam Guruji Yoga Kutir and what's more they teach selflessly, free of charge, for the love of yoga!

Day6 Workshop5

The final discourse was very impressive. Swamiji did a presentation on the eight limbs of yoga-asthanga, with the help of power point slides. This kept the pace crisp and the visual aids were excellent. There are various texts on the internet and in books about Patanjali's yoga sutra written almost 4,000 years ago. I will not go into all the aspects but certainly am transcribing the text for texts for friends who have asked for it. It was interesting to not that the entire yoga sutra was written in aphorisms which he explained are like mathematical formulas and need interpreters to read and explain it in depth. Suffice it to say that he established yoga is not about sculpting and toning the body (lines we used in the debate against commercialization) but a series of steps that gives us guidelines on how to live our daily life and following the eight steps attain samadhi or awareness.

The exercises consisted mainly of the all important Surya-namaskar, the ten step sun salute. Performing which one can tone each and every part of the body, overcome lethargy and make our body flexible and supple. The Suryanamsakar is a complete exercise in itself. This was followed by Shavasn, the dead body, a complete mind body relaxation technique from which the participants emerge completely relaxed and rejuvenated. Finally a demonstration of 'tratak' a very powerful technique to improve, the eye-sight, concentration, ability to meditate and even improves personal magnetism it is said.

Day5 Workshop4

Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita deals with the yoga of meditation and this is what Swami Samachitananda expounded on today. He talked about the need to prepare the body and the mind for the realization of the soul. Its not either the mind or the the body that is the real self, and this self can be realized through meditation. But practice is the most important thing here. He says reading scriptures alone does not do anything - they are merely the script for the action-the practice. Further discussion on how to meditate, how to prepare our body and mind and what is the ideal environment/ambience we need to create for meditation he said he would elaborate in the next lecture.

The workshop consisted of exercises while lying on our stomach, all of which are very beneficial for stregthening the spine, the entire back, especially the lower back. The shalabahsan (locust or grasshopper), the naukasan (canoe), the bhujangasan ( serpent), the dhanursan (bow string). After this the participants were individually taught the exercises done while sitting up, pachimottnasan (forward bend), akarnadhanursan (archer's stance), the ardhamaschidrasan (spinal twists excellent for those suffereing from diabetes), the gomukhasan (cow) and ustrsan (camel). Each of the exercises massage different internal organs and improve their efficiency.

Day 4, Workshop 3

Jnan yoga or the yoga of knowledge-knowing oneself is a rather dry subject and I have only heard the greatest of seers deal with it with some degree of credibility. It is a yoga for those among us who are rational, questioning, inquiring, investigative and experimenting by nature. Swamiji dealt with it very skilfully and tried to simplify it as much as possible for the layman. He quipped that if you go wrong in your physical yoga techniques you could perhaps blame it on your instructors. But jnan yoga is a tireless undertaking by the self to know the self. Any impediments and its consequence we have to bear it ourselves. It is a very difficult yoga to pursue.

NB: I would be happy to give more details of the speech to those who are interested.

The workshop consisted of physical postures, like the four count rolling that prepares our body for the more difficult postures, leg raises and cycling to strengthen the thighs and lower back. and the all important shoulder stand,s the fish, the plough, and the wheel.

Day 3 Workshop 2

Day 3 Wokshop 2 (27th Nov 07):

The discourse was on Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion or faith. This Swamiji said was the path for the emotional among us. Those who need an idol, an object of worship, a prayer, a faith, a chant, a mantra, a cause, whatever be it as their crutch. He went on to explain the reason we need this crutch with another beautiful analogy. Look at an elephant that is idly standing. It swings its trunk aimlessly hither and thither. When you give an iron rod or a log, it holds on to that and stills itself. Prayer/chanting/mantra/devotion songs etc in every faith have the same effect, it helps the mind focus on one thing. Bringing about a meditational state.

Even in chanting, yoga techniques are being used as we hold our breath for long and breathe in a more measured pace. This was followed by a workshop on some excellent breathing techniques, useful for cooling our system aiding our digestion and promoting health. (Seetkari, seetali, vayusar, agnisar and uddiyan bandh). I personally find all of them extremely beneficial!

Day 2, Workshop 1

The first days attendance was overwhelming. A hall full of at least 200 participants turned up. The discourse was about one aspect of yoga called karma yoga. Swami Muktirupanandaji explained the need for having different kinds of yogas - man is diverse, with diverse interests and proclivities. Uniformity is for machines and uniformity is death he said. This is why we need different paths to the truth, a path that suits our mental make up.

He then went on to expound on the Yoga of action - Karma yoga! He explained how we should carry out each action, with complete absorption, with no thoughts of anything else besides the task at hand. When we finish with it, we should not let our mind linger on it - rather detach ourselves. When challenegd by a member of the audience that thoughts occur on their own and its not we who force it our conscience, he explained this is where meditation and mediatational techniques help!

After this our master-instructor Mr. Atul Deshpande conducted a workshop of some basic yoga techinques. We then split the crowd up into groups of 10 and each of us volunteer instructors helped fine tune the techniques for the participants. I think they were mighty pleased with the dedication of the volunteers. They all said they would be back the next day with more family and friends. All the techniques taught were from our three month Basic Course syllabus.