Namaskar - Oct 09

same divine glow. His words came to mind:
“When I Practise I am a Philosopher. When I
teach I am a Scientist. When I demonstrate I am
an artist”.
I went to get his blessing again, the same
touch. It was ecstasy for me. It was a
journey into the Yogic Cosmos. The feeling
was so strong it cannot be explained in
words. It sent a pleasant shock wave
through me.
I showed him my Guinness certificate
and the photographs of all the asanas I had
performed. He read all the words in the
certificate carefully with patience. He showed
excitement as he was going through the
photographs. I felt like a child, who
was proudly showing his high scores in the
school merit records to his parents. My
whole body was filled with joy every
moment I spent with my Guru. He
admitted some of the asanas looked new.
He also advised me on a few modifications
for some of the asanas.
After the meeting I requested permission to
stay there for a week to observe the classes.
He asked his secretary to make all
arrangements for my stay in the Institute. I
was lucky to witness classes conducted by
Guruji’s son Prashanth Iyengar and
daughter Geetha Iyengar. Both of them
have devoted their lives to yoga. Prashanth
Iyengar was teaching advanced level yoga.
He taught a meager seven asanas in the twohour
session for 70 people. Every asana was
explained in minute detail with the
philosophy behind it. Geetha Iyengar
taught the early morning 7 am class to a 90-
strong group of students, among which
only around 40 people were local Indian
students and the rest were all from overseas.
Her class was more interactive and students
were able to ask questions and discuss any
issues with her. Like a school teacher she
was reviewing the previous classes and when
the students were unable to remember what
they had learnt she clearly expressed her
dislike. Medi-Yoga classes are also popular at
the Institute. This type of class is a
methodological approach of curing ailments
using Yoga techniques. A large number of
people with health problems attend these
classes. Exclusive classes for women are
being conducted in the Institute, but no
children are allowed as students.
“Next time you visit Pune you should study
with us for at least a month” was the
command of my beloved Guruji when I
met him to ask permission to leave Pune.
This was what I had been waiting for and
it had been a wonderful trip. As I left Pune
with a heavy heart, I wondered when I
would next visit him again.
Yogaraj started learning yoga at the age of
five. He has more than 10 years teaching
experience, teaching in India, Hong Kong,
China and Taiwan. Yogaraj now teaches in
Hong Kong at The Yoga Room, City
University and Living Yoga.
37