Visiting practice

I can't remember if I posted this when it was published.  In either case, 'tis the season.



Taking my practice on the road by Esther Liberman (Elephant Journal)

My husband and I traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico this past weekend for one of the most beautiful weddings we have ever attended. The bride, my college roommate and dear friend, chose to put aside every convention of self-importance to set her non-denominational special day on a sustainable farm that also housed and entertained the lot of us for the entire weekend. It was gorgeous, relaxing and a lot of fun.

Over dinner the first night, her husband, a new dear friend, and I chatted about our Jewish backgrounds and how similarly we’d grown up—he in Canada and I in Colombia. Despite the radical differences between the two countries, their Jewish populations shared countless similarities in their approach to worship and community.

Some conventions we both remember fondly and as far less-practicing adults we still appreciate (cantor-driven prayer in Hebrew, to which we sang along phonetically, much like mantra). Some we’ve always questioned (separating men’s seating from women’s). The truly fascinating aspect of our comparison of childhood notes, though, were not these details, but rather that despite the fact that we grew up on different continents and in different languages, the form and fashion of our religious identity was virtually identical.

Driving back from dinner to the luscious farm where we’d be staying for the weekend, I saw the sign for the Nahalat Shalom congregation whiz by the car window, one more adobe edifice in the desert. “Maybe we can pop in for Shabbat services tomorrow night,” I said to my husband. “Uh,” stalled the even less-practicing Jew who grew up the same way I did but remembers religious customs slightly less fondly, “don’t we have a rehearsal dinner to attend?”

Skeptical as he is, my husband also knows me very well and could guess why I’d made the suggestion. He remembers my old habit of visiting temples on Shabbat whenever I found myself in a foreign country, despite the fact I seldom (if ever) attend services when I’m home, just to be able to walk into a situation that is, regardless of the surrounding culture and within the confines of the temple walls, entirely familiar.

Going to Shabbat services in 1993 in the Marais in Paris, I managed a better pronunciation of my prayers in Hebrew than what I had all week in my terrible, highly critiqueable efforts at French. A Friday night spent in the only functioning temple in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2000 felt more like home than had anything else for a whole summer in that desolate, haunted city.

Not wanting to deny me the anthropological curiosity and personal comfort that I derive from this old ritual of mine, my husband was about to agree to go to temple, when I abruptly agreed with him. “You’re right, we do have a dinner tomorrow night. Besides, we’re going to Mysore practice in the morning...”  continue reading full article

Beyond belief

I'm perched in karandavasana when I realize help will not come. 

Karandavasana is possibly the hardest asana overall in the intermediate series of Ashtanga yoga.  It is so hard that women aren't held to the same standards as men.  All women except for me.

In karandavasana your forearms are on the floor and your legs are in the air like when you stand on your head except your head isn't on the ground.  Then you cross your legs like a pretzel (in the air) and lower them down to touch your armpits with your butt hovering in the air above the ground.  You perch there for five very slow, very deep breaths and then you slowly reverse the movements, taking the legs back up to the ceiling.  Then you hop your hands and feet into the bottom of a push up position.  So, yeah, it is hard. 

Men have to be able to consistently do the whole thing with ease and grace before being moved on to the next asana in the series.  Women only need to be able to come down and perch.  From there one of the assistants or my teacher picks you up and puts you in the original position but you do have to jump back correctly before being moved on. 

The female version I got, no problem.  I was moved on a few years ago and so today I do the usual.  I take my legs up, I cross them, I slowly lower down and breathe calmly, waiting for someone to pick me up.  Five breaths (which is all you need to do) go by, ten breaths, fifteen breaths, twenty breaths and I realize that help is not coming.  I sit down and look across the room to my teacher who is looking at me and then looks away.  This means "do it yourself because you can".  Standing next to me is one of the assistants and he is kind of chuckling to himself. 

"Really?"  I shrug and try again.  

No one comes.  And again.  No one comes. and again... Each time the two assistants are just shrugging and saying sorry because we all know that this is kind of a big deal and it is funny at how impossible it seems but he really wants me to come up by myself.  Eventually he does come over and helps me up.  He did this the last trip for a minute and I guess I never took the hint or at least not seriously or it is just a really slow process mentally and it doesn't need to be.  Sometimes it is hard to believe in yourself as much as someone else.  And this someone else I truly believe and want to see it through because he has absolutely no reason to need to believe in me.  He just does.

The one where I just can't because everything is happening so much

Yesterday started with that one-footed asana practice which was doable but there is this saying here that goes "practice plus one" and just eating would have filled the plus one portion.  But it was a holiday - a big one - and India always wins.  After practice I came home for a nap so that the whole routine is really to get up in the middle of the night, go to class and then come home and continue sleeping like nothing ever happened.  And if your practice time is early like mine then you get home and it is still dark and it was all just a dream.

So after I woke up for real I just wanted my usual which makes everything okay.  My usual is a stack of English papers and breakfast to-go from the stand up place.  Idli vada or set dosa "parcel-la". 

They were closed. 

So I went around the corner to the stand up sit down place.  Also closed. 

I look around and realize that for sure everything will be closed except for the vendors that have popped up suddenly selling banana leaves and other festival items (which are now abandoned everywhere and are causing a major cleanup issue).  I resign myself to the fact that I must either make my own breakfast (no) or go to one of the "yogi" cafes run by foreigners.  I am not a fan.  Expensive, not my taste, and a whole lot of gossip and over and over where are you from?  How long will you be here?  How many times have you been?  Etc.  All perfectly acceptable except that I just want my newspapers and idli vada in silence at home.

But fine.  I go to this place called Santosha and find a little corner on the floor around a small coffee table and I order food that the owner swears up and down is vegan.  It isn't.  Not pleased.

We have special tickets to go to the center to see the festival up close and personal.  It involves a lot of sitting in plastic chairs.  We think at least 5 hours of this.  When we arrive it is too late.  It was actually supposed to be much longer.  Arrive by 10:30 at the latest.  At 2:30 things sort of start.  In the interim you are just sitting there.   From 2:30 to 5:30 or later there are elephants and processions and dancers and a whole lot of splendor but we see none of it.  We arrive around 12:45 by rickshaw and it is just madness.  People everywhere.  Cars, buses, bikes, scooters, carts, vendors, everything everywhere all at once.  It is impossible for us to get close enough to present our tickets and get to our assigned seats.  We walk around and consider jumping a fence and more and more feel boxed in and drunk Indian men staring at us.

We find ourselves wedged between two buses with some sort of official attempting to negotiate with a police officer to get us to cross the parade itself so we can get to our seats.  While this is happening we are smashed between the two buses, single file with more Indians wiggling their way between us.  Somehow they made themselves fit.  The smell of alcohol was strong and just people staring at us even more than we were staring at them.  There were ten of us together and still I somehow managed to be robbed.  I suddenly had the sense that I should look down and I see my purse open and I look in and my wallet is gone and I notice the drunk next to me is trying to worm his way out and I start yelling like a maniac and I scare him and I see my wallet drop into a pool of liquid (hopefully water).  Everything is still in it and we decide to leave.  We go to Pascucci for pizza and pasta and AC and watch the events on a big screen TV.

We get back to our neighborhood (Gokulum) and ride our scooters home.  We usually park in front of the house on the little car park but our landlord has parked his car there even though he usually parks in the driveway and he specifically told us that we should park there.  By this time I have decided I am just finished and when I go to park in the street I forget to put down the kickstand and I start to lean the scooter to rest on the nonexistent kickstand and when I realize I am leaning too much somewhere inside I surrender to India and say "OK, this is the part where we all lie down."  My housemate is laughing and takes a picture and the moment is forever captured on facebook.

We agree to rest up.  India will be waiting in the morning.  I close my door and get ready for bed and hear "Alice!  Alice!  Outside my bedroom window.  There is no hiding.  India is everywhere.

Monday

This is the first kind of "regular" day for me in a couple of weeks.  I usually practice primary series on Fridays and intermediate series Sunday through Thursday with Fridays off.  When you travel the energy gets crazy and so you take primary which is earthy and grounding.  As comfortable as it is, it isn't my regularly scheduled programming and now that I'm back on intermediate I feel more like myself.  (Or at least more like what I'm used to which I'm calling myself but as yoga philosophy will tell you the self was there all along like a necklace you forgot you were wearing.)

Class happens each day in "batches".  The first batch starts at 4:30am shala time which is about 4:15am regular time which means waking up at 2:45am in order to be on time.  When I walk downstairs in the darkness and start up my scooter, sometimes (like today) I remember to look up and the stars are always closer than I think they will be.  There are very few street lights on and a few days ago a friend (who has lived in India for years) and I noticed for the first time that the street lights are turned on or off one at a time by a man who stops each morning and evening at each pole to flip the switch. 

Starting a scooter first thing in the morning can be a bit tricky and sometimes you have to kick start it or get on and roll it down a hill and try to start it with the momentum.  Turning the headlights on is not possible.  So you just take it as it comes and sometimes roll down the hill in darkness, ready to dodge sleeping street dogs and cows and pedestrians although there are very few of any of those at Brahmamurti (God's hour).  The air is thick and smells like nature more than anything else and everything has a layer of dew.  You can hear the sound of footsteps really far away and the occasional neighbor spitting and the scooter but that is it.  Not even the birds are awake yet.  In that kind of light, riding to the shala for practice, it sometimes feels like a dream and I remind myself that I'm awake and this is really happening.

Happy Vijaydashami

When you get an Indian sim card you also get text message adverts and sometimes when you make calls they will play an advert first and sometimes they will call you and just play commercials.  Usually I get "free STD offers" which has something to do with telephone services, but still.  Today I received a text message encouraging me to wish all of my family and friends "a very happy Vijaydashami and spread the message of victory of Good over Evil."  You see, it is a big holiday time right now and all the kids are home from school and the shops are stocked with festival items such as flowers and banana leaves.  Tomorrow is the puja for the vehicles and so we'll buy strings of flowers and turmeric to decorate our scooters.

Tomorrow is also the first day of led intermediate which I'll be doing on one foot for the most part so as not to reopen the cut on my toe which is pretty hard not to do in every day life but I'm managing.  In the afternoon we are possibly having "conference" which is a lecture with our teacher.  It all depends on the celebrations tomorrow. If we have conference, then we also have Sanskrit class.  And if it rains tomorrow then it means it will be a good year in Mysore.  Everyone is hoping it will rain.

Scrapbook - live from India

I'm in Mysore, India.  I'm posting photos here.  The Shala is still open of course.  You come!

Just an ordinary day

This is the one where I electrocute myself just a little and cut myself kind of a lot and it starts with early morning asana practice.   I had a couple of days off and the start times had been moved later one hour and now back to the original times.  So I arrived at about 4:15am which is 4:30am "Shala Time".  My teacher asked me if I would assist next month instead of this month so today I only did my own practice, had a coconut, and then headed back home to sleep for a couple of hours before breakfast.  We went to a little place called Anoki's which is owned by some French people and at 300rs is steep compared to my 60rs maximum usual at the stand up or stand up sit down place.   I had vegan crepes with spinach and hummus and vegan toast and a "massive" french press coffee which was too little too late but still quite welcome.

From there we went to Sudha's to pay my balance and drop off more items to ship.  Yesterday she told us about the Rangoli at her house and how it is a family tradition and they never plan it, it just flows.  "It is like a god" she says.  And they do puja for them and ones like this have the padma, the lotus, and so they are for Lakshmi or kind of are Lakshmi because everything is god.  Today no mention of how I've lost weight since last time, instead she told me that they like my kind of nose in India and that "it is called like the flower.  Champa."  I googled that.  I don't see it but okay.

It is an auspicious time to buy gold and so we ask her where we should go and where we should put it and head out on a mission to the center.  We buy new helmets that actually fit and stop at Shree Guru for a "Limited Thali, only" for lunch.  I couldn't remember exactly how to get where we were going but we got there and parked where we could.  We take about two steps on the sidewalk and I stub my toe.  It doesn't hurt but something tells me to look down and I see just blood everywhere and there is more of it with every step and I sort of hop around for a second and these guys in a gold and bangle store pull up a stool and tell me to sit and they come out with that cotton you find in jewelery boxes and people are gathering around to watch the cotton turn red and my face which might have been laughing or swearing I can't remember which.  One housemate runs to a pharmacy around the corner for supplies and the other stays with me.  The shop clerk goes and returns with bottled water and motions for me to hop to the curb because there is a whole lot of blood in front of the shop and then he pours bottled water onto my toe in the street.  An old man wearing a lunghi and button down shirt stops his scooter in the middle of traffic to watch and grin and wiggle his head at me a few times before carrying on.

My housemate comes back with peroxide and tape and I hop to the corner and there is a chai stand and a man brings over his chair for me.  I sit and yelp as they clean my toe surrounded by a crowd of Indians sipping chai and selling ginger and shopping.  We put a bit more jewelry cotton and tape it up and have lemon teas for caffeine and sugar and we ride our scooters back home and I'm shaking the whole time.  Don't worry, my housemates are taking good care of me.

Three

This morning we went to the stand up sit down place around the corner from the stand up place by the temple on the main road.  We had "big teas" with sugar, mine black, hers with milk.  We had idli vada which is two steamed fermented rice and lentil batter (the same for dosas) patties a bit smaller than a biscuit.  That's the idli part.  The vada is the same batter shaped in a donut with other miscellaneous vegetables added (and coconut) and that's deep fried and delicious.  We had them what I call "Indian style" which means you do like the locals do - the locals being about 20 or 30 Indian men because women cook for themselves don't they?  Unless they work at the stand up sit down place because the entire staff is male.  And unless they are us because we are fully prepared to let the men cook for us at the stand up sit down place.

So we have them Indian style which means that we take the sambar (a red vegetable soup that is spicy of course) and pour it over the idli vada.  We add a little coconut chutney as needed - which is nothing like that jelly-like substance you get at North Indian restaurants and is also spicy - and with a spoon in each hand, eat.  Two spooning it is what really seals the deal.

The teas come in metal cups nested in small metal bowls which appear to be saucers but they aren't.  You're supposed to pour a bit of the tea into the bowl and drink that.  "Bigger surface area" the waiter explained to my housemate the other day.  It makes it drinkable.  And so does serving it crazy hot because you have to have a death wish to drink the tap water.

Next came chanting class at the Shala followed by a short goodbye to my two students who are leaving.  They had planned to stay a month.  A week was enough. 

To stay here we have to be willing to be okay with things.  And it isn't just one thing here and there, it is everything all at once all the time.  The jet lag, the culture, the food, the ATMs, the power outages, the third world, the finding housing, the everything.  So we find small ways to cozy up like decent pizza, a good coffee, wifi, American movies, restaurants that don't make us sick, and nice people.  You just can't look around too much because everything is just right there.  Or you can, but you have to be willing to be okay with what you see which, again, will be everything.  For better or for worse India is a karma accelerator.

Two

It was quiet - mostly- and I was brushing my teeth at the sink maybe with bottled water, maybe with tap water, I don't remember.  Suddenly, the sound of running water.  I look to the right and next to the toilet is a pipe with water pouring out into the drain where the bucket shower water flows.  With the toothbrush in my mouth my eyes trace the pipe along the wall behind the toilet (western), it turns the corner under the window, and leads straight up to the wash basin where I am brushing my teeth.  I put something here and it goes out there.  The honesty of the situation is unsettling and I realize that this is a big thing about being here.  We see everything.

Day One

I didn't just arrive but I am now just getting settled.  It is around 3:30am and I'm drinking Indian instant coffee which is loaded with chicory.  Not ideal, but it is something.  The thing I forgot was how much work it is to get established in a new place in general and India in particular.  And this isn't really tough India.  Still, everything is just different.

Just being able to write and publish this post counts on many separate parts coming together at the exact moment I want to press "send", which of course, it often does not.  The space between the points requires patience and when they keep missing each other and never appear to be able to match up is when people freak out in a big way and leave.  I'm here with three of my students.  Two are seriously considering going back home. 

I arrived with the wrong power adapter.  This means no charging my computer.  This means no computer.  Or it means using the reception's computer at the hotel we stayed at with the hotel manager reading over my shoulder.  Finding a new adapter meant I needed transportation because we were staying at a hotel which wasn't very centrally located and I didn't have a scooter (now I do).  So we had to hail a rickshaw and argue about using the meter and about how much they would charge and make sure we had small change to pay and think of a place to go to buy the charger and will they even be open because this is India and also Dasara Festival and also I haven't been since 2010 and things change.  In the end my new housemate had an extra adapter.  It took a few days for her to hear me through her own fog of jet lag and patchouli and culture shock.

So now I have a working computer and cellphone and wifi (occasionally) and time to write (since most basic needs are now in place) and already too many stories.  My teacher says one month in Mysore is like a year anywhere else.  He's talking about the practice but I can believe it to be about just being here.  Even preparing my daily shower - bucket shower - is an epic event.  I had my first class yesterday morning at 4:30am which actually means about 4:15am because the clocks are fast at the shala ("Shala Time").  I was "late" which means that the students were no longer waiting outside for the gates to open but class had not yet begun.  I moved some mats over and claimed a little real estate up front on the stage.  A bit weird at first knowing everyone is looking in your direction even if it isn't at you but once class begins it doesn't matter.  There's just me and my teacher counting and my breathing and the sound of 80 some humans moving and breathing together.  I just drop into it and at a certain point come up for air realizing that my mind is really quiet and I'm just in it.  This is worth it and makes everything else OK.  I love being here.

Florida Workshop Scrapbook

A glimpse of my workshop at Krista Shirley's lovely The Yoga Shala - Ashtanga Yoga Studio.
Photos taken by Krista. View full album here.

Yoga Comics: Surya Namaskar & a Demonstration

The Amazing Surya Namaskara!! Doing “salutes to the sun” renders life heavenly and blissful and is the secret to everlasting youth!

In Yoga Mala, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (“Guruji”) talks in depth about the benefits of the Surya Namaskara. Guruji explained that by practicing the Surya Namaskara, all ailments, including mental illness, can be cured. He says, “To keep the body, which is the foundation of the performance of all sorts of meritorious deeds, pure and free from obstacles such as disease as much as possible, the Surya Namaskara and yogasana are very important. Indeed, in the present world, they are essential to all, men and women, young and old….”

Here is more background to the amazing and revitalizing power of the Surya Namaskara from Yoga Mala: “The practice of the Surya Namaskara, or Sun Salutations, has come down to us from the long distant past, and is capable of rendering human life heavenly and blissful. By means of it, people can become joyous, experience happiness and contentment, and avoid succumbing to old age and death…

Yet, nowadays, without ever having learned the traditions and practices of their ancestors and having not control over their sense organs, people engage in self-indulgence and destroy their mental powers for the sake of tangible gain. They deny reality simply because it cannot be seen and make their lives miserable, or subject to disease, poverty, and death. If they were to follow the traditions of their ancestors, however, they would develop their bodies and minds, and, in so doing, make possible the realization of the nature of the Self, as a scriptural authority confirms: ‘Nayam atma balahinena labhyah (This Self cannot be gained by one devoid of strength)’….

By following the precept of the great sages, ‘Shariramadyam khalu dharma Sadhanam (The first duty is to take care of the body, which is the means to the pursuit of spiritual life),’ our ancestors found the means to bodily health.”

The daily duty of performing Surya Namaskara was believed to instill the blessings of the Sun God who brings good health. Guruji says, “If we reflect on the saying, ‘Arogyam bhaskarad icchet (One should desire health from the Sun),’ it is clear that those blessed by the Sun God live healthy lives. Therefore, for health – the greatest wealth of all – to be attained, the blessings of the Sun God must alone be sought.”

The Sun planet has played a very powerful roll in all cultures. Surya, the Sun God, represents the visible form of the divine, one that you can plainly see every day. The Sun is believed to heal the sick and bring good fortune.

Guruji says, “The method for doing Surya Namaskara has been described in various ways by various people. We cannot categorically state which is correct, but when we reflect on the science of yoga, we see that the tradition of Surya Namaskara follows, in the main, the method of vinyasa, or breathing and movement system, the movements of rechaka, or exhalation, puraka, or inhalation, and meditation. According to the yoga shastra, this tradition includes: vinyasa; rechaka and puraka; dhyana (meditation); drishti (sight, or gazing place); and the bandhas (muscle contractions, or locks). And this alone is the method which should be followed when learning the Surya Namaskara, as yogis declare from experience. Indeed, the Sun Salutations done without following the rules mentioned above are little more than exercise, and not true Surya Namaskara.”

Via The Yoga Comics
Editors: Jessica Walden and Elise Espat (Albuquerque Ashtanga Yoga Shala)
Cartoon guy: Boonchu Tanti, Ashtanga Illustrations by Boonchu / Ashtanga Yoga Center Of Bangkok. - AYBKK

This video was taken in 2010 during Dasara. I'm on the far left :)

Weekend Edition #17 Sharath in Moscow and Copenhagen

"Guru To Go. A portrait of R. Sharath Jois" is a sweet mini doc by Alessandro Sigismondi chronicling R. Sharath Jois' visit to Copenhagen hosted by Astanga Yoga Copenhagen.







Here are notes from Sharath's Moscow Conference (2013 July 28) hosted and posted by Ashtanga Yoga Moscow.  There is also a livestream of Sharath teaching a led class here.

Next stops:
Stockholm: August 11 – 16
Helsinki: August 18 – 23
London: August 25 – 30
Saraswathi in Helsinki: September 22 – 27
Saraswathi in Kiev: September 29 – October 4

Weekend Edition #16 The week in review

Thanks to the participants and organizers of last weekend's Anahata Yoga Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  It was a wonderful event and there is already talk about the next one...



Here are a few articles, posts, and conference notes worth a read:

• Yoga: Changing The Brain's Stressful Habits by Alex Korb, Ph.D. in Psychology Today
  "As a neuroscientist, despite my initial incredulity, I came to realize that yoga works not because the poses are relaxing, but because they are stressful. It is your attempts to remain calm during this stress that create yoga's greatest neurobiological benefit."
  
• Ellen Williams Kympton, 68: Practicing with Gratitude, Living Gracefully with Cancer by Robbie Norris in the Richmond Private Blog
  "I teach a 78-year old woman who has experienced major revitalization during two years of daily practice. Her 40-minute (and growing) practice has dramatically changed her body, increased her overall wellbeing, and enlightened her sense of humor with moments of childlike bliss.
  People who know only a little about Ashtanga Yoga (including many who might say they've tried it) often characterize it as fast yoga, athletic yoga, yoga for the young and healthy, or a practice that is too strict with no room for innovation. When you hear someone speak about Ashtanga Yoga in that way, be assured they know virtually nothing about it, and let a red flag go up -- because it will be a person who assumes authority about that of which his knowledge is slight."
  
• AY:A2 ashtanga session ‘bootlegs’ via YogaRose.net
  Here’s the session as one long view.
  Eight limbs and tristhana.
  Ashtanga as a natural movement practice.
  Ujjayi pranayama versus breathing with sound.
  House Recommendations.
  Communicable diseases in the Mysore room.
  Finally, here’s a playlist of all the videos.
  
• Conference notes with Sharath Jois in Mysore, India via Jois Yoga
  -January 8, 2012 by Andrew Hillam
  -July 22, 2012 by Anna Muzzin
  -September 9, 2012 by Megan Riley

For the home practitioners, there is also a new live stream of Sharath teaching in Moscow:

I'm heading to Mysore in the fall to practice and study with my teacher R. Sharath Jois.  Here is a glimpse of a led intermediate class at the shala a couple of years ago:



Lastly, I've opened up an online shop to help raise funds for my trip and also for Uttarakhand disaster relief.  Check it out!

Thanks for reading!

Sharath Led Primary Livestream

Video streaming by Ustream

Via Ashtanga Yoga School Moscow

Anahata Yoga Festival

I'm teaching a beginner's led class at 12:30pm.  Come!
More information available on Facebook.

The Yoga Comics tribute to Shri K. Pattabhi Jois

We created this week's comic in deepest gratitude and loving memory of Shri K. Pattabhi Jois.
Happy birthday Guruji and may your story continue to inspire!

Please visit this link to the KPJAYI website to read more about Guruji's life and legacy:
http://kpjayi.org/biographies/k-pattabhi-jois

The quote is from "Yoga Mala" by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.


About The Yoga Comics
Editors: Jessica Walden and Elise Espat
Illustrator: Boonchu Tanti

Facebook: facebook.com/TheYogaComics

Weekend Edition #15 Guru Purnima

Me and Guruji at his birthday celebration on my first trip to India

अज्ञानतिमिरान्धस्य ज्ञानाञ्जनशलाकया ।
चक्षुरुन्मीलितं येन तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥
ajñānatimirāndhasya jñānāñjanaśalākayā |
cakṣurunmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ ||
I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.

This year Guruji's birthday is on Monday which is also a moon day and Guru Purnima.  I remember that we were trying to learn to the Gurustotram (below) so we could chant it for him at the celebration but we were too nervous to make mistakes and didn't do it.  Jayashree schooled us after by explaining that we should want and be grateful that our teacher corrects our mistakes because that means he cares and he is teaching us and then we can learn.  The photo above was taken by Elena De Martin of La Yoga Shala, Milano...


   

In honor of Guruji, here is a sweet video by Barry Silver of Ashtanga Yoyogi...

Still from Barry Silver's tribute video http://www.ashtangayoyogi.com/images/guruji.swf

And gratitude to my teacher R. Sharath Jois.  Ashtanga yoga changed my life.

Sharath helping me with back bends.  Photo by Tom Rosenthal lightonashtangayoga.com

My painting/drawing of Ganesh

I recently opened an online shop featuring my artwork in hopes of raising funds for India.  50% goes to the work being done to help the people in Uttarakhand. The other 50% helps fund my trip to India to study with my teacher Sharath in the fall.  Please check it out and support!  http://artbyelise.storenvy.com/

Namarupa & ♥India Fundraiser

Namarupa Magazine's latest edition is now available online for free.

In this issue there's an article detailing Sharath's conference in New York earlier this year at AYNY as well as many other good reads.  You can read it online or purchase a print copy here.

"Vishnu" by Elise Espat

I am really moved and inspired by the work being done to help the people in Uttarakhand.  To help raise funds I launched ArtByElise with the intention of donating 50% of the profits to the Namarupa Bandhava project.  The other 50% helps fund my trip to study with my teacher R. Sharath Jois in the fall.  Your support is appreciated!

Weekend Edition #14 India ♥

"The Journey Home" is a sweet companion video to Radhanath Swami's book of the same title. (We have a copy in the Shala library).

Rishikesh, Haridwar in Uttarakhand, India

Via Namarupa:

ON JUNE 16, 2013 DISASTER STRUCK IN UTTARAKHAND!
An early monsoon brought days of torrential rain, bursting dams, landslides and floods. To date the death toll is well over a thousand with many still missing. Whole villages washed away. Places that had existed for hundreds of years gone without a trace. Those who had not perished were left with the shreds of the clothes they were standing in. The papers have been filled with stories of the disaster and survivors are trickling home with harrowing tales. Much has been written about the terrible plight of the many pilgrims in the area.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE VILLAGERS AND HOW WE CAN HELP? See more at: http://www.namarupa.org/bandhava/bandhava.php

House Recommendations by Angela Jamison

Angela Jamison's (Ashtanga Yoga : Ann Arbor) "House Recommendations" are definitely on this year's ashtanga yoga reading list.  You can read it online/print for free or order a bound hard copy here.  Design and edits by Laura Shaw Feit. 

Yoga Comics : Mysore-Style

Via The Yoga Comics:

"The Ashtanga Yoga method is built around the ‘Mysore Style’ class, so named because yoga was taught this way by Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, in Mysore, India, and continues to be taught this way in traditional Ashtanga Yoga schools around the world. In Mysore Class, the student is taught a sequence of postures through one-on-one instruction. The correct movements, breathing, and other aspects of the practice are learned gradually, in a step-by-step process accessible to anyone. This method allows each student time to practice and memorize what they have learned before adding more. Students are able to practice independently and at their own pace while surrounded by the energy and inspiration of other students in the room. The main teacher and assistants are able to work with each student individually. Initially, students may require more attention, but as they become proficient in their practice, they are allowed more independence, receiving adjustments and assistance only when required." -Jois Yoga

Editors: Jessica Walden and Elise Espat
Cartoon guy: Boonchu Tanti
View more

summer 00

or was it 01? or 99? No matter

Tuesday

Weekend Edition #13 Shala Chanting

The next best thing to learning in person at the KPJAYI...

More here

The Yoga Comics: Guide to rest days

Via The Yoga Comics:

Ashtanga yoga practice helps us to cultivate more awareness and sensitivity within our relationships with the earth, others, and ourselves. One way we grow this balance of gentleness and strength is by giving equal effort to holding on and to letting go to when we do and not do our asana practice. We diligently hold on to our asana practice on most days and we softly let go of our asana practice on rest days.

Some examples of typical rest days are:

• Taking off moon days and Saturday (or Sunday) gives us time to spend with our families.

• Taking off fever days allows us to give our full strength to heal when we are sick.

• Taking off ladies' holidays honors and nurtures our bodies' natural rhythms.

• Taking off 6 weeks - 3 months after giving birth to allow the body to rest, heal and regain strength.

If you are wondering if you should practice, ask your teacher.

Here is also a useful post of the topic of when not to practice:
http://aylibrary.blogspot.com/2012/08/should-i-practice-if-by-elise-espat.html

Cartoon by: Boonchu Tanti
Editors: Jessica Walden and Elise Espat

Pattabhi Jois and Sharath - Opening Chant

Can I practice if...?

Mahesh asks:

Was checking about if Ashtanga was suitable for me or not. So the first thing is suryanamaskar and then padmasana?

As I know padmasana needs lot of practice and most basic thing is lot of hip joint flexibility. Making a person jump to padmasana directly wouldn't break/weaken the knee?

Mahesh, this is a really reasonable concern.  I remember when I first saw a picture of someone practicing ashtanga.  I was horrified!  I thought to myself "oh, this yoga is only for very advanced athletes who are wildly flexible and strong, etc."  It took a long time before I realized that what I was seeing in the picture was not at all what I would be expected to do in my own practice...at least not right away.

My favorite Ashtanga FAQs always include a line about how one should avoid looking at asana stuff on the internet, blogs, youtube, etc.  Often we get really enthusiastic about something and want to learn everything we can about it and so we get books, magazines, videos, etc. hoping that exposure to the information will help us get closer to that thing we are enthusiastic about.  While this is often helpful -- we do need information in order to know what to do and how to go about doing it -- it can also be very confusing and misleading.

Yogic texts always include a line or two about how you can't experience yoga from just reading books or from having all the gear or the perfect clothes.  You're suppose to practice.  That's what the whole 1% theory 99% practice thing is all about.  The best way to go about this is one-on-one with a good teacher.

The hard part about talking about what we do in practice in a public forum like a website or whatever is that it is completely individual.  So, to your point, do we always start with surya namaskar?  Yeah, we do, but it might not look like what it looks like in a yoga demo video on youtube.  I mean, think about it, most of the time something gets published because it is nice looking.  The reality is usually much different...  Imagine someone who has a broken leg.  Do they start with surya namaskar?  Yes.  But maybe their teacher has them do the whole thing on the floor or with a chair or in bed.  This is why it is important to work with a teacher.  They can provide the appropriate instruction and develop a curriculum just for you.

Do we always finish with padmasana, even as a beginner?  Yeah, we do, but it might not be in the exact shape you are thinking of.  Asana should be steady and sweet and one should work gradually, slowly, consciously, and consistently, over a long period of time.

The important thing to remember is that this is a breath-based practice.  If you can breathe, you can practice.  The second is that asana is only one of the 8 limbs of Ashtanga yoga.  Maybe you will simply sit in a chair for your padmasana and that is perfect.  Not everyone needs to bend into a pretzel.  But everyone definitely can practice the drishtis, the breathing, and the quality of steady and sweet asana.  Everyone definitely can practice ahimsa (yama is the first limb of Ashtanga yoga and ahimsa is the first yama)...

Look for a traditional Mysore program and as my teacher says "No fearing, you come!"

Here is also a sweet post you might find inspiring:
"The importance of a daily yoga practice" by Ivey DeJesus

Weekend Edition # 12: Injury Inspiration

Life happens.  Relationship troubles, financial troubles, work troubles, the weather, illness, digestion troubles, injuries...  In yoga, all these things and more are summed up as the "three miseries" or  "three obstacles".  They are:

adhyātmika --miseries of body and mind
adhibhautika --miseries from other living creatures
adhidaivika --miseries from natural/supernatural disturbances

These names are old and the miseries timeless.  They will always come to us and they always have.  If we wait to practice until the obstacles stop, then we will probably never practice.  It is easy to do some asanas when we feel nice and there is a nice view and the teacher is nice and there was no traffic and we get the spot we like and everything is going well.  We should definitely be grateful and notice when we have it easy.  But often it is when things are not going well, when things are very hard or seem impossible when the true meaning of yoga is there for us to realize.  It is then when we have the opportunity to really practice and to rise to the occasion.

Eventually, practice becomes the baseline, the steady beat of our lives.  Before that, each time an obstacle arises, we ask ourselves "should I practice if...?"  It is in this moment when we begin to explore our intentions and the meaning of the practice.  This is the moment when a lot of people - confusing yoga with the mere performance of asanas - quit.  This is also the moment when others start to question their motivations and show up anyway.

To anyone who has ever shown up anyway, started from the ground up, or who has fallen to rock bottom from the highest cliff knows the feeling.  The infinite sorrow, the despair, the irrational impossibility... and then when we are patient just a few moments later, the warmth of humility and the curious strength of complete surrender.  It is the relief of having nothing to prove, no expectations, and nothing but the here and now.  All of a sudden it all comes together - the showing up, the exploration of what the asana practice is really asking, the patience of being sensitive and receptive - and it starts to seep into every other part of our lives.  We start to make connections between all of our actions throughout the day and the world around us.  The definition of asana as a "steady and sweet seat" becomes the establishment of a constant steady and sweet connection with the earth. We start to realize that we can always practice and that the effort toward steadiness of mind is what we have been cultivating all along.

In times of injury or bodily obstacle, our asana practice may change, but it is important to remember that there are 7 other limbs of Ashtanga yoga that can be practiced all the time.  But this post is about injuries and here are some sources of inspiration if you are finding yourself grappling with bodily obstacles:


"Breathing the practice" by Jangalikayamane
"Healing injuries with Ashtanga Yoga" by Paul Mitchell Gold

One final note:  everything is relative.  An emotional blow feels 100% as devastating to the person experiencing it as a broken arm feels to the person experiencing the broken arm.  Just show up.  Identify with the true nature of the self.  Let go of the asanas.  Make showing up to practice about others and something larger than yourself (Ishvarapranidhana).  Showing up anyway is a chance to add to the group energy, to inspire others who are also having a tough time.  It is a chance to be grateful and for tapas... for it often takes some serious obstacles for us to open to the possibility of yoga.

How to learn Ashtanga yoga

People are sometimes a little confused about what Led and Mysore classes are, what they are for, who they are for, etc. Here's the rundown from the main shala in Mysore, India (KPJAYI) and authorized teacher Magnolia Zuniga.

Mysore in a nutshell via KPJAYI:

All students commence their instruction in the same manner in which on the first day of class they are taught Surya Namaskar A, followed by Padmasana and deep breathing, and a few minutes of rest to conclude their first day of practice. The next day after Surya Namaskar A has been performed, Surya Namaskar B is taught, and one then again concludes in the same method as the previous day, with Padmasana, deep breathing, and rest. After both of the Surya Namaskar have been learned correctly, each of the various asanas are added one by one. When one asana is correct, the next one is taught.

Led class in a nutshell via KPJAYI:

Because of the difficult nature of remembering and mastering the various vinyasas, on Fridays and Sundays, group guided classes are taught, in which all the vinyasas are counted out loud and all students follow along together accordingly. 

For a deeper look and further explanation, read Magnolia Zuniga's post at Mysore SF.  Here's a little taste:

I know, I know, you’re not in India. I get it. But you are in a city/town/place where you have responsibilities and an active life. All the more reason to take it slow and be reasonable with your expectations. Supta Kurmasana is certainly not a beginner posture. Just because it’s called primary series, that doesn’t speak to it’s actual level of proficiency necessary to do the postures safely.  Continue reading...

Summer Schedule 2013

Class Schedule : June/July/August 2013
Sundays 8:15 - 9:45 am Led Primary Series
Mondays 6:30 - 9:45 am Mysore
Tuesdays 6:30 - 9:45 am Mysore
Wednesdays 6:30 - 9:45 am Mysore
Thursdays 6:30 - 9:45 am Mysore
Fridays 6:30 - 7:45 am Led Primary Series

Doors open at 6:30 am Sunday and 6 am Monday-Friday.
Doors close at 10 am Sunday - Thursday and 9 am Friday.

Schedule updates here.

Weekend Edition #11 Luiz Antonio: Why He Doesn't Want to Eat Octopus

Sita Sings the Blues

Nina Patel's Sita Sings the Blues is all kinds of beautiful animation, sweet music, and the Ramayana.   

"Sita Sings the Blues is a musical, animated personal interpretation of the Indian epic the Ramayana. The aspect of the story that I focus on is the relationship between Sita and Rama, who are gods incarnated as human beings, and even they can't make their marriage work."  Read more about the film here.

Watch the film:

Show your support and donate to the film or just buy stuff...
 

Vinyasa

Vinyasa:

“To begin the practice of yoga, an aspirant should first do the Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutations), and then proceed to the asanas. The Surya Namaskara and the asanas must be practiced in the correct sequence and follow the method of vinyasa. If they are not, or the movement of rechaka and puraka is neglected, no part of the body will become strong, the subtle nadis will not be purified, and, owing to the resulting imbalance, the body, sense organs, mind, and intellect will not develop. They may even become further imbalanced. 

If the asanas and the Surya Namaskara are to be practiced, they must be done so in accordance with the prescribed vinyasa method only. As the sage Vamana says, ‘Vina vinyasa yogena asanadin na karayet (O yogi, do not do asana without vinyasa).’ When yoga is practiced with a knowledge of its proper method, it is quite easy to learn, but practiced without such knowledge, it becomes a very difficult undertaking, Therefore, aspirants should not forget to learn the method of vinyasa, as well as of rechaka and puraka, and to follow it in their practice.”

From Yoga Mala (Sri K.Pattabhi Jois)

“Vinyasa” means breath-synchronized movement or the marriage between the breath and the movement. By practicing the vinyasa system, an intense internal heat is produced that purifies muscles and organs, expelling unwanted toxins, and increases the circulation. The balance between breath and movement eventually brings balance to the practice, creates a balance of strength and flexibility, and encourages the practice to become a moving meditation. The vinyasa is carried out after nearly every asana during the practice and aside from bringing balance to the body and mind, it brings the body back to a neutral position before starting the next posture. The vinyasa always begins and ends the journey, wiping the slate clean to begin again.

The Yoga Comics

Awesome Editor: Jessica Walden and Elise Espat  (Albuquerque Ashtanga Yoga Shala)

Cartoon guy: Boonchu Tanti,  Ashtanga Illustrations by Boonchu

Yoga Comics: Life is Precious

"In the yoga shastra it is said that God dwells in our heart in the form of light, but this light is covered by six poisons: kama, krodha, moha, lobha, matsarya, and mada. These are desire, anger, delusion, greed, envy and sloth. When yoga practice is sustained with great diligence and dedication over a long period of time, the heat generated from it burns away these poisons, and the light of our inner nature shines forth."

Comic via The Yoga Comics
Quote via the KPJAYI

Weekend Edition #10 Grow Food

Time to get gardening and learning is simple with these cute infographics on growing herbs, starting a home garden, and composting!

"Grow Your Own Herbs" by Heather Diane Hardison of Illustrated Bites.

 "Square Foot Gardening" by Frugal Dad

"How to make compost work for you" by WellHome via treehugger

Shala Shirt Project

अभयं सत्त्वसंशुद्धिर् ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः
abhayaṁ sattva-saṁśuddhir jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ
"Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and devotion."

1st ever Shala shirts designed by me and Ashtanga Illustrations by Boonchu Tanti, printed locally by Guerrilla GraphiX on 100% organic cotton made in the USA tees :)

Weekend Edition #9

Some notes and highlights from the week:

Leslie Kaminoff explains "accessory breathing":


Meet the Sweetest Vegan:

I'm going to Florida August 17 & 18 (I'll see you there!)
On facebook
The Shala's website
The details:

Sat. 8:30AM – 11AM Led Primary
Traditional Sanskrit count of asanas and vinyasas we well as each and every inhale and exhale. Ride each breath in and out, allow your mind to sink down, and surrender to the current. We will finish with deep relaxation and chanting.

Sat. 1PM – 4PM The Strength to Surrender
When we untether ourselves from mental chatter we are able to soften the heart, trust fully, embrace faith, and open to possibility. We begin to experience a lightness in the body and mind and an ease in practice that flows into all areas of our lives. Spend the afternoon with Elise delving into this topic to gain insight into where you are in your journey, what is holding you back, keeping you stuck, or bringing stuff up. Learn how to tap into the tools you already have to help you trust this process, let go, and feel more joy in life. Elise will touch on the mental and physical aspects of heat, resistance, purification and sweet sweet surrender.

Sun 8:30AM-11AM
Mysore & Chanting The weekend culminates with Mysore practice and chanting that shakes us to the core and aligns all aspects of our being with the light within.

Recommended Reads:
I may have recommended this before and here it is again:  The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with commentary by Swami Satchidananda.  Yes, it comes en espanol tambien.

"Disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sensuality, false perception, failure to reach firm ground and slipping from the ground gained -- these distractions of the mind-stuff are the obstacles.
Accompaniments to the mental distractions include distress, despair, trembling of the body, and disturbed breathing.
The practice of concentration on a single subject [or the use of one technique] is the best way to prevent the obstacles and their accompaniments."

vyādhistyānasaṁśaya pramādālasyāvirati
व्याधिस्त्यानसंशय प्रमादालस्याविरति
bhrāntidarśanālabdha bhūmikatvānavasthitatvāni
भ्रान्तिदर्शनालब्ध भूमिकत्वानवस्थितत्वानि
cittavikṣepāste 'ntarāyāḥ
चित्तविक्षेपास्ते ऽन्तरायाः
duḥkhadaurmanasyaṅgamejayatvaśvāsapraśvāsā
दुःखदौर्मनस्यङ्गमेजयत्वश्वासप्रश्वासा
vikṣepasahabhuvaḥ
विक्षेपसहभुवः
tatpratiṣedhārthamekatattvābhyāsaḥ
तत्प्रतिषेधार्थमेकतत्त्वाभ्यासः
~Yoga Sutras 1.30-32

Yoga Comics: Isvara Pranidhana

 

"Awaken isvara pranidhana...especially when Sharath is counting soooo slooooowly during these three postures. Surrender and feel the inner strength expand (even as the outer strength diminishes)."

Isvara pranidhana means surrendering to the supreme soul, or worshipping God. Isvara is the purest form of the soul, not unlike samadhi. Once you surrender to isvara, to the divine, there will be no delusions. The yoga practice is a spiritual practice - not just doing exercise - it is striving to attain spiritual knowledge. First you surrender to the guru, then to the teachings. Only then will isvara pranidhana come. The more you think of God, the more you become attached to the divine, providing inner strength to deal with the uncertainties of life and with samsara.

Via The Yoga Comics

Weekend Edition #8

Been a bit busy planning this:

Here's a bit more about Krista:

Krista Shirley is a level 2 authorized Ashtanga Yoga instructor and founder of The Yoga Shala in Winter Park, Florida. Krista teaches traditional Ashtanga yoga classes in the Mysore method Monday-Thursday mornings 6:30-8:30am and counted led Ashtanga Primary series Friday mornings 6:15-7:45am followed by guided meditation from 8:00-8:30am. She also leads asana, meditation, and self help workshops and retreats at The Yoga Shala and around the globe.

Krista has been a dedicated student and practitioner of Ashtanga yoga for over a decade. She found this practice in college and it touched her so deeply she traveled down a path different than what was originally laid out for her. After graduation she started traveling the world delving deeper into her yoga studies. After meeting Shri K. Pattabhi Jois in a workshop in New York in 2004 Krista knew she had found her Guru – his essence was undeniable, his spirit light and loving, and his vast knowledge of asana, Sanskrit, chanting and philosophy was an endless well to draw from. Krista has made eight trips to Mysore, India to study at the Krishna Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute (KPJAYI) in order to study with Guruji and Sharath, connect to this lineage and feel the essence of this living parampara. Guruji passed away in May of 2009, the same month The Yoga Shala opened its doors. This space is a living, breathing dedication to Guruji, to his life’s work, and his never-ending passion for Ashtanga Yoga.

Krista’s dedication to her personal yoga practice and the Ashtanga lineage shine through in her teaching. Her energy is contagious and inspiring! Krista specializes in meeting each student where they are, helping them not only create a habit of daily practice, learn the sequence of asanas, work towards physical mastery of the postures, but also helping each student go inside themselves to heal old wounds, forgive old hurts, let go of the things in their lives that no longer serve them. Krista is here to help you begin or advance your Ashtanga Yoga journey and looks forward to sharing this transformational and enriching practice with you.

And there is this super sweet video as well:

Yay. Be sure to sign up early here!