Discovering a New Way of Life - A Yoga Class with Subhash Mitthal Ji

It was a sunny March afternoon, relatively warm for Durham standards. Colorful butterflies made their rounds between green grass and fresh spring blossoms, and families brought their kids and dogs to the garden to enjoy nature. The scent of new life was in their air. Slightly out of breath, I arrived at our meeting spot just in time before class started. I greeted our Hindi professor, Kusum Ji, and my classmates. Shortly after arrived our instructor, Subhas Ji. An elderly Indian man with a bright smile, Subhas Ji appeared to be the positive kind of grandpa we all wished we had. Once all parties had arrived, we spent the next ten minutes walking across Duke Gardens trying to scout an empty patch of grass that was not unbearably wet from the rain of the previous night.

As I spread out my intricately embroidered cotton bedsheet (a.k.a. makeshift yoga mat) on the wet grass, I grew quite intrigued by the idea of doing yoga with Subhash Ji. In the past, all my yoga experiences had been limited to 45-minute sessions taught by middle-aged white women in the higher-end gyms of southern California. They all focused on the physical aspects of stretching, balancing, and building strength. Although I enjoyed the stretching part, yoga always seemed too slow for my exercise routine. I thought what is the point of doing yoga if I could do high intensity interval training (HIIT)? I was curious if my previous conceptions were correct and yoga was indeed just a slow sport for the elderly - or was there more to yoga?

As our class settled down on our mats, Subhash Ji opened the class with the following question: “What is yoga?”

He was met with silence.

“Yoga,” he responded, “is a way of life. A peaceful life.”

In the next breath he explained to us the various aspects of yoga, such as breathing, physical exercise, but most important of all, he said, was the mental aspect.

“Mental concentration is the single most important aspect of yoga.”

We began the session with breathing exercises. Using simple Hindi commands, Subhash Ji instructed us first-year students on how to breathe. Sans ander, sans baher. Sans ander, sans baher. Breathing loudly in front of my classmates felt odd at first but soon I began to feel how every part of my body became more relaxed with every breath. Sans ander, sans baher. Sans ander, sans baher. Next came the physical exercises. Subhash Ji instructed us to follow a set of simple stretches and strength exercises. The exercises themselves were very easy and nowhere near the complicated balancing acts that I used to associate with yoga. However, I also remembered that the most important aspect was not physical fitness but the mind-body connection. Instead of focusing all my energy on my glutes, quads, and abdominal muscles, it felt as if I was using just as much energy with my brain. Lastly, Subhash Ji concluded our yoga session with a short segment of laugh yoga. He simply began to laugh loudly and we were asked to join him. Laughing loudly is one of my natural talents and I felt like I was in my element. After the exercise, I noticed how my mood had instantly improved just by laughing. Laugh yoga appears to be the ultimate manifestation of spreading positivity and what can be more positive than laughing with an Indian grandpa?

At the end of our yoga session, Kusum Ji encouraged us to ask questions to Subhash Ji. The first question from a student was how often he practices yoga, to which he replied: “every single day.” When another student asked him when he usually does yoga, he answered: “in the morning before breakfast. It is the first thing I do after getting up.” In response to other questions, he explained how he lives every aspect of his life according to the principles of yoga. For instance, he told us how he always eats “pure,” unprocessed food as opposed to highly processed food and fast food. Subhash Ji structures his entire life around the ideal of peaceful living.

After all the other students left, I remained sitting in the wet grass and thinking. I had realized that all my previous conceptions about yoga had been highly inaccurate. There is a world’s difference between what is taught in American gyms and the millennia-old South Asian tradition of yoga. Yoga is not about building strength, balance, and flexibility. It is much more than that. Our class with Subhash Ji was a valuable learning experience and the ultimate proof that yoga is anything but a trendy exercise routine - it is an ancient way of life and a proven path towards peaceful living.

This workshop was supported by Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and Duke Service-learning.