Light on Life, the Audiobook
I got it for my new iPod Video, which was a gift from my generous parents for my, er, ah .... cough... 40th birthday.... cough.... or, rather, my 16th 25th birthday, which will be this weekend (God willing, right?)...Perhaps Sir will give me Mari D for my birthday? HAHAHAHAHAHA. As if. He seemed downright irritated with me today, chiding me for my speed-yoga session (three beaths in each asana), and then further censuring me for "too much talk".
Well, I was only replying to him.......which he acknowledged.
But is it really so bad to go quickly through the practice once in a while? I am moving really, really, really slowly in my practice these days (other than today). But this morning, MORE subway problems caused me to arrive 15 minutes later than I had planned (this time, the 6 was running on the 4 and 5 track, causing excessive delays for the purpose of essentially incoherent announcements from the MTA and confusing riders, which caused further delays...subway doors being held open as riders debated what to do....). I remained calm, but I also remained determined to get my full practice in, as long as I had 45 minutes, which I did.
Anyway, they say that when you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And right now, it's looking like the universe is putting forth many challenges to my commitment to get downtown without wasting gas, tempting policeman who love issuing parking tickets without any rhyme or reason or inciting the anger and tire-slashing aggression of mentally unbalanced owners of rusted out, ding-ed up sedans. Of course, in reality, it's just the day to day fun of living in a large metropolitan city, and everyone around me is effected just as much as me. I guess it's what you do with it that counts.
I will not feel guilty. It was still yoga. It was still me breathing, slowly, linking breath to movement. So I didn't take five breaths in each pose. Five breaths, schmive breaths. What the hell is the difference really?
YC
8 comments:
there actually is a difference in terms of how you "settle" into each asana. Out of all of the yoga types ashtanga really is about the breath, and 5 breaths minimum not only helps you to do this, but helps you focus better too. If you are too rushed in the end you just end up doing gymnastics.
your teacher was only trying to help you.
perhaps it would be easier to institute a part time home practice so that you wouldnt have to deal with rushing to a yoga centre all the time, especially when traffic is so bad or when public transport sucks.
Though I've been guilty of it in the past, as well... I think the point is that the yoga is the breath and not the pretzel postures... so it doesn't really matter if you done to Supta Kurmasana in 45 minutes or only to Janua Shirasana... the goal is not to bend our bodies into shapes but to breathe.
Happy birthday!
i know, i know....
but it kind of DOES matter that i get to practice in time to be able to practice up to my peak pose. it's not just about the gymnastics...it's a discipline thing for me. it's a routine thing.
i need to somehow work out this problem. i suppose it can only get better from here, statistically speaking. the subway usually works, actually.
lauren
maybe you need to think of the discipline as slowing down to breathe and now worrying about "a peak pose." the discipline is internal, to remember that there is no peak pose and what is a peak pose today might not be tomorrow...
i hear you...point taken. i think that even as i am writing a post like the one giving rise to these comments, i know in my heart that what i am saying is hogwash. i just need to see it in writing to "get it"....
lauren
it's all the ways we convince ourselves of our self-brainwash. you can say to yourself "I need to do my practice up to x because that is my discipline" and sometimes I probably say that too... but when we can face ourselves in the mirror, or have our externally facing blog to have all these other relationship mirrors out there, perhaps we can hear what we know in our soul but often cloud over in our monkey minds... it isn't about the poses, it's about the breath. We all learn that in our first yoga class... we just don't really internalize it all the time.
Maybe you should leave earlier. As the shrinks say, being late may mean some resistance to being there. Just think that if life itself was at issue you would make sure to be there on time. So why not arrange to leave earlier?
BeBe
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