some cool yoga tips

My teachers say some things very casually as corrections and move on during Yoga class.. usually at the studio, we have the opportunity to discuss these lightbulb moments right after class.

I have had so many such moments where a certain word is used by a teacher for the first time by way of a second level explanation to what they are asking us to do and that one word switch clicks in the head.

Now that yoga classes have become isolated affairs, it is not easy to have such live discussions. However, there is a forum where we are still fortunate enough to post comments and photos videos to get clarifications.

Today we had yet another zoom yoga class at BYSJ. While in class, our teacher Michelle casually mentions "Sundar, press your knees closer to each other" and she went on to correct someone else.. she is seeing me as a small thumbnail and gives me a correction that was very profound for me..

it makes it so much easier to lift up in toe stand when you compact the base. it was like my floor was solid and in one piece and I had no worries of my leg unraveling during a perpendicular movement..

If I lost you in the previous sentence... especially if you dont do toe stands, dont worry, you are not alone. That is every yoga class for me!  I get lost easily..

Before class we got to chat with teachers and one of the great tips from the forum was for a stretching pose "pachimottanasana". 

my ankle is off the ground.. it is not visible in the photograph.... and my knee is locked.. I am just bow legged so you see that gap in the floor above the knee. 

Jr. helped shoot these videos of me explaining my lightbulb moments from todays yoga class.. she has inherited the sarasm gene from me, as you can clearly tell from the video. 

She will be missed when she goes to college. No one else in this house is willing to do yoga videos for me. 

I have been a mess mentally thanks to all the recent news and I became the "red chitti" version of myself on social media trying to mock the world for what it is. In the process I trolled myself pretty badly and this class has brought me back to sanity!

It has been a very busy work week and I could not even go out for walks or do yoga many times this week, thanks to the recovering ankle and meetings that have pretty much been round the clock. That did not help my mental state either. 

Tomorrow I plan to do a lot more yoga and walk and even bike a little to make up for last weeks inactivity.

The world definitely becomes a better and bearable place with yoga! Seriously think Yoga should be available as a course for people in law enforcement.. It will also help people who are trying to rehabilitate if made available. 

The Turkish desi..

San was recommended a Turkish watch by one of her friends and she started watching it.  She had just started and I walked past the family room and said "are you watching something in Turkish?" .. she was surprised that I could recognize it was Turkish by just walking past to the kitchen..

It was a cute chick flick called "Her Yerde Sen". After spending 2 hours watching it, I thought it would come to a happy ending and it kind of went to titles abruptly..

Then she sheepishly tells me it is a "serial" and that was the first episode.. There are 22 such episodes 2 hours long. I get migraines if I watch TV for more than 3-4 hours in a row but this was cute and we hardly watch anything together.. 

So I beg her to watch one episode with me every night.. we were okay for two days.. then the long weekend hit and she just went to episode 18 in two days while I was still at 4! She binge watched the damn thing by fast forwarding 2 hour episodes to under an hour. . . she insisted I do the same.. and I gave her a long lecture on why fast forwarding rom coms to a kiss is as bad as fast forwarding Jackie Chan as he makes all the prep moves before he strikes.. you know the action is going to be amazing, but watching him setup the strike is as important as the 15 seconds of action itself.. the whole buildup of the drama is lost if you fast forward.. 

I am going to watch 1 hour a day and maybe finish this in another 16 days without fast forwarding.. so yes, I am spending the long weekend watching a Turkish serial! 

Then came the part where I surprised my wife with some Turkish vocab.. even the kids were surprised.. everytime I show any proficiency in a language the folks at home automatically assume it has to do with a girl.. 

So here is the back story.. One of my close grad school friends Sedat was from Turkey and we used to live in different floors of the same Apartment complex. It was me, a Bengali guy and my Turkish friend taking turns making Tea (Tea bag tea, Turkish tea, Varanasi Chai) in someones apartment every day and we would watch Star Trek and Simpsons back to back for an hour on week days. A lot of great memories.. 

we would also teach each other phrases on what things were called in Tamil, Bengali and Turkish. Sedat thought it would be a good idea to teach me enough Turkish to pass me off as Turkish in one of his get togethers in his apartment. It was an experiement or prank of sorts. He used to give me cheat sheets to practice and I found some of them to show my wife and kids! (in the process I also found a lot of old photos etc. which was a trip down memory lane). 

there were many such sheets..can't find the rest of them. He taught me conversational Turkish and all I had to do was pronounce every word correctly.. think I did him proud by passing off as a Turkish dude.. He always thought I was a good student. Had no idea of the detailed words but could repeat entire sentences from memory.. 

The good thing is that I can always come up with intersting stories that surprise my kids.. 

Yeah kids.. your dad was cool once! 

A bittersweet moment

When I posted this in 2007, there was always the realization that before we knew it, this girl would be going from high school to college.

We have had a good run in this home when it comes to the kids, schools and the folks in the neighborhood. 

The virus was a curve ball that has spoilt the graduation plans. The kid has been doing her work from her room in silence for the most part.. (I say that because when she plays that Alto Sax, no other zoom meetings are possible in the house or in a 500 meter radius). Hearing her play is a treat though!

In a lot of ways, we are going to miss her when she goes to Indiana, if and when Purdue opens. 

The original plan was for me to go with her and drop her in college as the little one (who is not little by standards outside my eyes) has first day of school the same week. 

The kids lobbied for me to stay home and my darling wife to be the college dropper and room setter upper.. 

Happened to be in the other room listening in on this discussion between grandma, mom and the two girls.

Apparently, I am emotionally unfit to do the drop. They were predicting that I would cry, make Jr. cry etc.. there was betting that I would say something like "nee padichchadhu porum. veetukku pogalam vaa!" (you have studied enough, lets go home!) or something like that right after the first day orientation is over and bring her back home with me.

Then they were talking about me being depressed if I don't go and the little one says "don't worry. I have him covered. Will take care of him and will make sure he is kept busy and distracted when you are gone!" 

The confidence and authority in that voice was a little scary. It is one thing to know that you have been managed by these three women for the most part of your life, but looks like I am the kid and she is the adult. 

There was a time when I was incharge of distracting them while San fed them gerber with one of those spoons which would change color if it got too hot.. now the kid is distracting me while one of them is being dropped off to college. In a way the world is coming full circle for me.

The official high school graduation from home is next week, but we did go take pictures this morning with the gown and cap that were received. . .

Here is a comparison photo..

Really wish this kid would go on to do everything she wishes to do as she steps out into the world!

60 day challenge 2020

2020 is something.. 

In spite of the virus raging in China and slowly making its way here, the January-March 60 day challenge was on. I started on Jan 1st and finished the challenge 7 days ahead. 

There was no travel and that actually made it easy. I still did doubles early on because there was a flight ticket in my inbox that keep moving to a later date and eventually got cancelled. 

Since the stay at home order, have been continuing the Yoga at home with recorded dialogues from my teachers. Have done another 60 day challenge staying at home after the original one.

There is obviously no party to celebrate, no stories to share. We are all part of the most interesting story of our lifetime with COVID-19.  Surviving this is the only priority. 

Yoga has definitely continued to keep me sane during these times. 

Michelle was nice enough to fly me a T-Shirt at BYSJ! She has also been teaching on Zoom and still predicts with millisecond accuracy on when I am about to give up, unlock my knee and gives corrections online once a week. All my teachers also give me corrections based on photos and videos I post on the group forums. 

Sincerely hope to do yoga in a hot room soon enough! cannot wait.. it was hard to be outside BYSJ and not do Yoga!

Here is the picture with the shirt and my shaved head to go with it!

Was going to ask my kids to draw the last airbender tattoo pattern on my head with a sharpie to take this picture and decided against it.. who knows if I will get an allergic reaction to the sharpie. . maybe with Mehendi... if my wife or MIL are up to it.. it is not like I am going out to meet anyone for another 20 days at least.. 

Now for the charts..

for the first time I did a class every day in the 60 days and 2 on some days in 2020.. 

My weight was okay during the challenge but since then I have added a couple of pounds.. 

Hope there is another challenge later this year when the Yoga studio reopens and I get to practice with all you fellow yogis! 

Thank you BYSJ and all the teachers for doing what you do, even in these tough times to keep us fit and sane! 

Mottai - Do it yourself.. well almost

First it was a Samosa- Do it yourself.. 

now it is a mottai.. I simply could not handle the wet hair post yoga. Started getting migraines last three days. Decided enough was enough. Hair Focus, the salon I have been going to for 18 years is not opening anytime soon.. so this is it. 

Jr. the budding nurse, who will have to eventually learn to shave using something like this eventually got some practice ahead of time..

The little one is not looking at me.. San and MIL think I went over the top..  Jr. is happy with her handiwork. 

Me, just relieved!