Telluride Yoga Fest 2013: Aadil Palkhivala

06 Jul Telluride Yoga Fest 2013: Aadil Palkhivala

His studio, Alive & Shine, in Bellevue, Washington, was voted “Best of Western Washington” in 2012.

On a radio program of the same name, hosted with his wife, Savriti, he interviews experts in the fields of health and medicine such as Jeffrey M. Smith, author of the bestseller on the dangers of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). “Ignorance May Not Be Bliss After All” was a program that featured founder and chairman of the German and Swiss Institute for Neuro-Biology, Dr. Klinghardt, who spoke on the effect of our environment on our nervous system.

Other recent topics of note included how to find inspiration in your life in a world that is mostly heavy and depressed.

We know one way: Meet the remarkable “renaissance yogi” (Yoga Journal) Aadil Palkhivala at the 6th annual Telluride Yoga Festival, Thursday, July 11 – Sunday, July 14.

True, the term “renaissance anything” feels hackneyed these days, but how else to describe a man who is a a lawyer – with an undergraduate degree in math and physics – an author (“Fire of Love: For Students of Life and Teachers of Yoga”), a teacher of yoga teachers, a certified naturopath, an Ayurvedic practitioner, and a certified shiatsu and Swedish bodywork therapist with a passion for the arts, especially poetry, who has intensively studied elocution, opera singing, Japanese flower arranging, painting, and drawing?

We eagerly await an alternate descriptor…

Tapping fingers….

Aadil Palhivala begins his weekend of instruction at Yoga Fest with an all-day intensive Thursday, July 11, 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The subject is “Realigning and Healing the Lower Back.” In the workshop, learn the anatomy of lower back pain and how to do specific poses to release and relieve muscle spasms and misalignment of the SI joint and spine. Learn how changing your subconscious thoughts and feelings changes your health and what foods to eat to reduce inflammation and pain. The class includes asana, breath, nutrition, and yogic thoughts to apply in your day-to-day life. (Props: sticky mat, strap, block, and two blankets.)

Aadil and his wife, Savitri, are the founders of Purna Yoga, a holistic synthesis of yogic traditions based on the work of Aadil’s spiritual teachers Sri Aurobindo and Mother Pondicherry.  Aadil will teach several classes in that tradition.

In”Understanding Inversions,” students explore the reasons for doing inversions, as well as how to practice them in a careful, aligned and safe manner in order to feel their healing effects and the mystical quality that gave rise to their creation. (Advanced Beginner/Intermediate students and beyond. Props: Sticky mat, yoga strap, two blankets).

Most knee problems, according to Aadil, are really hip problems, and many hip problems come from doing postures without regard to proper alignment in joint. That puts a strain on the tendons and ligaments surrounding the hips and also causes excessive wear to the cartilage inside the hip joint. In Aadil’s “Healing the Hips and Knees,” learn how to decompress and open the hips in all directions and how to keep the hips and knees safe and in-joint throughout your practice. Time will also be spent on how to re-align and strengthen the knees. (All levels. Props: Sticky mat, yoga strap, block and blanket.)

In “Introduction to Purna Yoga Meditation,”Aadil balances discussion and practice to teach basic techniques to awaken the heart center, center the energy of the mind and pelvis, and call light around the body. With practice, those simple tools have the power to transform your experience of being alive. (All Levels. Props: Bring what you need to sit comfortably.)

Backbends compel us to face our fears and reveal the hidden yesterdays locked within. In Aadil’s “The Power and Joy of Backbends,” learn the relationship between the coccyx and the pubis in backbends and how to direct this inner power to transform an external into an internal practice. (Advanced Beginner/Intermediate students and beyond.)

Born in Bombay to a family of lawyers, Aadil Palkhivala started his training with B. K. S. Iyengar at age 7. By age 22, he became the youngest student to earn his Advanced Teacher Training Certificate in that lineage. Today, Aadil works diligently with people who desire a better quality of life through a humanistic approach to wealth and health.

To learn more, click the “play”button and listen to my conversation with Aadil Palkhivala.