Health: Sign up for a blindfolded yoga session in Kalina

This Sunday, put on an eye mask and twist your limbs at an inimitable blindfolded yoga session in Kalina

Yoga practitioner Priyanka Nair guides the reporter to practise Trikonasana at a trial session of blindfolded Ashtanga Yoga at The Viewing Room, an art gallery in Colaba. Pics/Pradeep Dhivar

“Wait, let us try without blindfolds first,” says yoga practitioner Priyanka Nair as we fiddle with an eye mask we’ve carried with us, excited to put on and practise blindfolded yoga. Instead, we keep it aside, get on a mat at a spacious art gallery in Colaba and begin the first asana, Trikona (Triangle Pose), which is part of the first-of-its-kind two-hour blindfolded Ashtanga (eight-limbed) Yoga session that the 29-year-old will conduct this Sunday. Organised by the mobile-first fitness discovery platform, UActiv, the session will be held at a performance and fitness studio in Kalina.

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“I will teach four asanas — in standing, sitting and sleeping positions each. First, the guests will try them without blindfolds to register the movements in the muscle memory. This will help replicate the moves blindfolded,” she informs. The guests are required to bring their own eye masks and yoga mats. We emulate her and stand with our feet apart, spread our arms parallel to the ground, and then, bend on the left side trying to touch the shin with our right palm, forming a triangle.

How it helps
“Our eyes use the maximum amount of energy and so, blindfolded yoga helps you conserve and redirect it to connect with your inner self. It teaches you to be mindful. Shutting down one sense also makes the others more alert,” says Nair, who took to yoga three years ago and has been practising blindfolded yoga thrice a week for a few months. “It’s divine,” she smiles, which is our cue to put on the eye mask.

Nair attempts the challenging Vrikshasana pose; the reporter is asked to practise Janu Sirsasana and later, replicates the moves using a blindfold

Breathe in, breathe out
We rely on intuition and a mental map of the steps to replicate Trikonasana. Initially, we grope mid-air wondering if our arms are actually parallel to the ground. Our ears instantly perk up to Nair’s instructions as she guides us to refine our postures (“Lift your hand as if someone is pulling you up”). Once in a while, she also comes up behind us to straighten our back.

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To get into a sitting position, with the blindfolds on, is a challenge. Clumsily, we manage and begin Janu Sirsasana (head-to-knee forward bend) that we learnt a few minutes back. We press the heel of our right leg on the left thigh and bend forward, trying to touch our toes. With eyes closed, we can focus better on our breathing techniques and accomplish the pose gracefully. “Maintaining balance is difficult,” says Nair, as she puts on the eye mask and swiftly gets into Vrikshanasana (Tree Pose). It may take us a while to master that one, but we’re ready to face a manic workday, having relaxed our minds.

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