Sunday, October 23, 2011

In the Land of Yoga: This White Girl Sweats (Profusely)

As some friends observed to me recently, I have been rather stingy on the posts. I apologize, life got hectic and sadly blogging fell by the wayside. I am trying to make it up, hence the flurry of posts. Currently, I am in a reflective mood - possibly because we are working out the details of a trip to Kerala aka G-d's Country coming up with two wonderful friends serving in the Gulf. In 2 weeks, when we see them, it will be about a year since our eyes welled up seeing them off to their respective destination. Our friends, posted in the Gulf miss greenery and us, of course - so they are super excited to explore post-monsoon Kerala. This will also be our first venture into G-d's Country. Additionally, my parents arrive in just 6 short weeks and I am in charge of planning our extended foray into the North of the country. My boss is not amused at the moment - I am taking more vacation days than the company allows - but who are we if we are not surrounded by the love and warmth of family - sad, lost souls.

Right, this white girl discovered Ashtanga Yoga. Following in the footsteps of a few foreign service spouses that joined this, for now lets call it "studio," I discovered a wonderful fitness routine. The Orion Health Centre is my happy place, the place where everyone knows my name - in four short months, mainly because the instructors admonish me on forgetting the sequence of my routine - my peaceful place, my balance restoring place, and the only place where I have been able to shed my New York OCD frame of mind. I love going to  Orion and am so grateful that a spouse that recently departed India for an onwards assignment discovered this wonderful space.

The Orion Health Centre does not stray far from the usual business structure - one can get their dental checkup, get an ultrasound and cardiogram, get their blood-work done, and finally get their yoga routine at the very top floor of the complex. This place is not your yoga studio in the Western sense - organized classes with instructors calling out each move, while monitoring how the students move - Ashtanga Yoga at Orion is a place where people go regularly, not so regularly, drop in and out, and people are comfortable sharing recent aches and pains and health issues with the three instructors. You find very few ex-pats at Orion. What you find is a sense of chosen family. Although, I remember VERY few things from Hebrew school, I remember this proverb "G-d chooses your family, but to make up for your lack of choice in that respect G-d lets you choose your friends" - please don't quote me, but this is the gist. I feel this way about Orion - the three people running this place create an atmosphere of comfort, acceptance, and family. I don't know how to explain it exactly, but I tell you whatever they are doing works!

Since I am an economist, I also look at pricing. I've dabbled in yoga in the US, but the price tag of this type of routine is high. In DC a 16 class card costs your $200 USD per month. In NYC you will pay $460 for a 30 day class card - if you go 5 times a week this covers 6 weeks. Now that I started going 5-6 times a week for the month I pay a mere 3000 INR ($ 60 USD) - this buys be 20-24 classes a month. Hot yoga - all the craze in the US - since there is no AC - no extra charge. For 60 USD you get access to three wonderful yoga instructors, who watch over you like hawks or if you want to be less dramatic private teachers. For example, I sweat profusely - someone told me it takes about a year to get used to a different climate - at first this made the instructors nervous - so they would make me lie down and nap for 10-20 minute increments - just to make sure that I don't collapse and hurt myself.I still sweat profusely, but the yoga instructors got used to my dripping form, which does not serve as a precursor to passing out.

Benefits? The 12 unattractive pounds that I put on working comparatively long and sedentary hours in DC as a consultant are now history! I feel more energetic and focused at work - I go at about 7:15 AM every workday - and I feel stronger and less out of breath walking around Chennai. I look more toned and am happier.

P.S. My husband voluntarily - don't let him fool you into thinking otherwise - joined me for yoga on Saturday mornings. I observed a serious temperature difference between coming at 7:15 and 9:00 AM.

Samantha needs no yoga for balance

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