Ga Ga over Yoga

College has finally started and third year already seems to be a major pain. But I noticed that I was really getting out of shape. I really want to maintain my physique which closely resembles that of a major bollywood star...... yup that's right I am talking about Govinda. (Good Lord! I need to do something fast.)

I needed some form of exercise which didnt take up a lot of time and also one which did not involve a significant monetary investment. So Vineet, who is the best source of news about what is happenning in the Goregaon area, suggested we take up yoga at the nearby gymkhana. To be honest, I was more attracted by the fees of Rs. 550 for a 3 month course than by anything else and I agreed.

As it turned out, we had missed 2 weeks of the course before we joined and would have to work hard to catch up. Strapping youths that we are, it didnt take long. That is, it didn't take long for us to realize we were in deep shit.

Yoga, the ancient Indian fitness routine, has a number of postures or aasanas which can be performed standing, sitting, lying down, pretty much while doing anything. The aasanas are graded according to difficuly level as:
1) Painful
2) More Painful
3) I need anaesthesia
4) Just shoot me and get it over with

Every day, we start off with the Vajrasana, a simple enough posture. We keep saying "Aum" throughout the one hour. The instructor is a friendly guy makes you work hard enough for you to actually dream of a prison camp in Siberia.

The class is full of oldies who looked suspiciously at us when we came the first day. They were under the impression we were misguided and turned the wrong way while we were going for a football game. I looked at the oldies and smiled in self satisfaction thinking that because of my younger age and stronger physique, I would make them look like idiots while I was doing my aasanas. Wrong. Turns out, these guys have already done yoga for years and the ease with which they seem to pull off the toughest aasanas, makes we wish I could sink into the ground.

Each day, we do a different set of aasanas, standing one day, lying down the other and so on. I have been in the class four days and have enjoyed it immensely. Yes it is painful, but as the instructor puts it, "Pain is good".

Hopefully I will survive the next 2 months. Wish me luck because right now, a posture means pain in the posterior. Better still, an aasana is a pain in the arse. Egad!!!