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| With the hot humid summer, the mat is having to share the tatami room with the futon. |
'Ashtanga for night shift workers'.
I've been a little worried about it actually, Ashtangi's are creatures of habit, some of us anyway, I'm not sure I cope well with disruption. I end up all over the place, slip into bad habits/patterns and untidy my life. Eventually practice settles and the yama/niyamas come back on board, life calms and settles, the discipline comes back and all is well with the world.
So I was going to post on this but my friend Jean Marie (http://www.jeanmarieyoga.com/yoga/) has cut my legs away somewhat, with her post today ( Secrets of a great home practice). Basically the message appears to me to be...
'Just do it',
or
'Fake it until you don't'.
Eventually home practice becomes a habit. Go through the motions, however untidy that may be, until it tidies itself up and just is The practice.
It'll be the same with practicing around a night shift of course, find a space and time slot and just get on with it until you forget you practiced any other way..., or I come to the end of my rotation and have to go through it all again working days.
'By the Book' helps, or in my case book(s )( Krishnamacharya's Yoga Makaranda, and Yogasanagalu, Jois' Yoga Mala), straight forward Primary, nothing fancy.
For me currently that's around a half Primary group/series with full vinyasa, one breath an asana/variation and with the appropriate kumbhaka followed by a short pranayama and Sit
I have a three hour break in my night shift between 2am and 5am so am doing my main pranayama and Sitting then, it seems to be working
On Ashtanga Teachers
I've noticed in my comments on a couple of posts on fb recently ( usually deleted after remembering 'right speech' ), that I may seem to be coming down rather heavily on teachers.
Is it true?
Is it helpful?
Is it kindly?
Is it timely?
The general gist of my comments seem to suggest that teachers are unnecessary, that they should keep out of the way as much as possible and let the practice do it's work.
And yet there is clearly a contradiction. I'm constantly sharing posts by Simon Borg-Olivier or mentioning him here on the blog. I also post Ramaswami's Newsletters on the 1st of every month and have done for the last seven years, Kristina Karitanou is one of the great loves of my life...., how then can I suggest that you don't need teachers.
I love Kristina (see my interview with here here), she's a mentor, I love how she holds a room, how ego (including her own) seems to fall away at the door of the Shala, replaced by a work ethic that I suspect is hard to find outside Mysore.... or perhaps it's to be found in every good Mysore room. I've only been to two ( and come to think of it that same works ethic was at AYL too). She was more than happy to leave me to practice alone without assists ( adjustments I'm happy to receive but assists I don't see the point off as a home practitioner - actually I love how Manju assists by letting you do all the work, doing little more perhaps than stopping you from falling over or out of an asana), the inspiration of Kristina's presence and those practicing around me in her room more than justified the shala fees.
I love and respect Ramaswami tremendously, he's an example as a man let alone a teacher and practitioner and an endless resource to draw upon.
Simon (Borg-Olivier), my friend, another great resource, a reminder that we can practice more safely, more effectively and actually when you look closely at what he's doing, more simply.
And Sharath too actually, which may surprise many, though I may abhor and worry about (too strong? dislike then) the ever growing adulation that surrounds him, I respect his simple efficiency, his unpolished alignment and speech that, though it makes me wince at times, fills me with affection with the realisation that his concern is turned inward rather than to outward appearance.
And other teachers of course who may have practiced decades longer and who, like Sharath, may have a different outward form of the practice but have been an inspiration to my home practice over the years.
.... and the thought of all those other practitioners (you) who I have and will never hear of who just get on and practice, without blogging or posting about it on instagram or fb.
Resources we can draw upon.
Every morning as part of my pre practice 'prayer'...
"Thank you to all teachers and practitioners,
for bringing me too and preserving me in my practice".
To my mind, a good teacher, holds the room, or the practice, and keeps out of the way of it doing it's job (read, resists imposing their ego ie. their own view of the practice) but is there as a welcoming, generous, resource should you occasionally wish to look to it.