1 23:59:59,334 --> 00:00:31,022 [Indian Classical Music] 2 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:35,120 Namaste, the divine in me, greets the 3 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:37,520 divine in you, I'm Shirdika Pillai 4 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:40,040 and you are watching your ultimate Hindu magazine 5 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:45,100 program Sadhana, The Inward Path, right here on SABC3 6 00:00:45,100 --> 00:00:48,380 Today we celebrate the divine consciousness that 7 00:00:48,380 --> 00:00:52,440 restores harmony and balance within and around us 8 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,140 with the excitement of international yoga day 9 00:00:55,140 --> 00:00:58,700 still in the air, we visit Diego Baldi, a young 10 00:00:58,700 --> 00:01:01,580 yoga instructor who is also passionate about 11 00:01:01,580 --> 00:01:04,740 Ayurvedic cooking. There is more yoga after that 12 00:01:04,740 --> 00:01:05,160 with Kugan 13 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:07,440 And some reflection through 14 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,680 Lokesh Ji and the Ramayama. Yoga itself is a physical, mental 15 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,020 and spiritual practice that originated in India 16 00:01:15,020 --> 00:01:18,600 about six thousand years ago throughout the ages 17 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,640 yoga has evolved and developed and become very 18 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:25,460 much apart of the Western society too. We recently 19 00:01:25,460 --> 00:01:28,900 met Diego Baldi of fascinating young westerner 20 00:01:28,900 --> 00:01:31,800 who has completely embraced eastern traditions, 21 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,680 teaching us a thing or two about our own ancient 22 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:37,820 practices 23 00:01:49,020 --> 00:01:53,920 I've come from very traditional South African 24 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,300 home. My father's from Italy, so I have 25 00:01:57,300 --> 00:02:00,180 been exposed to the Yoga only over the last eight 26 00:02:00,180 --> 00:02:02,140 years and the introduction came through. My 27 00:02:02,140 --> 00:02:05,620 sister in the time of growing up at school. She 28 00:02:05,620 --> 00:02:08,540 would attend Iyengar yoga practices and at the 29 00:02:08,540 --> 00:02:12,560 age of 16 actually was inspired to become a 30 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:15,960 vegetarian and then take on the studies of yoga 31 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:17,920 So in that way my sister Bianca 32 00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:22,660 had introduce me to the practice of yoga 33 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,340 The training and the journey of yoga I think, is 34 00:02:30,340 --> 00:02:33,840 still unfolding and it's a beautiful process of 35 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:38,040 opening up to to be aware in different ways and 36 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,800 the training it started in South Africa. So I've 37 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,980 got many different teachers. I think, for clarity 38 00:02:43,980 --> 00:02:46,400 Iyengar yoga for me in terms of teaching the 39 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,600 postures is the most accessible and accommodating 40 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,820 discipline so when we work in this way... I've 41 00:02:53,820 --> 00:02:56,740 studied most recently with the Iyengar. And Guruji Iyengar... 42 00:02:56,740 --> 00:02:58,720 and this year actually is the centenary 43 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,500 celebration and his work in terms of "Light on 44 00:03:02,500 --> 00:03:05,420 Yoga" his public of all the practices has been 45 00:03:05,420 --> 00:03:07,840 around for 50 years so it's very solid and very 46 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:11,240 stable and authentic traditions that he brings 47 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,620 nother aspect in terms of the the mental 48 00:03:14,620 --> 00:03:20,320 aspects although Iyengar yoga encompasses meditation 49 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:22,660 and the mind within the practice of postures and 50 00:03:22,660 --> 00:03:25,000 Pranayama; the other practice that I've been 51 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,420 exposed to very early in in my yoga pathway 52 00:03:29,420 --> 00:03:32,140 was Kundalini yoga and it's also a very specific 53 00:03:32,140 --> 00:03:34,100 discipline that's taught by a master called Yogi Bhajan 54 00:03:34,100 --> 00:03:36,740 and it gives also ways and means because 55 00:03:36,740 --> 00:03:40,120 Kundalini and yoga is a big discipline and it has a lot of 56 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,200 potential and has a lot of benefit but it has to 57 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:45,600 be approached in a very specific way because yoga 58 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:48,680 has a physical value and benefit, but also 59 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:51,660 there's a lot of mental, emotional, spiritual 60 00:03:51,660 --> 00:03:55,340 awareness that we can develop. 61 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:03,980 Maharishi Patanjali I think, is, is very 62 00:04:03,980 --> 00:04:07,140 important in terms of understanding yoga and his 63 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:11,320 appearance to the world and humanity was 64 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,500 specifically for the purpose of teaching yoga. So 65 00:04:14,500 --> 00:04:16,780 in the beginning there was seven main branches of 66 00:04:16,780 --> 00:04:21,000 yoga and over time they started to diversify 67 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,300 and maybe move away from the essence so 68 00:04:23,300 --> 00:04:26,940 Patanjali came 500BC, it's a more modern context 69 00:04:26,940 --> 00:04:30,000 in terms of the vedas in the yoga 70 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,500 tradition, but he came with a very clear 71 00:04:33,500 --> 00:04:36,680 framework; how do we as a regular house holders 72 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:39,820 and people with job and families, how do we gain the 73 00:04:39,820 --> 00:04:45,500 benefit of a yoga practice, a very solid Sadhana? [chanting Aum] 74 00:04:56,100 --> 00:05:00,620 Sometimes our awareness is scattered, our mind is 75 00:05:00,620 --> 00:05:03,100 outside of our body and outside of the moment, 76 00:05:03,100 --> 00:05:04,740 and we've got many different things that are at 77 00:05:04,740 --> 00:05:07,580 play. So yoga is trying to get us back to feeling 78 00:05:07,580 --> 00:05:11,080 the body and the process of awakening the body 79 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,700 to to engage and to align and to open up the 80 00:05:14,700 --> 00:05:18,160 organs, open up the physical body is supported by 81 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:20,920 the by the props, so sometimes we don't have the 82 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,120 knowledge of how do we firm up our legs, 83 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,240 how do we stand strong? how do we get a full 84 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:27,420 extension of your chest and your lungs? So the 85 00:05:27,420 --> 00:05:31,480 props allow us that insight so that it gives us that 86 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:34,380 muscle memory. It gives us that awareness so that 87 00:05:34,380 --> 00:05:37,620 when we when we do the postures without the props 88 00:05:37,620 --> 00:05:42,460 the body has learned in a very supportive way 89 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:06,040 Being in India, just the innate 90 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:09,060 spirituality and the lifestyle which people 91 00:06:09,060 --> 00:06:12,480 through the vedic culture 92 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:15,760 has established, such a beautiful, peaceful way of 93 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:20,760 living, so being able to to be exposed to Geeta and BKS Iyengar's 94 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:23,420 teachings in India was something very 95 00:06:23,420 --> 00:06:26,100 special and then, after that I was fortunate 96 00:06:26,100 --> 00:06:28,160 enough to travel again to India the year 97 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:32,260 following, for a month intensive so I was able to 98 00:06:32,260 --> 00:06:36,380 to spend a four weeks process of actually 99 00:06:36,380 --> 00:06:39,160 learning the yoga at the Institute, which was very 100 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:42,080 special. I've also had the opportunity to do 101 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:44,400 advance training in the Himalayas, I did some 102 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:48,160 studies with i Ayurveda and also the Samkya philosophy 103 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:50,360 the yogic philosophy and I think it's very 104 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:52,640 important to understand that context, although 105 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:54,800 when wer're teaching a lot of it is understanding 106 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,060 yoga through the body but having that awareness 107 00:06:57,060 --> 00:07:00,600 and being able to go to India to inbibe that 108 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:06,020 knowledge was an experience of a lifetime. 109 00:07:06,020 --> 00:07:07,800 (teaching) I'll just demonstrate for a moment; I'll show you the action 110 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,980 so that we can see, and you can watch... 111 00:07:11,980 --> 00:07:15,640 for a moment, so the idea is to to get the heart 112 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,300 in a position where it's inverted and it's restful 113 00:07:18,300 --> 00:07:21,160 Even this is a very subtle inversion. This is one 114 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:23,400 of the first inverted postures after the forward bends, 115 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:26,040 that we start to learn. So you come down slowly 116 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:28,500 so you can see your shoulders are actually 117 00:07:28,500 --> 00:07:31,560 resting and your back of your neck is very 118 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:34,420 comfortable, so in this position you can actually see 119 00:07:34,420 --> 00:07:36,900 your heart is doing a "handstand," we get the heart 120 00:07:36,900 --> 00:07:39,660 elevated, it's actually a little bit above the head 121 00:07:39,660 --> 00:07:43,240 so in this way there is a similar effect of inverting the body 122 00:07:43,900 --> 00:07:46,160 and we'll straighten the legs 123 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:50,480 to support your spine to be strong. And the effect of this 124 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:52,720 posture as you lie supine it helps the organs 125 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:57,860 to settle and relax, through the movement of the 126 00:07:57,860 --> 00:08:01,080 blood to the heart and to the head we find a good 127 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:05,460 balance for the glands and good balance for the nervous system, 128 00:08:05,460 --> 00:08:08,740 so it's very relaxing. And then to come out we'll slowly go back. 129 00:08:08,740 --> 00:08:12,140 Having learned and still learning and teaching 130 00:08:12,140 --> 00:08:15,040 yoga it's become my full time dedication and 131 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:17,620 devotion and the Durban Yoga Shala has been the 132 00:08:17,620 --> 00:08:20,100 space. So "Shala" is a space in which we can 133 00:08:20,100 --> 00:08:22,860 come out of the rat race and we can find a quiet 134 00:08:22,860 --> 00:08:25,720 place where we can sit and we can be peaceful. We 135 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,000 can find a sense of ease within ourselves, so 136 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:31,660 this space was actually created by 137 00:08:31,660 --> 00:08:36,360 Dr. Satish Singh as a sanctuary, as a Shala for 138 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,640 people to come in to practice and it's been a 139 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:41,560 great space, I mean it's completely 140 00:08:41,560 --> 00:08:45,080 conducive for relaxation and meditation. 141 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:46,440 The Durban Yoga Shala 142 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:50,640 is a gem within the city. 143 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,440 The essence of Yoga is is to unite humanity. So I think it's important 144 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:56,260 that people understand the true essence of what 145 00:08:56,260 --> 00:08:59,360 yoga is about and nowadays we see a lot of yoga 146 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:03,340 through the physical expression, it is 147 00:09:03,340 --> 00:09:05,840 important to understand the postures, but 148 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:07,880 sometimes it's misperceived as to what is 149 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,200 actually yoga and yoga is for everybody to feel 150 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,120 comfortable and to feel stable in their body. So 151 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:17,240 I think Guruji Iyengar in terms of his approach to 152 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:20,900 making the postures accessible to everybody, whether 153 00:09:20,900 --> 00:09:24,040 you're elderly or young, whether you have 154 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:26,760 ailments or conditions, there's a way and means 155 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:30,780 that we can all progress. Yoga is universal, it's 156 00:09:30,780 --> 00:09:37,460 it's available for everybody to benefit from.