It’s A Wrap
Actually, it’s a masala dosa, and it is right up there when it comes to my favourite Indian foods. This one was perfect; crispy edges, not too much potato filling, lovely coconut chutney and flavourful, a little on the sour-side samba. Can you taste it?
I’m sorry that you can’t.
Even from this great picture and description, the dosa is only a concept for some and a memory for others. The only way to experience masala dosa is to tear off a piece and take a bite.
It’s the same with the Yoga practices.
The only way to experience their potency is to take them inside you and wait for various sensations to come alive. Fire hot? Mild, medium or intense spice? Salty, sweet? A bit nutty, smooth or crunchy?
The fourth week of July at RIMYI places everything served in the preceding weeks on the table. Nothing, however, tastes or feels the same. The senses are more precise, providing refined and sublime notes.
However, tastes differ. What brings one person to the Yoga table is often very different to that which nourishes another.
Preparing Black Masoor Dahl
Knowing the method of preparation, getting ‘educated’ in Yoga, as Prashantji often notes, is part of the learning.
The Iyengar method is a recipe that undoubtedly takes practice.
To make anything resembling Yoga on one’s own requires effort and measured application.
Being here for a month has created an opportunity to remove my life’s routine distractions. A chance to pause and savour cleansing food and some beautifully ripened fruit, so to speak.
The experience will take time to digest and even longer to absorb. The pieces below are from Mr Iyengar’s Tree of Yoga.
It is the art of self-study, observation, reflection and sight of the infinite hidden within.
It begins with the observation of physical process, then involves watchfulness of the mental state, then blends the intelligence of the head with that of the heart to delve deep in profound contemplation …
So work to attain it, and if it comes, hold on to it … That is why I said you must hold on to it.
If the grace has come, continue your practice, and don't allow it to disappear.
Tomorrow I pack my bags and wanted to leave you with these words as they’ve helped me to understand this month’s immersive experience.
Words, however, as Abhijata mentioned in class, are just words.
Only the fruit of right action demonstrates my
gratitude
and thanks
to the Iyengar family.
Acknowledging the
highest respect
to their
ancestors’ past
and yet emerging.