The voice of our German instructor Shakti (spiritual name) wafted gently across the room. “This exercise is particularly good for relaxing the pelvic floor and preparing for birth. Now gently push down, and rel-aaaax”.
It was a moment that begged for reflection. Here I was, on my hands and knees, a pillow stuffed up my shirt, learning about the intricacies of doing yoga while pregnant. Not even a clairvoyant would have seen this coming six months ago. Given that I find many of the asanas (physical poses) hard enough while unimpregnated, this class was getting close to being a challenge too far. I struggled through. (I was helped by my chosen location for this class – the Japanese ladies enclave. God knows how they manage still look graceful while quasi-pregnant).
It’s been quite a journey, this week in particular. Full reflections will have to wait a while to grace cyberspace. There are two days left of the course – an examination tomorrow and then graduation in the evening. The final week has been filled with priceless moments.
I must now endeavour to put in at least a passable impression of knowledge of Vedanta Philosophy, Basic Anatomy, Teaching class structures, and Meditative practices in tomorrow’s exam. It is my first for a good 15 years.
If all goes horribly wrong, it occurs to me that a (relatively valid) answer would be to admit that I may have been relying too much on divine intervention in my revision. (I am currently 100 yards from the beach).
‘Til next week. Wish me luck!
Andrew Duff 