Ashtanga Yoga Workshop with Tim Miller
This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend an Ashtanga Yoga Workshop taught by Tim Miller at Yoga is Youthfullness in Mountain View, CA. This was essentially an Everything Ashtanga thing and was fastinating. The line up of activities was quite impressive. It included how the method of ashtanga is designed to penetrate the kosha layers, the primary series practice as an archtype of sādhanā (tapas, self-study, and surrender to the Universal Intelligence), liberating the Shakti through an introductory practice of Nadi Shodana, and a Pranayama practice to cultivate detachment, intelligence, and longevity.
Needless to say, it was a very FULLfilling weekend where I took my practice to places I’d never explored before. This included Kapotasana, among other poses from the second series. Not only were these poses new and challenging but they had an unexpected therapeutic effect on my spine. I left the studio on Sunday morning feeling open and uplifted — and was standing taller I’m sure.
Although I would love to think that I am ready to occasionally explore these new poses, I know that I am most definitely not. Like the New Years of 1991 where, after 5+ hours of meditation, I walked across a bed hot coals, the energy was right this weekend and I was wide open to go deep into the Ashtanga world. I am eager to return to my practice of Yoga Chikitsa (Primary Series) for I know that there is more therapy to be worked in that practice. Even there, I feel like good things are beginning to take place.
The weekend of philosophy (including Patajali’s Yoga Sutras), intensive led primary and secondary practice, and delving into Pranayama practice was fabulous. I am both full and empty at the same time. Truly, I am immensely grateful for this amazing opportunity to deepen my practice. Thank you Tim for coming up to see us folks in the Bay Area — and thank you YiY for inviting him (and me) to your fabulous studio.
Easing into 2014
2014 is HERE! I’m healthy, happy, and grateful to be ALIVE to see the sun come out yet again. These things such as the sun coming out, waking up in a safe environment are not things to take for granted. They are truly blessings.
Having spent much of the past couple of weeks feeling ill, I decided that I just did not want to succumb to my superstition regarding the cleanliness of my house, who I am with, and what I am doing at that moment when the new year arrives. My house was reasonably tidy but not spotless, as I generally aspire to – worrying that a dirty house at the beginning of the year will lead to a dirty house for the year in its entirety. I spent the evening with YaYa and close friends, then went to bed before the strike of midnight. But I have no intention to sleep the year away.
When morning came, I sat back in observance and watched the day unfold. I felt no need to change or control it — as I have done year after year. I just let it be.
The day began soft and quiet at first. No birds’ song, no people out walking, no dogs barking, and no traffic. It was unusually quiet. I took it as a sign of much late night activity — people milking 2013 for all they could get of it – down to the very last second. As for me, I was happy to sleep the last of it away and awake to the quiet, gentle calmness of a new day, and new year. I really like this way of starting the year off without me having obsessed over trying to control the transition. It’s a nice reminder for me to relax and just let some things be as they are. Maybe? Just a little bit more.
Best wishes in the New Year
Christmas has come and gone, leaving me grateful for family, friends, and my health. This holiday season, I received the most joy in giving to those I care about most. I was also very happy to have kicked a cold to the curb (so to speak) and make it to the family events.
I did not give or receive this Namaste Santa (nutcracker) but I sure do think he is sweet: symbolic of the both holiday and of the gratitude we all (hopefully) observed this season. In a few days, a new year will be upon us. I wish you all the very best of health and happiness in 2014.
To read my 2013 year-in-review post, click here.
use your energy wisely
Demands are high during this time of year. Whether it’s the final push to meet a set of corporate or personal goals, or the long list of holiday gatherings, gift giving, and to-dos. It’s ALL good; it’s just A LOT. This intense trend which demands putting forth 110% is something I’ve been practicing NOT doing. In yoga, this concept is called Brahmacharya. There are other aspects to this Sanskrit word, but I am talking about the teaching that reminds me to use my energy wisely.
After a decade of following the endurance athlete mode of pushing hard and chasing my goal of qualifying to run in the Boston Marathon, I have ingrained the pattern of doing everything in my power to push past the pain and fatigue in an effort to hit my goals. As a result, I have a long list of injuries collected along the way. It could only go on for so long. Ever since my qualification and marathon in Boston, my body has been letting me know that the time to make a change has come. I shifted from running to yoga, and found that the deep-seated pattern of continually going “all out” just didn’t work. Something had to change.
Breaking away from always pushing-the-edge (mostly physically) has been my lesson-of-sorts for this year. This is most easily seen in my physical practice, be it yoga, hiking, cycling, or other, I am not merely talking about my physical actions. I’m also talking about my tendency to taking on responsibilities, lofty goals, and aspiring to walk on water. Well, I don’t want to undo all of my work on making this change just because it’s the end of the year. I understand that there are no guarantees that there will be another year — or day for that matter — but assuming that there is, I would like it to be a little less painful (if not pain-free).
In addition to wanting to make the season bright and memorable for all my loved ones (myself included), the final push includes taking the written exams for my yoga certification. So as not to overwhelm myself, I’ve taken a one thing at a time approach. I’m happy to say that I passed my Anatomy test, and am now preparing for the Sanskrit test which I hope to take by the end of the year. Then comes the developing and teaching of a 75 minute asana practice as the final step for testing out. Thankfully, I did not put that on my list of things-that-must-happen-this-calendar-year.
What is my point? Read More
Painfully Magical
I continue to be amazed at what happens in my own Mysore practice. Different from practicing the primary series at home, the little whimper, laughter, grunt, or simply the collective breath of the room has a way of letting me know that I am not alone. It’s background noise as I focus on my own practice: my breath, the soft gaze on the both the room and internally, the poses themselves, and the pain. Yup, still there.
I come to the mat trying to welcome whatever comes while fearing what will come as well. It was one of those put-me-out-of-misery kind of nights, thanks to a momentary pushing-too-hard during Saturday’s class. If you’ve known me for any period of time, you know that I have a tendency to push myself hard and, in this instance, it wasn’t enough to have my left leg over my shoulder for astavakrosana (eight angle pose) – even though it was the first time opening my hip enough to get there since my sacroiliac joint injury. I caught myself trying repeatedly to get it higher up on my shoulder and, by the time I noticed that I’d fallen back into this pattern, I’d been tugging on it for nearly a minute. Santosha (contentment) is where I need to work. This practice, specifically the Ashtanga Method, works — but you’ve got to be patient, diligent, and honest with yourself.
My teacher posted a well timed article written on the topic of pain. The author, Ty Landrom writes “The postures provoke patterns of tension in our bodies, and when we pull against them, they scour our nerves. The form of the practice, with its linear progression of sequences, leaves no route of escape. The poses that make us tremble today must be practiced tomorrow. Most people promptly quit Ashtanga for this reason. They go find another, more forgiving form.”
Well, I don’t want to find another form of practice, and this is why.