Tartan Yogi

I managed to stupidly delete the last post I wrote, but in the manner on non-attachment I am writing another one. And it will be far more interesting this time ;) Having just read lots of blogs about how yogis are deathly dull and boring, I just wonder that if they are that boring, why even write about it or carry on reading other blogs? Just like if something on TV offends you, you have the power to switch off. People are so weird! It just reminds me of something my mum said to me in the summer holidays when I didn't have anything to do and moaned about it, 'boring people are boring', so off I would go to write a book or invent some secret land in the garden in an attempt not to be dull.

It does seem to be a time in the blogosphere when people are thinking about why they blog and in some cases deciding not to continue, which is a shame as I will miss reading them. Speaking for myself it is purely as a record for myself of my yoga practice and also a chance to vent spleen about things that annoy me mainly to do with yoga, I seem to censor most private stuff out. And I do like getting comments now and again. Really it is a bit like the diary I used to keep when I was little but online and minus the comments (apart from when my sister read my diary and I locked her in a cupboard until she promised not to tell so-and-so I loved him), the fact people read it is incidental. Mind you in this diary I don't write about boys I fancy and want to kiss, not often anyway.

Actually, maybe I have just been spending too much time reading yoga web stuff, like the ezboard as it seems that all yoga teachers are criminals and spite and malice are the order of the day. Not that spite and malice aren't fun to read sometimes. I think also as I have signed up for this training course I am sensitive to the stuff about teachers and training and all that stuff. I think I have mentioned before that I think doing teacher training is a great way to indulge yourself in yoga and for me it is a gift to be able to do this while in Scotland and working full time, regardless of whatever 'certificate' comes out of it. I certainly won't consider myself a teacher at the end of it because that is not the traditional way to do it. The only way is to be authorized by Pattabhi Jois. And I won't have time to do that in the near future so this course is an interim way to get lots more practice in and learn more about the philosophy of yoga until I can go to India. If that makes me a criminal then show me the handcuffs.

Interestingly I have done a lot of reading about yoga teacher training in the UK this week. It is in a funny state of affairs, basically the British Wheel of Yoga seems to be almost the only place to get the training needed to get insurance to teach in gyms and so on, but they teach a non-specific style of hatha yoga and even seem to discourage some types of asana practice like ashtanga. However, they do focus on aspects of good teaching and safety for varying types of students. But then with the ashtanga method of attaining a certain level in your own asana practice and then getting authorized you aren't necessarily trained to teach well. It is all a bit confusing. The more I think about it the more I think maybe I will do the Scottish equivalent of the BWY training so that I can eventually teach hatha classes, while carrying on with my ashtanga practice with a view to one day being able to teach ashtanga through the going to mysore route, if I am ever considered good enough!

Ideally I will be able to help a teacher assist in ashtanga classes for experience, but who knows if this opportunity will arise. It is all so complicated! I suppose it is all a bit hypothetical at the moment anyway. For all I know I might be a rubbish teacher and won't make it that far.

In other news I have been burning up my mat with a full practice every day this week. Quite literally actually, I keep ending up with bits of mat stuck to me after practice, such a good look.

It is snowing in Edinburgh today. I do love snow, although as I am going to a wedding tomorrow in an unheated castle it might not be such a great thing! Last night I went to the hen drinks at Harvey Nichols which is very posh indeed. They have some great non-booze cocktails as I don't like drinking during the week, or actually at all that much anymore (if only my university friends could hear me now). I definitely think that smoothie type drinks are the way forward.

It was funny actually because there were a couple of girls there who I was chatting away to and they were smoking like chimneys. Now I don't really mind if people smoke it's up to them, but it really does smell bad and my hair was full of the smoke smell when I got home. I can't wait for the smoking ban to kick in at the end of the month. Although I suppose it will end up like Dublin where gangs of smokers stand outside bars and litter the pavements. Actually that is one of my pet peeves, people smoking in front of me when I am walking to work, shouldn't be allowed ;)

I am going to have a home practice tonight, I can't wait. Although will have to do some tidying first as the flat looks like a bomb has hit it, gosh I know how to enjoy myself on a Friday night. I want to do some crim practice on hanumanasana (even though it is a 3rd series pose) just because I like doing it. I am really close to having both legs flat on the floor on one side, the other is a wee bit more stiff. Sometimes I do like having a home practice where I can play around a bit, but I would never add poses in to the series like some people do at the yoga centre. It just seems a bit wrong really. Although interestingly the teachers sometimes get people to add poses in but I wonder if it just confuses them about the series sometimes. In my head the series I follow is the way David Swenson teaches it but I do quite like the John Scott version where he adds in full vinyasas.

Right, must go and have a trauma about what to wear to this wedding tomorrow. If it is still snowing I might need to wear wellies and a Russian hat! Maybe I will stick to my tartan skirt, after all it is a Scottish wedding and it is quite a warm skirt. There is going to be an Elvis impersonator though so I don't think we will be doing any ceilidh dancing! Is it possible to groove to Elvis wearing a long tartan skirt, watch this space...

But only in the sense that I've had a haircut ;) Nothing too drastic, but at least I don't look like Dougal from the Magic Roundabout anymore. I do find having a haircut is quite traumatic as I am rubbish at making small talk which hairdressers seem to expect. Although my hairdresser does this great head massage so I can't complain.

I went to the led class last night and it was good, but I think I am becoming institutionalised by the primary series! When the teacher deviated from it I got totally confused, I suppose she was missing out some poses like supta kurmasana as most of the class can't do it. Weirdly I was really looking forward to mari D and she missed it out! I wonder if it is because I like the luxury of a mysore class where you can do the full primary and at your own pace, that really is where it is at.

Also am really getting into headstand after a marathon practice session at home over the weekend, I have totally worked out what my problem was with this pose, namely the balance point. I wasn't bringing my legs far enough to my body before raising them up, so when I tried to go up it didn't work and I fell back down. So now I have that worked out, getting up isn't a problem. Staying up is still a bit wobbly, but it will get there. And now I am looking forward to doing it rather than dreading it which is a huge step forward for me. It has only taken 6 years! Mind you for most of those I was just practicing avoidance rather than headstand.

In other news, yes it is possible to groove to Elvis while wearing a full length tartan skirt! The wedding was amazing, although the castle was freezing cold. It is so nice to see two people obviously madly in love getting married, makes me well up just to think about it. I am such a sap! Although the DJ they booked was the worst DJ I have ever heard, he played weird covers of such things as Men at Work and the Flying Pickets, most odd indeed. But then he put on Sweet Home Alabama and the husband and I had a dance. The husband was quite sweet actually as when we got married we didn't tell anyone apart from our witnesses about 10 minutes before and didn't really have a proper honeymoon. So he has decided that we should have a wedding party to make up for it. Although maybe it is just so he can play DJ for the night and make everyone listen to Johnny Cash for 4 hours.

Also, work is being a nightmare at the moment, am just trying to practice non-attachment to things out of my control - like other people who do everything to make life difficult for everyone. Argh! Oh well mysore to look forward to tonight so it isn't all bad.

What a way to make a living, I do love Dolly Parton. This week I am mainly having a nightmare at work and am daydreaming of getting up from my desk, going to the airport and going to Mysore to devote myself to studying yoga full time. In the real world I am going to Mysore practice tonight and then to see Jerry Springer, The Opera tomorrow night.

Mysore last night was fairly intense. For some reason I am really stiff this week, which isn't making poses impossible, just a bit more challenging than usual. I wonder if this is psychological though. Last night when I was doing prasarita padottonasana A the teacher decided I should do a tripod headstand from there, with which my legs were most uncooperative. Then the teacher said it seemed like an intention problem and sure enough on the next try I managed it. Weird. I suppose it is the old headstand phobia kicking in.

Then when I got to my old adversary supta kurmasana, I got a great adjustment and my teacher got my fingers to touch. We then had a big discussion about why I am feel I am getting nowhere with this pose. Although it turns out I am closer than I think and the problem is my (ahem) 'muscly' legs (I think this is code for podgy though!) and getting my arms round them, rather than getting the legs behind the head. It is the same reason I find garbha pidasana difficult as I can get into lotus easy enough, but getting the arms through is difficult as my leg podge gets in the way. I suppose I just find it frustrating because these two poses are where I am stuck at and I just need to carry on practicing and I will get them. I am going to do more practice of leg-behind the head too so I can get as far through my legs as possible to give my arms a chance of binding.

Maybe I could try staying in the pose for more breaths too, to get into it as deeply as possible. I wonder if that would work. Did lots of dropbacks too last night, although my leg strength had gone away courtesy of supta K. I do love a good dropback.

Oh well, I suppose I should do some work, most inconvenient.