Icing on The Cake

Pranayama Week

Today began pranayama week and it is the icing on the cake. It surprises me that quite a few folks leave early and miss some or even most of this week. This is the culmination or the beginning of the culmination of what we are doing with our asana work; moving awareness deeper within and this is where to come for the best teaching. Friday night each week is pranayama, and now each class for the last week of the month is also devoted to this turning of the consciousness directly inward and working so intently with “prana” the life force in the form of our breath. The classes can range from very quietening to very hard work; they can be very profound or can leave one mystified. They often leave me in awe. I feel awe of this subject, for the teaching and for the depth I can reach within as well as for the understanding of how little I have scratched the surface in 35 years of practice. If you haven’t started a practice at home I encourage you to start. Be patient because for most of us it takes a long time, sometimes we start and loose it and have to start again more than once. A daily practice will become a needful part of your day if you stick with it. If you wish me to explain more you are out of luck. Yoga is not an intellectual subject as you know. You cannot explain in words to someone what your practice of asana is like and what it does, even more so you cannot really explain pranayama: read Light on Pranayama if you want a beginning, read Light on Life.

Here are some more pictures from around Pune.

There are wooden carts all over loaded with fruits and vegetables all carefully arranged. Most have designated places where they go to stand to sell to regular clients. But you see them being pushed through traffic clogged streets vying with motor bikes, cars, trucks and buses. The picture at the top of the post is of the middle child of the vendor where I buy most of my vegetables. They seem to be a very happy family. The longish green vegetable on the cart above his head is either a galka or  a turai and is very good, sliced in 1/2″ dice and stir fried. I think it may be in the okra family.

You can see one of the many, many jewelry stores behind this cart. Centre street is filled with them.

Many items are delivered by bike in the morning. This bike is brining baked goods to some of the little shops near my apartment at about 8:30 am as I am walking to class.