Ashtanga Jump back workshop from Peg Mulqueen, Rice bowl from Mike and a Shala trial run

http://www.tonbridgepottery.co.uk/gallery/index.html "I started making these pots in 1993. My mum had bought a simple terracotta garlic storage pot and dropped it the first day she had it. I had not long been making pots but I thought I ought to be able to do something and this is the design I came up with. The porosity of the unglazed earthenware clay and the small holes ensure that the garlic doesn't sweat and go mouldy. I've been making them in small batches ever since. The making process is quite time consuming. Each one is thrown on the wheel and then the shape altered and carved with a wooden tool whilst still soft. The lid is cut from the base and I then paint three or four layers of a white slip (liquid clay) on the outside and rims. The red clay shows through in places, giving an interesting surface. It has been suggested that I could slip-cast them - but the point is that I like the way they are all individual! Because this is the only thing I make in red clay I have to clean up the wheel and all my tools before and after making them, so I just do a batch every so often. They are popular so it is best to check with me that I have some before travelling".

Making the most of these last couple of days before the shala opens for Morning Mysore Monday.

This week is a trial run, up at 4am to make M.'s Lunch and have my Nespresso before heading upstairs for my own practice.

No excuses now, time to reclaim my 2nd series. After the disruptive three month illness I focused on getting my Primary back for Manju's TT in Crete last month (although I ended up doing 2nd series three, or was it four times on the course), then figured I might as well stick with Primary until after Manju's Led primary at Stillpoint Yoga Sunday....., then for the first couple of 4am starts in the new shala, familiar Primary made sense.... I've run out of excuses, back to 2nd series it is.

Thankfully Manju stresses that you shouldn't perhaps neglect Primary once you move on to 2nd or neglect Primary and 2nd for that matter if you move on to Advanced series, so I'll be splitting my week between Primary and Intermediate series from now on, three of each.

This morning I practiced standing then paschimottanasana and purvattanasana before moving on to pasasana. Another interesting thing about Manju's approach, he seems to include paschimottanasana and purvattanasana when practising 2nd series. Must ask him about it, or if anyone is taking a course with him over the next few months and notices the same thing and gets the chance to ask, please let me know what he says.

I like the idea.

Anyway, took it easy, went through 2nd up to Laghu vajrasana but decided to leave kapo for a couple of days, know I can do a toe grab but thought I'd ease my way back to a full 2nd.

Instead of  the leg behind head postures I just practised the Janu's then  the kurmasanas and baddha konasana in place of Dwipada sirsasana and yoga nidra, again, no rush.

Carried on through 2nd up to a 25 breath Pincha then called it a day, had to choose between completing the series or moving on to finishing and leaving time for pranayama and chanting....no contest, pranayama and chanting every time..

Nice practice. Finished at 6am time for a quick shower. Next week I'll be opening the door at 6:15 but for now I went back into the shala to find my beloved going through her Sury's in the rainbow onesie I bought her for Christmas) Went through standing with her, few suggestions here and there.... she has to start getting ready from seven so we skipped the rest of Swenson's 30 min short form and settled into a few breaths in half lotus padmasana/jana mudra.

Yesterday's practice
M: "But David Swenson says.....".

My fault, I had put David's Primary series on her iPod along with some chanting, I don't dare give her Richard!

I started this blog five years ago with a jump backs and you know I can't resist a good jump back video, feels like old times.

Here's Peg (Peggy Mulqueen )with a nice video of a recent workshop. What I particularly like about it is that at the end she includes approaches to jumping back from other teachers. I think this is important, my own jump back epiphany was when I realised that Lino Miele's was not the ONLY way to jump back. I'd been trying to lift up like Lino way back then, I still can't lift up like him but I have a respectable jump back and through now.


Try all the different approaches to jumping back, work with each one for a while, really work with each method but chances are different aspects of the different approaches will end up coming together in a way that works for you and your body type, one size does not fit all here....or anywhere else in the practice perhaps.

And of course it's not important (except to you and for a long time me), find a half way stage perhaps that you can make nice and smooth while you work on building strength and bringing the elements together. Good to lift the hips and backside off the ground at the end of all the seated postures then do your jump back variation. Decide on a couple of postures to give it a really good try every practice ( after Janusirsasana perhaps and especially after the konasana's). Same with jumping through, do your variation but try and hold yourself up for just a moment before lowering back down...it'll come....or not, if not you just make your jump back variation as smooth as smooth can be (Nancy Gilgoff supposedly didn't jump back for years ). I ended up trading my fancy floaty version for a delicate little Sharath one that seems to use the least energy possible, I'm happy with that.