What keeps you coming back to the mat?

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I have been thinking a lot about what keeps people coming back to the practice.   Truth be told, I have been thinking about why I continue to do so too.  What makes us continue with the things that we struggle with and how do we deal with the journey that is not always an easy one, be it mentally or physically.  I am reminded that this asana practice is a tool for me to stay balanced and let it be the hardest thing I do so that life off the mat is met with equanimity and joy.  When I looked for things to be easier, I was mistaken.  The effort keeps changing and the only limits are the self imposed limitations in my mind. Even with physical limitations practicing yoga is about settling the chitta and not how the asana turns out. The practice is our blueprint. I come back time and again to the dedication, determination, discipline and devotion that is required to us to have a long time journey with the Ashtanga practice which Sharath has spoken in conference time and again.  I also come back to the fact that I have faith in something bigger that myself and see the transformation effects of the practice in myself and others I teach.  There is trust and with trust there is love.  We need to take care of the temple.

I remember being at the juice bar and having conversations about this with people who have been exposed to the method, who say “oh yeah, I’ve done Ashtanga Yoga, but I do ______ now.”  (insert whatever you like here.) They wanted to know why I do it every day.  Instead of coming up with an explanation that would not be easily understood in a brief encounter, I said “It’s what I do.  I practice daily just like I brush my teeth.”  In reality I never understood why runners could run everyday without a big explanation but that I got on my mat and did my practice created a “WOW” effect only because it was a daily *sadhana.

*Sadhana means daily spiritual practice. It is the foundation of all spiritual endeavor. Sadhana is your personal, individual spiritual effort. It is the main tool you use to work on yourself to achieve the purpose of life.

There is certainly a honeymoon period with the practice that can be as little as a month to years.  So what happens after the honeymoon?  What happens when you feel something, a new sensation or even pain.  Do some people get bored and leave.  You blame it on the room, on the teachers who give too much attention or not enough.  I can seriously say that every day I learn something on the mat no matter where I am and no matter how much attention I get. It could be a simple shift in an emotion or thoughts that are easy to let go of or I can see what I am holding onto.    When people say that they don’t have time and have lots of excuses, my thoughts go to the fact that life somehow makes room for the practice if we want it to.

So herein lies the question to be answered in one or two sentences for inspiration. Please email to [email protected]

What keeps you coming back to the mat? 

Be Yourself

. . . Cause everyone else is taken right?  I had to breakdown to breakthrough to get this simple concept. I mean who else can we be but be ourselves. Earlier this month, upon entering the Shala as Sharath calls the “one more”, a fellow practitioner leaned over to me and whispered, “Be Yourself”.  We had been waiting for some time and our now 7:30 am group had been getting to know each other just by waiting together.  You see how some people sit quietly, some read, some pull the curtains open and push open the windows, some whisper, some seem impatient and some are calm.  It’s the energy we share and everyone is certainly being themselves. The quirkier they are, the more I identify with them.  You see when you are quirky you see it a little more clearly in another.

As I began to practice I had this awareness that I had to embrace myself and be myself as I approached the mat and the series.  I also had to let go of some things in my mind. It surprised me that I wasn’t dwelling on anything as I stepped on the mat.  Yes, yes I had to be myself.  It’s my breath I’m working with and my body to still my mind.  Sometimes you want to get to the mat do the practice and have everything go just the way it is prescribed, but it is a practice and practice is what we do.  If I had to throw in the towel every time I judged myself for lack of doing something the way I thought it should be done, my practice may have been over at Surya Namaskar A, second one or something like that many times. I kept moving through the practice and felt more and more at home on my mat than every before.   How to accept ourselves without making excuses for what we do? I kept working this angle, letting go a little more as the practiced moved on.

Next gift of the morning, Sharath is there to back bend with me.  He of course is there for my dropping back which means he is standing next to me as I do it.  Then he gives a nod and I’m happy as I feel focused and calm. On the final drop I reach the floor and then I walk, I walk, I walk my hands. He says “keep going, same way” then he says “left hand” and I’m not certain what he means.  I just stay put there breathing and then it is time to come up.  He motions to me with his thumb and index finger about 1 inch apart. That is when I realized he was telling me that if I crawled a little more on the left I would be touching that heel too!  Doesn’t matter, I had a sense of doing what I could do.  I had a sense of him working with me and what was right for me.  I was really relieved as I nodded to myself thinking, be yourself.

I can’t be the next guy.  I can’t be anyone but myself.   You can’t go back and all we have is right now.  We need to be at home with ourselves to move forward. Practice helps us to see this.  Some of us have to work hard to stand up, to go down, to jump back, to breathe, to focus or just to get on the mat.  Some times we have a hard time getting out of our own way.  Sometimes we have a hard time just being ourselves.  We can’t be happy if we cannot be ourself.  Everything is pointing back to this. We never stop growing and learning but you gotta be yourself while you are doing this. We all have our own work, our own healing and our own dharma.  The break through that we make in our practices can start as you are standing in Samasthiti or as you take rest.  For me that day, it was as I took rest, I felt a sincere sense of who else can I be?  I was relieved that I could “Be Myself”.   It was a happy sensation as I felt that I was sincerely home.

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“No Fear, No Fun”

pleasedonotfeedthefears“No fear, no fun.” This is something that Sharath likes to say with regards to the practice.  Everything on the mat, all the mind stuff and controlling the thinking while doing your asana practice relate right back to living life.  If you feed the fears, they stop you from the experiences on the mat and in life. Living in India is different to say the least.  One of the things I decided to do while I was here was to rent a scooter for a little freedom.   This may not seem like a big deal to some but I’ve never driven a scooter, let alone in India.  It’s one of those things that you just have to try, observe, learn and experience.  Pay attention and learn.

Today I figured I would adventure out of Gokulam and try to find an address of something I had in mind.  I never found it, although in the adventure I was able to put the no fear, no fun rule to the test.  Things were great as I had been driving around a lot, following people to far away places like the pool or a cool pizza place.  After my first adventure on the scooter to the Banyan tree, I was told many things after that would be easier on the scooter.

You beep the horn . . . a lot.  Every time you pass someone, come to a cross road, see another bike from the side.  You just beep.  It’s meant to let someone know you are there and they in turn are letting you know they are there.  So both of you are beeping.  It’s quite  loud but if you are not using your horn, you are not doing this driving thing correctly.  I guess I beeped but then the beeping did not stop.  It was a long loud beeeeeeppp which would not shut off unless I turned off the bike.  I pulled over and tried to disconnect.  A guy on the side of the road gave me a screwdriver to pull the level out.  I disconnected it but it was still beeping.  Very loud, very annoying for everyone.  It’s hard to imagine a beeping sound being annoying to Indians but they were like WTF.  I shrugged my shoulders and said I had to find a mechanic meanwhile the bike still beeping I drove off.  I pulled over and a woman dressed officially came over to give me some directions.  I had to turn the bike off to hear her.  I made the turn she mentioned and then was directed to walk the bike up on the other side of the road and he is on the left.   In India the mechanic is just on the side of the road fixing bikes.  He was working on something and was able to leave it to help me.   This fine mechanic takes his bike to buy me the little part I needed, took my scooter apart to disconnect the horn and then put it all back together again.  It’s the pay attention and learn that helped me stay together.  Panic would be of no use as in any situation as when you have fear, you panic and nothing gets accomplished. I remembered a conversation from the night before on fixing bikes. For Tim is was the clutch, 150 rupees and he got it taken care of saying how easy it was and how lucky he was back from his long trip outside of town.  If we pay attention to each other we help each other.  That conversation helped me to understand how these things get done in India. When you are in India you surrender to the unique culture. Instead of questioning, you realize how cool it is that there is a mechanic who can help you, earning money on the side of the road.

I still figured I could find the address so I was ready to try again.   I got sidetracked as hunger set in, I came upon a very popular place with the locals. I was outside of Gokulam and you may not run into many Westerners. No place to sit so I figured I would wait.  If all these locals were here it must be good.  Again, watch and learn how it is done.  How they eat, where you pay, how they manage the food and once you learn you can fit right in.  It’s fun to do although fear would stop anyone who does not want to feel out of place.  It’s about having the experience and letting yourself have the experience.

Next for the ride home. The adventure doesn’t stop as it starts to rain. I’ve gotten caught in the rain before so I figure I’d wait for a bit. It seems to lighten up so I start the scooter up and venture home.  As I go along it seems that the monsoons are hitting, a very heavy rain now.  I keep going along carefully and keep moving as stopping now makes no sense as I am soaked to the bone.  I think how sucky it will be to have a cold here. I pull over to put my sack with my phone in it under my seat. I’m glad I take a minute to do this, as I like having my phone in working order.  I can hear Kerstin saying how she learned not to break in the rain.  I’m nervous as no one seems to be out but me and I keep going.  I make it home drenched and happy to be safe. I also feel full from my wonderful adventure today.

Catching? Yes!

Photo by Christine Hewitt 2014
Photo by Christine Hewitt 2014

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.

Holding on to Fear

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Yesterday I was in my seated asanas and I could hear, between my breaths of course, Sharath’s words in the Shala as he was working with someone. I heard words like; no fear, go back, walk, why fear, go. His tone remains the same and it is just words that he repeats as he has his hands on the student. I glanced up, in between efforts to keep my drishti, although I did not need to at all, as I understand very well the fear, the hesitation and the inability to let go.

I am compassionate to myself as well in this area. I worked hard to let go of the fear and to not let anything distract me. This is not easy when you are in the first row and Sharath decides to take a seat on the stage while you are standing up and dropping back. Maybe I’m wrong but I could feel his eyes on me, knowing my mind is now getting in the way. I want to walk in to deepen the back bend and want to let go but feel a lot of hesitation held in the body. The thinking starts as well and the “I can’t.” My breath gets belabored and it’s hard to bring a sense of ease and calm to this back bending process. It’s almost like I’m rushing to get through it and this is actually the area where it okay to stay as I heard a teacher say, “it’s your time.” You finish primary series and things go great and then you come up to this other series, Urdhva Dhanurasana, and it’s like I put the breaks on and then take off doing 120 mph when I decide to do it.

You can read about back bending and talk all day about it but nothing is going to get over any fear without doing it. You have to feel it and continue to explore the changes. You have the knowledge about drishi and how your legs should be, positioning of the feet and the arms. You can watch all the videos about it but you have to experience it to gain the knowledge and get over the fear because it will always be there. This practice is about experiencing, it’s about finding the peace in the pose through the breath. I get to drop back twice and Sharath is up standing in front of me so I know my time is up. I try to breathe and back bend with him. I touch down and walk and before I know it I’m up. He was easy on me. I feel like he sees through my desire to be pushed in this area and he wants me to push myself so he stops. He wants me to figure it out.

Fear is present when you don’t know. No freedom is coming without experience and true knowledge is learning through experience. It also takes time to know some things, a time to grow and a patience that yoga can teach us. We are all going to look back onto times of our former self when we thought we knew. We didn’t, we didn’t have a clue. I know I didn’t and I am okay to find some humor and laugh. All we can do is be in the moment; doing the best we can with each breath, enjoying the learning process and the journey of this life. I find humor in the things I thought I knew especially when I discover it’s really something else. It’s a build up and there are no shortcuts. Even if you are on the fast track something is going to get you thinking and change you through experience and true knowledge. It’s not ending for me and I am grateful for the fun times on the journey.

The Effort

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Everything requires effort and practicing Ashtanga requires, to put it simply, a special effort. Everyone’s journey is different, yet we can compare stories that all start with “I remember when . . . I have been thinking about my personal journey on this yogic path and I surely have not always put forth the right amount of effort. Usually is way too much and not in the right place. When it comes to yoga you have to put in the effort and then it has to be the right amount and also in the right place at the right time. We discussed this in our Yoga Sutra class today and I got to thinking about practice and how I feel today on this trip to Mysore. How do we know what the right amount of effort is? Does your teacher tell you? Is this in the books or can you perhaps learn it in a video? Is it when you can catch your heels or float back, (both I would like to do effortlessly by the way.) This is where I have it all wrong.

I have always been a hard worker. I know it is in my upbringing in combination with my temperament that gave me these most wonderful quality traits or Samskaras. They are not so wonderful when it gets in the way of practicing yoga and in my opinion especially when you set out to practice the Ashtanga yoga method. Over time this driven quality set me up for disappointments, frustration and pain. That got in my way earlier this year and a wise woman who teaches in Kentucky said to me today in our brief encounter, “Sometimes we just get lost without a teacher.” How true this is.

We think practice can be our teacher and it is without a doubt. We spend a lot of time on the mat working things out and we keep showing up every day to practice. We need feedback, we need to know that we are moving in the right direction and we need proper technique. We also need to know who we are and what we are working with. We have to take account for our limitations and work with them, not against them. I thought I could bypass more hard work and even made up some “shoulds” which I imposed upon myself. There is no schedule with this method, only techniques and practice. You can do it your way or the way it is prescribed. I have tried other ways and I keep going back to how I am being taught today. This year in Mysore I am happier and feel more at ease when I come to the mat. I don’t have these preconceived notions and start judging myself. I have more patience. These judgements can set us up for these stories we have about ourselves. They are not correct as they are only limitations that the minds sets on us. Our bodies limitations are obvious and we work with the proper amount of effort to find out the method and the teachings so that we can practice yoga and then take this into our lives.

It’s in the putting forth the effort and in the letting go of the outcome that will bring us more happiness and freedom.  So it is with an open heart and dedication that I proceed on the journey putting forth the effort where I need it most of the time. I feel calmer and peaceful this trip.  I seem to be sporting an inner smile that expresses that I am finally beginning to understand as well as experience what it means about putting forth the proper amount of effort on the mat and in my life.

Super Special First Session

Getting to India is always going to be an adventure and practice at the Shala is meant to take on a life of its own. I’m still in the adventure part of the trip which is annoying as I sincerely want to be settled for my time here. Not sure what happened to the order of the universe and I suppose this is meant to test me further. Test my patience and how good I am at all this yoga stuff off the mat. In any event all these details of getting here and any mishaps do not really matter at all as I got to practice today.

My registration card is not that impressive and you pretty much get what you get depending on who you are as well as when you register. Turns out when I thought I was on time or early, I was on the later side of the registration process as it has been going on for days without me. I am happy that it is the beginning of the season and things are fresh.  From the fresh paint at the Shala to the lightness in Sharath’s step and the hugs from all the old friends as well as new, both Indian and Western, things are progressing in a sweet direction.

I was all set for a crowd this morning for the led class that I was assigned to. Led in Mysore is not my favorite only because of the crowds and getting a spot. I have all these preconceived notions and have already painted the picture in my mind. You see, Shala time is earlier than the regular time and then you have to be earlier than Shala time to secure your spot on the stairs. It’s all somewhat confusing as you have to determine to be early, but not too early. It’s sort of like that Goldilocks and the three bears thing.  How to be just right?  As I turned into the gate it was weird.  Catherine and I were the first ones and we were able to sit at the top step.  I could relax as I would not have to negotiate a spot this time.  I would be able to get into the Shala almost first and choose the spot that suited me.  I listened to Sharath counting and thought, ‘it’s fine we are early but not too early”.  The fact is that there is alway a possibility to be called out on it with Sharath saying something or even telling us to leave and come back.

Turns out that there were only 15 of us for this Led class today, two rows with space to expand our limbs.    We were actually the lucky ones today with an almost private class with the “Boss” as John calls him.  Anyway I felt lucky and I was excited to practice.  I have been paying attention to the Vinyasa, the count and my breath and I heated up nicely.   My breath felt right today and I felt that so happy to have the opportunity to have the Trishtana method to focus on to support me in the practice. All the support was there to do this today. Pieces came together and still you can only do the best you can do each day. He still spoke to us individually as you know somehow in the group when he is talking to you. You make the change and he’s satisfied. No one moves till it’s done. I always say it’s a collective effort in Led and that makes it fun. You hold or stay up and somehow you support your fellow Ashtangi when you do this. It’s in the letting down of the group that sometimes stinks but again we are all doing our best and with a smaller group it is evident when you know it’s you. Chakrasana is a challenge when you are in Led as we all know.  Some have an ease that is just beautiful and some go without thinking.  So it is in the thinking that I personally get stuck. I have this story every time I get to this transition which is getting old.  I worked to let go of this today.  Each time that I inhale and hit it, I figure that I’m doing pretty good but the boss kept saying “chatvari” waiting for me to lift up and be there.  Tomorrow is led again with our 15 and more coming.  “Tomorrow you do”, I tell myself.

My Registration Card
My Registration Card

Yoga & Living a Balanced Life

I keep hearing Sharath in the back of my mind as he repeats “Yoga is 24/7”. What does that truly mean and how can we relate to this? We understand that we cannot only be good yogis on the mat and that we need to carry what we learn in yoga into our lives.  When we are happy all day and compassionate to others, does that cut it? Does that mean the yoga is working in our life? I suppose it certainly is a start.

I like being happy.  Who doesn’t ? It’s great to be in a good mood with everything going your way.    Unfortunately, happiness is a fleeting emotion and we recognize this. We take the good stuff with the challenges and disappointments. We understand that we would not be able to recognize happiness if not for sadness.   I thought about my weekend and plans that a friend was trying to make to reconnect.  I thought this would be so nice and then an hour later got another message that it was not going to work out.  It’s not like I feel nothing but I’m okay with letting it go and hoping for when it does work out.

I remember when I wanted 8 days in the week and I would be happy when (just insert any thought that pops in).  It was in the early days of practice when I was a full time working mother and a wife and took up a yoga practice.   Life was FULL which is only a nice was to say I was busy.  Being busy took me away from me however.  Being busy was just a mask to show how accomplished I was and how much I could take on. Always looking for purpose and recognition. One year I was a working mother with 4 year old twins and a new born and took up being the co-president of the preschool.  I loved the challenge and thrived on it.  I look back on this and say, “that lady was crazy”.  I forgive her as yoga did not find her yet.

Yoga ruined my life and saved me.  Yoga has taught me how to be a more balanced person.  It doesn’t matter when we come to the practice or when we find it but it will ruin the old version of you.  The version that you thought you were.  My version was the person that was run by their emotions.  I liked happy and an organized life.  When the sad and chaos struck or anything another other than happy it was not very pretty.  I see glimpses of this woman and then I come back to the lessons that yoga has been teaching me.  How to be the seer and how to let go.

Today I meditated with my dad.  Five minutes before we did some yoga poses and five minutes at the end of practice.  He had some pain so we had to go lightly on the poses and I figured he came to the studio to do some yoga so I turned to sitting and watching the breath.  We timed each meditation session and we did it!  I have to say that it was one of the best sessions yet.  He asked me again, why I do all this. All the yoga, everything yoga.  He sort of pokes fun at me and asks again why I need this.  I tell him it makes me a more balanced person. He nods and slowly he is understand or accepting.  In any event he keeps showing up on the mat and does what he can and even now the sitting quietly with the breath is not a big deal. He is seeing how this yoga can work in his life too at 77.  I’m really proud of him and all my students who put themselves out there every day to lead more balanced lives.

The quote from my Yogi Tea bag from today fits nicely, as always.

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Practicing Ashtanga Vinyasa

I have been inspired to practice and encouraged to practice differently these days.   It’s been hard to change old habits and to come to the practice with a new set of eyes.  To take what I thought was good enough for myself and to expand into new depths of the practice.  I started to understand that these self imposed limitations may be just that – self imposed.  Could I go deeper, could I get through the discomfort and sometimes pain have been attached to? Was I able to see the light at the other side of whatever I was working on?

This yoga practice, the Ashtanga yoga method is a wonderful tool that we have to work towards letting go and controlling the mind and to healing. The breath being the guide and this method of having one prescribed movement with each breath.  I thought about what the description of vinyasa is and what we say when we refer to Ashtanga as a vinyasa system of moving with the breath.  The key point that one may ask is; What is the harm in taking an extra breath here and there? What about taking our time getting into poses and even getting out of them? We are still moving and breathing.  For me, it gave me an opportunity to dwell and to think and to do something besides what I set out to do . . . YOGA.   I understood that every time my hand went down to the floor to touch habitually, every time I looked down or I did something else like touch my hair and clothes, that I was just using delay tactics.  I was stalling.  I always thought that I respected the vinyasa of the Ashtanga method . . . the primary series at least. I may have respected it but I wasn’t doing it.

I have been working on actually doing it for a few months now with a teacher.  She is a rock and is instilling in me techniques that I am able to incorporate into practice and translate.  She doesn’t see or believe in my limitations and only shares in the possibilities.  In actuality they are only my self imposed limitations and her strength and “apana” is catchy.  The firmness is catchy and after years into this practice I am amazed at the power of the practice to heal.  It has been a challenge for me.  I knew it was doable and instead of being disappointed in myself because I could not do it, I kept trying.  I have to keep reminding myself to let go of judgements and expectations and my thinking.    The prescription is the practice.  Today I had FUN.

It is a continual ebb and flow just like your days at the home, office or studio.  Enjoy the ride!

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Sill working on utthita trikonasana

Photo Credit:  Christine Løve Hewitt/Mysore 2014

 

Merry Christmas from Mysore

Life if simple here in India. I am in a small town in Gokulam just outside the big city of Mysore, which isn’t so big, but there is a lot of activity there. I often go downtown by rickshaw for the adventure. Gokulam is sort of protected but it’s authentic as small towns come. I can get everything I need for the apartment from cleaning supplies to fresh fruit and flowers just a short walk away. You buy what you need. They ask if the bananas are for today or tomorrow just to be sure that they are just right. I love the chocolate man and the coconut stand and of course my favorite place to stop for nuts or juice is the little stand around the corner from the Shala called Guru & Sons. Sometimes they have fresh nut butters and even banana bread.

Practice at the Shala under Sharath’s watchful eye is focused. I feel like I am rebuilding my practice and finding it refreshing to see it change. I have to watch the breath as the Shala gets hot and you can heat up fairly quickly. By the time I am at the seated asanas, sweat is strong and even throughout my body. It feels good to get to the floor. It’s also a good time to reconnect and collect yourself, breathing freely with no movement, almost feeling effortless, connecting to those allusive bandhas. I’m enjoying all of the practices here and as usual we learn something new every time we come to the mat.

The day before the New Moon, Sharath made a comment that I was stiff and we can blame in on the moon. He knows I’m not one of the bendy people and I’m able to be amused at his comments. Today I felt more open for sure and he says to the assistant, “Have her catch.” He knows I’m not catching so it’s amusing when I am asked which side first. “He’s kidding”, I say and I try harder this time to deepen the backbend, which means; walk, walk, walk, the hands to the feet. It’s fun and after three weeks I feel more confident to keep trying.

I’m happy practicing here and I get the feeling that the people coming here become your big extended family after a while. After practice, I look forward to chanting sessions with Laksmisa and other classes. Breakfast spots are fun to connect and chat with other westerners. It can be as quiet or busy as you want it to be. Lunch is the main meal and you can tell by the practice the next day if you ate well the day before.

I’m noticing different things about myself. When I feel lonely or tired or sad, I know it will pass. One day I heard a dog crying and looked to see where he was in the small cage under the stairs of a house. Then I saw a woman with a baby begging and I keep seeing puppies looking for their mother everywhere. I love the cows and want to feed them. I love the dogs and want to give them some love. The goats make me smile. I close my eyes and wait for these feelings that get stirred up in me to pass.   I’m not sure I could do this if not for the practice.   The practice makes us sensitive and the practice also teaches us that you don’t have to be stuck in any emotion too long.

I try to stay in the present and breathe and feel and be grateful.   Tomorrow I will practice at the Shala on Christmas Day and remember the times hitting the slopes or waking up to waffles and ice cream, dedicating my practice to my three sons.  Maybe I’ll find some waffles!  Merry Christmas from Mysore!  – Deb

 

One breath at a time