Yoga in the rain, anyone?

Yogini friend Lyn was eager to hear about my evening Mysore practice. It went well, I texted back. Truth is, it was horrible! It was an off day for me right from the beginning: the rain was pouring, I couldn’t parallel park and the only available spot was quite a distance from the shala, I forgot my umbrella in the car and was too far away to run back for it, the instructor was late so I got all cold inside the air conditioned studio.

The six of us were prompted to start our Suryas while waiting for the teacher. Fair enough. When she finally showed she divided us into 3 groups. My partner, Clara, looked like she had been doing yoga for some time already. I’m in good hands, I thought, someone to follow the series from. Nope, we were both taking cues from each other: she would look at me from over her T-arms and I would peer at her from between my legs in Prasarita. It was a complete mess, that didn’t escape the teacher’s eye. So she “punished” us by making us do the series from the TOP every single time we broke the sequence (which was often). Sure there was a flow of energy between me and Clara--we were feeding off each other’s negative energies. But we had a good laugh anyway, and we both knew what to do by the time we reached Shavasana.

“Kayong dalawa, you must repeat the postures every time you lose track of them. This is the only way, you can learn the flow.” Yes, teacher. LYN, don’t be absent ha!

Yoga: Striking a balance between mind and body

Part of my yoga practice is a daily ritual of perusing the blogs of fellow practitioners. It keeps me in the loop and aware of what’s going on in the local yoga community.

An interesting read is the blog of Jon Cagas who discusses a full-spectrum of topics from durians in Davao to his yogic adventures with pals Chona, Jane, Trin and Crissy. His yoga studies have taken him around the globe and have made him a credible resource for the theory and practice of Ashtanga , Hatha Yoga and Pranayama as well as something of a culinary expert in Middle Eastern vegetarian cuisine.

His post today caught my eye and I hope to draw others attention to it. Yoga Sutras Q&A, sheds light on how to approach the yoga philosophy with an open mind. He deconstructs the opening chant, which if translated literally would provoke but in Sanskrit is beautiful and poetic. In class, Jon's voice is deep, booming and heartfelt, as he goes through the prayer line by line so that students may respond and connect with the chant.

Being chiefly a teacher, he spares readers a visit to Indian websites that attempt to explain the sage’s eight-fold path of yoga which yes, can be confounding, perhaps too metaphysical for other denominations. He answers 7 basic questions for the layman in this 2-part series.

Having only started my practice, I’m still at a level which many may consider superficial: I’m doing yoga for self-gratification, to de-stress and escape the demands of my job, to forget about the difficulties of parenthood, to restore the flexibility I once had as a ballet dancer, to perspire and a host of other narcissistic reasons. I’m at a stage where I’m enjoying the physical benefits more than the spiritual. This could be the reason why I can’t memorize the primary series. “Dance with it!” Jon says during vinyasas. Now that, I understand.

If you’re like me—beginning to feel guilty about not being diligent enough—go to this link and post questions. On the surface, I think (and this is my pedestrian interpretation only, ok?) the goal of yoga is to achieve a balance between mind and body. One must be fully-focused and concentrated, stilling the mind and controlling it with a long-term and earnest practice of yoga. Success in yoga comes to the keen and intent practitioner.

Namaste. Practice with integrity!