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Saturday, January 3, 2009

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...

1 comment:

Z said...

Eek! Danger Will Robinson! Danger!

To paraphrase Marty: "Why don't you just make ten harder and make ten be the top?"

E & K - "... these go to eleven"

I'll be answering the bell this afternoon for Round Three of IAC, assuming that my arms haven't fallen off by then.

Jeff