My journey with clay

Having been a furnishings consultant for 13 years and then a yoga teacher for three years, I finally allowed myself in 2009 to begin learning pottery with studio potter Vinod Dubey in Mumbai. The feel of clay on my fingertips brought me into the here and now. Its strength and flexibility released something within me and I found myself breathing so easily and in such a relaxed way that I just wanted to spend all my time mucking around in clay.

This inspired me to pack my bags and shift base to Pondicherry to learn this intriguing art from Ray Meeker and Deborah Smith, an American couple who have been running Golden Bridge Pottery for 40 years. The pottery studio admits only four students each year. After a two-year waiting period, tons of persistence and a stroke of good luck, [the fourth student who had enrolled dropped out] I was offered the space.

I was a complete novice potter [I called a kiln an ‘oven’] but the ceramic process showed me how my ideologies could be translated to practical living. My monkey mind finally found a place to rest. I could settle down with the lump of clay in my hand, pushing, pinching and just being with it. This communicating with clay taught me the language of my own mind. All that I had learnt, read and conceptually understood in yoga finally began to seem more meaningful and profound. Clay has become my teacher, my guide and my sweet but extracting companion.

The process

Wedging: All the clay is prepared by hand, right from pounding the different clays to sieving, slaking and drying. This is the starting point, where you prepare or mix the clay. It’s similar to the asana practice in yoga because scattered energy around the clay is harnessed and gathered within it. The potter energises the clay and it is now ready to be used.

Centering: When centering the clay to the wheel, I had to stop thinking of everything else and just be in the here and now with the lump of clay in my hands. Also, learning on a kick-wheel made it tiring initially as I had to keep kicking to rotate the wheel. Centering was a challenge that took me four months to learn. Learning to centre the clay can be frustrating, as the clay does exactly what it wants. It would make my hands dance all over the wheel. At times, I would feel it was laughing at me. If I would try to use my physical strength to make it obey, it would submit, but so unwillingly that it would look lifeless. I realised I had to work in partnership with it and harmonise myself to it. I had to find out its nature, what it can do, what it will allow and what it will resist. Sounds like getting to know another person? Well, it is just that—a complete person with personality traits and attitude too. Each clay type is different. Some clays allow you to stretch it a lot. Others resist any attempt to shape them. The secret is in getting to know your clay. Then you can make it work with you.

Creating cylinders: When I lifted the centered clay to make a cylinder, it was me and the clay working together. I would describe that feeling like the satisfaction you get when you eat a nourishing meal, much like a deeper level of contentment.

When you finally create a form and hold it in your hands, nothing can match that feeling of awe and wonder. It’s addictive. And worth every bit of mucking around, back-breaking clay wedging, tears of desperation when learning and failing, and hours bent over the wheel.

Learning to pot [or anything else for that matter] is a question of abhyasa and vairagya [discipline and trust]. You have to have faith in the process, trusting that the practice will get you there sooner or later. Failures and facing the unknown are the steps that I had to climb to reach my goal. This was an act of trust in myself and in the scheme of things.

Firing, the amalgamation stage: My dried pot was now ready to meet fire and air and turn into something rigid, hard, and permanent [somewhat!]. As I fed the wood, it crackled and released its energy to the pots. The sound was a howl and the colours within the kiln pretty much covered the entire spectrum: blues and greens, oranges and reds, even pure white. Before technology gave us the pyrometer to read temperature, potters would know the temperature in the kiln by just looking at the colour of the flame.

Firings are a continuous cycle of feeding wood and checking the kiln interiors and the cones. It’s a long learning curve where so many factors affect the final results. Just the way you place your pots inside the kiln can affect the outcome. This is the point where you just have to accept and surrender to the way things are going and do the needful without knowing the outcome. Vairagya and karma yoga, thinks the yogi, smiling.

Cooling the kiln: After the exhausting firing stage, comes the time for cooling of the kiln. Here you try to recuperate, but without worrying about the results. Opening the kiln is the most exciting, crazy and exhilarating part. Each pot will tell its story, where the flame licked it, where the ash settled on and which part didn’t get enough energy. As every high is followed by a low, so sitting with your kiln load of pots is a time to introspect. All the mistakes are visible, some known… a lot unknown. How much you loved and enjoyed each stage of the process shows up. A well made pot thoughtlessly glazed, a well-glazed pot carelessly handled or a cherished pot turned alive by the flame.

Finding an owner: My job is incomplete if I don’t take the pot to a right user. It is alive and ready to start conversing with its owner. And I too will be a part of this conversation. The story of its creation is meaningless if there isn’t someone to listen to it. This sharing is what delights me, reinforces my faith in our interconnectedness. It makes me want to create something of use, of value, of beauty so that I can share my delight. So I continue playing in the dirt, digging deeper into myself, exploring unknown terrains and finding more connections to myself and through my pots to everyone else.

And the beauty is that even on making the 100th pot, the amazement and joy never dwindles.

At times I was overwhelmed with doubts: How am I going to decide on a form? I love it but how come everyone else thinks nothing of it? How do I be ‘original’? How am I ever going to sell my work? Will people respond to it? The list went on. But, in spite of such thoughts, I felt each day was meaningful and I was doing something worthwhile, even if the only thing I would have done was pounded 20 kilos of clay and not made a single satisfactory pot that day. But I knew I was pursuing what is closest to my heart, and that meant a better chance of leading an authentic life.

I’ve been told that it takes seven years of practice to become a proficient potter. Well, I shall know if it’s true in time.

This was first published in the December 2013 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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You could be having this condition if you experience:

• Pain that begins in the buttock area and radiates to the front of the thigh and moves downwards
• Sensation of pins and needles in the region of the thigh
• Pain that is worse when sitting on a chair or a hard surface and relieved on standing or walking.

There could be several causes of an inflamed sciatic nerve such as:

• Trauma to the lower back
• Displacement of the spinal disc in the lower back or narrowing of the spinal canal
• Tightness of the piriformis muscle [it’s near the seat]
• Misplaced injection in the buttocks.

Sciatica resolves in most cases, but during the course of the illness there are periods when the pain becomes nagging and unbearable. Yoga is known to bring much relief from the agony of sciatica pain. However, before you get started on a yoga programme, get yourself diagnosed by a physician and ascertain the cause of your sciatica.

Once the diagnosis is confirmed, you can perform these asanas to relieve your condition.

Asanas to relax during flare ups

Makrasana

1. Lie on the abdomen. Make a pillow for the head with both the hands placed over each other, palms facing downwards. Rest cheek on hands. Close your eyes.
2. Touch the big toes to each other, keeping heels apart.
3. Relax for a few minutes by focusing on your breathing.

You can also use this pose to relax between two asanas.

Dradhasana

1. Lie on your right side, bend your right elbow and rest your head on the right hand.
2. Place the left arm on the side of the body. Your legs should be on top of each other stretched out straight or slightly bent at the knees.
3. Focus on breathing and relax for a few minutes.

Shavasana

1. Lie on the back with your feet 18” apart.
2. Keep arms by the side of the body, slightly away and palms turned up.
3. Close the eyes, allow the body to relax and drop towards the floor.
4. Take the mind to the toes and allow them to relax. Similarly, work upwards to all parts of the body till you finally reach the head.
5. Focus on the breath and relax for 10 minutes

Asasans to be done between flare ups

Do these asanas when pain subsides and you are relatively comfortable.

Yastikasana

1. Lie on the back, keeping your arms at your sides and feet together.
2. Inhaling, lift the arms up and take them behind the head, touch the ground if you can. Point the toes away from the body.
3. Give the entire body a nice stretch from fingertips to toes. Do not hold your breath.
4. Exhaling, return to the start position.

This asana can be practised by all, irrespective of physical ailment.

Bhujangasana

1. Begin by relaxing in makrasana, on the stomach.
2. Bring your hands next to the chest, palms on the floor. Keep the feet together and place forehead on the floor.
3. Inhaling, lift your body off the floor from the hip raising your forehead, nose, chin and chest. Make sure you’re not taking support from the hands to lift.
4. Exhaling, return to starting position. Relax in makrasana.

Shalabhasana

1. Begin in makrasana, place your arms at your sides, palms on the floor.
2. Bring feet together, toes pointing out.
3. Exhaling, lift the right leg up keeping the knee straight and hips on the floor.
4. Inhaling, bring the leg down. Repeat with left leg.

Later, when you are comfortable with this, you can try raising both the legs at the same time.

Lying down hastapadangustasana I [single leg up]

1. Lie on the back. Arms close to the body, feet together.
2. Inhaling lift the right arm up.
3. Exhaling lift the right leg up towards the arm. Try and hold the leg with you hands.
4. Inhaling return to start position.
5. Repeat with left side.

Lying down hastapadangustasana III [side variation]

1. Lie on the back. Extend the arms to the sides to make a T with your body, keeping your feet together.
2. Inhaling, slide your right leg out towards the right hand, without lifting the leg off the floor.
3. Exhaling, return leg to the centre.
4. Repeat with your left leg.

Vajrasana

1. Sit in a kneeling position.
2. Place the hips on the soles of the feet.
3. Allow the heels to drop to the side so that your body weight is on the cavity created by the feet.
4. Place your hands on the respective knees, keeping the spine straight.
5. Close your eyes and focus on the breath.

Asanas during recovery

Do these asanas when you have been without pain for a few days and are showing signs of recovery.

Lying down hastapadangustasana [using both legs]

1. Same as single leg [explained before], exhaling lift both the legs up towards the arm. If you can, hold the legs with your hands.
2. Inhaling, return to start position.

Supta vakrasana

1. Lie on the back, arms extended at the sides forming a T with your body.
2. Bend your knees, keeping the soles of the feet together on the floor.
3. Exhaling, turn both knees to the right side and neck to the left. Keep knees and feet together on each other.
4. Inhaling return to start position.
5. Repeat on the left side.

Gowmukhanasana

1. Sit with your legs stretched out in front of you. Bend left knee and place left foot beside right hip. Now, bend the right knee and bring it over the left leg to bring right foot beside left hip. Try to get both knees on top of each other or as close as possible.
2. Lift your right arm, bend it at the elbow and try to touch the back with the right hand.
3. Now, bend the left arm behind you and try to clasp the right hand with the left.
4. Return to starting position, switch leg position and repeat from left side.

If you are finding the legwork difficult, you can also do just the arms pose while standing.

Konasana

1. Stand with legs three feet apart and parallel to each other.
2. Lift the right arm to touch your right ear.
3. Inhaling, bend sideways to the left.
4. As you do so, your right arm remains parallel to the ground and left arm rests on the left leg, towards the ankle. Try not to take support. Bend only to the side and don’t lean forward in order to reach further down.
5. Exhaling, straighten up, rotate the arm behind and bring it to the side.
6. Repeat on the left side.

Forward bending asanas are important because the muscles used to do these poses are the biggest shock absorbers of the spine. Due to disuse, they lose tone and become stiff, increasing the load on the spine. This results in pain on slightest physical activity.

Attempt the asanas with much care and respect your current limits. Do not force yourself to do anything. With regular practice and deep breathing, your back will become flexible.

Shashankasana

1. Sit in vajrasana.
2. Inhaling, lift the arms.
3. Exhaling, bend forward from the hip. Allow the head to rest on the floor, arms ahead and hips on heels.

Variation: You can even keep your arms at your sides.

Yoga mudra

1. Sit in sukhasana [simple cross leg pose] or padmasana [lotus pose] or ardh padmasana, whichever is comfortable.
2. Hold your right wrist with your left hand behind the back.
3. Straighten the spine while inhaling.
4. Exhaling, twist torso to the left, bringing your forehead to the left knee.
5. Inhaling, lift the torso and straighten the spine.
6. Exhaling, twist torso to your right, bringing your forehead to right knee.
7. Inhaling, lift torso, straightening the spine.
8. Exhaling, bend forward bringing forehead to the ground.

Paschimotanasana or forward bend

1. Sit with legs stretched forward, feet together.
2. Inhaling, lift arms in the air.
3. Exhaling bend from the hip forward, chest to knees, hands on toes.
4. Inhaling, lift up torso and bring your arms by the side.

Remember

• At any point, do not jerk or bounce while doing the poses as it can trigger a spasm. Perform relaxed movements.
• Always breathe in the pose. This relaxes the body allowing it to open up so that the energy can flow into the area.

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