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Published: September 22nd 2008
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Ashram
Iyengar The Past few weeks have been very interesting! I came to study Yoga to improve my own practice, become a better teacher and attempt to suppress my ego. The cleansing techniques are supposed to help with ego, I have been told. So with several attempts and lots of vomit I have succeeded in two of the practices. One of the practices called Dundar Neti involves inserting a catheter into the nose and pulling it out the mouth. The problem with this is that it is revolting!! You have to coat the tube with ghee to lubricate it, I had flash backs of last years buttered popcorn in the nose! As you start to insert the tube a sneeze reflex is triggered, so there were 13 of us on Vaman Road sneezing as though we had all just had a whiff of black pepper. Then comes the pain - does anybody know how small the nasal passage is?? Lets just say that I consummated my relationship with my nasal passage, and unlike some relationships I have gained more respect for my nose. Moving right along to the awkward feeling of the tube traveling down the back of the throat…and this is where
Ashram
Mr. Sharma demonstrating the trouble all began, the tube and the gag reflex don’t get along I am afraid. So there I was once again on the road vomiting with a tube up my nose and lodged in my throat. That was enough for one day! Poor Mom was standing there watching my face cringe with pain, tears running down my red face barfing on “Vaman Road”.
The following morning we preformed Dundar Douti by drinking two glasses of water and inserting a feeding tube into the stomach to create a fountain of water, mucus and if we were lucky bile! These cleansing techniques are "very good" for our health?!? Our wonderful instructor kept saying “just tell yourselves you are advanced students, you can do this”. After puking more than 5 times I gave up for the day! The worst part about Dundar Douti is that you are supposed to push the tube in while you gag or vomit as the esophagus opens up allowing the tube to pass through more freely. These cleansing techniques take a lot of mental strength and practice to master.
I forgot to mention that I completed the Master Cleanse by drinking 12 glasses of warm
Ashram
Pooja at The Mandlik residence. lemon salt water and practicing Asanas to increase peristaltic movements. By the time I got finished I had evacuated my bowls 17 times, and I can tell you it was not a pleasant experience. Luckily I made it to the toilet each time!
We spent a week preparing for a visit from B.K.S Iyengar to visit the ashram. He and Governor H.E. Shri E.S.L. Narsimhan were invited to open and inaugurate the new building at the ashram. We were asked to perform a demonstration of Asana and cleansing techniques on stage for Iyengar and the Governor in Nasik. The show was amended and changed about 5 times due to security. The Governor is a heavily protected man and there were to be a maximum of 7 people on stage for crowd control. I was in two of the demos, one of which was Dundar Neti! If you had told me even a few months ago that I would be on a stage sticking a rubber catheter in my nose and pulling it out of my mouth in front of Iyengar, I would have seriously questioned your sanity! Luckily it went down without a hitch and nobody got hurt!
Ashram
Moms last day of teaching Iyengar was amazing at 90! He walked like a 50 year old and speaks with conviction and clarity. He is very passionate about the path of Ashtanga Yoga and his understanding of Pantanjali’s Yoga Sutras written in 400 B.C. Typical Iyengar, he criticized our demonstration - of course our alignment was not perfect and we need more guidance while practicing Asana. We must know where our left toes and right toes are at all times! It was great to hear him speak, he truly is a model for what he preaches. He came to the ashram the following day to give us a lecture and inaugurate the building.
I will be eating cloth in a few days, yes cloth and this will be my final cleansing practice. I have to admit that although I have managed to complete all but one cleansing technique to date my EGO is still alive and kicking! I think that it will be a life long practice to tame it. What an experience this has been.
Only 1 week to go and I can't wait to be back in Vancouver with my wonderful life.
Love and peace to you all!
Om
Shanti,
Sara
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Jessica
non-member comment
Oh wow Sara. What an incredible experience, but I don't think I could ever have the mental strength to perform those cleansing techniques. Actually, I think my ego would get all over-blown if I ever successfully performed one of them. haha.