Sunday, June 30, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Retreat Day 2
Unfortunately Anurag was unwell today, so we just did the lesson with Natalia. We started with a led standing, then did Mysore style. It was really cold today, so in the led portion we went a bit overboard on the Suriyas... We started with the regular 5x Suriya Namaskaras, then did 5 really fast ones with no hold in Adho Mukha Svanasana. Admittedly it was a great warmup. Then Suriya Namaskar B we did the usual five, but followed by a five breath hold in each of the positions!!! Suffice to say that I was suffering a slow Chaturanga Dandasana death by the end of that. Then just for good measure, we did five more Bs!!!
Standing was really good, and I got loads of adjustments from Natalia. She really is amazing. I've had a few Ashtanga teachers now, but nobody, not even Karla comes close to Natalia's adjustments. In Prasarita Padottanasana C today she stood over my head and hooked into my arms and pulled hard! I said "mas" and so she pulled harder as I breathed. It was just amazing. She says I have space there, I just haven't used the space before, and so she has to clear out the joint. I don't think i quite translated that right, but the general idea is there.
In Utkatasana I have to sit more. I don't know what the limiter is on this one, but my Utkatasana always looks more like Tadasana!! Also she would like me to get lower in the Virabhadrasanas to open up my hips and strengthen my legs.
In seated is was the same "Shoulders Back!" that I got from Anurag. It's clearly my big problem. In fact this afternoon at lunch I got told the same thing, and that it needs to become a habit to sit with my shoulders back instead of forward.
The big treat for today was the jump back and jump through lesson. Firstly the Jump through lesson: I had to jump into a half-handstand up to her hands, again and again until it was automatic. Then she grabs my hips to stabilize me, I pull my knees to my chest, and try to swing through. It was really fun, but again the limitation is my legs not being able to pull close enough to my body. Then there was the Jump-back lesson. So for the jump back, I need to lift up like in Navasana, and try to swing my legs through. They get caught on the ground, so I stop there. Then I reach forward, and go back as normal. Natalia says that one day it will just come through automatically when my legs decide to fit.
She actually says i have too much strength, and it's stopping me from feeling my body through the movements, and that i can just rely on strength to do everything. At the same time, this will be great when I can swing through, because will be able to come up to handstand when I get the flexibility.
I got some fantastic adjustments in Marichyasana A and B. She really gets into it. She pushes my knee with foot, while pulling my arm with her two hands. This gave me a great bind in both A and B, better than I've ever achieved on my own. She also bound me in C with pure brute force, and I loved it. I skipped D because I got told not to do it yesterday, and she said that wasn't cool. She says it's best to try to do it every day, and in time it will come.
We tried Bhujapidasana together. It's still a new pose for me, and I'm quite glad I can get some semblance of it going. She said I shouldn't cross my feet together until I can comfortably sit on my shoulders. At the moment I'm just sitting on my elbows. Again, I'm too strong, instead I need the flexibility to do the pose. So she said we should go through a series of stretches to see what we could do about my flexibility. We started with doing Padmasana, which I found easy, and she was surprised. Following that we tried full pigeon pose on both sides. This too was easy for me, so we tried half pigeon... Ahaaa, that's what I need to do to stretch out. We did a version of half-pigeon on my back with her applying pressure. She said I need to do these stretches a lot.
Did lotus, too easy, then full pigeon, too easy, then half pigeon on back with adjustment. said I need to do this a lot.
From here I did closing on my own. It was nice and long as I took a lot of extra breaths. In Karnapidasana my arms and legs don't go down to the ground so I got a nice adjustment.
After the class, I started chatting to Nuria about Mysore. She had gone, as had Anurag and Natalia, and I wanted to know what level of practice I needed to have before going. I really want to go, and would like to know how many years I should practice, or more accurately, what level of practice I should have before heading there. Interestingly, she said that it was great for beginners to go. She said that my level of practice was sufficient, and that I should go. Not only that, but she said that it was better for beginners to go when Saraswathi is there as there are less people. When Sharath is there, the shala is packed, and it's just too stressful for a first-timer.
Over Lunch we chatted about my lost tooth. General consensus around the table was that now that I have accepted the change, and have no attachment, I might as well get it fixed. Then when I got home, my housemate Greg found the tooth. The universe is beautiful like that. As soon as I had accepted the change without attachment, the universe gave me back my tooth.
On a final note, my side abs hurt!
Standing was really good, and I got loads of adjustments from Natalia. She really is amazing. I've had a few Ashtanga teachers now, but nobody, not even Karla comes close to Natalia's adjustments. In Prasarita Padottanasana C today she stood over my head and hooked into my arms and pulled hard! I said "mas" and so she pulled harder as I breathed. It was just amazing. She says I have space there, I just haven't used the space before, and so she has to clear out the joint. I don't think i quite translated that right, but the general idea is there.
In Utkatasana I have to sit more. I don't know what the limiter is on this one, but my Utkatasana always looks more like Tadasana!! Also she would like me to get lower in the Virabhadrasanas to open up my hips and strengthen my legs.
In seated is was the same "Shoulders Back!" that I got from Anurag. It's clearly my big problem. In fact this afternoon at lunch I got told the same thing, and that it needs to become a habit to sit with my shoulders back instead of forward.
The big treat for today was the jump back and jump through lesson. Firstly the Jump through lesson: I had to jump into a half-handstand up to her hands, again and again until it was automatic. Then she grabs my hips to stabilize me, I pull my knees to my chest, and try to swing through. It was really fun, but again the limitation is my legs not being able to pull close enough to my body. Then there was the Jump-back lesson. So for the jump back, I need to lift up like in Navasana, and try to swing my legs through. They get caught on the ground, so I stop there. Then I reach forward, and go back as normal. Natalia says that one day it will just come through automatically when my legs decide to fit.
She actually says i have too much strength, and it's stopping me from feeling my body through the movements, and that i can just rely on strength to do everything. At the same time, this will be great when I can swing through, because will be able to come up to handstand when I get the flexibility.
I got some fantastic adjustments in Marichyasana A and B. She really gets into it. She pushes my knee with foot, while pulling my arm with her two hands. This gave me a great bind in both A and B, better than I've ever achieved on my own. She also bound me in C with pure brute force, and I loved it. I skipped D because I got told not to do it yesterday, and she said that wasn't cool. She says it's best to try to do it every day, and in time it will come.
We tried Bhujapidasana together. It's still a new pose for me, and I'm quite glad I can get some semblance of it going. She said I shouldn't cross my feet together until I can comfortably sit on my shoulders. At the moment I'm just sitting on my elbows. Again, I'm too strong, instead I need the flexibility to do the pose. So she said we should go through a series of stretches to see what we could do about my flexibility. We started with doing Padmasana, which I found easy, and she was surprised. Following that we tried full pigeon pose on both sides. This too was easy for me, so we tried half pigeon... Ahaaa, that's what I need to do to stretch out. We did a version of half-pigeon on my back with her applying pressure. She said I need to do these stretches a lot.
Did lotus, too easy, then full pigeon, too easy, then half pigeon on back with adjustment. said I need to do this a lot.
From here I did closing on my own. It was nice and long as I took a lot of extra breaths. In Karnapidasana my arms and legs don't go down to the ground so I got a nice adjustment.
After the class, I started chatting to Nuria about Mysore. She had gone, as had Anurag and Natalia, and I wanted to know what level of practice I needed to have before going. I really want to go, and would like to know how many years I should practice, or more accurately, what level of practice I should have before heading there. Interestingly, she said that it was great for beginners to go. She said that my level of practice was sufficient, and that I should go. Not only that, but she said that it was better for beginners to go when Saraswathi is there as there are less people. When Sharath is there, the shala is packed, and it's just too stressful for a first-timer.
Over Lunch we chatted about my lost tooth. General consensus around the table was that now that I have accepted the change, and have no attachment, I might as well get it fixed. Then when I got home, my housemate Greg found the tooth. The universe is beautiful like that. As soon as I had accepted the change without attachment, the universe gave me back my tooth.
On a final note, my side abs hurt!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Retreat Day 1
First day of the retreat and finally I do a post on practice again. I'm writing this a long time after the class, so hopefully I don't miss anything... I have quite good notes for the first few days, so we'll see how we go...
The teachers are Natalia Paisano and AnuragVassallo. They both seem to have a lot of experience, and are cool people. We started with a led class because there were a couple of beginners with us. That's ok, I'm used to led classes, and I guess it gave the teachers a good look at us.
First change was Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana. I have to keep my shoulders back through the pose, squeezing my shoulder blades together. Not only that, but have a different dristi to the one I'm used to. Normally I look up, but according to Anurag, I'm not ready for this yet, so it is better for me to keep looking forward to the front of the room until my flexibility improves.
In Utthita Trikonasana I am to keep my legs closer together. Also keep my hand on my leg, don't try to reach for the toes, but rather keep the leg straight. In Parivritta Trikonasana Anurag suggested that I grab my ankle, and focus on squeezing my shoulderblades together to open my chest. In Utthita Parsvakonasana I should put my hand on a block so I can apply pressure, rather than just touching my fingers to the floor. Also, that I should swing my upper arm behind my back before extending it, so that I extend it from the right direction, and I don't flop forward. In Parivritta Parsvakonasana I should open my legs further apart, and also change the Dristi. Instead of looking up, rather I should look straight ahead. That is, until I can do the full expression of the pose and not the modified one.
Utthita Hasta Padangustasana was another change. I should not do the full pose with my chest down towards my leg, but rather focus on keeping the leg up, and really focus on the Bandhas. In Utkatasana I need to keep my shoulders down and back, meaning that my hands no longer touch each other, but that's ok apparently.
and now on to Virabhadrasana A, I need to get lower down, so my thigh is nice and horisontal, I need to keep my ribs in, and not lean back. The torso needs to be vertical. Again it's a case of shoulders back. Shoulders back shoulders back...
shoulders back
shoulders back
shoulders back
SHOULDERS BACK!
And now Vibhadrasana B get lower, lower, lower. lower to open my hips and of course shoulders back.
After standing we switched over to a Mysore style of class, and I got stopped after only two Pashimottanasanas. My four are more than usual supposedly. In Purvottanasana Anurag had a process that she wants me to follow with how I go into it. First arms back, then toes up, then chest up, then hips up, then toes down.
in Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana I got adjusted on the first side into the bind. It's been a while since that's happened so cool. :) On the second side Natalia grabbed my feet and I grabbed her thumb.
Triang Mukha Eka Pada Paschimottanasana I was told to rotate the calf outwards with my hands before trying to sit down. This was funny as Natalia tried to move my muscle, not realising that my body is a little different to others, and everything is stuck in place, especially my very tight calf. In the Janu Shirshasanas I need to keep my shoulders back and down. Unfortunately this means that my foot seems to be much further away than it used to be. Also I need to remember to keep my head up.
We had a jump-through lesson. According to the teachers I should try to jump through on all poses. I need to keep my hips up, and try to bring my knees to my chest. This is my limiting factor. The strength is there, but I can't bring myself into the little ball I need to be to get my legs through.
In Marichyasana A there's a new way to get into it. Anurag wants me to first reach up, then reach forward as far as I can go, and then reach around. I also need to make sure I keep my leg outside my body, so that when I get the flexibility, I can fold forward. Same thing with Marichyasana B. Reach up, reach forward, then around, with my leg clearly outside my torso. Here I was told that my hips are extremely tight, and that I need to do some stretching (lots of pigeon poses) to open up over time. In Marichyasana C I didn't manage to bind, and was enouraged by Anurag to not bind at all, but rather to focus on keeping my shoulder blades together, and not having my shoulders drooping forward. I need to make sure I keep my foot wide, with my knee in. Also keep the knee closer to my chest. I need to keep my back straighter, stay upright, keep my back arm close to my body, and don't try to bind.
Anurag told me to skip Marichyasana D, then go straight to Navasana, followed by Urdhva Dhanurasana, and closing. In Navasana it was a bit different. Her advice was not to lift my legs off the ground as I don't have the flexibility to do so. Rather I am to keep my feet on the floor and knees up. I grasp my knees with my hands, and try to lift my chest up to the sky, way way up to straining with my shoulders back. Then I lift up with my legs in, and try to swing through.
In Urdvha Dhanurasana she made me keep my knees closer together, not splayed apart as they naturally go. Also to keep my hands under my shoulders and not really wide like I tend to do with my elbows splayed out. Elbows in!
Finally it was time for closing. Sin Salamba Sarvangasana I have to keep my elbows in. This is not currently possible for me because I'm not flexible enough yet, but I should keep trying. I also need to be more vertial, and spread my toes. Halasana she says to point my toes, and also to try to keep my arms together as much as I can. She suggested doing Sirsasana the Hatha way, so I couldn't do Urdhva Sirsasana because I wasn't stable, but whatever, next time... Lastly in Padmasana I need to keep my shoulders back and chest up.
So overall it was a very technical day. Most of what I learnt was about keeping correct form through the positions. Anurag is very technical, which may be what I need at the moment. Natalia's adjustments are just amazing. She really knows how far to push me, and can tell what is a blockage, and what she can push through. Although there was a lot of "sweet pain" as they say through her adjustments, I felt safe the whole time, and knew she wouldn't hurt me. Homework set is jumping through, I'll had a couple of goes at night but without success as I was exhausted. I went to pay Anurag and she changed the price of the lesson on me to 20e from 15e. I really don't like it when people do that. It's dishonest and just not cool. But whatever I was in a happy buzz from the yoga so it didn't matter really.
The scooter I hired is a laugh. It only goes about 17km/h uphill, and I managed to use a full tank in one day! Absolutely hopeless! Jaja, but it's fun to ride, and gets me there. I had to go to the Eivissa town police station and because I don't have a license I had to take back roads. What an experience! I got there in the end, and managed to get a 90e parking ticket. Jajajaja. Fair to say they'll be writing that one off in a year or so.
The teachers are Natalia Paisano and AnuragVassallo. They both seem to have a lot of experience, and are cool people. We started with a led class because there were a couple of beginners with us. That's ok, I'm used to led classes, and I guess it gave the teachers a good look at us.
First change was Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana. I have to keep my shoulders back through the pose, squeezing my shoulder blades together. Not only that, but have a different dristi to the one I'm used to. Normally I look up, but according to Anurag, I'm not ready for this yet, so it is better for me to keep looking forward to the front of the room until my flexibility improves.
In Utthita Trikonasana I am to keep my legs closer together. Also keep my hand on my leg, don't try to reach for the toes, but rather keep the leg straight. In Parivritta Trikonasana Anurag suggested that I grab my ankle, and focus on squeezing my shoulderblades together to open my chest. In Utthita Parsvakonasana I should put my hand on a block so I can apply pressure, rather than just touching my fingers to the floor. Also, that I should swing my upper arm behind my back before extending it, so that I extend it from the right direction, and I don't flop forward. In Parivritta Parsvakonasana I should open my legs further apart, and also change the Dristi. Instead of looking up, rather I should look straight ahead. That is, until I can do the full expression of the pose and not the modified one.
Utthita Hasta Padangustasana was another change. I should not do the full pose with my chest down towards my leg, but rather focus on keeping the leg up, and really focus on the Bandhas. In Utkatasana I need to keep my shoulders down and back, meaning that my hands no longer touch each other, but that's ok apparently.
and now on to Virabhadrasana A, I need to get lower down, so my thigh is nice and horisontal, I need to keep my ribs in, and not lean back. The torso needs to be vertical. Again it's a case of shoulders back. Shoulders back shoulders back...
shoulders back
shoulders back
shoulders back
SHOULDERS BACK!
And now Vibhadrasana B get lower, lower, lower. lower to open my hips and of course shoulders back.
After standing we switched over to a Mysore style of class, and I got stopped after only two Pashimottanasanas. My four are more than usual supposedly. In Purvottanasana Anurag had a process that she wants me to follow with how I go into it. First arms back, then toes up, then chest up, then hips up, then toes down.
in Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana I got adjusted on the first side into the bind. It's been a while since that's happened so cool. :) On the second side Natalia grabbed my feet and I grabbed her thumb.
Triang Mukha Eka Pada Paschimottanasana I was told to rotate the calf outwards with my hands before trying to sit down. This was funny as Natalia tried to move my muscle, not realising that my body is a little different to others, and everything is stuck in place, especially my very tight calf. In the Janu Shirshasanas I need to keep my shoulders back and down. Unfortunately this means that my foot seems to be much further away than it used to be. Also I need to remember to keep my head up.
We had a jump-through lesson. According to the teachers I should try to jump through on all poses. I need to keep my hips up, and try to bring my knees to my chest. This is my limiting factor. The strength is there, but I can't bring myself into the little ball I need to be to get my legs through.
In Marichyasana A there's a new way to get into it. Anurag wants me to first reach up, then reach forward as far as I can go, and then reach around. I also need to make sure I keep my leg outside my body, so that when I get the flexibility, I can fold forward. Same thing with Marichyasana B. Reach up, reach forward, then around, with my leg clearly outside my torso. Here I was told that my hips are extremely tight, and that I need to do some stretching (lots of pigeon poses) to open up over time. In Marichyasana C I didn't manage to bind, and was enouraged by Anurag to not bind at all, but rather to focus on keeping my shoulder blades together, and not having my shoulders drooping forward. I need to make sure I keep my foot wide, with my knee in. Also keep the knee closer to my chest. I need to keep my back straighter, stay upright, keep my back arm close to my body, and don't try to bind.
Anurag told me to skip Marichyasana D, then go straight to Navasana, followed by Urdhva Dhanurasana, and closing. In Navasana it was a bit different. Her advice was not to lift my legs off the ground as I don't have the flexibility to do so. Rather I am to keep my feet on the floor and knees up. I grasp my knees with my hands, and try to lift my chest up to the sky, way way up to straining with my shoulders back. Then I lift up with my legs in, and try to swing through.
In Urdvha Dhanurasana she made me keep my knees closer together, not splayed apart as they naturally go. Also to keep my hands under my shoulders and not really wide like I tend to do with my elbows splayed out. Elbows in!
Finally it was time for closing. Sin Salamba Sarvangasana I have to keep my elbows in. This is not currently possible for me because I'm not flexible enough yet, but I should keep trying. I also need to be more vertial, and spread my toes. Halasana she says to point my toes, and also to try to keep my arms together as much as I can. She suggested doing Sirsasana the Hatha way, so I couldn't do Urdhva Sirsasana because I wasn't stable, but whatever, next time... Lastly in Padmasana I need to keep my shoulders back and chest up.
So overall it was a very technical day. Most of what I learnt was about keeping correct form through the positions. Anurag is very technical, which may be what I need at the moment. Natalia's adjustments are just amazing. She really knows how far to push me, and can tell what is a blockage, and what she can push through. Although there was a lot of "sweet pain" as they say through her adjustments, I felt safe the whole time, and knew she wouldn't hurt me. Homework set is jumping through, I'll had a couple of goes at night but without success as I was exhausted. I went to pay Anurag and she changed the price of the lesson on me to 20e from 15e. I really don't like it when people do that. It's dishonest and just not cool. But whatever I was in a happy buzz from the yoga so it didn't matter really.
The scooter I hired is a laugh. It only goes about 17km/h uphill, and I managed to use a full tank in one day! Absolutely hopeless! Jaja, but it's fun to ride, and gets me there. I had to go to the Eivissa town police station and because I don't have a license I had to take back roads. What an experience! I got there in the end, and managed to get a 90e parking ticket. Jajajaja. Fair to say they'll be writing that one off in a year or so.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
A Lunar Calendar
I don't usually post about non-yoga days, but today something happened that is really cool. I got a yoga gift from the gods.
I was invited out to a Brazilian night, where they play Lambada music. Now not knowing anything about this type of dance, the conversation went like this:
"Do you want to come out to a Lambada night?"
"what is Lambada?"
"it's a Brazilian dance"
"will I be expected to dance?"
"No"
"Cool, I'm in!"
We got there, and the place was magnificent. The whole setup was like that of a huge open air lounge bar, perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It faces east, and so the place is famous for it's moon-rises, especially around the full moon. The food was amazing. They even managed to mess up my order and cook the wrong thing, but rather than taking it away, they just brought the second one and asked if I could manage both. Haha, I managed quite nicely :). Blah blah, good drinks, good music, good company… The reason I'm posting, is that they came around at the end of the night, and gave me a huge lunar calendar. I's a big beautiful thing that you would put up on your wall. Now if there's anything that is a sign that I should do some more Ashtanga, it's receiving a free lunar calendar on the eve of my yoga retreat.
So I start the yoga retreat having had two really late nights out. Oops. Haha. Oh well.
I was invited out to a Brazilian night, where they play Lambada music. Now not knowing anything about this type of dance, the conversation went like this:
"Do you want to come out to a Lambada night?"
"what is Lambada?"
"it's a Brazilian dance"
"will I be expected to dance?"
"No"
"Cool, I'm in!"
We got there, and the place was magnificent. The whole setup was like that of a huge open air lounge bar, perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It faces east, and so the place is famous for it's moon-rises, especially around the full moon. The food was amazing. They even managed to mess up my order and cook the wrong thing, but rather than taking it away, they just brought the second one and asked if I could manage both. Haha, I managed quite nicely :). Blah blah, good drinks, good music, good company… The reason I'm posting, is that they came around at the end of the night, and gave me a huge lunar calendar. I's a big beautiful thing that you would put up on your wall. Now if there's anything that is a sign that I should do some more Ashtanga, it's receiving a free lunar calendar on the eve of my yoga retreat.
So I start the yoga retreat having had two really late nights out. Oops. Haha. Oh well.
Teaching Tara
I had offered to introduce my friend Tara to Ashtanga yoga. She's very strong from gym work, but lacks a lot of flexibility. We organised a morning class that would start very early up on my rooftop. Well she had work issues, and so the lesson ended up being at 2pm. Haha. We covered a bit of theory, then went and did Surya Namaskara A, Surya Namaskara B and about the first half of standing. She found it very hard work, but good. After that, we did a modified closing, and Savasana.
Then boom! I crashed out. I don't know what it was about the class, but it destroyed me! I think maybe it is just that teaching yoga is really giving of yourself. I was completely whacked. I passed out on the sofa for more than an hour.
After that though, I got back up and did a full primary on the verandah. It was perfect. Standing was strong and even, I bound in Marichyasana A and B easily. Gharba Pindasana was good, and I almost got up in Kukkutasana, but something didn't go quite right. I've never had so much energy for the practice. I don't know whether it was the nap or teaching. Whatever it was, that felt fantastic!
Then this evening Tara and her boyfriend took me to a huge South American BBQ. It was amazing, with more food than is possible to eat, and a whole bunch of really cool people from around Central and South America, and Europe. One guy who lived there was a Mayan Shaman from Guatamala. He had a huge Teepee in his backyard. I was perfectly set up with a fire in the middle, and rugs on the ground. He said he did ceremonies in there and stuff like that. Very very cool! I remember we had a teepee as kids, but nothing on this scale!
Then boom! I crashed out. I don't know what it was about the class, but it destroyed me! I think maybe it is just that teaching yoga is really giving of yourself. I was completely whacked. I passed out on the sofa for more than an hour.
After that though, I got back up and did a full primary on the verandah. It was perfect. Standing was strong and even, I bound in Marichyasana A and B easily. Gharba Pindasana was good, and I almost got up in Kukkutasana, but something didn't go quite right. I've never had so much energy for the practice. I don't know whether it was the nap or teaching. Whatever it was, that felt fantastic!
Then this evening Tara and her boyfriend took me to a huge South American BBQ. It was amazing, with more food than is possible to eat, and a whole bunch of really cool people from around Central and South America, and Europe. One guy who lived there was a Mayan Shaman from Guatamala. He had a huge Teepee in his backyard. I was perfectly set up with a fire in the middle, and rugs on the ground. He said he did ceremonies in there and stuff like that. Very very cool! I remember we had a teepee as kids, but nothing on this scale!
Cycling Again
We went out for another cycle. This time we had a group of five, two Spanish, two English and an Australian. It was a really nice ride, and I was one of the stronger ones today. I think it was a mix of three or four factors that got me to the front of the pack. Firstly we didn't head out too fast to start, that's always important, and Secondly, the two from the last ride were a little tired and under the weather. I do feel stronger though. I think my legs have really responded well to the last ride. The hills didn't seem so hard today, and I felt more comfortable on the bike. Not only that, but towards the end of the ride, I just felt stronger and stronger, whereas I know some of the others were struggling a bit. It was only a 55km ride in total, but a good one.
Retreat On
I phoned up the teacher Anurag and confirmed the classes for the whole week. I'm going to hire a scooter to get there. It's a little far to ride each day (it's a hilly 20km) so it's worthwhile hiring the scooter to get me there and back. I just decided to do it. Another yoga blogger 'Globie' had encouraged me to do some yoga while here in Ibiza, and I think that encouragement is what made the difference. Thank you!!
Now that it's coming in only a few days, I feel a little bit of pressure to fix my practice before the retreat. I don't know why, but I feel that I won't get the most out of this retreat unless I'm performing near my 'best' with regards to the postures. It'd be nice to have the Kukkutasana back, and also to bind in Marichyasana C again. Did I ever bind in Marichyasana D? I don't think so. I think I got close on the second side once in one of Coco or Karla's classes, but never quite made it.
Practice feels really good right now. I have Urdhva Sirsasana happening well now. It's becoming one of my favourite postures. I just love the feeling of extending my shoulders with some weight in them. Sometimes I'm still a bit wobbly from Ardha Sirsasana and so I come down, but sometimes I feel like I can stay up forever.
Now that it's coming in only a few days, I feel a little bit of pressure to fix my practice before the retreat. I don't know why, but I feel that I won't get the most out of this retreat unless I'm performing near my 'best' with regards to the postures. It'd be nice to have the Kukkutasana back, and also to bind in Marichyasana C again. Did I ever bind in Marichyasana D? I don't think so. I think I got close on the second side once in one of Coco or Karla's classes, but never quite made it.
Practice feels really good right now. I have Urdhva Sirsasana happening well now. It's becoming one of my favourite postures. I just love the feeling of extending my shoulders with some weight in them. Sometimes I'm still a bit wobbly from Ardha Sirsasana and so I come down, but sometimes I feel like I can stay up forever.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
BBQ and Becoming a Genuine Pirate
We had a great BBQ here, with a whole lot of people around. For me it was effectively my first time to England, as almost all of my house-mate's friends are English, and aside from occasionally struggling with the accent, I found them to be a good bunch. We had the biggest BBQ fire going in the history of mankind. We had a couple of bags of coal but it was of poor quality, so my housemate asked me to get a few more. As I was getting more, he also went out and bought a few more bags of coal. For some reason it just seemed a good idea to use it all. The resulting furnace meant that it was actually difficult to get anywhere near the BBQ, let alone cook meat on it. The meat also had to be cooked a few feet above the coals, else it would be crispy within seconds.
Somehow during the BBQ, i swallowed one of my front teeth. I just noticed a strange sensation on my tongue, and suddenly my tooth wasn't there anymore. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but the result is that I am now even more of I pirate than before. I has come at a good moment. This gives me three good practices to work on. The first one is practicing non-attachment to the body. Yes that was my tooth, but it is not an essential part of the self, and losing it is merely a change. I should not mourn the loss of the tooth, but rather accept it's passing without emotion. Acceptance of change is the second practice. Change is inevitable, especially change in the body as we get older. The last practice is ahimsa. When I look into the mirror, and see the little stump that used to be my tooth, it's very easy to feel unhappy thoughts towards myself. With all it's challenges, I love my body, and here I must love it through this change. I need to love my new smile, and not think any way negatively towards it.
Practice is good. I've bound in Marichyasana B on both sides for the first time in a while now. It's nice to have that one back, I really like that bind with my heel massaging my innards. One thing I've noticed though is that I often miss out on either Baddha Konasana or Purvottanasana. I don't know why, but I always seem to miss one of them out. They're not really my favourite poses, so that's probably why.
Somehow during the BBQ, i swallowed one of my front teeth. I just noticed a strange sensation on my tongue, and suddenly my tooth wasn't there anymore. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but the result is that I am now even more of I pirate than before. I has come at a good moment. This gives me three good practices to work on. The first one is practicing non-attachment to the body. Yes that was my tooth, but it is not an essential part of the self, and losing it is merely a change. I should not mourn the loss of the tooth, but rather accept it's passing without emotion. Acceptance of change is the second practice. Change is inevitable, especially change in the body as we get older. The last practice is ahimsa. When I look into the mirror, and see the little stump that used to be my tooth, it's very easy to feel unhappy thoughts towards myself. With all it's challenges, I love my body, and here I must love it through this change. I need to love my new smile, and not think any way negatively towards it.
Practice is good. I've bound in Marichyasana B on both sides for the first time in a while now. It's nice to have that one back, I really like that bind with my heel massaging my innards. One thing I've noticed though is that I often miss out on either Baddha Konasana or Purvottanasana. I don't know why, but I always seem to miss one of them out. They're not really my favourite poses, so that's probably why.
Cycling
I may or may not have commented on this blog that I used to do a lot of cycling. There was a period where i was doing between 400 and 600km a week, and that period went on for quite a while. Consequently, my cycling got quite fast. There's fantastic cycling on this island. It's really quite amazing, with long winding roads, little to no traffic, and beautiful scenery. When the chance came up to hire a road-bike and go cycling with friends, I jumped at it. We were three, and even though the other two cycle quite a bit, I just assumed that I'd be a lot faster than the two of them. I had my 'cycling ego' alive and kicking from the old cyclist inside me. Well when it came to the ride, I was useless. It really showed that I hadn't been on a bike for a couple of years. The other two were kicking ahead, and I was struggling to keep up. After 55km I was completely destroyed. We did 72km in total, but the ride home was very very slow, just cruising, spinning the legs over.
Half way through the ride, we came across a yoga shala. I knew it was around somewhere, but hadn't been able to find it until now. It's called "Ashtanga Yoga Ibiza", and is the only Ashtanga yoga shala on the island. Seeing it, I had to go and inspect. I wandered in, and as luck would have it, they were just about to start a class. there was a teacher and an assistant. The teacher was a little difficult, but the assistant I really connected with. She had good energy. Their class timetable didn't suit me, but the following week they were going to have a retreat. The retreat was way outside of my price range, but if i were to do the morning classes, then we settled on 15E per morning mysore class. This is still a lot, but it's an opportunity to study with some new teachers, so I said I'd probably come. I just needed to organise some transport first.
Practicing after the cycle, and I'm a little stiff and tired, but not overly so. A hard ride used to knock me about for a couple of days, but in the end, this was only 72km, so my body has absorbed it quite well. I did a standing series that evening after the ride, and then a full primary the next morning. It was nice and flowy. I've been finding it hard to push myself to practice lately. It could be the lack of a decent routine, or that my body isn't responding to practice the way it used to only a couple of months ago. My lotus is very comfortable now, and I'm happy to be able to do that whenever I want. It's good to slip into it during the day sometimes - reading, sitting on the beach, lying in a hummock…
Half way through the ride, we came across a yoga shala. I knew it was around somewhere, but hadn't been able to find it until now. It's called "Ashtanga Yoga Ibiza", and is the only Ashtanga yoga shala on the island. Seeing it, I had to go and inspect. I wandered in, and as luck would have it, they were just about to start a class. there was a teacher and an assistant. The teacher was a little difficult, but the assistant I really connected with. She had good energy. Their class timetable didn't suit me, but the following week they were going to have a retreat. The retreat was way outside of my price range, but if i were to do the morning classes, then we settled on 15E per morning mysore class. This is still a lot, but it's an opportunity to study with some new teachers, so I said I'd probably come. I just needed to organise some transport first.
Practicing after the cycle, and I'm a little stiff and tired, but not overly so. A hard ride used to knock me about for a couple of days, but in the end, this was only 72km, so my body has absorbed it quite well. I did a standing series that evening after the ride, and then a full primary the next morning. It was nice and flowy. I've been finding it hard to push myself to practice lately. It could be the lack of a decent routine, or that my body isn't responding to practice the way it used to only a couple of months ago. My lotus is very comfortable now, and I'm happy to be able to do that whenever I want. It's good to slip into it during the day sometimes - reading, sitting on the beach, lying in a hummock…
Heating up the Shala
I have had a lot of stiffness since I got to this house, and a lot of that is probably due to the temperature. It's much colder here than Mexico. It does get warm during the days, but at night it cools down significantly. To counteract this, I heated up my bedroom where I sometimes practice, until it was about 30 degrees. I think it really helped. I was sweating better than i usually do, and some of the seated postures were better. I managed a good Garbha Pindasana, but couldn't get my arms through my legs for a Kukkutasana. The Marichyasanas have still gone, but I know they will come back. My Urdhva Dhanurasana though was fantastic. I lifted straight up onto my head, and from there repositioned to push up onto my hands. I find this one a lot easier in the heat. In between each one, I just came back down onto my head to rest for a second, before pushing up again easily. All three felt strong and good.
While staying here on the island, I've made a few friends, but especially one really good friend. She reminds me of my friend Renée, who was instrumental in getting me back into yoga early last year. I'd been missing Renée of late, as not having internet at home, we don't have our usual Skype chit-chats. My new friend is a yogi without even knowing it. Although she doesn't do any of the asanas, she has studied similar philosophies, and is always willing to chat about everything. It's often really hard to find people like this. Most people go through their life not able to feel energies, or analyse life from a 'yogic' perspective. I know i spent nearly thirty years without this perspective, and I feel really lucky now that I have it.
One thing about having body still quite stiff at the moment, is that it's a good opportunity to focus on not being too attached to the postures. In the book I'm reading, a lot of the yogis have commented on how important it is not to get attached to your physical asana practice. I think this is an important thing for me to learn now, rather than later. I really don't want to be craving new postures, when I really should be working on what is going on inside.
While staying here on the island, I've made a few friends, but especially one really good friend. She reminds me of my friend Renée, who was instrumental in getting me back into yoga early last year. I'd been missing Renée of late, as not having internet at home, we don't have our usual Skype chit-chats. My new friend is a yogi without even knowing it. Although she doesn't do any of the asanas, she has studied similar philosophies, and is always willing to chat about everything. It's often really hard to find people like this. Most people go through their life not able to feel energies, or analyse life from a 'yogic' perspective. I know i spent nearly thirty years without this perspective, and I feel really lucky now that I have it.
One thing about having body still quite stiff at the moment, is that it's a good opportunity to focus on not being too attached to the postures. In the book I'm reading, a lot of the yogis have commented on how important it is not to get attached to your physical asana practice. I think this is an important thing for me to learn now, rather than later. I really don't want to be craving new postures, when I really should be working on what is going on inside.
Roof and Inside
It really depends on the weather where I practice now. If it's good for the roof, then I head up there. In the mornings and evenings though, it can get really cold, so I've been practicing inside as well. I still seem to be very stiff. Standing is nice and strong, but the seated postures don't seem to flow. My hips are really tight, and I can't seem to get a good Garbha Pindasana going, and I seem a long way from Kukkutasana. Similarly, I can bind nicely in Marichyasana A, but Marichyasana B and Marichyasana C seem to be a long way off. No matter what happens though, my Savasana always seems so deep and blissful.
My left shoulder is still up around my ear… so I'm still a pirate! Arrrrr!!!!
My left shoulder is still up around my ear… so I'm still a pirate! Arrrrr!!!!
Formentera
It's been a long time since I blogged, and I can't really remember where I was at my last entry, so I'll start with my trip to Formentera. I bought the book "Guruji: A portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students. It's a fantastic book, I'll do a little review once I've finished it.
After the failed trip to Formentera the weekend before, I was chatting to my friend in Mallorca, trying to organise to see her. She had a friend coming over from Barcelona, and so it was the perfect time for me to visit. So I went online and tried to organise ferries to the island. For some reason, for non-residents of Spain, the ferries are extremely expensive. It is more expensive to catch the ferry than to fly, and cheaper to fly around europe than to just hop over the spit to the next island. So unfortunately I couldn't see my friend, but this gave me an opportunity to try to get to Formentera again.
The wind wasn't too strong, and I met some lovely Italians on the boat. We chatted for a while, and when we got there, they wanted to all hire a car to check out the island. I wanted some quiet time, so I decided instead to leave them, and go for a walk. I ended up on a beautiful quiet beach, with only a few old naked German men sunbathing. Hahaha. i found a spot on a log under a tree with nobody around and started to read the Guruji book. Well on came epiphany after epiphany. I really identified with a couple of the interviewees, especially David Swenson. I could see what attracted them to the practice, and why I felt attracted in the same way. From my spot I could see the island of Es Vedra right in front of me. I spent the whole day there enjoying the place, and that way really got a lot out of the energy of the island and the book.
Walking back into town, I met a Czech family, and they bought me a coffee at a local coffee shop. I caught the boat back with them, chatting the whole time with really interesting new people. It was just a fantastic day.
After the failed trip to Formentera the weekend before, I was chatting to my friend in Mallorca, trying to organise to see her. She had a friend coming over from Barcelona, and so it was the perfect time for me to visit. So I went online and tried to organise ferries to the island. For some reason, for non-residents of Spain, the ferries are extremely expensive. It is more expensive to catch the ferry than to fly, and cheaper to fly around europe than to just hop over the spit to the next island. So unfortunately I couldn't see my friend, but this gave me an opportunity to try to get to Formentera again.
The wind wasn't too strong, and I met some lovely Italians on the boat. We chatted for a while, and when we got there, they wanted to all hire a car to check out the island. I wanted some quiet time, so I decided instead to leave them, and go for a walk. I ended up on a beautiful quiet beach, with only a few old naked German men sunbathing. Hahaha. i found a spot on a log under a tree with nobody around and started to read the Guruji book. Well on came epiphany after epiphany. I really identified with a couple of the interviewees, especially David Swenson. I could see what attracted them to the practice, and why I felt attracted in the same way. From my spot I could see the island of Es Vedra right in front of me. I spent the whole day there enjoying the place, and that way really got a lot out of the energy of the island and the book.
Walking back into town, I met a Czech family, and they bought me a coffee at a local coffee shop. I caught the boat back with them, chatting the whole time with really interesting new people. It was just a fantastic day.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
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