August 3, 2010

I am back from my first Iyengar class of the trip. It was a 2hr 7am class with Prashant, Mr. Iyengar’s son. He is replacing the daughter, Geeta, who normally teaches that class. Geeta has a cold right now and it’s uncertain when she’ll resume her teaching schedule, hopefully it won’t be too long before she’s feeling better. The classroom was packed with mostly westerners but also a large number of Indian students. I enjoyed the class more than I thought I would. I had heard that Prashant was not a very interesting teacher, but in fact I learned some interesting things from him about the breath and its use in poses. That was an especially good topic for me this morning, as I was not at all breathing well due to nervousness. I felt much better after the class.

Oscar did a one-hour beginner class in the morning. He said it was  just okay and that he’d had better classes in Montreal. He’s also going to check out a few more classes and then make a decision about taking them or not. I’m interested to see what he decides.

I am happy to have the first class under my belt as I know more of the procedures and protocol and feel more at home in the Institute. Mr, Iyengar was around again this morning but not in our class today. He’s looking good at 92, spry and well.

True to Canadian form, a brief weather note: Today it’s almost sunny and since the weather changes quickly, I have an umbrella handy at all times. It is good to see the sun too though.

This morning also heralded a couple of other “firsts.” On the way to and from the centre, we took auto-rickshaws, my first ride in one! I will post a picture later as I didn’t have my camera today. It’s like a motorized tricycle with a back seat for 2 or more passengers and the driver in front. They are cute and fun. We also saw the first dead rat (we were warned about by several people before leaving that it was quite common to see them on the streets) and our first group of 4 cows (well, 3 cows and one calf) walking calmly down the centre-line of the street. I wished for my camera. I didn’t bring it because I wasn’t sure what the Institute had for storage. I’ll bring one from now on so i can take advantage of the spontaneous photo ops. And just to be clear, I mean the cows and the rickshaw … not the rat :)