The Shala needs YOU!!

Alright, Shivas and Shaktis, yogis and yoginis. It looks like we'll be shooting some pics at the shala in a few weeks. Well, actually, we often shoot pics during class for no particular reason (except maybe this blog). But in this case, we'll have an actual pho-TA-grapher who knows how to work a lens. The idea is to get ourselves a nice file of quality photos for any ol' promotional/self-aggrandizing future purposes we may have or come up with.

Currently, it looks like we'll be shooting on February 7th and 8th, during Saturday's Vinyasa III (1230 - 2) and Sunday's ubiquitous Led Primary Series, respectively. We'd like to have lots of people in these classes, for obvious reasons, and so we're putting out the call and offering a $5 drop-in cost for any and all who heed it. These classes will go as they always do; that is, we won't be "posing up" any shots or doing any 3rd, 4th, or 10th takes on Dikasana to get the photo just right. We want to represent the shala for what it is: real yoga, in real time. REAL TALK!! (this will take you to an extremely HI-larious but witheringly profane video by R. Kelly. That's right: R-Kels. I don't think he does Ashtanga...meh. Watch if you dare - you've been warned!)

We're also considering inviting in a traveling/professional yogi to do a workshop and/or kirtan for us. Anybody interested?

Finally, here's a creepy pic to freak your sh*t out.

Ashtanga Yogasana

From Matthew Sweeney's Book Ashtanga Yoga As It Is, which by the way, we are loving.

"...When the complete beginner learns Suryanamaskara, he or she repeats it until it is committed to memory. Self-practice begins with the first class. It does not really mater how well (physically) the individual does it: there should be no judgment on how it looks. Memorizing the practice is vital. This is often more confronting for a beginner than physically doing it...

... Repetition is key aspect of learning. As the postures are committed to memory, there is a correxponding level of trust in the body: you know what you are doing, you know what comes next. There is no anxiety anticipating what the next thing will be. The physical aspect begins to develop with a gradual increase of flexibility and strength as the body and mind syncronise. It is most important to focus on the process rather than the outcome."


So, as Guruji would say
"99% practice 1% therory"

Now that we seem to be able to load pictures...

Here's a good one, if surreal, from the early morning after the Grand Opening:

L to R: Dr. Jayashree, K, Sri Narasimhan. These two are continuing their US tour: here they are alongside some big names (who will all be coming through the shala, sooner or later, of course) at Kino MacGregor's Miami Life Center (scroll down to 1/16/09)

Here's Kino "Queen of the Yoga Shorts" MacGregor in action:

IAC World Champs

Awww...just look at 'em on graduation day, glowing with accomplishment, ready to head out into the great big world and, well, probably take a nap. They've earned it - let's just say that if we had a nickel for every chaturanga from these five over the last four days, we'd already be on a plane to Mysore.

Anyone who thought that the last leg of the Challenge would be a downhill coast has never been to K on Sundays. And we all have, so at least no one was under any delusions about how this run through Ye Ol' Primary would go. A great time was had by all: smiling, eye rolling, pleading - anything to keep from crying. One particular exchange, after Bhujapidasana:

K: Take legs to Bakasana...exhale Chatvari jump back...
*sounds of several bodies crumpling into piles*
K: Awww....too bad. Pancha inhale, shat exhale...

Shout out to our Iron Ashtangis: Brian, Jeff, Jen, Kathy, and Tracy! Shout out to our honorable mentions, attending three out of four: Jill and Ann! Y'all's crazy! Seriously, though, we couldn't be happier with they way these classes all went - double digit attendance each day (ok, so Saturday only had 9...but that's not bad when class includes, among other things, "floating" Dandasana)

With Ann's Garbha Pindasana "adjustments" making such a splash on the blogs, we can't miss the opportunity to say that if you're working on this one (in which you slide the arms through the legs in Padmasana), you can't help but take a little longer to get into it (at first) than is allotted during a led class. You're likely to barely get one hand through before it's time to roll. In this case, especially b/c there's not daily self-practice as there is in the formal system in Mysore, it's better to keep at it (getting the arms through) and just miss the rolling and maybe even Kukkutasana (or, just one roll back and then lift up to sync with everyone as they finish their rolling) for a few weeks/months and master getting the arms through, perhaps with the spray bottle, a strong adjustment, or both, until it becomes easier to perform quickly on your own. While this one, like any pose, will also benefit from home practice, in particular it takes being quite warmed up and sweaty, and you're likely to have quite a lot of each on Sundays, so take the time to get it down. This is a long-term process and don't forget that in Mysore they would stop you here each day anyway, until you'd gotten it. You can always add the rolling/floundering in a bit. You know who you are...and so do we.

Jeez...it's only the 5th and it seems we've already "shot the wad" for the year at tapas. What next? Oh yeah, get up tomorrow and do it all over again. And again. And again...

...see you in class...

Well, well, friends and neighbors, hope your Saturday was as fun as the Vinyasa III time we had at the shala. The room was barely cooled off from last night's led Primary Series class and we were back at it. Hard to say what Freud would make of it, but two students admitted to dreaming about the room - "I'm not sure what was happening, but there was just so much beige..."

So, technically Vinyasa III isn't Ashtanga, per say, at least not by the book. Sharath would spot this "setlist" of postures as the work of a poser (E) any day. However, to quote somebody, somewhere, at some time: "But we just have so much fun, baby!"

In particular, the pack of ashtangis nearing the final stretch of the Challenge was on hand and on point. We had The Return of Jill, and yet another visiting yogi passing through: Dan from Hawaii was kind enough not to rub it in (that he's from and soon going back to Hawaii) and hung right with us through the usual Saturday madness - arm balances, inversions, deep hip movements. He also wouldn't admit to knowing Obama (yeah right - like Hawaii is such a big place).

Today we experimented with some of the unique vinyasa entries and exits that exist in the Intermediate (second) Series of Ashtanga. Mayurasana, Nakrasana, and Vatayanasana (pictured) made for great fun. You can see all of these poses as they are done in the flow of the series in this video (featuring some of the world's best known ashtangis as well as the man himself, Sri K Pattabhi Jois, everyone's favorite guru/enlightened being/high school PE coach - just look at those shorts!). For those of you looking for some adventure, here is another picture of Vatayanasana. View at your own risk...it's hard to tell from the picture, but you never know - it just might be That One Guy Who Was Next to You in That Class That One Time (you know the one we mean).

In another exciting development, we've uncovered some photos of the ancient, crumbling papyrus documents that E draws the Saturday classes from. Their origin, as well as how he came to possess them is still unknown, but it's clear from viewing them that they've come from a oral, barely literate tradition:

We are rounding the bend into the final straightaway of the Challenge '09. We'll end it in style tomorrow with the Sunday led Primary Series, barely five months old and already an institution.

If you don't know, you betta ax' somebody.

Free Primary Series: C'mon get happy!

Day Two of the Challenge saw the shala again nearly full to capacity for a free led Primary Series class. A Friday 5 o'clock led class is traditional in Mysore as well (5 am, rather than pm, but who's counting?) We had newbies, yogis, and card-carrying ashtangis ripping it up together. The night started with the sad news that K (of K & E) would not be there, as she was observing another Indian tradition: mysterious stomach ailments.

No matter - we perservered. It seemed a case of the 100th monkey as even those who shouldn't have known their ekam from their ardha slipped easily into the flow and soon enough the whole room was resonating, inhaling and exhaling. The first Om was probably audible from the Centennial bridge, at least.

Though there was a standing offer to stop and simply watch at any time, everyone (except a few who had another obligation) finished the whole series, Om to Om. Color us impressed: perhaps it was simple a matter of the price is right.

We have a few in the running to finish the full Challenge, and we're halfway home. Today's 1230 Vinyasa III is sure to separate the wheat from the chaff, as we put our own spin on the Ashtanga practice structure and crank it up to 11. There has been talk that for this to really be an Ashtangi Challenge, we shouldn't wander outside of orthodoxy, in which case we may just need to try on a 4th or 5th series today and see how it fits.

We'll just have to see what happens...

Mysore practice? BAM!

(if you don't "get" the title, read this (toward the bottom of the page) - thanks, Jeff)

The Challenge got off to a ripping start this afternoon, with 15 students jumping, breathing, and "studying" their way through the Primary Series. The shala was nearly full to capacity and Baby New Year got his first good whoopin' of '09. The first, but not the last - oh, not by a long shot.

Highlights certainly included the attendance of visiting Ashtangis from Alabama, Iowa City...even "Moline" (ever heard of it?). It doesn't get much better than the opportunity to practice with other teachers and studio owners at our lil' ol' shala. James, Megan, Christopher, Kimberly - mad props.

This was for many of us one of the first challenges/opportunities in self-practice and, while it all seems pretty straightforward on Sundays ("Lemme guess...'jump back'?"), remembering what comes next can be daunting.

Luckily, there were plenty of books, flyers, hand-written notes, and other cheat sheets scattered about. We had to laugh thinking about such a scene were it to take place in Mysore, under the eye of Sharath: oh, the humanity! Oh, the wrathful Ut Plutihi that would follow! Who knows, though, maybe some of those ashtangis have (waterproof) crib notes tucked into their shorts...we were mostly too tired to pay much attention while we were there...

All in all, we can't call it anything but a smashing success, and hopefully a class that can be repeated and eventually added at more times during the week as we continue to peddle this practice on every street corner, looking to get people hooked. Nothing but a couple of pushers.

Best spied cheat sheet line:

"...sit (x10)
lift up (x10)
rest!" (that is, "watch me take this rest...BAM!")

Best adjustment(s):

You've got to hand it to Ann who, after floating through the Intro to Ashtanga course in September (that's only four months ago, for those of you keeping score at home), rocked some Garbha Pindasana today. Sure, it took getting misted like a houseplant and then dribbled like a basketball, but it's all in the name of spiritual evolution, eh? Welcome to 2009, Ann...I think it's going to be your year.

Up next...TGIF (Thank Ganesh It's Free) Primary Series, Friday, Jan 2, 530p. See you there!!