I'm sure there's still an Ashtanga practitioner buried within me somewhere but more and more I feel...at a distance, only occasionally, when I see old friends practicing, Kristina, her shala in Rethymno, do I feel like finding my way back.... out of fondness.
I heard Ashtanga subscriptions have been down of later.
The long long overdue outing of the Jois abuse scandal and the mostly unsatisfactory response acknowledgement from senior teachers and the community.
Sharath's lack of respect for lineage re the list- however apt perhaps in these supposedly Post-Lineage times - and what else have we been writing about in the home practitioner blogs, pages, forums and groups if not Post-Lineage, Post-Guru.... if we weren't so Post-Post.
And then there's the whole Aloe/Codi/Kinoh noise that makes me want (almost) no part of yoga anymore let alone ashtanga (Qigong anybody?).
I mentioned a while back that I found yoga as product/personality grotesque and was censored for it, but what other word captures the blind distortion of all that we glimpsed as perhaps having value and meaning. The heart of yoga, if there is such a thing, has I suspect nothing to do with any product or ego, quite the opposite, surely these are all distractions.
Away with it all, back to the primary sources (which are of course always secondary), there is some semblance (pleasing illusion?) of purity there at least....perhaps, or better still rediscover our own traditions, or the spirit that still lies there within, we may as well distract and deceive ourselves there as elsewhere.
I wash my hands of it all and practice whatever the hell it is that I practice, seek to tread lightly,be kinder, move my body, explore my breath (perhaps through blowing long tones on an old flute) and Sit (or stand by my four million year old lake) and merely 'be' for a time and that feels.... something.
Practice?
I heard Ashtanga subscriptions have been down of later.
The long long overdue outing of the Jois abuse scandal and the mostly unsatisfactory response acknowledgement from senior teachers and the community.
Sharath's lack of respect for lineage re the list- however apt perhaps in these supposedly Post-Lineage times - and what else have we been writing about in the home practitioner blogs, pages, forums and groups if not Post-Lineage, Post-Guru.... if we weren't so Post-Post.
And then there's the whole Aloe/Codi/Kinoh noise that makes me want (almost) no part of yoga anymore let alone ashtanga (Qigong anybody?).
I mentioned a while back that I found yoga as product/personality grotesque and was censored for it, but what other word captures the blind distortion of all that we glimpsed as perhaps having value and meaning. The heart of yoga, if there is such a thing, has I suspect nothing to do with any product or ego, quite the opposite, surely these are all distractions.
Away with it all, back to the primary sources (which are of course always secondary), there is some semblance (pleasing illusion?) of purity there at least....perhaps, or better still rediscover our own traditions, or the spirit that still lies there within, we may as well distract and deceive ourselves there as elsewhere.
I wash my hands of it all and practice whatever the hell it is that I practice, seek to tread lightly,be kinder, move my body, explore my breath (perhaps through blowing long tones on an old flute) and Sit (or stand by my four million year old lake) and merely 'be' for a time and that feels.... something.
Practice?
Pranayama?
Appendix.
Simon Borg-Olivier demonstrating this approach to practice that captivates me.