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Namaste

Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog)

Down dog is such a great pose that has so many benefits not just for the student but for the teacher too.  Time to take a closer look at down dog I think. After practicing Yoga for a while we tend to forget how hard this pose was at the beginning.

Down dog the beginning. Sweat is dripping from my forehead as the blood vessels in my  bald head start to expand to bursting point, the strain on the shoulders painful, “How much longer do I have to keep my butt in air?” heart is pounding, every muscle already complaining. This could get messy. “Can we take child’s pose now, please?” It’s at this point that my first teacher utters the soul destroying words “In Yoga we use down dog as our rest pose ”.

How can something so simple require so much effort?

Over time, of course, it becomes second nature to get into down dog and after an intensive warm up sequence for 20 minutes down dog does indeed becomes a rest post, but right now….

I hate down dog.

Down dog the messenger.

It’s a new class, one I have not taught before. What levels and abilities do these Yogis have? “Everyone take down dog.”  There, all is revealed, a quick glance around the room and it pretty clear where people are with their practice.

I love down dog

Down dog the basics. Teaching down dog should be easy right?  It’s all about a straight back and stretching those hamstrings, eventually to straight. “Stretch back in a long extended child’s pose, now curl your toes under and gradually start to straighten your knees and push up  to ….. possibly your first down dog of the day.” These are familiar words in my beginner classes.  I glance around the room. Straight legs and curved backs everywhere, it’s more like a school of dolphin. “everyone bend your knees and take you chest back towards your thighs”……  “No, really, bend your knees, chest towards thighs.”  No one can hear me. There is a fierce determination around the room to keep those legs straight at all costs.  “You don’t have to have straight legs. It’s more important to have a flat back. The legs will straighten over time.”  I suggest hopefully. The curse of the English accent strikes again? Apparently no one can hear a word I am saying.

I try down doggn’ next to them to show them. “See it’s not shoulders over the wrists, bend your knees like this and take you chest back to the thighs.  That’s it perfect”  As I turn my back and walk away, like a coiled spring,  the pose rebounds into the familiar arch.

Next class during the warm up I offer an adjustment. Gentle pressure to the sacrum to coax the shape I am looking for.  “Bend your knees a little, take your chest back to your thighs”. The knees bend and stay bent.  The back is looking straighter though. “nice job, that looking good.”  I turn my back.  Boing!

I hate down dog

Down dog to the rescue. Down dog is of course the teacher’s friend. Student needs special attention in a pose. “Everyone take down dog”.  Student feels faint and falls to the floor. “Everyone take down dog”.  Can’t remember where I was going with this sequence, what comes next? “Umm everyone take down dog.”

Of course it’s the ideal pose for transitioning anywhere else too.  Bend you knees and drop into child’s pose. Walk the hands back to forward fold.  Spring up into handstand well may be one day. And of course it’s the ideal place to recover the breath during those fast warm up sun salutations.

I love down dog

Down dog the inversion. Any time your head is lower that your heart it counts as an inversion. So down dog works as the inversion if there is not time or the mood is not right for handstand or some other traditional inversion.

I love down dog.

Details detail details.  Iyengar classes will show you the seemingly never ending list of subtle adjustments that you can make to perfect your down dog, but what a lot of details to remember.

• Spread your fingers wide
• Middle fingers pointing forward, thumbs pointing towards each other
• Weight in all 10 fingers, but more on the forefinger and thumb
• Rotate your arms outwards so the eyes of the elbow joint face each other
• Relax the head
• Flat back, did I mention that already? Flat back
• Work towards straightening the legs
• Reach back with the heels
• Pull up on the knee caps
• If the soles of the feet are on the ground try picking up your toes.
• Align the heels behind the ankle so you can’t see them
• Slightly raise the inner heel and find the arches in your feet
• Push the mat away with your hands bringing your chest closer to your knees.
• Eventually bring your head to the ground or perhaps to a block
• Breathe
• Moola bandha, uddiyana bandha
• …..

Did I mention this was a rest pose?

Down dog adustment.   Then of course there are all of the adjustments once the basic dog is in place.

• Hand on the sacrum
• Two hands around the thighs outside
• Crosses hands inside the thighs, careful men.
• Rotating  the shoulders out
• Pressing down finger and thumb
• Raising the ankles
• Down dog with block
• Strap around the shoulders like some kind of parachute
• etc etc

Down dog variations.   Were not done yet, there are all of the variations.

This is a fire hydrant

• Twisted down dog.  Reach back with right hand for left ankle and look under left armpit
• One handed down dog. The other arm along side the body.
• No handed down dog.  Both hands on the along side the body
• Down dog splits.
• Turbo dog
• Puppy pose
• No palms on the floor
• Dog peeing.  Say what? Excuse me, in the US this is know as “Fire hydrant” pose. Sorry there are no fire hydrants where I come from. Beside this pose looks nothing like a fire hydrant. Every other pose in yoga at least looks a little bit like it’s name.

I was in a workshop this weekend and the instructor Andrey Lappa kept telling us how we should be more flexible, more like animals (not fire hydrants).

Maybe he is right   Everyone take down dog.  Perfect!

Everyone take down dog

Injuries and illnesses, it seems, are very common in Yoga. With football or rugby you might expect injuries.  The difference there, is that injuries happen on the field.  With Yoga it seems like most injuries happen before. I have been surprised by the number of people who come to class because they are injured.

Knees

Maybe I should not be, after all I started Yoga because my knees were “complaining” when I played squash. “Body is not good for anything else, I’d better try Yoga.” What a waste of all those years, I realize now.  I remember the early classes. The instructor would ask “Are there any injuries I should know about”….. “not me” I think to myself, well the knees hurt a bit but I’m not sharing that with a room full of 20 something super fit women. I can take care of myself”

“This is good for me right?  The Yoga?” a new student asks at the end of class. In my beginner class I try to give everyone at least a down dog adjustment. The studio checks with students when they sign up that they are ok with adjustments so I get to hear about injuries and sensitivities without having to ask in class. “Yes, Yoga is good for every one” I replied with my usual, bore everyone to death with the benefits of Yoga enthusiasm. “Because I have this slipped disk, number 6…”  Yikes I have just been adjusting this person’s down dog, I had asked before adjusting, of course, why did he not say anything then?

“Well I am not a doctor” I replied. Straight out of the teacher training manual that one.  “You should really talk to your doctor and see what they recommend” I continue. I then blurt on about the general merits of Yoga on Body and Mind, life changing experience, free from injuries and able to fight infection…….  Shaking him gently to wake him back up we leave class. He is promising to talk to his doctor, me vowing to never adjust his down dog again.

So what is the solution? How do I find out who has injuries?

How about getting anyone who has an injury to raise a hand while we are, eyes closed focusing on the breath.  No that does not work; all that achieves is someone sneaking a quick peek.

How about getting everyone in child’s pose early on and having them raise a hand?  No same result, though I see two people struggling to figure out how to raise a hand while in child’s pose.

Visit each student during the early part of class and ask quietly “any injuries I should know about?”,  “no” “any injuries I should know about?”, “no” “any injuries I should know about?”. “Yes I have this swollen wrist and a slightly pulled left calf muscle. My left side lower back has a slight muscle strain and …..”   “ Everyone take child’s pose”  ……..   “….and I fell a little dizzy when I stand up quickly, what do you recommend?”  How about someone else’s class   “Well I am not a doctor….” The stock answer.

We could go around the class like one of those self help groups. “ Hello, my name is Marge and started Yoga because of this back injury”.  “Thank you for sharing Marge, very brave of you, just know we are all friends here”

I observe at the classes I attend to see what other teachers do.  Mostly they don’t do anything.  Is there a secret communication I am missing perhaps? Is it because beyond beginner classes Yogis are supposed to be smart enough to look after themselves? After all the teacher is not a doctor.

Shoulder

My 2-3 Vinyasa class has been going for months. I know the students well, even managed to remember a name or two. As I step in to adjust one if them in Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose) she says “careful that’s my bad arm”.  What, a bad arm, did I know about this?  Well I do now. Of course remembering whether it was the left of the right arm by next week will be a challenge but gradually it all sinks in.

Why is this student in my beginner class using blocks for down dog?   After class I learn she has wrist injury she is trying to placate.

“I feel a little faint” a new student in one of my faster classes tells me as she makes a bee line for the restrooms. She is locked in the bathroom while I continue with the class, one eye, one ear in her direction waiting for a clue, a large crash perhaps.  What can I do, she is locked in there. It is probably not a good idea to stop class and barge in on a young lady in a rest room. What happens when she comes out?  I am not a doctor.

It turned out she had not eaten since noon.  This was a late evening class. Knowing this, and sensing that when she rejoined class she would not take it easy, I adjust things to bring her in gently.  So there is a benefit to knowing someone is injured.

Very few admit to injuries, when they do I have to reply with the lame “I am not a doctor, go careful and don’t do anything that hurts”.  I can’t expect people to tell me about their injuries, especially before they get to know me a little better. It certainly helps to know but extracting the information is hard.

So my solution, no adjustments for first time students; In my experience I will get to hear about their injuries, if they have any, at the end of class. Then it’s keeping a mental log of who has what ailments.  Oddly enough I find that easier to remember that some people’s names.  Perhaps that has something to do with the squeals of pain when I  adjust.

So if you are in my class, feel slightly safer in the knowledge that I may not remember your name but I will remember your injury.  However you choose to tell me about it.

The primordial sound of OM

So why do I never OM in my classes?  During teacher training we are taught to OM. “Each of  you will OM in front of the rest of the class, by yourself”.  We sit waiting our turn as our fellow teacher trainees take a deep breath and belt out an OM to a silent room. We hear every nerve, every quake, and every tremble from our fellow students.  My turn is coming “what if I choke?” “Am I in key?” “What is the key?” “Why am I so far down the line?” “Is this 1984? Did this suddenly become room 101?”…… Here it comes, my turn, deep breath “Oooooommmmmmm.”  That was not so bad.  The whole exercise designed, of course, to get us past any qualms we might have about chanting “Om” in front of a class.

I have no doubt that if I started an OM in a class everyone would join in. It would be fine; the Yogis in my class have been doing Yoga a long time. They know how to OM. Maybe they even expect it.

When I started Yoga I enjoyed all different kinds of classes and styles. I went for the Asana though and only found the deeper practice over time. So what was this OM thing about? Universal sound of OM, for a shy introvert type, just struck terror into my heart. “We will start with three OMs.”  Why? Why can’t we start with forward fold, deep breathing, a handstand, anything that does not involve me having to open my mouth and make a sound. What if I OM out of tune, how long am I supposed to OM for, what sort of sound am I suppose to make? What if it is just me at the end OMing alone, out of key, the rest of the class wincing in pain wishing I would just shut up (mmm wincing in pain and wishing I would shut up, this is starting to sound like one of my evening classes )  What if I arrive 10 minutes late in future?

Where is the benefit in this OM thing anyway? I am sure it’s not to strike terror into the hearts of 50% of the Yogis at the start of class. There must be a benefit. 5000 years of practice have stood the test of time. Science is slowly learning the benefit of many things Yogic.  I had to find out for myself, but how to conquer this aversion and answer this question?

Party on

Riding to work one morning I am stopped at a red light. The guy to my right in the 4×4 is having no problem belting out the bohemian rhapsody guitar solo on his air guitar, looks like he is providing vocals too. I switch my focus away from Wayne’s World and look to my left. The dark haired woman, well dressed in a white blouse and white pants, is applying mascara to her left eye. Side note: Having never applied mascara I am curious why the mouth has to be open for successful application? I see all kinds of activity on my ride to work. From the higher vantage point of a bike I get to see everything. Plus the full face helmet means I am not distracted by such opportunities as applying makeup, having a shave, or munching down a bowl of cereal at each red light. Isn’t it all a little dangerous anyway? What if mascara lady pokes herself in the eye or worse drops some on the white outfit.

"This would sharpen you up"

The light changes and we pull away. A cop agrees with my thoughts and pulls the woman over. All dressed in white and one eye made up it’s like a scene from A Clockwork Orange. “I was just off to meet my drogues at the milk bar officer, look there is my bowler hat on the back seat”.

But I digress; it’s not the woman but Garth in the SUV who is my inspiration.  I can OM in the privacy of my own helmet! It’s brilliant, who would know? Even I won’t be able to hear myself. Perfect.

Over time I graduate from bike to car and practice the OM in the privacy of my own car. It’s just like singing, only easier, I begin to realize. That’s it, all the benefits of singing but little of the pain. No tune to find, no lyrics to remember. Singing is good for you, medical fact, I get it, I like it. Soon I am ready for class and belting out OM with the best of them.

“You never OM in your class, why not?” she had asked. For me, ultimately, a Yoga class is about the feeling, the journey of the mind to a calmer place. The asana are just part of the toolkit to get there. I hope most people come to my classes with the expectation of a challenging asana practice. I like to think they leave with a calm heart, calm breath and a calm mind. Like I snuck the real Yoga in when they were busy perfecting those standing poses.

“Shall we start the class with three OMs today?” No thank you, we are here to practice asana.  We don’t need wise words, chants or OMs, we have had a hard day, give us some asana to challenge us, make us sweat. Come one let’s get on with it.

The physical practice gradually gives way to the calming savasana. The body is ready to relax, the mind is receptive to the deeper levels of Yoga. For most people, especially those who do not practice mediation regularly, a guided medication is an easier way to glimpse those elusive latter limbs of Yoga.  The goal is a deep sense of calm in mind and body.

Om at the end? I can’t do it. After taking people deep into relaxation I am afraid it will ruin the moment, destroy the journey right at the close. Maybe not for all but even if my wailing causes one person discomfort it’s not worth it.

Other teachers can OM and chant and sing beautifully to enhance their classes. I love it, I love them and I know others do too.

Correct application requires an open mouth

I think it will take more than a few singing lesson before I start chanting in class. I’ll get a mike inside my helmet one day and record my journey to work. That should convince you, that in my classes, we are better off without the OM.

After all “SARVE JANAAH SUKHINO BHAVANTU”

Walls are pretty ubiquitous or so I thought. Could it be my accent that is confusing them?

I point at the wall, not quite sure how to rephrase my statement.  They look back at me like I have lost my mind and continue to teeter and fall. Starting to fill with self doubt I search for the answer. Ah! got it. This is not a beginner Vinyasa class what was I thinking. “There will be no mention of wall or any other sissy props in this class thank you very much”.

Most of the time I start my classes in a seated position: “sit cross legged on a block or a blanket, trying to get your knees lower than hips. This will allow the spine to find it’s natural curve allowing you to be relaxed”.  Glancing around the room the picture varies. A couple of people are on blocks or blankets. Someone has really open hips, their knees on the floor without the aid of a block. But several battle on, knees up around chin.

What am I doing wrong? May be they can’t here my voice. I have been told on several occasions I need to be louder. But they are in the front row? I console myself “maybe there was a rock concert yesterday I missed out on “.

Perhaps it is an interruption to the feel and flow of Vinyasa to stop and adjust a prop? Pity because the practitioner is missing out in so many ways by struggling out of alignment. If you (the reader) have never tried Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose) against the wall go and try it right now. You will see what I mean. Don’t worry I will wait until you get back.

Not everyone can do Hanumanasana (Monkey Pose (the splits)) all the way to the ground, in fact most of us can’t.  The class is warm, we have done lot’s of prep poses, we are ready for the big one Hanuman. Perfect time to use a block, let’s try the scare tactic this time: “Use a block in the pose to support yourself.  The hamstrings can snap in an instant and take 3 years to repair.”  People laugh but few reach for a block, preferring to teeter with a strained face somewhere between ultimate stretch and the emergency room.  Why will they not listen to me?

“Swing your leg through for pigeon (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana).” it is later in the class now, the flow is slowing down as we cool towards the finish. Plenty of time for props now no excuse.  “If your butt is floating in mid air get something for it to release into” I suggest hopefully.  “The body will release faster and more safely if it has something to relax into.”  I continue.  Some get a block, ah so they can hear me, but others prefer to continue to hover.  “Everyone let go with your hands. If you fall over you need a block”.  That’s it embarrass them into using a prop, crafty.  It’s like a tightrope act, they wobble but they don’t fall down, so we continue …….. without props.

Ah the ego, the biggest Yoga hurdle of them all, but is it mine or theirs that is most challenged here. Why can’t I get my Yogis to use props?

Savasana time.  I put a blanket under everyone’s head and eye pillows, one in each hand. I have sneaked props in without anyone noticing. The relaxation is deep. My measure of a successful class is how long it takes people to move after the final “Namaste”. They are slow to move not wanting to loose the calm the comes from a good savasana. Nice!

“Forget the anasa, the most important part of the practice enhanced through the use of props” I think to myself.  “I win.”

Oops there’s that ego raising it’s ugly head again

Most women I know would only wear things the flatter and enhance their figure. Across the mat from me is a well covered body.  The abundant “winter padding” supported by the thick winter coat of black hair. As we hold plank I can’t help notice the sweat dripping from everywhere, it’s like a one man tropical rain forest.

What is the correct attire for men in a Yoga class?

Look mum no shirt

Firstly though why should I care if a guy is wearing a shirt or not? After all shouldn’t my practice be totally inward. Everyone could be naked or wearing overcoats and hiking boots. It should not matter to me, right? …. Right, who has not, mid-practice, glanced around the room and taken in the beauty that is a full room of people enjoying their Yoga.

Politically incorrect or no, I have to say there are some fundamental differences between men and women. For a start, unlike women who get warm and glisten, men have something that parallels an office sprinkler system in efficiency.Yes me too. Why then remove the piece of clothing that helps absorb and keep us cool? Without the simple shirt the sticky mat should have that classic sign “slippery when wet!”.  Solution? don’t put a shirt on, get a toweling mat to lay on top of the sticky mat, obvious really.  While I am being politically incorrect, I might as well continue. In general women seem to take a little more care of the bodies than men too. In a female dominated practice should we men not be doing our best to represent our sex in the best light?

Maybe I am way off base here because of my modest up bringing ! Looking at all the Yoga books, Yogis never have their shirts on in the pictures. I have no idea what Iyengar looks like with clothes on.  So, no shirt is how it should be done, those of us with shirts on are missing a fundamental piece of the practice.

From an instructor perspective there is something way less appealing about offering an adjustment to a dripping back. Apart from the obvious dangers of a hand slipping unexpectedly, getting your fingers caught in the long back hair can be very awkward for teacher and student alike, especially if you are wearing a ring. “Um everyone else take down dog……  now hold still and try not to scream.”

Yoga sculpts great bodies over time. Why not be proud of the body and show it off a little in class. Maybe that is it. Who knows what that body looked like last year. Maybe it is something to be proud of now. That’s it, it is the natural instinct for the male of the species to “strut his stuff” in the presence of so many beautiful women.  I am not sure that it is really necessary or that appealing to share ones religious affiliations with the room though, guys

After work one evening I was practicing at home. In a rush to start, I was wearing my work t-shirt. It has a collar; I dress up for work. The night is rather hot and after a few vinyasas I give in and strip off my top. Oh boy it feels sooo good. It’s so good to do Yoga without a shirt on, I had no idea.

I was about to go on to talk about the equivalent for Yoginis but whoa, PC, religion, feminism, …. now nudity I better stop this blog entry right now.

Semi-naked Yoga anyone?

Never predict Twisted Warriors

The light turned red in front of me quicker than I expected.  Slipping the bike into neutral I reach back for my Yoga mat with my right hand.  One of the advantages of riding a bike, you can get in a little Yoga at the stop light.  It’s then it hits me! We only did twisted warrior on the right side!

The class had been an expected surprise, a high point in a day of Yoga surprises. The opportunity to sub a class I was familiar with. There were just three in the class (word got out about the sub  )  so it was very interactive. “We will do something a little different, may be some poses you have not done before” I claim boldly.  Anyone who has been to one of my classes will know I like to string a series of standing poses together on one side before repeating on the other. Today we get distracted with a question about Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II Pose) with Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose) arms. “Don’t worry I have not forgotten Parivrtta Virabhadrasana I (Twisted Warrior I Pose), we will come back to it” (ah never predict!).

We never came back to it. My mind, distracted and wandering completely forgot until the ride home. I visualize three students walking home slightly crooked, each wondering why things do not feel quite balanced. May be they remembered but did not say anything in class. They leave feeling cheated out of the twist, or relieved I never got back to it perhaps . How many times have I done this in the past, missed a pose on one side? I know it’s happened before but this time it feels worse. I said we would come back to it.

I resolve to fix the problem at the next class. Two of them are regulars in my Thursday class. We will just have the two of them out front, quick twist and we done, nagging feeling gone, everything is balanced once more.  The third student will have to remain crooked until I see her again   Thursday comes, disaster, only one of the two Yogis turn up for class, the other probably visiting a chiropractor in an attempt to get straight again. Now what? Untwist one, keep mental note of other two. My memory not good, that’s how I got in this mess. Keep a log book?  “People I have twisted one way but not the other” dates times, length of hold….. It could be done.  May be I just don’t mention it. Perhaps they did not notice?  Was she looking at me funny, thinking “Where is my left twist?

My class at a local studio had been growing steadily through the summer. Seemingly unable to say no to any opportunity to teach I agreed to sub a whole series of morning classes to help out a fellow Yogi at the said studio. Imagine, then, my surprise when my email inquiry to the studio earlier in the day about the Labor Day schedule resulted in the news that I was no longer needed as a teacher or sub. Also my class, which was just starting to find its grove, was being replaced with another format.

Was this the modus operandi of the Yoga world I had so recently joined, a quick email, and its all over.  My thoughts return to my mentor, was this not his story from 2 weeks ago mirrored now in me.  I feel his pain once again. My final class at the studio is the Wednesday. The pained and confused looks on the faces of the Yogi regulars is hard describe. I try to explain the future plans for the class in a professional manner. “I bought a series” more than one person tells me. My thoughts return to my words from just two weeks ago. “Yes we can do this kind of class for the next month or two and see how it goes”.  It was going well, but now there is a twist. Never predict!

My mentor comes to the rescue in more ways that one this week.  His experience, thought and support are appreciated of course. Then in class this morning something quite special.  “It’s ok to do a pose on one side and not the other” he said as we wrestled with a variation on one side.  “You won’t walk out crooked”.  Uncanny, can he read minds too?

So lesson learned, in the world of Yoga, never predict.

But is there one final twist to this tale?  Why am I feeling the desperate need for toppling tree on the left side……..”John”

We learn by repetition, things rarely stick first time. Like me trying to remember new student’s names for exampleJ  you have to be my class about 3 months before I remember your name and it gets embarrassing for me having to ask every week. There must be another secret to remembering names. My daughter Anna used flash card to repeat questions and answers over and over.  “Welcome to class. Can you just write your name on this small white card please. Oh and I am going to need a photo for the back too”.

Why then do I find myself resisting the idea of classes with a fixed schedule and order for poses? Students like the familiarity.  They know what to expect.  I know when I started practicing it was good to go to classes where I knew the format. The Ashtanga Vinyasa primary series was my Monday night staple. Recently I have had the opportunity to sub for some classes based on a form called “Rocket”. The idea is the same with a defined set of poses in a prescribed order.

More recently my yoga taste has become much more free form. The Hatha yoga class on the Saturday morning is never the same. Don’t we go because it’s different? I think I do. John delivers the class from the heart not from the text book.  The classes I teach are never planned ahead of time.

Teaching Rocket I find myself going “Off-Piste”, throwing in an additional pose because it just feels right. Over 1000 yoga poses why not share some? Closer inspection reveals that my regular classes are not as different as I would like to believe.  Slow start, warm up, lots of standing series, poses on the mat and a guided meditation. A class format following a “bell curve” what could be more standard than that. The contents under the curve change though not that much really. It does not matter if it’s a beginner, intermediate or advanced class my format is always the same. How disappointing, and refreshing all at once. People like repetition. They like to know what’s coming, they also like little surprises.

So should the well orchestrated class be like a piece of music? The repetition is the anchor that keeps us grounded, comfortable, like a familiar melody, the variations are the spice that makes the piece interesting.  Smaller melodies introduced early on come back and reappear through out the class. A side stretch but from a different perspective perhaps, or a familiar shape now cast in a new light as we are sitting not standing or something as simple as a mudra returning in a different pose.

What music is your favorite class then? (Yikes I sound like a facebook app)  Perhaps the more rigidly structured classes are like pieces from Bach, precise with rules and form well known and understood.  Personally I like the romantic period where strict adherence to tempo and rules was replaced by the flexibility to express oneself with the notes. I will take Chopin or Debussy over Bach any day.

Classes are like all kinds of musicians and musical scores. Consider Shastri’s Friday night class. So many sun salutation you eventually loose yourself in a moving meditation. The sun salutations change but only very subtly over time, in the style of Philip Glass perhaps.

I’d  like to think my classes align with the Sonata. The Sonata with its three parts a starting melody, a change of key and tempo and finally a return to a familiar but different place.

Just as in music our appreciation and taste changes over time. Some of us like a wide variety of music, other prefer a smaller subset.  So it is with Yoga classes I think. We pick our classes by the tunes that resonate with us right now the composers we like. As we grow our tastes develop, mature and change allowing us to appreciate different “composers” with different messages to deliver. How hard then to sub a class with bringing an unfamiliar tune to an expectant audience. Eventually we get to appreciate all messages perhaps.

Any one ready for a “Number Nine” class?

As we all know Yoga has been around for over 5000 years. Nothing has really changed in all that time. The things discovered through experimentation and meditation have stood the test of time unlike anything else. Scientific justifications are being discovered all the time for the more esoteric Yoga practices. More recently new “styles” have come along, a new ribbon around the mighty rock. I view these with mixed feelings. Their commercial success for the “inventors” seems counter to the whole yogic philosophy. But this is juxtaposed with the fact that it introduces whole new groups of people to the wonders of Yoga.

It’s the stability, the lack of change that provides the solid base to build a practice on. But if nothing changes in 5000 years, does a blog every week make any sense at all?

My week started subbing a morning class. Early morning classes are funny. Five minutes before the start the studio is empty. Two minutes before the start, the first students arrive. Zero hour, as if by magic, everyone is on their mat ready to go. I adjust the music and step back into the studio. Across the room beaming at me is my very good friend and fellow teacher training graduate. What an honor and compliment to have her get up early to come to my class. It turned out she had planned to change her Yoga schedule and practice mornings now, I just happened to be subbing that first morning.

Tuesday morning I had coffee with one of my students, a chance to meet the person behind the smile on the mat, to peel away a couple of the layers of a large onion. How wonderful to discover that the practice of Yoga can affect and change lives in such positive and sometimes unexpected ways.

Over time, as we teach, the room of faces slowly transforms from people to friends, then good friends.

It’s Tuesday lunch time, I get a call from my friend, mentor and genius yoga teacher. “Are you sitting down?” He asks before he delivers the bombshell. This incredibly highly respected and much loved Yoga teacher will no longer be teaching at one of the areas major Yoga studios. I feel his pain. Good friends on the mat that become “family” over years of teaching, suddenly gone. The news gets worse; he will no longer be part of the teacher training program. For those of us that studied under him I know it is impossible to imagine the program without him. There are some great teachers on the program of course, I loved them all, but for those of us who studied that particular segment under John the memory will last forever.

Tuesday evening I was honored to sub John’s class at Devi. I must have done something right because the following day he offered me the chance to teach my own class there. Something I have been dreaming of for sometime.

Secretly I think it may have been the foot massage I gave to a fellow mentee of John’s that tipped the balance So the next evening I treated her to “the neck thing” too I had not seen this particular Yogi for some time, her Yoga recently curtailed by an injured wrist. So impressive to see her journey continuing after this recent set back.

Devi yoga is very professional outfit and quick of the mark, they want my bio and picture for the web site immediately. Luckily, just a couple of weeks ago, my daughter Libby took some pictures of me; I send a “flickr” link to a web page with over 400 pictures. Every pose I can think of is there. Lourdes will be sure to pick a strong masculine arm balance or something………. Goddess pose (utkata konasana). Is she trying to tell me something Ah well everything happens for a reason, I guess I will have to wait to discover what this one is.

400 pictures and I am posing as a Goddess!!

It’s Thursday, time for my class at the YMCA, I have been teaching my yoga “family” there since January. “You will all be in handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana ) by Christmas.” I joke. That has been my challenge, threat, goal for the class. This evening everyone gets into handstand and two even manage feathered peacock (Pincha Mayurasana). We are well on our way in this journey; it just feels so good looking around the room, all the feet waving at me, of course we will be in handstand by the end of the year. I have no doubt.

What a rambling blog this week. All sorts of things I needed to write down. More of a diary entry really. So this is the point where I am supposed to pull all the ramblings together. The threads are obvious I hope. We are all on a journey, or rather separate journeys. Our individual journeys are punctuated by events we cannot control or understand. At points along the path we touch and affect each others journey. The butterfly effect. The one constant we all share. Yoga.

5000 years of Yoga is the bedrock. For this Yogi it was one week of continuous change and no doubt the butterfly effect going forward as we journey on.

Final thought: “Friends do let friends do Yoga”

Ego overload

Yoga in the shelter of your own home or at your local studio is, of course, amazing on mind and body, but taking it outside can be both inspiring and dangerous.  The idea of a Yoga practice in the open air, under the light of the moon, can seem very romantic. Yoga on the sun drenched beaches of Hawaii always looks amazing in those Yoga video our well meaning friends give us for Christmas. I like the concept but what is the reality.  

Old Moon Yoga

Imagine the problems involved in creating my website image. Several hours posing in front of the moon trying to get the silhouette just right while my daughter, Libby, messes with F-stop and shutter speed, not to mention color lenses and lighting. After and an hour or so holding dancing warrior I start to glisten. It’s past dusk now, out come the mosquitoes. Making a “bee line”? for the nearest food source.  “Dad  keep still, I have to have the shutter speed really slow to pick up enough light from the moon”. A small bat lands on my outstretched arm. Apparently there is plenty of me to go around.

Back to the studio quick, thank goodness for Photoshop.

Moving closer to home – how about Yoga in the garden. The patio is hard and the concrete bumpy. Little stones under mat are somehow perfectly positioned to jab into my knees. A trail of ants starts to make their way across my mat.  “let’s move to the lawn”.  I come from the UK.  The grass there is weak and feeble and very short. The British like to manicure their lawns flat and smooth to pool table perfection. My grass here is cut by the gardeners and more closely resembles shag pile carpet on steroids.  The mat won’t stay flat. It floats on a 3 inch bed of rubber nails. A first down dog reveals this is just not going to work. It’s like trying to balance on a flying carpet.  “We will have to get some Astroturf in and put that on top of the concrete” my wife helpfully suggests. I am not the biggest romantic but somehow the magic of outdoors is lost for me with Astroturf.

Around the corner we have a deck area surrounded by trees.  It’s flat, mostly, once a few leaves are brushed away, and slightly springy. Night is starting to fall, but the mosquitoes are kept at bay by the neighbors “Ultra bug zapper mark II”.  The evening is perfect, warm air, gentle breeze, soft music, and doubles yoga on the deck.  I am starting to understand outdoor yoga. We practice in silence (apart from the soft music, chirping of the crickets and the occasional vaporizing of errant mosquitoes). My moves reflected by my wife as we practice together.  No words are necessary.

It’s beautiful, after savasana we roll up our mats and go inside. Now I understand the attraction of Yoga outdoors.  Do it in the safety of your own backyard and nothing can go wrong.

The following morning I have an early class that I am teaching at a local studio.  As I uncoil my mat I realize there is something wrong just can’t place it. I fold forwards and take my first down dog.  My left hand sticks to the mat. I kneel down to inspect and my right knee sticks too.  Tree sap from under my mat has been rolled up and is now on the top too. Am I slowly being glued to my mat? It’s a whole new definition for sticky mat. It’s more like a fly paper, the more I struggle the worse it gets.   Note to self , “better not do dead bug pose this session”.  The students start to pile in (well ok 3 of them)  I smile and try to act cool. 

We get through the class. Most of the session is performed with hands in prayer position. No adjustments, no feet/neck rubs for my students at the end. Namaste “ah finally a pose I can demonstrate”. As we pack up to leave I realize the bottom of the mat is also sticking, to the studio floor. Tree sap is everywhere.  Oh boy now the next class is coming in…….

Yoga outdoors? no thanks..