Tales from a New Mysore Program

Morning Mysore at Love Yoga - the third month of practice here in Aberdeen.

There is something brilliant about doing what you love and I am happy to share I am doing just this: teaching what I daily practice. The morning Mysore programme at Love Yoga is in it's third month, and I am elated that practitioners are understanding the practice and students are moving in the right direction towards having a regular, daily healthy routine of yoga.

What does it mean to practice EVERY day? And early in the morning?

You've gotta change your habits a bit - go to bed earlier, eat and charge your temple with wholesome food and drink and you must maintain the idea of saucha - purification in your actions so that your yoga practice can be successful during those early morning hours.

We do have some guidelines to help us achieve this. Patanjali says in order for us to begin a 'practice', we must first figure out what a practice really is. These are outlined for us in the Yoga Sutras 1.13-15. 

• a practice must be a concentrated activity
• a practice must be done with devotion 
• a practice must be done for a long time and 
• a practice must be committed to without any interruptions. 

So say you are a total newbie and just starting out. You can come three days a week and begin to learn how to practice. Begin knowing that you can add days on as you become successful at this programme. 

As you add days to your regular routine (regular routine means that you do the same practice every day), the habit of daily yoga practice becomes easier and easier, and you begin to add another day on. And soon, you don't even know it happened, but you are up to 6 days a week!

Another precious tip Patanjali offers to us to help us get onto the mat each and every day is to have a strong awareness of WHAT yoga does for us and a commitment to attaining that goal each and every time we practice. How does this practice serve you? If you haven't looked into this, begin by asking yourself, how do I feel after I practice?

I have written about this before so I hope to not be redundant but I can't help myself, sutra 1.20 is a golden one: "shradda virya smrti samadhi prajna purvaka itaresam". 

• We have to have faith in what we are doing; 
• we have to feed it with dedicated actions that get us to the mat every day (healthy eating and sleeping commitments); 
• we must have a VERY strong memory of how we feel when we do yoga and how we feel after; 
• we must have a commitment to discernment of what we are doing (don't just go randomly doing any old type of yoga - that doesn't count - it must be consistent); 
• a sensible goal towards always getting closer and closer to samadhi - a concentrated and meditative awareness towards union with yourself.

These are in my mind the foundational efforts that you must make in order to practice daily. Outline what it is about yoga that makes you feel so great, make a list of the pros of how you feel. Enjoy what you see!

Changing your life so that you can bring something healthy and invigorating into it is a massive change and it will take some adjusting possibly. I too am experiencing this now with pregnancy. I have recently changed my practice from begin a slow yin practice to more of an ashtanga-based practice since I am feeling healthy. This is happening because the same daily practice routine itself created the strength and stamina to allow for this to happen; also, since I am feeling increasingly better in my body and in my mind so it feels natural to build my routine back to a similar practice I had before I became pregnant (believe me, it is modified!).

Changing any plan in your daily life (or practice) takes a long time to adjust. Adding a posture in or taking one away - whatever modification done to an established movement meditation practices requires some getting used to; often it isn't easy to change, especially if we practice on auto pilot and bull doze through our practices without a mindful eye.

Give yourself possibly TIME to adjust to a new morning mysore routine; start small and add on more practices with time. Be practical with your yoga and your goals with yoga - don't let yoga send you into a state of worry. Always, always remain cool headed about starting a daily yogic regime.

Looking forward to seeing more yogis in the morning room up here in chilly Aberdeen. And if you aren't near me come stop by for a visit, I promise you it will be worth your travels.

If you are new to ashtanga yoga, the forthcoming Beginner's Mysore Intensive is February 2, from 2-5 pm at Love Yoga. See you there!

Ten Mysore Tips for Newbies

Recently I taught a Beginner's course at AYS where I highlighted the foundational elements of ashtanga and introduced Mysore style of practice. I had such a fun time sharing my love of practice with others - especially beginners! These are often the students who are most willing to learn, listen, and try something new. Since David is in India, I am running the Mysore program at AYS and it is my goal to help beginners learn the practice. I am teaching another Beginner's Workshop on February 11 - do come!

I love teaching beginners - all I have to do is think about how much happiness my own practice gives me and share what I know to be true: ashtanga yoga is a spiritual practice that allows you to reflect and enter a meditative state in a practical way. The method is superb as well, there is a series and a plan to the glorious madness, and all you have to do is practice. Tune in. Breathe. And take more practice!

Courageous Beginners, snaps to you! May we all have a beginner's mind when we roll out our mats...and be able to listen to the subtle teachings that come from our own daily efforts. Some of the best lessons come from self inquiry. It takes guts - throw that ego out the door; allow yourself to be able to receive the information that comes to you, be willing to learn. Jai-ho!

I still feel as though I am a beginner. I learn more about myself with each practice. With recently completing the third series, I have become a brand-spankin' new beginner all over again. I have had to learn the proper vinyasa, the correct breath and the right dhyana (meditative state). A deep relationship to ourselves happens during yoga practice, but only once we have done it for a long time. So with this, ask me in five years how the third series is going - then I will be able to tell you more about it. After only doing it for six months, it is always a challenge, and each time I practice it, I am constantly learning. Take this information with you, beginner, to understand that this is a constant practice that is evolving.  You as a practitioner will always be learning, always evolving, always going inward and more deeper into the practice. 

Rumi says, "Dig, dig, keep digging. There is water there somewhere."

*****

As a beginner, the first asana is the hardest, and it is called, "get over it asana". This means to take that first step and get on your mat. What is holding you back from learning something new? Whatever that is, it has to go.

Here's a very short list of tips to get you tasting the possible glory of "Supta, Jump!" and begin a Mysore Ashtanga yoga practice. Please comment below if you wanna share your wisdom with others. There is also a great link to Claudia's blog and book below, so this is another glimpse of Mysore-beta.

Ten Mysore Tips for Newbies:

1. Set your practice time to the same time each time you practice; don't think that you are going to step onto your mat "when you feel like it". Do the practice rain or shine, at the same time each time you practice. This will build routine. If it is 5 pm because you're a working mom, so be it. Strive for a morning practice some day. 

2. You need to have your family and/or partner on board so that he or she will help you get your sleepy asana out of bed to make #1 possible. Also, he or she will help you carve out room in your day so that you CAN get onto the mat. You must be supported on this journey!

3. When you add a new practice to your life, you need energy! You must go to bed early. Especially adding an early morning daily practice to your life, you will be tired in the beginning. You have to prepare yourself physically for a whole new challenge. Good sleep is paramount.


4. Start planning out your meals so that you don't eat dinner after six or seven pm...you want a rested belly when you sleep for deeper relaxation, and also, a lighter tummy for the morning's asana practice. This goes hand in hand with #3. Combined with good rest, you also must have fuel: eat three healthy vegetarian meals a day; do not eat before your practice if you are practicing in the early hours.


5.  Commit to one teacher/school when you are first learning. When you start, practice three days a week for one month, progressing to five days a week after. Later, six days a week of continuous practice. 

6. Start doing your research. Learn the names of the postures and study them like you are taking an anatomy course. This will increase your awareness of your own body and influence you to make the positive changes in your life so that you can continue to do this practice and develop a healthy relationship with yourself.


7. Borrow a DVD from your teacher or another student at the yoga school so you can practice and learn at home if you do not go to the shala or a yoga school. This is a wise tool to use if you are doggin' it one day and miss your practice time, or have a hard time getting motivated. This is better than not practicing at all and skipping it altogether.


8. The first two weeks should be repetitive, your initial goal is to feel better and breathe. Move slowly in the practice - don't think you have to learn the primary series in a month! Sun Salutations. Work on these for three days to three weeks. This will give you foundations. Once you memorize the breath and the movements, these will be yours forever.


9. Focus on the basic movements of Surya Namaskar A and B, and learn the breath first. The other practice elements will come later. Especially if someone says to you, "bandha, drishti, vinyasa, dhyana, breath", and you are not sure, speak like an ashtangi and say, "Yes".


10. Take a beginner's series class to begin, or come to the next beginning class on February 11 - 9:30 am at the Ashtanga Yoga School of Philadelphia. Get yourself started on some foundations. Then, you can take practice. If you still can't get a chance to practice at a shala, do what you were taught during that class, 3x a week.


Happy practicing to you, and good luck on your ashtanga adventure.

Here is a great resource on how to start a yoga practice - Claudia's blog and book: SUPER HELPFUL!

http://earthyogi.blogspot.com/2011/04/32-suggestions-how-to-start-ashtanga.html