I caught today. I was happy. It’s not the first time ever but the first time this trip.  In addition, I have never had consistency with it. There is an emphasis here in Mysore in “catching”. It is expected that you do the work to do this and it seems that no one gets away without doing the work. I’ve been a hard worker all my life so why stop now? I do have some excuses that keep me from having that faith that I can “catch”. One thing I know, it just keeps coming back to the techniques. There was a day last week when I was struggling and trying too hard, I was told to come up. Then when I am stalling, I have to be ready to get assisted. It’s like you have a bubble over your head with the all the crazy thoughts spelled out so everyone in the room who wants to can read them. No one wants to by the way. It all comes down to practicing that mind control so that you can practice yoga.

There are these yoga techniques we have and as you grow and mature in the practice the body changes making these techniques more important than ever. I mean everything has to be just right. The breath, the focus and the willingness to put your faith in whomever you are working with. This cannot come just at back bending time either. It starts in Samasthiti; otherwise it’s too late for me. It’s hitting that reset button as Kiki says so that I can clear the mind throughout the practice. This time I had some extra faith to catch as John has been observing and assisting in the room since I arrived here. In many ways before today I have sought his advise and have been following it before I even got here. Last year he said go back and “you do” and to make a long story short, I went back and I did and I started to rebuild. In some ways I feel like I am at the beginning . . . again.

I was happy I caught today but I almost forgot about it until now. And now that I am thinking about it, I may have to do it tomorrow. Herein lies the dilemma, as how can I be sure it can happen again? Yoga is about controlling the mind, so back to the techniques to do this and back to practice. The emotion that comes with catching is great and I felt really good in the position. I’d like to do this every day and that is the unknown. You cannot predict and you can’t expect that you will be like you were the day before. Whatever emotion, bring it on. We have the tools. We are growing and evolving every darn day on this planet.  We can’t stay stuck in anything for long when we practice even if it’s happiness.

It’s been said to that some of the best learning happens when we come to the practice with a beginners mind. I know I am not alone when I say that every day I come to the mat I learn something.   One day at a time is actually one breath at a time. That’s the best technique ever.