Art of Living Update

Since I have finished a little over half the 6-day long course comprising 3 or so hours per session each, I thought I'd write a little update on the experience so far.

It's been interesting, and really tries to be a common-sense, holistic approach to living, besides a very basic introduction to yoga and good breathing techniques meant to increase overall lung power and push stale breath out of the lungs etc. Besides the Sudarshan Kriya breathing technique that its founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar developed.

We started off by introducing ourselves and fostering a sense of peace and belonging which was quite nice, but is awkward for us because while we are a communitarian culture, we also tend to be fairly judgemental. It's odd and Im not sure how to describe it. The lovely uninhibitedness of our teacher, Natasha, helped. We then proceed to loosen up our bodies and do a bit fo stretching and deep breathing. The first couple of classes were slow and relaxing, to get us into the zone, and we practiced a specific type of breathing technique, which i took a while to get.

The next day, on Tuesday, we learnt the Sudarshan Kriya. This involves breathing in specific patterns and rhythms continuously, and has evoked increadible reactions. Many of you may have heard about this from people you know... many felt tingling in their mouth and throat, in their limbs... u know.. like pins and needles but much finer, one day my hands and feet got hotter than they normally do, the next day they were cold. One lady had tears coming out of her eyes, someone moaned... it was quite incredible. It has been known to work on each person's body in a very specific way. The first day we were quite drained, then it got easier to handle.

She asked us questions about ourselves - pretty hard questions... not the esoteric "who am i, wat is the meaning of life" variety, but questions about what we want, about responsibility and happiness, and if you think about it, they're really hard to answer. We feel the need to glaze most of our answers, even to ourselves, with a veneer of political correctness and duty or guilt, or to present ourselves in a specific, but answering that honestly (something I seem to be doing rather brutally with myself this week) made me just come to terms with what I REALLY want and accept the kind of person I am.

The course stresses on acceptance, of self, of others, of responsibility, of taking responsibility not only for those things or people that are ours, but for everything on earth. On kindness, on sometimes going out of the way for someone. On forgiveness, on letting go, of taking the initiative to do a good thing for someone or something. On the simplicity and innocence of laughter, of getting rid of inhibitions, on the simple cathartic and rejuvenating sensation of feeling as free as a child in a public space.

If God came to us in any form, could we accept him/her? In the tired eyes of a bored yawning housewife, in the utterly selfconscious eyes of an uncertain 17 year old boy, in the slightly red, large pendulous eyes of an artist given to panic attacks? Or in the guarded mascaraed eyes of an attractive woman? Or even in the crinkled yoga-pants clad, messy-haired eyes of Joya? Do we even look in the eyes of person we dont have intimate relations with?

Really, what are we afraid of? Of looking stupid, of appearing over-enthu, or creating expectations we may not be able to fulfil, of seeming vulnerable. Of being other than the norm. A norm of a faceless population, each of whom is only concerned about himself or herself, who is self-centred, materialistic and judgemental. Yet, incredibly insecure. Is this even a worthwhle norm to live up to? Because of this course, people found themselves thanking their domestic help, looking into the eyes of their valet, offering neighbours lifts, kissing mothers for no reason. i know these seem like silly little things, but how often do we do them? Like Natasha says, its not about drastically changing your life, but just improving the quality of the way YOU respond to the experiences life has to offer.

Today we're having a potluck last-class dinner party and bringing a small present for an unknown someone :D

Overall, it's been surreal. Ive been glowing, especially since yesterday. I would definitely recommend it for those somewhat interested/curious. Leave a comment if you want to know more about classes in your area, or go to the Art of Living website.

Life's too short to not satisfy every khwahish! But responsibly ;)