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July 31, 2005
Home at last!
finally i am at home after a month (save for three days) away.
i was expecting to do a led class this morning but it seems as though there are only led classes on
fridays. perhaps it’s until eddie ji gets back from
it felt so good to begin practice with the opening mantra and then to continue on in the practice as i know it. looking back at this past month i have hardly practiced save for the first week in
however after leaving practice this morning i was filled with all this negative energy which i think is a buildup over the past month. for the past 13 days i was in SF and i was staying with friends and felt like a burden. long story short is that my firm wanted me to stay in SF for training at the last minute and they want to watch expenses so asked that i stay with friends. didn’t seem like a bad idea at first but i wont ever do that again!
the first week was sort of a disaster another long story.
the second week was good but i was ready to be home.
being away and not really able to practice created a dam of sorts for negativity to build up and todays practice brought it all up for release. i hope the process continues until it is all gone and i can get back on track.
before i left i was beginning to fully realize my path and changes and choices in my life were taking place at a nice organic rate. being in others space at such a formative stage seems to have set me back just a bit. by thursday i was looking forward to porkchops. i had bacon with breakfast too many times to count and i drank something like 5 times over the last 13 days. which is just too much. it was mainly wine with dinner but even that is a killer.
so today my journey begins again. i can tell you that i am sore from practice and thankful that it was
asana was not so bad, i think that the shala brings out an element of insecurity in me as i was a little unsure of the sequence which for the past month ive been fine with even with the intermittent practice that i have had. i need to remember of that. i felt today as though i was again giving over my practice to someone else asi had to 'peek to make sure i was still on track which was not a pleasant feeling. i think it goes back to "bringing something to the table" and being there to add not take away from the practice. i hope this isnt to esoteric of a statement.
im still having problems binding in arda baddha padmottanasana which i think is going to require help from a teacher. but im doing much better in ardha baddha padma paschimottanasana i can bind on both sides on my own and i can even bend forward. somewhere along the way my ankles have become really rigid which is making triang mukha eka pada paschimottanasana really hard but i think they should loosen up pretty quickly. janu sirsasana c is still a little difficult on the right side (my toes were killing me) but i did notice that my hip is a little more open after those "rocket" classes in SF which id due to the fact that hanumanasana is incorporated to their series. of course it looks nothing like the pic when i do it but it does help to open up the front of the hips.
i got a couple of assists in marichyasna's. in A i was pushed forward in the bend and at the same time i was opened up using my knee(make sense?) so there was a hand on my back and a hand on my knew which were pushing in opposite directions allowing room for my chest to move down and forward. it was pretty amazing..
of course i was assisted in D as well. my foot is getting into better position in padmasana which is helping with this asana but i am by no means near taking it on my own. im still stuck in trying to figure out how to position myself so that i can get my arm wrapped around my knee without falling over and then twisting enough to grasp hands. the first side was good i even bound but the second side was difficult. not to mention that in the midst of it the thought that my right shoulder is a bit less broad then my left crossed my mind which made binding impossible. straight to closing after that.
i hope eddie ji is back tomorrow that would make my homecoming so complete!
Posted by jody at 9:10 AM | TrackBack
July 28, 2005
Thursday
training ran over today so i didnt make it to class, which is a drag. but...i did pass by a bikram place and stopped in to look at the mat bags they had. i bought this cool red one that will fit both my mat and yogi toes towel. i think it may even fit my carpet along with my mat. there was a class goin on and the studio is all glass lined, i was in the lobby and it was hot in there so i cant imagine what it was like in that room. apparently there is someone at the shala ho does bikram once a week and loves it. i can imagine that you are super flexible in that heat.anyway, ill probably wont be in a class tomorrow either as i have all this stuff to do before i leave. the next posting will be after class at the shala aum gam ganaptaye namaha!
hari om!
if there are any ashtangis out there from denver id love to chat as i am thinking of settling there in the future
Posted by jody at 11:38 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Wednesday
my understanding of ashtanga yoga is that the practice of asana and the other seven limbs are passed from teacher to student in a method that has been passed down from Sri T. Krishnamacharya to Guruji and from Guruji to his students who if we are lucky become our teachers. that is what makes the practice of ashtanga yoga so very special, it is a system that has been passed down in a pure form.so if upon reading my blog it sounds as though I am an ashtanga snob, it is not my intention. I think that yoga takes many different shapes all of which are beautiful in what they offer the practitioner. none is better than another. but if you are going to call a practice ashtanga then it should follow the established structure. otherwise you are doing yoga but it is not ashtanga.
that being said on to todays entry.
today was my second class at Its yoga and today was a slightly different sequence than yesterday it was rocket 2. which seemed to incorporate more of the primary series asanas. there were more surya b's and today we did kurmasana and supta kurmasana and a few others I cant remember. I have to admit that the classes are fun because they incorporate head stands and 2nd series asanas. yesterday I didn’t even attempt to do a head stand mainly because I wasn’t near a wall but today I got there early enough to get a spot near the wall and I did all the head stands and twice with next to no assistance from the wall. we did backbends as well and at a point that is much earlier than in the regular primary series. ( I am not even there yet in mysore I am still at Marichyasna D) and I was surprised at how fully I was able to get into them. I cant wait for time to pass and my practice to grow.
music is played through out the class which is foreign to me, as there is no music in the shala other than the continual notes of mine and others breath. it fades into the background mostly but I did notice that at one point it sounded s they were playing trip hop.
anyway tomorrow might be my last class as I have plans on Friday and I fly home on Saturday.
om shanti shanti shanti
Posted by jody at 12:56 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
July 26, 2005
Tuesday
i made it to a class today at It's yoga in san francisco. its "ashtanga" yoga and i put it in quotes for a reason. the classes they offer are based on primary and secondary postures but they in no way resemble either series. it was fun but it aint ashtanga. the classes are called Rocket with varying degrees of intensity. i did Rocket 1 today which is all mixed levels. larry shultz is the guy who founded this place and apparently he has practiced yoga for 23 years and started with ashtanga he has at some point met Guruji and wrote about its effect on his life and practice which is odd because the classes he teaches are so far from ashtanga that you question how profound the effect could have really been. he is a nice enough guy and people are really into the class so i guess its not all bad but well, its not the ashtanga i know and love.i walk into the studio and the guy next to me was practicing karandavasana and he was really good at it. so im thinking maybe its really close to primary with some spice added,( 2nd series asanas). well we start with an om and larry speaks some words about giving thanks for the practice. sound familiar? we did 3 surya a and 4 surya b after that it was no where near what i was expecting. the sequence is all about strength there are a lot of hand stands some twisting no marichyasanas and no padmasanas. they do the prasarita to headstand combo which i still cant find in the series but i havent seen much beyond secondary so maybe its in there somewhere. there arent very many jump throughs or jump backs and many times he would have you walk your hands back into uttanasana.
i plan on going back for the next few days as it was kinda fun and i dont think it will have any negative impact on my regular practice. besides ill just revert to the primary as the rest of the class is doing the 'rocket' sequence. thinking about it this practice is good for people who want to do the third limb of yoga only. very western approach, and definately san francisco.
i would practice on my own but now that im staying with another friend for the next few days its not as convenient as he has roommates and the space isnt really there...
only 5 more days until im back at home in my shala with my own practice. i cant wait.
om shanti
Posted by jody at 10:56 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 25, 2005
Monday
i want to go home i want to be in NYC again. ive been away from home for all of july save for three days last week. practice has been erratic since i left denver. but i have learned a few things along the way.i was talking to a co -worker at lunch the other day and we got to talking about yoga and stuff. there is this guy sitting next to us and he joins our conversation, he is a reiki guy and was talking all meta physical. as i guess was i when talking about practice and hinduism and my budding understanding of it. i was talking to them about how id like to find a place to do yoga here. and the guy asks why cant you do it on your own? to which i responsed that i like practicing with people and the sense of community that it inspires. he follows up the question with a talk about owning ones practice and being able to bring something to the table after practicing on ones own.
which was odd becasue the last day i was in the shala i was watching the sub finish his practice before ours began and there he was by himself doing his thing. OWNING HIS PRACTICE. and i thought to myself that i need to be in that place where my practice is dependent on no one.
how strange to have this conversation with a total stranger on the opposite coast.
needless to say i have been practicing not daily but more ardently when i do. reading this it may sound or seem so basic but its taken me a second to get it.
i am going to try to make it to a flow class with jamie lindsay he was one of the first people that i took a yoga class with. and if not then i will practice on my own in the place that im staying.
om shanti
Posted by jody at 6:45 PM | TrackBack
July 20, 2005
Wednesday
in SF, tried to practice this morning but was soo stuffed up that I couldn't get into it. i did 4 surya a's and one surya b and that was it!!it turns out that i am going to be in Sf until the end of next week which means that i am going to have to find a place to do yoga. i cant seem to find any mysore classes except a few that are kinda far from where i'll be. im going to probably do led classes for the time being. what a strange journey my practice is taking. i have to practice on my own tomorrow then i can find a studio to practice for the rest of the time that i am here.
thats all i got for today.
oh yeah i'll be on ashtangi.net soon i got a response from the admin!! woohoo!!!!
Posted by jody at 11:52 AM | TrackBack
July 19, 2005
Tuesday
ughhh.....i over airconditioned m y room last night and i woke freezing. i was dreaming that there was an intruder in the apartment and that i had to keep my foot out from under the covers so that i could tell when he was about to strike so that i could make a defensive move. well now i think im catching a cold from freezing my butt off while sleeping.anyway practice today was just so so i was tired and almost left after the surya's but i toughed it out. i got a couple of adjustments in the forward bends. i feel like i am making some real progress in terms of lengthing my spine which is key for me since my spine is sooooooooooooo tight. i didnt forget any asanas this morning so thats good.
so this next bit i am chalking up to being a little under the weather but i have to get it off my chest. yesterday i thought as i was being adjusted into mari -d that the person adjusting me seemed irritated, i let it go thinking that it was nothing. well today i struggled with Mari -d for at least 10-15 minutes and the person who adjusted me yesterday watched but did nothing, didnt offer any assistance, and it really got to me. i kinda feel like he is more interested in assisting those who are doing poses that are more advanced than mari -d (although i think its pretty advanced.) and second series always takes precedence. it bothers me. so i got up and left. i skipped closing postures i was too tired and really annoyed so i took savasana and left.
im off to SF later today so Ill practive on my own tomorrow and thursday ill be skipping on friday im taking the red eye thursday.
Posted by jody at 9:33 AM | TrackBack
July 18, 2005
monday
first day back at the shala and it was awesome! i was worried that i was going to have a difficult time of it considering i only practiced once while i was in las vegas. but suprisingly it was not difficult and my practice was awesome. it never ceases to amaze me how just being in a room with people can change the the intensity of my practice. i missed the led class yesterday as craig was over until 1:00 am. i set the alarm but slept right through it. i was also a little nervous about going through a led class after missing a whole week!!! so i practiced at home and i barely made it through the surya's.with that in mind i thought today was ging to be embarassing but much to my suprise i did very well. utthita hasta padangusthasana was suprisingly good i almost got the full asana. it was mainly two reasons, one, it was super humid and hot and second, i was not focused on the asana in my mind. i know it sounds like a bad thing but when i set my mind on something it sometimes has the opposite effect. meaning that i obsess about what im doing as im doing it and i screw up. as was evidenced on the second side, i got into the asana but not as gracefully or as easily as the first. i dont think that it helps that i am right next to the wall and i have to maneuver around a bit.
one great thing that denver did for me was to solidfy my knowledge of the sequence, before i left i would rely on the poeple around me to get thru the sequence. in denver i HAD to rely on myself and i was fine. i do forget some asanas from time to time but Im pretty much okay.
i just hope that i can really master mari -d at some point in the near future because otherwise i will not be able to move forward and its kinda frustrating. i suppose as long as i practice consistently i will make progress. truth is, in the past when i was assisted into mari -d i walked away from class really really sore. today i took a bind on each side and i am not overly sore. i hope that it becomes a regular thing for me, but i suspect it going to take a while.
it seems as though there a lot of people heading to india to study with guruji and sharath which is exciting i cant wait to read about their trips on their blogs. i want to go as well but i think i am going to wait until i have the primary series completed. otherwise i kinda feel like its a waste in the sense that being a novice amongst the yogarati is going to decrease the amount of time that you spend absorbing the knowledge. i know i know its not about where you are at in the practice as much as your dedication. but thats how i feel about it. besides im pretty happy with the teachers i have here.
i got one of the yogi toes mat cover things...its great. it has these little raised rubber bumps on one side plain cotton on the other. i used it with the bumps up. it was nice although it left me with indentations all over my feet. i also have ditched my black mat in favor of my old tapas mat its MUCH thinner then the black one and i think that jump through/back's will be easier because i wont be sinking down into my mat. ill keep you posted.
i left a check for 175 which is for 12 classes, which i spoke to eddie ji about before he left. the sub made a comment on payment today a general one to the class and i think it was motivated by my check. ill have to remember to pull him aside tomorrow to chat
Posted by jody at 11:19 AM | TrackBack
July 16, 2005
Saturday
home again, finally!so the last few days in denver were awesome the denver yoga shala was great. the shala itself was beautiful a little on the small side its in an old building with hard wood floors and brick walls, very simple but pretty. the neighboorhood id really nice too it was once a gritty area but as does every bad hood it has begun the gentrification process and is becoming very nice. old homes and townhomes are beautiful once again.
practice at the shala was very nice, mysore starts at 6:30 i was usually the first person there, i think they get started a little later in denver than they do in nyc. the teacher gary lived in nyc and studied with eddie ji at the shala for a number of years. so it was like practicing with family.
i didnt make alot of progress as while away, im still struggling with mari d although in denver the first side was more difficult than the second side. also im convinced that i will always ahve problems binding in arda badda pasdmottoasana with my right arm because i think that my shoulder width is smaller than my left. when i do bind on that side i literally cannot lean forward.
i think im still a ways away from fully getting that position as far as i can but i think it will always be an issue.
i only practiced once while i was in las vegas with a woman i work with by the pool first thing in the morning. it was good although i was sooo stiff that i couldnt get into any psoses and even the surya's were pretty difficult. i am excited and nervous about going back to the shala tomorrow i know its gonna be a struggle.
Posted by jody at 10:13 AM | TrackBack
July 5, 2005
Tuesday
arrrgghhh..... so i thought today was a moonday but it turns out its tomorrow. at least here in denver, these moondays dont seem to be an exact science in the ashtanga world. anyway, i went to the ashtanga center today thinking that i could go to the yoga shala for mysore the rest of this week. but now it looks like i'll have to go to the center again tomorrow because there is no mysore.class today was not the greatest. they do a loose intepretation of primary series. and frankly it irritates me that people call it ashtanga when its not.
the point is lost on people that the postures and chanting and SEQUENCE is what makes ashtanga ... ashtanga, along with the seven other limbs.
we did a modified version of surya b which is fine for a vinyasa class.
but its not ashtanga. i couldnt even get into padmasana becasue we did 2 surya a's and two surya b's. i like charolette she is a good teacher and has a beautiful voice. but she doenst know ashtanga.
and the ashtanga yoga center is really a yoga studio that has a couple of ashtanga classes. im bummed out. i really want to be back in my normal practice. i think i might take tomorrow off and wait for the shala on thursday.
so theres not much to update on the practice front im sure that when i am in nyc again yoga is going to be HARD and ill be super stiff.
i kinda hope its really hot.
i am trying to be open to the experience but i miss
Yoga in the tradition of Sri K. Pattabi Jois...
namaste
Posted by jody at 6:02 PM | TrackBack
July 4, 2005
July 4th
greetings from denver! today is july 4th i've been in town since LATE friday night. woke up early on saturday and went to the yoga place near my dads and lo and behold the guy teacing the class was from nyc and studied with eddie ji!! class was great, he is also leading mysore at denver yoga shala so im going there on wed-fri then take class with him again on saturday at the the ashtanga center.class on sunday was a little wierd the girl teaching and i had a little conversation before class and talked about practice. she didnt know who eddie ji was, and i dont think she knows who guruji is. she was a little nervous about teaching, she was subbing the class, but she was really sweet and was good at adjusting. the class was not true to the series, we skipped mari-d went to navasana then onto backbends and closing.
we did do back bends at the wall so i walked down the wall almost to full backbend so that was good. she kept looking at me to see what pose was next and we went back and forth with asana names and sequence.
ive read on the blogs that people go from prasarita to a tripod head stand which is what she encouraged, which i thought was wierd. she also did the opening chant at the end of class, but her voice was BEAUTIFUL it was very nice and calming to lie in savasana and listen to her chant.
tomorow i am doing a led class. i know its a moon day but i want to get as much practice in before next week because i have a feeling that next week im not going to practice all that much.
anyway gotta run
namaste
Posted by jody at 10:05 PM | TrackBack
July 1, 2005
Friday
today is the first day of my vacation! woohoo. ill be in denver by this time tomorrow, and in a led primary class. i cant wait. im really glad that i missed the three days this week. because now I know what is in store if i dont practice while away. todays led primary class kicked my butt! ohmigo-d. i finished the whole thing but i was so beat by the end of it i coundn't do any vinyasas past maricyasana d. i got some beautiful adjustments today in janu sirsasana apparently my bent leg was not even near a 90 degree angle it made quite a difference once i was adjusted. i was also given some encouragement in virabatrasana a and b my feet were too close and when i was adjusted my feet kept slipping on my rug...randy helped me into mari-d and I bound on the first and almost bound on the second, my ankle is killing me today. its sad becasue monday was such a wonderful practice bound on both sides with very little pain. oh well yoga like life has the good days and the bad days. i did walk (more like stumble) out of class and felt 100% better than i did walking in.
so im curious to see if the classes in denver are going to be strict ashtanga --i hope so-- or slightly varied improv type stuff. im going to do an many classes as i can while in denver i dont know what vegas is going to have to offer. all the classes in denver are going to be led which is gonna be hard becasuse im used to mysore and i like taking time with certain poses. although it will be good to work on endurance. i know its not about any of these things but it doesnt hurt to be strong for practice.
my lower back is sooo tight it makes asana difficult. i think when I get home I am going to start rolfing, its gonna be pretty painfull but in the long run i think itll be a really good thing.
anyway i gotta pack.
Aum Gam Ganaptaye namaha