Erica at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM)

Erica reports on her 2 week workshop, The Power of Yoga, at Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram

Every time I sit to write about my experiences at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM), I don't know where to start or what to say. Hmmmm, where to begin....

This 2 week program, The Power of Yoga, has focussed on yoga as transformation. Our days (from 7am-6pm) are filled with asana, pranayama, meditation, philosophy, healing, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and yoga therapy. Needless to say, everyday is rich and often leaves me feeling intellectually saturated.

I feel like this experience is an incarnation of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Harry Potter sans the evil Lord Voldemort, dragon fights and masters of the defense against the dark art. Yoga and Healing class, Yoga Sutras and Transformation in the mornings; learning 'interesting' breathing techniques (pranayama) by holding my nose in one way or another and vedic chanting (resembling invocations of various spells for transforming people into toads, or making things fly) in the afternoons --all for the purposes of benefiting the mind or rather, transforming myself--at the very least, transforming my thoughts. So I wiggled my nose in this direction and that, contorted my body in various yogic maneouvers--sure ways to make life much easier climbing in and out of rickshaws piled up with our luggage -- and invoking the higher beings of the Vedas during Vedic Chanting.

After it all, I suppose I am transformed. I came to this course for the mere experience of doing yoga in India, The MotherLand, as they say. And that I did. There is no question about it: this was surely an authentic yoga experience. All of the teachers were insightful and so compassionate with us Western people trying to comprehend the ways they go about yoga over here. The Krishnamacharya lineage is quite different -- and perhaps slightly unnerving-- to those who come from an asana intensive yoga practice. Undoubtedly, the way yoga is taught in the West, well at least how most of the classes are taught in Vancouver, the focus is largely on the physical realm where asana practice equates a yoga practice. While we all know that yoga concerns much more than contorting bodies, this yoga course taught yoga as it is practiced according to the Krishnamacharya lineage: yoga as healing.

Initially introduced to many as a 'yoga therapy' soon (when the people reap the benefits of a committed practice) yoga becomes an integral part of their life; a lifestyle. Clients/students of the KYM were brought in offering their stories of how yoga has been the missing ingredient in their health & overall sense of wellbeing. People with depression, anxiety, stroke victims, infertility, marital issues, insomnia, etc, etc, etc. Some of the individuals work with their physicians (both Ayruvedic and Allopathic) and it was interesting to hear their perspective and witness how committed they are to their daily yoga practice and how it has facilitated their healing. At the KYM, the ambition of yoga is not to teach people how to contort their bodies into various positions. Rather, yoga is a tool to help individuals focus their minds thus gaining deeper insight into their 'self.'

Even though our philosphy classes were grounded in Patanjali's yoga sutras, a familiarity of Wittgenstein and Heidigger seeped in to these Eastern ideologies; Krishnamurti (during my stay here I've also delved into the teachings of J.K. Krishnamurti , a philosopher who lectured and discussed his ideas around the world until 1986) was also reflected in some of the interpretations. We discussed and philosophized how an individual's life experiences influence how we perceive our present situations and how we can understand life events in an objectively instead of seeing things how we would like them to be. It reminded me of an undergraduate psychology course. No matter whether presented in a Western or Eastern light it's all insightful and basically speaking to the same issues of the mind. These ideas took me back to my foundations in Western psychology only further supported the idea that yoga really is about the mind. The Western interpretation of yoga has largely focused intently on yoga for our physical self and the mind has been placed on the back burner.

Every Saturday morning, Desikachar would give lectures (open to the public) which would include meditation, chanting and a discussion on a specific topic. One day, he asked us to meditate on "What is Faith." Yeah, let's just say that after that meditation I was no clearer on what faith actually represents to me. And maybe that was just his point.

Evenings were entertained with adventures to various Hindu temples, night bazaars & strolls along the beach--oh, and shopping trips to Spencer Plaza where you can find anything from Ayruvedic herbal elixirs to antique jewelry. In Chennai, as most Indian cities, it's important to know where to shop since next door to a cigarette stall could be a designer handbag boutique that could easily be missed should you happen to blink at the very moment you happen to pass by.

A special treat to escape the noise and air pollution is the Park Hotel where the afternoon can slip by lounging at the rooftop pool underneath the white canvas cabanas. It reminds me of Miami's Delano Hotel only that the pool looks like a puddle in comparison.


In a nut shell, this was my experience at KYM. This programme expotentially helped me to integrate the knowledge that yoga offers as a way of life and also as a healing modality.

I would strongly recommend it, if you ever find yourself in India.

Namaste,
Erica

Comments

[malcolm]

The painting on this page is "Tripod" by Produkt

[Stephanie]

Thank you for this very inspiring write up! I am going to the KYM in October for a vedic chant intensive - do you have any recommendation on where to stay? Nice mid-range place for single female?
Thank you!!

[admin]

maybe try at lonelyplanet.com

[Scott Rennie]

Sorry this is too late for Stephanie, but the best place to stay for your (wonderful) visit to KYM is the New Woodlands Hotel (http://www.newwoodlands.com/)