Stream of Conciousness

I've been under the weather with some yucky stomach parasite since the second day of the New Year. Yesterday found me both (mostly) well and hungry. Not for a meal (although, Lord knows its nice to have eaten something solid), but for a run. I love running but for some reason hadn't had the deep yearning for the sensation of foot to pavement in quite some time. Not since, I dare say, my trip to Mexico at the end of March (where I contracted, I suspect, the aforementioned parasite).

I tried to hone my thoughts from the run into something readable when I got home. Here are the results:

Running for me is as sensual as a ripe peach, with the innate ability to transport and transfix. It brings me into a meditative state, one where I can practice single pointed focus, a task that is genuinely difficult for me to find otherwise. It's seems paradoxical to me that the ritual of physical activity combined with thought (a multitasking, no?) brings me the closest that I've known to a state of real meditation.

There is something special about running in the winter. The cold of a winter run touches deep in my lungs, with every breath bringing a little reminder that joy doesn't always come from that which is easy.

To practice yoga as I understand it, the dedication I bring to my is as important as the work I bring to my asana practice. I must work to towards bettering my sauca, or cleanliness. There are great advances to be made in the ways of personal development within each limb of yoga, but eventually I have to do what is hard, and that includes maintaining a tidy home. Ugh. I try very hard not to take the easiest path on the mat, and I shouldn't cheat myself put of an opportunity to further my personal practice off that mat, either. This means doing dishes and scrubbing the floors with as much vigor and respect as I bring to my mat-based work. This is the work of tapas, or austerity, yet another niyama. Ultimately, this will allow me to further my appreciation of tapas, or austerity.

This city is so beautiful. When my heart starts to swell near past it's seams in the glory of it's sheer capacity to awe, I find myself near tears. My eyes somehow informs my heart of just how blessed I am. And how lucky I am to have people with whom I can share all of this fucking beauty. Love, too, is a path of yoga.

Practice Fail

Yoga isn't always graceful. And you can't be afraid to look like a big dummy sometimes.

I'm a firm believer in the importance of levity. Approaching your practice with gravitas is one thing, being stern and miserable while practicing is quite another. You don't have to be serious to be serious.

The old employee shirts (of which I own many) at the DC Improv were emblazoned with a great Oscar Wilde quote: "Life's too important to be taken seriously."

Succinct!

There are so many things wrong with the video that follows. I was obsessing over angles, and (vanity!) how lined up I was-- reaching out and drawing in muscularly, but managing to do neither mentally. I wasn't, as some other yogis say, "being present."

I'm glad I think to record my practices here and there: it brings levity to my practice and gives my ego a good what-for.

Dixie Carter Does Yoga

On Amazon, Dixie Carter's Unworkout Yoga VHS has a five star rating. People RAVE in the comment section about it.

How on earth did I not know this thing existed? My love of Julia Sugarbaker is undying. Thank you, Dlisted. And by the by, I'll be darned if thats not a darn good Lion. She totally has her yoga chops. I could not love this woman more.

Strong Personality, Being Who You Are

The Unlikely Yoga King of Los Angeles - NYTimes.com: 

"And then the teacher walked in. He had a gray crew cut, a message-free tank top and shorts, without a Buddhist bead or Sanskrit phrase visible anywhere.

“Come on people, let’s get started,” he said in a New York accent, as if leading a conference call.

Then he cranked up “Misty Mountain Hop” by Led Zeppelin and led the students through a warm-up of sun salutations. Soon he had them stretching into a difficult split pose."

Today, The Times  had a great article on one Vinnie Marino. They're calling him the "Yoga King," and while I'm not sure where they got that *ahem* lovely title for him, I will say that the guys teaching style sounds way up my alley.  Perhaps the name is meant to evoke that Rock (Dwayne Johnson, as he's known now) movie from a few years ago. You know, The Scorpian King. .. truth be told, I wouldn't mind Scorpian King as MY yoga nickname, but whateves. He's 50, looks 40, and appears as though he could whoop most twenty year old's kiesters. 

What struck me from the article was his self awareness and comfort in his own skin. He worked to better himself (having beaten drug addiction and tablewaiting) and teaches from a place that is true and right for him. If he comes with any pretense, it seems to come from a good place. Oh, and he knows that there are things with which he isn't perfect.

I think that speaks to the high quality of his character which speaks to the honesty of his personality, and I think the quality of a character is important:  I'd like to be the sort of teacher that has both.

To wit:

One of my students had an issue with my playlist yesterday. The student felt that the music had too much of a driving beat, that it went in a different direction when juxtaposed with the asana. In plain terms: He couldn't relax. 

I don't stick to sitars and harmoniums in my class: you're as likely to find Kelis as you are Krishna Das.  I know full well that you can't please everybody.  But, it will please me to edit the music selection next week for my student. Ideally, I'll find something with sitars and solemn/sacred incantations so that he can get a little somethin' somethin'. I don't need to please everybody, but I appreciate the challenge of spinning a new playlist just for him. It doesn't take away from my character to help him, and I'm glad that for as strong as my personality is in class, he wasn't intimidated to voice his opinion. This evokes the yama of satya (a little), and the yama of anekantavada (a lot): the notion that truth and reality are perceived differently from diverse points of view, and that no single point of view is the complete truth. 

One of the things that I find most compelling about the article and the playlist snafu is how the tastes of some yogis are so particular: My students at a different facility went so far as to compliment the very same routine and playlist combo the day prior.

It is important, for me, to realize that it is more than okay if my particular style of yoga isn't for everybody. Not being someones favorite teacher doesn't keep me from opening the hearts for other students. The act of doing the very best that any of us can rewards us when we are honest with our actions and intentions.  It is better for my students and my character to be honest and to teach in a way that is true to my personality.

"Character gives a strong personality to man. People respect a man who has a good character. Moral people [those who adhere to the yamas and niyamas] command respect everywhere. He who is honest, sincere, truthful, kind and liberal-hearted always commands respect and influence of the people. Sattivic virtues make a man divine... Even if he speaks a word there is a power in it and people are magnetized. Character building is of paramount importantce if a man wants to develop a personality. The practice of virtue is indispensable."

--Swami Sivananda from "Easy Steps to Yoga"

The Most Fun You Can Have On Top Of The Sheets

"I told you to get on your knees! Not get on MY knees!"

-- how we knew we wouldn't be dating

I'm used to guys getting on their knees for me, but this isn't quite what the dirty boy in me had in mind. 

The guys in this videos are pretty outrageous. Their contortion and balancing abilities are inspiring. I hestitate to call it "yoga", but it for sure is asana-based contortion. 

I find this sort of dual asana enticing and compelling. As you may know, I practice often with Meghan Guilino, whose backbends are killer. She's 125lbs on a "thick" day, but she's also strong, tall, and though I have 70lbs (not for long) on her, we tend to get our partner yoga on damn well. Meghan and I have even hosted a small partner yoga clinic.

The notion of giving ones trust to a partner completely has very clear resonance on an off the mat. Allowing a partner to sit on your feet while they pull your head until the back is a complete circle and your timid toes are on  suddenly your now not so faraway forehead doesn't seem so scary when in the context of the microcosm of a studio's four walls. You need to implicitly and truly trust. And when you do, you can soar to new heights, bend to new lows, and perhaps find freedom in surrender.

How often are we able to give ourselves so completely to the world? With our lovers? Our friends?  

I'm a wolfish Type A dressed in the sheepish garb of a Type B. This week I've been given lots of opportunities to surrender (hours of ink, a solid nutrition plan, bed times) and I'm feeling all the better for it. Where do you have trouble letting go?

A Little Yoga

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

(One Footed King Pigeon Pose)

About two months ago I had a breakthrough in my practice: I was finally able to get the foot to the back of my head with regularity. I've been practicing since I was eighteen and thorasic spine flexibility hasn't ever been my forte. I'm much more open in my hips. 

But as my teachers have told me, as I integrate yoga more deeply into my life on and off the mat, the postures will awaken for me.  

This video was taken on March 4th. I'll do a follow up in May.