I am still having a love affair with Ashtanga yoga after three years. I am still excited to get up at the ungodly hour of 6 in the morning to get to the studio and practice. Sometimes it is very hard to get out of one’s warm bed to face the winter chill and darkness but the thought of what lies at the end of the journey makes it all worth while. It feels so good at the end of the practice to have made it. A great feeling of accomplishment.
At first when I started practice, I wanted to master poses as quickly as possible so as to avoid the pain that comes with some of them but I have learned that there is no end to pain and no end to learning. There is really no need to rush or to push your body beyond where it wants to go. The body has its own wisdom and if we listen to it tells us what to do how far to go and when to take it up a notch. I have made peace with some pain and the pain of practice is actually a sweet pain if there is such a thing. It’s all in the mind. When I used to dread the pain and the discomfort I felt more discomfort and more pain but when I see it as my body’s way of talking to me and guiding me, it’s all good. I am in rush to get nowhere as there is nowhere to rush to, there is no destination, only the journey. The journey is the destination and the journey is exciting and full of surprises. Everyday is different. Some days I surprise myself with what I can do, the ease with which the body responds and sometimes the very next day, I feel as if someone had chopped off piece of my arm so that I cannot do a bind I did easily the day before. I just smile and say to myself, so that’s how it is today and move on and do what I can. I honour my body by loving it and caring for it and listening to its wisdom.
In Winnipeg I attend the Yoga Public studio and have to so am very grateful to be attending one of the nicest studios in all of Canada It is a beautiful space that exudes positive energy. The teachers are all awesome people who really are trying to live up to ideals of their practice. They do the best they can.
One of the Ashtanga Teachers Shivaun Berg and husband Hilary opened their home again so that Mysore students and their significant others can share some holiday cheer together in a spirit of friendship. It’s always interesting meeting people you’ve practiced with all year and get to know them outside the studio. These are real human being with jobs, families and interests that help you to see another side of them and to learn how they incorporate their yoga into those parts as well. I had a great time. I’m grateful to the people who make this possible. Thank you.
iamlvingtoo 