A quick note.
As a teacher, oh man, they forget to tell you that you are a walking target for people hurling samskaras. Most of the time, it comes with some warning and I'm already in a place of love and compassion. And then sometimes, of course, I am absolutely not prepared and maybe in a place of love and compassion but somewhere accidentally leave a door open or something where a large draft riddled with those hurled emotions glides right in. The feeling? Like vomit in my throat. Very hot, agitated, and yeah, vomit in my throat.
God bless primary Fridays. At first it is a whole lot of mentally revisiting the puke and then the body feels it and the breath, bandha, dristhi, asana smooth it out. And then I find myself thinking about how I'm not thinking about it. And then I'm thinking about it again. And it keeps going like this until by the end, it was like the vomit was yesterday.
So, yeah, there is that.
-New York, Friday
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Asanas you start
I found myself plugging to-do items into my computer's calendar, realizing that really, takeoff is right around the corner. Diligently typing items into each day's allotted square, I also realized that I had succeeded in completely distracting my mind from what had just happened.
(This reminds me of a movie I saw not long ago about a supercomputer that went evil (of course) and the only way to stop it was to shut it down. Like any typical story, the beast had a weakness and the characters figured out a way to have one person get its attention while someone else pulled the plug.)
...What just happened was my daily asana practice. It started tamely enough, but as I waded deeper I swear I could feel something undigested from yesterday and my arms just burning, burning, burning. My mind paused for a moment to take note "sore arms are the worst kind of sore" and then I continued on to debate whether or not that was true. Perhaps the stomach was the worst kind of sore instead?
Next, I promise you that my thighs were melting off my femurs. They really were. Like runny Jell-o right onto my rug.
I carried on with practice -- breathing, moving, bandha-ing, etc., but with this really cumbersome backpack of "observations". Sometimes the bag is all one can think about. How heavy it is. If it were possible to take just one thing out, how much less suffering one might have. How ours is the heaviest pack, and wondering a) when will the bag get lighter and b) what if it never does?
And that is when the panic sets in-- "if I don't stop now, I will surely die or some equally horrific fate will certainly befall me and even if I do stop now, it will still be a disaster of the worst kind, but at least not the certain death of continuing my full practice. Maybe I should just start finishing or just rest and call it a day". Of the times where that was what I chose, I never felt half as awful as how I pictured I would. I try to remember this when the panicky freak-out moments arise.
Perhaps the scariest part is not the fatigue or soreness, it is of not knowing where to find the willpower to keep going. It is more and more clear that it is actually more simple than we make it out to be and the answer was there from the beginning: tristhana.
Defined as "three places of attention", this is a mainstay in the ashtanga yoga method. Breathing/bandha, dristhi, asana. So, when these thoughts come up (such as "oh, here comes that really tough posture that I really do not enjoy") if I keep these three things going, my mind goes there instead of to the thing(s) that are troubling my body or mind.
At first I think it is more like "distracts" the mind from the troubles, which implies that the mind places priority on the chase of unpleasant sensations. Over time, I feel that this has changed significantly. It is more often that the tristhana is the priority and the troubles attempt to distract. It isn't easy to not follow the troubles. They are sweet and salty and the sensation is something I am used to so it almost feels comforting ("I miss the comfort of being sad" -Nirvana) and I gravitate toward it until I'm stuck in it again and wondering how I got here.
I have the opportunity everyday to walk over to that edge and decide whether or not to jump and gradually, I start to remind myself of the day, week, month, years before.
Yes, this is scary.
Yes, I'm sore.
Yes, this is hard.
Yes, I'm tired.
Faith. I grab onto that tristhana and jump!
Without knowing it, I am placing my mind on something bigger than "myself" (immediate experience/the list above). I am now the possibility, image, fantasy, or dream of "me" jumping. When this lesson starts to integrate, I can apply it in order to make something happen (such as keeping the vinyasa or not succumbing to the freak-out/dropout).
And then maybe, sooner or later, it is not so much about the pleasant and painful, the can and can't, the good and bad, the backpack, Jell-o legs, or the come on just jump. Maybe it starts to become something else entirely.
(This reminds me of a movie I saw not long ago about a supercomputer that went evil (of course) and the only way to stop it was to shut it down. Like any typical story, the beast had a weakness and the characters figured out a way to have one person get its attention while someone else pulled the plug.)
...What just happened was my daily asana practice. It started tamely enough, but as I waded deeper I swear I could feel something undigested from yesterday and my arms just burning, burning, burning. My mind paused for a moment to take note "sore arms are the worst kind of sore" and then I continued on to debate whether or not that was true. Perhaps the stomach was the worst kind of sore instead?
Next, I promise you that my thighs were melting off my femurs. They really were. Like runny Jell-o right onto my rug.
I carried on with practice -- breathing, moving, bandha-ing, etc., but with this really cumbersome backpack of "observations". Sometimes the bag is all one can think about. How heavy it is. If it were possible to take just one thing out, how much less suffering one might have. How ours is the heaviest pack, and wondering a) when will the bag get lighter and b) what if it never does?
And that is when the panic sets in-- "if I don't stop now, I will surely die or some equally horrific fate will certainly befall me and even if I do stop now, it will still be a disaster of the worst kind, but at least not the certain death of continuing my full practice. Maybe I should just start finishing or just rest and call it a day". Of the times where that was what I chose, I never felt half as awful as how I pictured I would. I try to remember this when the panicky freak-out moments arise.
Perhaps the scariest part is not the fatigue or soreness, it is of not knowing where to find the willpower to keep going. It is more and more clear that it is actually more simple than we make it out to be and the answer was there from the beginning: tristhana.
Defined as "three places of attention", this is a mainstay in the ashtanga yoga method. Breathing/bandha, dristhi, asana. So, when these thoughts come up (such as "oh, here comes that really tough posture that I really do not enjoy") if I keep these three things going, my mind goes there instead of to the thing(s) that are troubling my body or mind.
At first I think it is more like "distracts" the mind from the troubles, which implies that the mind places priority on the chase of unpleasant sensations. Over time, I feel that this has changed significantly. It is more often that the tristhana is the priority and the troubles attempt to distract. It isn't easy to not follow the troubles. They are sweet and salty and the sensation is something I am used to so it almost feels comforting ("I miss the comfort of being sad" -Nirvana) and I gravitate toward it until I'm stuck in it again and wondering how I got here.
I have the opportunity everyday to walk over to that edge and decide whether or not to jump and gradually, I start to remind myself of the day, week, month, years before.
Yes, this is scary.
Yes, I'm sore.
Yes, this is hard.
Yes, I'm tired.
Faith. I grab onto that tristhana and jump!
Without knowing it, I am placing my mind on something bigger than "myself" (immediate experience/the list above). I am now the possibility, image, fantasy, or dream of "me" jumping. When this lesson starts to integrate, I can apply it in order to make something happen (such as keeping the vinyasa or not succumbing to the freak-out/dropout).
And then maybe, sooner or later, it is not so much about the pleasant and painful, the can and can't, the good and bad, the backpack, Jell-o legs, or the come on just jump. Maybe it starts to become something else entirely.
-New York, Tuesday
Sunday, August 15, 2010
High Range Dosa Mix
A fluffy dosa.
When combining water and mix (rice powder and lentils), the smell of dry dal in the back of the cupboard from 2008. A bit like the fresh, cool part of the smell of potting soil. 10 (?) hours later, smelling tongue-sucking sour and I'm ready to pour. The iron skillet seems to produce the fluffiest, tastiest dosa. I flick water at the "seasoned" pan and when it jumps and pops, I ladle a palm-sized amount of the sour stuff onto the center. Little Swiss cheese pancake holes appear across the surface and my heart quickens...
I wait. My feet tap, head sways, hands roll on hips.
I wait until the edges have me absolutely convinced that the underside is burning. I grip the spatula and shuffle it under the crispy edge, careful to keep pressing down toward the pan and I peek. Not burned at all. Barely golden brown. I smile smugly and flip.
-New York, Sunday
When combining water and mix (rice powder and lentils), the smell of dry dal in the back of the cupboard from 2008. A bit like the fresh, cool part of the smell of potting soil. 10 (?) hours later, smelling tongue-sucking sour and I'm ready to pour. The iron skillet seems to produce the fluffiest, tastiest dosa. I flick water at the "seasoned" pan and when it jumps and pops, I ladle a palm-sized amount of the sour stuff onto the center. Little Swiss cheese pancake holes appear across the surface and my heart quickens...
I wait. My feet tap, head sways, hands roll on hips.
I wait until the edges have me absolutely convinced that the underside is burning. I grip the spatula and shuffle it under the crispy edge, careful to keep pressing down toward the pan and I peek. Not burned at all. Barely golden brown. I smile smugly and flip.
-New York, Sunday
Friday, August 13, 2010
Another Go
First post. Newish blog. Hello.
Today I start a diary; it is against my usual habits, but out of a clearly felt need.
One advantage in keeping a diary is that you become aware with reassuring clarity of the changes which you constantly suffer.
I do not keep a diary. Never have. To write a diary every day is like returning to one's own vomit.
The notes I have made are not a diary in the ordinary sense, but partly lengthy records of my spiritual experiences, and partly poems in prose.
Today I start a diary; it is against my usual habits, but out of a clearly felt need.
-Robert Musil
One advantage in keeping a diary is that you become aware with reassuring clarity of the changes which you constantly suffer.
-Franz Kafka
I do not keep a diary. Never have. To write a diary every day is like returning to one's own vomit.
-J. Enoch Powell
The notes I have made are not a diary in the ordinary sense, but partly lengthy records of my spiritual experiences, and partly poems in prose.
-Edvard Munch
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
New Photos
New photos of Ashtanga Yoga Brooklyn mysore practice on the website by Matthew Spiegelman. Here are some more:
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Guru Purnima: Remembering Guruji
- "Every other adult has told me to get a haircut and get a job. You are telling me to practice yoga, and all is coming. OK, I am ready!" -The tribute article for Guruji at Yoga Journal
- Namarupa interview with BKS Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois (Guruji), and TKV Desikachar.
- In Memoriam by Kino MacGregor.
- "This is a personal account of my connection with a great teacher, nothing more." -Paul Dallaghan at ashtanga.com
- "A Day in the Life" short film by John Romero.
- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute by R. Alexander Medin at ashtanga.com.
- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Public Talks on Ashtanga Yoga (France 1991) at aysnyc.org.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Saraswathi Rangaswamy in New York
Saraswathi will be visiting from Mysore, India to teach in New York City.
From AYNY:
From AYNY:
Ashtanga Yoga with Saraswathi Rangaswamy, September 8 - September 12, 2010
K. Pattabhi Jois USA (KPJ USA) and Ashtanga Yoga New York (AYNY) are extremely happy to announce that Saraswathi Rangaswamy will be teaching one week of Ashtanga Yoga classes in New York City from September 8 – September 12, 2010. Please note that classes on 9/8 and 9/12 will be led classes, and the classes on 9/9, 9/10 and 9/11 will be Mysore style. Location TBA.
Additionally, September 11 is Saraswathi’s 69th birthday, and we will celebrate by throwing a birthday party for her at 7 pm at AYNY, 430 Broome St., 2nd floor.
To register online for these classes please visit our registration page with Brown Paper Tickets.
Refund Policy: We will offer full refunds until August 22, 2010. Unfortunately, no refunds will be offered after this date.
Privacy Policy: AYNY takes every reasonable precaution to assure that your data is secure. We will not share your information with any third parties. For Brown Paper Tickets’ privacy policy, please visit its site here.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Castor Oil Bath
Originally published October 2008 in www.livingmysore.com:
Relieve aches, pains and stiffness with oil baths
By Kimberly Flynn Williams
Oil bath is a traditional, weekly Ayurvedic home remedy still practiced widely in South India. Shri K. Pattabhi Jois routinely recommends oil bath to his yoga students especially for the relief of back and knee pain as well as stiffness. Weekly oil bath reduces excess internal heat (pitta in Ayurveda) particularly in the joints, liver, and skin. This heat is generated by poor lifestyle, including consumption of oily, processed, and difficult to digest foods, alcohol and tobacco, in addition to stress, air pollution and inadequate sleep. This imbalance increases with the heat generated by yoga practice and hot climate. Eating an over-sufficiency of healthy foods that are deemed "heating" in Ayurvedic terms, also adds to this imbalance.
Excess heat can be felt in the joints as pain and stiffness and in the back, often in the lower right-hand side and hip, as a nearly debilitating pain. This heat also contributes to a short temper, burning anger, red skin, pinkish acne, and redness in the eyes. When a daily ashtanga yoga practitioner still carries extra weight, especially around the middle, has difficulty with weight loss or with digestion, and has a regularly sluggish bowel, these are all signs of surplus heat.
In India, oil bath is customarily taken with castor oil that is later removed from the skin and hair with a special herbal paste made of equal parts soap nut and green powders mixed with water. Castor oil delivers the best results, but is nearly impossible to remove without these powders. Guruji suggests that, after leaving India, the yoga student can replace castor oil with almond oil, which easily washes off with bath soap.
Continue reading full article at Living Mysore...
Since 1995, Kimberly Flynn Williams has traveled yearly to Mysore, India to study Ashtanga Yoga with Shri K. Pattabhi Jois and his family at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute. She began her studies with Pattabhi Jois in 1993 during his teaching visit to New York City. Inspired by Pattabhi Jois's vast knowledge of Yoga Shastra, she has been a student of Sanskrit Recitation, Yoga Sutras, and Philosophy under Dr. M.A. Jayashree since 1998. Kimberly co-directed and co-founded Ashtanga Yoga Shala in Los Angeles where she taught for 10 years and twice hosted Pattabhi Jois. Kimberly, AYRI Authorized, teaches Ashtanga Yoga and Sutra Chanting in Hawaii, throughout the United States, and Internationally. She began yoga practice in 1982.
Relieve aches, pains and stiffness with oil bathsBy Kimberly Flynn Williams
Oil bath is a traditional, weekly Ayurvedic home remedy still practiced widely in South India. Shri K. Pattabhi Jois routinely recommends oil bath to his yoga students especially for the relief of back and knee pain as well as stiffness. Weekly oil bath reduces excess internal heat (pitta in Ayurveda) particularly in the joints, liver, and skin. This heat is generated by poor lifestyle, including consumption of oily, processed, and difficult to digest foods, alcohol and tobacco, in addition to stress, air pollution and inadequate sleep. This imbalance increases with the heat generated by yoga practice and hot climate. Eating an over-sufficiency of healthy foods that are deemed "heating" in Ayurvedic terms, also adds to this imbalance.
Excess heat can be felt in the joints as pain and stiffness and in the back, often in the lower right-hand side and hip, as a nearly debilitating pain. This heat also contributes to a short temper, burning anger, red skin, pinkish acne, and redness in the eyes. When a daily ashtanga yoga practitioner still carries extra weight, especially around the middle, has difficulty with weight loss or with digestion, and has a regularly sluggish bowel, these are all signs of surplus heat.
In India, oil bath is customarily taken with castor oil that is later removed from the skin and hair with a special herbal paste made of equal parts soap nut and green powders mixed with water. Castor oil delivers the best results, but is nearly impossible to remove without these powders. Guruji suggests that, after leaving India, the yoga student can replace castor oil with almond oil, which easily washes off with bath soap.
Continue reading full article at Living Mysore...
Since 1995, Kimberly Flynn Williams has traveled yearly to Mysore, India to study Ashtanga Yoga with Shri K. Pattabhi Jois and his family at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute. She began her studies with Pattabhi Jois in 1993 during his teaching visit to New York City. Inspired by Pattabhi Jois's vast knowledge of Yoga Shastra, she has been a student of Sanskrit Recitation, Yoga Sutras, and Philosophy under Dr. M.A. Jayashree since 1998. Kimberly co-directed and co-founded Ashtanga Yoga Shala in Los Angeles where she taught for 10 years and twice hosted Pattabhi Jois. Kimberly, AYRI Authorized, teaches Ashtanga Yoga and Sutra Chanting in Hawaii, throughout the United States, and Internationally. She began yoga practice in 1982.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
How to clean your yoga mat
Daily
Once per month/As needed
- Clean your feet before practice.
- Use a rug over your mat.
- Wipe your mat as dry as possible post-practice.
- Hang your mat to dry completely everyday post-practice
- Wash your rug.
Once per month/As needed
- Deep clean your mat. Check out the Eco Yogini for green tips on how to wash your mat and a recipe for an anti-bacterial spray that you can make at home. The Wai Lana website has an interesting suggestion for expediting the drying process:
"To dry your yoga mat, lay it on top of a dry towel and tightly roll mat and towel together like a cinnamon roll. Squeeze out excess water by pressing with your hands or feet. Unroll and hang to air dry."
The ingredients in these DIY sprays tend to be similar (vinegar, water, witch hazel, tea tree, etc.) Here's a video at Notacoolmom if you're the visual type.
Sharath, Saraswati, & Manju : New Encinitas Shala
Sharath Rangaswamy, Saraswati Rangaswamy, and Manju Jois are teaching at and celebrating the opening of their new Ashtanga yoga shala in Encinitas, California August 20th - September 5th 2010.
Link to flier: http://cli.gs/nrd5zE
Link to sign up:
http://kpjayi.org/encinitas.html
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Practice and Potluck
Sunday, July 18th
Morning self practice followed by a potluck gathering.
All regular AYB students are invited.
Morning self practice followed by a potluck gathering.
All regular AYB students are invited.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Interview: The Story of Yoga in America
Interview with Stefanie Syman, author of The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America, from NPR's On Point.
Listen here
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Eat Local: Saturday Farmers Market
While the produce isn't from your neighbor's backyard, the bounty at the weekly Greenmarket in McCarren Park is pretty darn close. Sometimes you'll spend a bit more than at the grocery store, but often you'll find yourself spending much less. Plus, you can glory in the fact that you are getting really close to the source of what you put in your body. You're also able to literally put your money where your mouth is... Each dollar you spend is a vote, an investment if you will, for local, whole, healthy, sustainable, different, not factory farmed, etc. sustenance.
You are what you eat and eat what you are.
Greenpoint / McCarren Park Greenmarket
Food, Inc. Trailer
You are what you eat and eat what you are.
Greenpoint / McCarren Park Greenmarket
Location: Union Ave between Driggs & N 12th Street
Schedule: Saturdays, year round, 8am-3pm. 2010 Schedule changes: 12/25 & 1/1 will close for holidays.
Subway: L, to Bedford Ave; G, to Nassau Ave
Bus: B43, B68
Greenpoint/McCarren Park Greenmarket from GrowNYC on Vimeo.
Food, Inc. Trailer
Friday, June 25, 2010
Moon Day Cometh
Saturday, June 26, 2010 is a Moon Day. Take rest!
Also a partial lunar eclipse.
See all 2010 Moon Days.
Also a partial lunar eclipse.
See all 2010 Moon Days.
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