Fill 'Er Up

Nothing like a fiery Argentinian M.D. yoga master to rock your practice. During extended trips to India, Ranjani Cobo studied with Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar, Sri Desikachar, and Indra Devi. In Calcutta, she treated leprosy patients alongside Mother Teresa and the Sisters of Charity. Worldwide, she championed the healing power of food long before the term “integrative nutrition" was coined.

Ranjani is one of very few women whose practice includes the advanced series of Ashtanga Yoga. Last Tuesday evening she was at Junction Center Yoga—a beautiful barn-turned-studio in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin—to share some wisdom with eight spellbound students, including (yippee!) me.

For nearly three hours we listened, flowed and learned while she performed adjustment wizardry on poses from Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle) to Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand). Think winged chiropractic asana. Ranjani’s postural assists were precise, confident and liberating. Her physical mastery breathtaking. But, days later, it’s the sound and effect of her breath that still echoes.

Her breath sounded primal, an amplified audible energy that lifted her body through poses more airborne than earthbound. Imagine Darth Vader as a chuckling, mewing, dancing force for good. It wasn’t enough just to listen, we all started to breathe, really breathe. Each inhale opened space between grounding and freedom; each exhale unlocked tension and expelled inhibition.

She’s physically diminutive, Ranjani. But when she breathed, she outgrew the studio, then the whole barn. Next time you practice, picture rafters, a far-away ceiling, a well-worn wood floor. Then feel what happens when you fill the space with the sound of your breath.

Three Breaths

Saturday, January 23rd, is Yoga Day USA. Studios all across the country are offering free introductory classes to encourage people who are interested, curious, or both to give yoga a try.

Even if you’re an experienced yoga practitioner, it’s a great opportunity to celebrate what you love about the practice. (In addition to the clothes and Savasana). However, some Third Islanders are outside the U.S. right now. Also, some are on wintery islands with a limited ferry schedule, others on a warmer island with no ferry schedule whatsoever. So it may be tough to get to class (unless you’re teaching it). But that doesn’t mean we can’t virtually join hands, and for a few moments immerse ourselves in a simple exploration of stillness, presence and breath.

Three breaths, in fact.

Ready?

Lift your hands from the keyboard and gently rest them on your lap, palms up.

Soften your gaze.

Uncross your legs if you need to and place the soles of your feet on a solid surface, hip-width apart.

Inhale deeply and follow the rise of the breath from belly to collar bones.

Exhale into your sitting bones and feel the chair’s support.

Inhale and effortlessly grow taller from your base to the crown of the head.

Exhale. Open to the current of life’s energy pulsing through your expanded body.

Inhale and inflate a balloon of joy into your belly.

Release it to your heart.

Exhale. Invite a smile to play at the corners of your mouth.

(Repeat often).

Happy Yoga Day.