1/2 Led Primary
I had a wonderful time in my 1/2 led primary class today!! I bound easily in Mari C, writhed my way into D (with just a little help from Erika), and my vinyasas were as clean coming out of Navasana as they were going into Paschimotanasana A.
It made me wonder: why don't I take 1/2 led primary more than once a week? I feel ready to practice D more often, and Navasana with straight legs is already a no-brainer for me, so, why not?
Seriously, why not?
YC
11 comments:
Yeah! Why not..Sounds fun!
I am only going to do 1/2 in SF when Guruji's there.
Because that is "cheating" on your teacher. He has told you to stop at Mari C and it looks like you want to use the led 1/2 primary as an excuse to do Mari D. I know it feels frustrating to stop at a pose (says she who spent a whole year stuck in one and knows of advanced practicioners who have been stuck in Advanced A series for a few years), but be patient and it will pay off.
Damn it, I wrote a comment and it vanished. Oh well, here I go again...
Why not? Because you would be "cheating" on your teacher and even worse, on your practice. Because he told you to stop at Mari C and you don't seem to want to, so you are only considering attending a led 1/2 primary so that you have an excuse to go one pose further.
I would suggest you stick to Mysore style, follow your teacher and see what happens. I am glad I did/do!
She's a stickler! But a stickler with a point.
Your teacher should really release you from the chains that bind! LOL!
But seriously, I doubt the ashtanga police will knock on your door..You just need to decide how traditional YOU want to be. This is a personal practice no?
Lauren - do what you want. You will anyway. You seem not to be ready to fully commit - to Mysore, to Sir, and to the proper way to learn Ashtanga. When you're ready, you'll commit and it will happen. Until then, my advice: Just do it or don't, but please - enough already with the 2nd guessing yourself every day. Acknowledge you're not "there" yet, that you haven't committed for one reason or another, and just get on with it. Less talk, more practice.
i second vanessa.
the point is not whether you can do navasana with straight legs. rather, Sir has kindly but firmly instructed you to stop at Mari C, and out of respect for: (1) Sir, and (2) you -- you could really screw up your knee, hip, shoulder, all of the above if you move too quickly, just be patient.
I hear you Vanessa and Rachel. I really am asking an actual question here, not a rhetorical question where the answer is inevitably, "I will do what I want, regardless."
I think that Anonymous has gone a bit overboard in saying that I can't seem to commit. I have committed. Led classes are offered at Shala X, and I could take one there too and go even further than Navasana. I choose not to take full led classes right now.
I do feel frustrated that there doesn't seem to be any light at the end of my Mari C tunnel, despite that I am finally binding in it - by myself, reliably. I don't know the rules of game. And I do have some personal issues with authority - I question it constantly. Maybe there are no "rules" other than "listen to your teacher", but I guess I have't figured that out on my own path yet. It doesn't make me a bad ashtangi. It makes me a relatively NEW ashtangi.
I need time. This is all for learning.
YC
There are rules. Yes, "listen to your teacher" is the main one. Look, I think I'm harsh here b/c I was the same way - question, question, question every little thing. Wanting the next pose, not understanding why so-and-so got moved on and I didn't, etc. I even started taking it out on my teacher. Then, something happened - I don't know why or how, and I just woke up every morning and did the damn practice. I stopped caring what pose I was on and what was going on in the room around me (to an extent...) and what do you think happened? I got more poses. And I will make you a GUARANTEED PROMISE - right here. I have seen this happen COUNTLESS times. The minute you genuinely stop caring about all this external BS, the minute you devote yourself to Sir's Mysore classes, he will give you the next pose. It will be the craziest thing. You'll finish Mari C and be about to roll up your mat and he will APPEAR and say "Take D." Its like he has a sixth sense or something. Strange but true. The trick - and it is tricky - is that you have to come to this place genuinely. Its a process and can't be rushed. It can be impeded, however, and that's what I think you do from time to time - take a few steps back. Anyhoo, it'll happen when it happens. And even then, there will be set-backs. Like life.
It's like the boyfriend that comes back to you after you're already over him...
It's like the way that when you're LOOKING for something, you can never find it. When you stop looking, it suddenly appears...
It's like when you hold onto someone really tightly, they pull away, but when you give them space, they come to you....
Right?
Exactly. Sucks, no?
It's the nature of things. It's a good lesson. I'll learn it when I stop trying...
Right?
YC
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