Moving on

After all the pain, I had to take a couple of days off.  I managed a gently short led practice on Friday, but didn't do any lotuses or Marichyasanas.  It was still very painful, but at least I got some practice done.  I'll take a couple of days off before trying to practice again.

Pain from Michael Gannon

I did my home practice, but have been in quite a lot of pain from the Michael Gannon class. I made it through, but it was a slog, not exactly the most enjoyable Christmas eve practice. Hopefully it hurts less tomorrow when i go back up north for a Christmas day Mysore class

I headed up to Puerto Morelos for a Christmas day Mysore class. When we got there, there were a few students who weren't sure on the primary series, so Coco did a led class. I was so sore from Michael Gannon that i could only do half the postures, and not even a lotus. The guy i headed up with was also really sore from Michael's class, and was quite forcefully criticizing the way the class was done.

While we were up there, Coco apologised to all of us about how bad the class was, saying "Michael's normally better than that". That's nice of her, but it doesn't get me my money back, or make my knees stop hurting.

Update to say: speaking with someone else from the class the next day, and they have so much pain in one of their knees, that it was painful for them to walk. Not a ringing recommendation for Michael's work when he injures all his students!

Michael Gannon Day - Part Two

We worked throught the primary series, and apart from asking me to grab my toe in trikonasana, there were no adjustments.  This was strange, because I could see and hear him walking around the room.  Half way through the practice, I broke dristi, and saw him forcefully adjusting the other girls.  Well I'm not going to judge, but it was a bit uncool that he would adjust them and not me.  I'd paid the same as everyone else.  He was really getting into the adjustments too, arms and legs!

After Navasana, he was distracted, and when he said jump forward, the advanced girl beside me jumped to sitting.  She must not have been the only one, because he asked the class "who knows what position is next?" and I automatically shouted out "Bujapidasana", before realising that I was the only voice to ring out.  Oops.  Then I heard the thumps of everyone moving up into the position, so felt somewhat validated.  There are benefits to being (as one of my yoga teachers says) "1% practice, 99% theory". Jaja.

Coco was directly in front of me, and on one of her jump-backs, she strayed over my mat, and kicked me in the forehead!  It didn't hurt, but it was funny.

We stayed in padmasana for a very long time.  This is difficult for me because the lotus is painful, and so after about 5min I had to take my legs out and sit cross-legged.  While moving my legs, I looked up to see MG taking photos of the class.  Oops!  I just ruined his photos.

Photo taken by Michael Gannon, Coco in front of me

Savasana was long.  I mean long-long, probably a good twenty minutes, and I loved it.  My mind has been really jumbled of late, and I took about fifteen minutes for me to get into the posture properly.

One thing that bugged me was the constant advertising.  I understand that he's an ex marketing/advertising executive, but he laid it on pretty thickly in the 4 hours we were with him, even up to sliding glossy postcards under our mats while in Savasana, advertising his retreats, his teacher training, his new DVD...

We all went back into Coco's house for a smoothie.  Her house is just amazing, really big and light and beautiful.   I managed to get a few minutes with him then, and he seems to be a really nice guy.  He answered a couple of questions I had about yoga.

Coco and MG then made us the smoothies.  Here's the recipe:
- Mamae
- Dates
- Almond butter
- coco powder
- coconut water

By the end of the day, I was able to reflect on the whole experience.  These are my reflections:

Michael is a nice guy, and his lead practice was fine, apart from the lack of adjustments.  Before seeing him, I was aware of him due to his iphone app, DVDs, courses etc.  I think he had a mystical air to him, being well-known, and having studied with Guruji for so long etc.  After the day, I can see that he is just a regular guy.  He hasn't got any special powers to improve my practice, but is just another yoga teacher.

What I really learned, is how good my current teacher is.  The things he was saying in class were exactly the same as she says.  Also when they spoke to each other, it wasn't a sort of teacher-student relationship, as Coco had suggested before in her modesty, but rather, they were just two colleagues.  Perhaps by starting my practice here, in a backwater of Mexico, I had thought on some level that I was missing out on something.  Perhaps I hadn't fully submitted to the hallowed student-teacher relationship that is Ashtanga.  Right now, having received classes from both Coco and Michael, I certainly prefer Coco's class.  I prefer her style of teaching, and her relaxed personality.  As well as this, I probably won't study with Michael again unless I have a specific reason to do so.

Michael Gannon Day - Part One

The day with Michael Gannon started early.  I caught the collectivo up to Puerto Morelos, then a lift to the shala/Coco's house.  There were lots of students there, thirteen in total.  One of them I knew very well, the others being recognisable faces from the led classes, but I'd only ever said a couple of words to them in the past.  We went into the jungle, and into the shala.  The little pit-bull that Coco has been looking after was there.  It's been very sick, but is putting it's weight back on slowly, and has a lot of energy.  It's just the cutest little thing.

Once in the shala, we all sat down and waited for MG to arrive.  I hid in one of the corners, my mat as far away as possible, trying to sink into the walls.  When one of the students asked where he was, there was a bit of a laugh.  Apparently he is always late.  He eventually arrived, and sat down and said hello.  A few of the students had studied with him before.  He asked what language he should teach in, and one of the students didn't speak English, so he did the whole day in Spanish.  I was really impressed.  I had no idea he spoke more than one language.  He sat down, and started with "end of the world" jokes.  I think partly because of his Spanish, and partly because most of the students were Mexican or Argentinian, nobody laughed, but they were really funny.  The monkeys were being quite noisy which was really cool, except the girl beside me was a bit frightened that she would get bitten.

Coco had said that he's start with some breathing exercises.  I'd done some of these before, so it was to be an easy way to slide into things.  Well, instead we started with some hip openers.  You know whenever you're in a group situation, and things look a little difficult?  What's the first thing you do?  You look around the group for "that guy".  You know the one.  He might be old and a bit senile, he might be obese, he might be wearing a cap with a fan on the top of it and a leather vest.  These guys are my inspiration.  I love them.  They're always the one with the biggest smile on their face when they succeed, because they've overcome the most.  When they don't succeed, you don't blame them, they just bit off more than they could chew.  Whenever the going gets tough, I look at them and say "well if they can do it, so can I!"   

Almost immediately with the hip openers, I couldn't do it.  The first move was to hug the lower leg to the chest.  Well I can barely put my food on my knee, so bringing it up from that position to my chest is completely out of the question.  Well it was time to pull my default confidence-building maneuver.  I broke my gaze from the front of the room (let's call this 'MGD' Michael-Gannon-Dristi) to look for the guy who was struggling more than me.  From student to student, I scanned the room, but i couldn't find him.  All I saw were yogis and yoginis cradling their lower legs against their chests, hands clasped around their forearms, rocking their tibiae and fibulae like newborn babies.  That guy had failed to show up today.

Then it dawned on me.  I WAS "THAT GUY".  Confidence shattered immediately.  Every time one of the other students sneaked a glance to the right, I saw it.  Well I was going to make them proud!  Fortunately I was in the back corner of the room, and behind a very flexible yogini who had been babbling about studying with MG in some mystical place called "purple valley" in Goa, India.  So my travails went unnoticed by the teacher, who, had he have seen me, would probably have sent me to go and stand outside the headmaster's office for lying my way into the swimming pool enclosure when I clearly couldn't swim!

Painful hip openers over, and we had a five minute break to start the primary series.  Michael asked all the beginners to move to the left of the room, and the advance student to the right.  This was clearly directed at me, so I automatically started to move my mat.  Coco saw me and stopped me, saying "Nico, you know the series." I put my mat back where it was.  MG then came over to move me to the other end of the class, but Coco stopped him, saying "No, Nicolas is a really good student".  Well that made me feel amazing.  Really good student.  Really good student.  Really good student.  Those words were just ringing in my ears like music.

Everyone has a different body.  Mine is particularly suited to skiff sailing.  I have skinny stiff strong muscles, tightly holding together a tall indestructible frame.  I have an eye that can pick up the minutest changes in details from hundreds of metres away.  But my body is not designed to find yoga asanas easy.  Because of natural inflexibility, back issues as an adolescent, old injuries, fused hips, blah blah blah, I've never been a star pupil when it comes to yoga.  Even after six months of intensive Ashtanga, I still can't touch my toes!

I turned to Coco and said "It means a lot to me that you said that".  She must have seen my smile, because she looked back at me, cracked the biggest smile that I've ever seen, and said something like "you are [a good student]".

Getting better

I was a little better tonight than last night.  I was not feeling so good, so just relaxed into the poses, rather than pushing the ujjayi breath.  I started thinking I wouldn't make it through the Surya Namaskaras, but eventually managed, and the standing poses were good.  The forward bends improved later on in the practice, but mostly it was just slow and deliberate.  I love yoga.

Stiff today

One of the joys of Ashtanga is that when you are starting off, and only have the primary series to worry about, it is always the same.  That means that you always know what you have left, and as long as you keep to an good clip, it will never take more than about 90min.  Today my body was stiff.  I didn't sleep well last night, and didn't get out during the day to move around.  So my hips were tight, my legs and ankles too, and my shoulder still hurting a little from when I slept on it badly Friday night.  A warm shower helped get me ready for Ashtanga, but didn't make it any easier.  I realised early on that I was stiff, even having to bend my legs in Paschimottanasana A.  Almost from that moment on, it was a real push to get through - but I did it!  Now there's a sense of pride that comes with finishing yoga when you know it's going to be a hard slog, and I got through it.  Then as I was just lying down in Savasana, the neighbours turned on some beautiful music, a just reward for my hard work!

Busy led practice

Tonight's led class was amazingly busy.  We had five rows, and all were packed.  We could probably have fit a couple more in, but that would be the maximum.  I don't know how many there were, probably about 28.
My neighbour attended the class on my suggestion.  She's a 'vinyasa flow' yoga teacher.  I'm not too sure on these 'hatha' and 'vinyasa flow' teachers.  Sometimes I feel like if a person is naturally strong and flexible, they do a 30 hour training course, and call themselves a yoga teacher.  They lead classes from the front, doing no adjusting, and just do whatever routine they feel like.  I'll blog later on what I think a good yoga teacher needs to be, but I'm skeptical of my neighbour's 'yoga teacher' credentials.

I was stiff today.  I'm not sure why, but my whole body wasn't really responding.  I didn't bind in any of the Marichyasanas, and in Halasana couldn't get my feet to touch the floor, even with my knees bent.  It comes and goes though, and I've learnt not to judge my practice.  I just take it as it comes.

Coco must have had a hard day today.  I had to help her with the order of the postures at times, like whispering "buhjapidasana" to her, or letting her know when she's missed a side.  She helped me with the vinyasa counts in supta konasana today though.  I was doing it too fast, missing out a breath in my solo practice, and she got me to slow down and get the breaths right.  Lastly, there was a guy in the row in front of me that looked like he was from a cross-fit background.  I say that because he was doing 'hindu push-ups' instead of the usual vinyasa count.  It's good to see people like that coming to yoga from active sporting backgrounds.  He was very strong and flexibile. I wonder what influenced him to make the switch...

Balcony Practice

Now that was cool!! :)
A perfect home practice on the balcony.  It had rained during the day, so it was nice and cool on the balcony with a soft breeze blowing.  The whole primary series took 1h20min in total, so that's a good tempo to keep.  As usual, I didn't bind in any of the Marichyasanas on my own, except for A on the left side.  I'll keep the deep stretches for the led classes with a teacher.  When I'm at home it's more for my mind than for my body.

My shoulder didn't bother me too much during the session.  It still hurts from when I slept on it badly a few nights ago, but yoga didn't seem to agrivate it too much, and I managed all the way until the end.  I'm sure that tapping away at a computer doesn't help much either.

After the finishing sequence, it was hard to get into lotus because it was that much cooler, but I didn't feel any of the stuffiness I usually feel when I practice inside.  Savasana was lovely, listening to all the sounds of the village around me.

Busy Practice

After Sunday off, It was back to Coco's led class.  She's started counting through the vinyasas in Sanskrit which is really cool. "ekam" "dve" "chitwari".  I really like that.  She adjusted me in Ardha Baddha Padma Pashimottanasana on my good side, and really far, so I grabbed my foot for the first time ever.  It was a fantastic feeling, because I've never even touched it before.

Last Saturday in the Mysore class she suggested I put a towel over my knee in each of the Marichyasanas.  This helps with grip, and I was able to bind in A on both sides, and B on the left.  I think binding is helping with my shoulder flexibility.  Unfortunately, I slept badly on my left shoulder on Friday night, and it's been giving me trouble ever since.  I'll keep an eye on it, and maybe take a day or two off towards the end of the week if it doesn't fix itself, so I can be fresh for the Michael Gannon class.

My Urdhva Mukha Svanasana is also starting to open up a bit.  I'm not quite getting my shoulders back yet, but I am able to open my chest ("heart" in yoga-speak) more now.

When we had a chat about the speed of my practice, Coco said it was better to pick up the speed.  Because of my slow breathing, I can take over two hours to do half-vinyasa primary.  She said I should work on speeding up so I can get the whole thing done in about 1h15min.   It's ok to have the occasional slow practice day, but better to focus on regularly moving through the asanas and keeping a breathing rhythm.

Yoga Mysore Style!

Think "Gangnam style" jajajajaaa, today was my first ever Mysore style class.  It was amazing.  I did it at Coco's private studio in the Jungle.  On the way there driving through the jungle, we saw a "Baird's tapir".  It was like a giant pear-shaped black pig.  That wasn't the only visitor.  We also had some monkeys in the trees above us come and say hello when we'd finished.  Now that's crazy!!!!  Monkeys!!!  They must have laughed at us trying to twist into postures, when they can do that stuff so easily.  I only did the first sequence up to Navasana, because I'm so slow compared to everyone else with my breathing.  I headed into finishing sequence, and Coco told me to go back and do Urdhva Dhanurasana, and do that every time I hit my mat.

I've been on a blogging rampage lately.  I'll try to slow it up a bit. :)

Back to normal led class

Friday practice was completely different.  We had over 20 people in the class, and did the full primary series.  I got adjusted into Marichyasana C for the first time ever, it was on the left, my more flexible side.  It felt great!  We have a different mix in the class now.  There are a few of the old-hands, but mostly new students, so I've been moved up to the second row.  The more advanced students have mostly left.  Usually there is just one guy who does the drop-backs now.

Observing Mood Days

After three straight days of practice, today I observed my first moon-day holiday.  It's funny how being more devoted actually means more days off.  The way I calculate it, by observing moon days and Saturdays, I get between five and seven days off a month.  Women who observe the ladies' holiday get up to another three off, making it seven to ten days off a month.  I've now added a moon-phase gadget to the right hand side of this blog, to show the days off.

So a minimum of one day off a week, with an extra day or two thrown in for good measure.  With my triathlon training experience, it sounds very similar to tri-training.  As with tri-training, the scheduled days off are never when you feel you want a day off, and Thursday was like this.  I felt like I was just getting my groove on.  Still, there's Friday and Saturday to look forward to!!

Great led class on a special day

12/12/12 What a funky date!!!

Great led class with Coco.  Because it was the 12/12/12, and there are so many things on, there were only six people in class.  We did a shorter practice because it's the day before a moon day.  With less people, I got more adjustments.  In Marichyasana A, Coco got me to go lower down around my leg, which was different.  I think it will allow me to go down more when my lower back and hips open up.  Coco also gave me a lot of attention in shirshasana.  She said that I don't have to go all the way down to 90 degrees in Urdhva Dandasana.  I can go down only about 45 degrees because of my limited flexibility, stay for five breaths, and then go back up.  In class, I only managed a couple of breaths, then my legs started shaking uncontrollably.

A couple of other things she said in a chat we had after practice were that it's ok to do a short home practice, for example, just to Navasana, however I must always do a full finishing sequence.  Also that it's best to keep to a half-vinyasa practice.  Even though it's better for my flexibility, a full-vinyasa practice or any other type will just confuse me.  She said that the most important thing was to make sure that I get the breaths right in the vinyasa, otherwise they don't do any good.

One interesting thing was that Coco said that I was ready to do a Mysore class, and also that I was good enough to to the upcoming class with Michael Gannon.  She said that even though my postures were those of an absolute beginner due to my inflexibility, my understanding of the practice was good enough for me to give it a shot.

The Michael Gannon class will be my Christmas gift to myself this year.

Back to class

Five days after falling ill, I finally made it back to Coco's class.  It was fantastic to be back on the mat, and there were well over 20 people in class, heating up the room.  I've lost a fair bit of muscle in the four days I didn't eat or move, and I think that let me stretch deeper into some asanas.

Getting sick

Unfortunately, my new regimen of doing the primary series every day has come unstuck after only a day!  All proud from my first attempt at the primary series, I rocked into class the next day, ready to kick-ass!  I'd had a little bit of diarrhea during the day, but I didn't think it'd affect me.  Wrong there!  Something was wrong immediately, with the standing postures being much more difficult than usual.  So much so, that Coco was adjusting me in Utkatasana and the Virabhadrasanas.  A couple more postures, and I was down in child's pose, before Coco grabbed me and pulled me out onto the balcony to cool down, before going back in, grabbing my towel, and wrapping it around me.  Another hour passed, and everything unravelled.  I was vomiting all over the place, had incredible pain in my arms and legs, and couldn't eat for a few days, let alone yoga!

First home practice

Getting serious about Ashtanga, I've started a daily practice.  For the past few months, it's only been a few Suriya Namaskara As, Suriya Namaskara Bs, and savasana.  Practicing at home in my bedroom is different mostly because it's my speed, which is a lot slower.
Finally I printed out the primary series, and have been attempting it at home.  I decided to video my first practice, and it's here.  This way I can track my progress.  Hopefully I'll be able to video more efforts in the future, and see how far I've come.  The video is incomplete.  The camera kept cutting out, and so about half of it is missing, but it's still fun to watch.

Blog starts here

Hello :)

This is my yoga blog!!!  I'm a beginner yogi, and I thought I'd chronicle my journey in yoga starting from being an absolute beginner.  I've seen a lot of yoga blogs, but none that start right from the beginning, so here goes.