THE MORNING RAGA

As the yoga teachers take the day off on the 25th of November, I complete 9 months of yoga at the Sivananda Centre.

It has been a challenging journey for me. I was fighting cancer. Last February, I had just completed the basic treatment, had blotchy skin and had an inch length of grey hair sprouting out….I looked awful and felt awful and was afraid to face the world again. That was when I had walked into F 42 South City I, not knowing what to expect, and full of apprehensions. My first meeting with Arun Sir, was reassuring, but not promising, as I did not believe in promises any longer.

I had disastrously low immunity, no stamina what- so- ever and an excruciatingly painful back. Hobbling out of bed with a bent back, gradually giving myself time to even stand up straight was the most usual morning routine for me. I had wiped out the memory of the childhood spring out of bed, to embrace the hobble with grace. I had decided that physical pain was a part of my life and I needed to carry on with it. Along with an abundance of pain and exhaustion, I had an abundance of courage and hope.

It was a rather slow start. The Beginners’ Course by Vinod Sir gave an encouraging glimpse into what I could achieve. Thus my journey began. Six rounds of Surya Namaskar was as big a challenge as conquering the Everest!!! I could not even do the dumbest thing like stretching myself in to the “child’s pose”. My back killed me!!! I religiously attended the yoga classes three to four times a week, even though I went in for an extended chemo therapy every three weeks all the while!!

I could not lift up both my legs. I used to be in agonizing pain. It was around the third month that one morning Arun Sir helped me raise my legs and hold on to my thighs while everybody else practiced the “shoulder stand”!! I was shamefully proud of myself!!!

In the last six months, six rounds of Surya Namaskar, stretching back into the child’s pose, getting into the shoulder stand with the help of the teacher became an easy task for me. It has been only a week now that I do not need help to get into the shoulder stand any longer…..I can do it on my own!!!

I go for a brisk walk thrice a week and I still attend yoga classes four times a week. Naveen Sir’s gentle smile greets me each morning as I embrace the day with yoga. The gorgeous dawn beckons me as I spring out of bed. My hobble is a thing of the past. In fact it is a brand new morning raga for me now!!!

Every single teacher of the Sivananda Yoga Centre is Patience personified and has helped to create a different world for a person like me. I sent my best wishes, my warm regards to every teacher and I say the two little words: Thank You!!