Everyone is asking me two things.
1. How was it (India)?
2. What's it like being back [with widening eyes]?
India was India. What else can I say? There were cows.
Being back is like jumping into a pot of hot water.
I'm practicing at home. I feel like if there is one thing I've learned about practice, it is how to be self-sufficient. They give you a pose and you practice it. There aren't any therapeutic massage adjustments or pep talks or in depth discussions on where you should focus, etc. Here is a pose, now practice. And I am. Every time I roll out my mat, its me. Its the same me that rolled out that mat at the Shala in Mysore. People said that it would be hard to practice on my own after being in Mysore, but I really couldn't see myself doing it any other way right now. Plus, rent is due and pay checks are pending.
In Mysore, I learned how to stand on my own two feet. Or, to put those feet behind my head, hold my leg up in utthita hasta, drop back myself, and practice like I mean it.
Hi Elise
ReplyDeleteYou know you're right, and some of us bloggers obsess about that we need to focus on this or focus on that. But your practice in Mysore was so intense, your focus so sharp, that you were doing in your practice those things that teachers here tell us to pay attention to. Today my teacher told me in Utthita Hasta to rotate the outer leg muscles inwards. I did it, and was amazed at my control of those muscles. Maybe in Mysore you would not have been told that, but you might have done it, then reflected on it. You were your own inner teacher there. I've observed that the teacher might not say the same instruction to a person new to the practice as she might say to me. The new person might have too much to absorve, but to a person that has been doing it for many years, being told a nuance such as "focus on this" could actually be very helpful. As a contrast, the person practicing next to me these days has great attitude, but probably hasn't been practicing more than 6 months. I want to go and tell him to soften his breath and coordinate it with his movement. I haven't done so. I'm not his teacher. But that is what he needs to do. Asking him to rotate the exterior muscles of his legs while in utthita hasta would be wasted instruction on him. Anyway, those are my rambling thoughts on your always thoughtful writing.
Cheers,
Arturo