My method is this.
Import one of my Vinyasa Krama sequence videos into the VLC player and then go through it taking screenshots of all the postures. Import those into iphoto then edit each one, cutting and enhancing so you can see better what's going on, in binds for example. Add the posture name and any notes to each picture then turn the whole lot into contact sheets and save them as a pdf. Convert the pdf to Photoshop so I can add a title and page numbers ( only just worked out how to do this so the first sheets don't have them yet). Finally convert them back to jpeg so I can post them on the blog.
I'm sure there are graphic designers laughing the mulas off at this approach.
The most irritating thing is my printer isn't working (water from leaking radiator came through the ceiling, don't ask, still have saucepans everywhere and no heating!) so it wasn't until I printed a couple out at work yesterday that I was able to see some of the errors and had to go back and redo them.
Still six down but I had to re film one of the longest, Supine, today. Long long sequence, tadasana is long but only ran to around 50 screenshots, Supine is 115. Finally got the pictures into iphoto, next job is to label them all.
Supine was nice to practice again though, made me want to go back and review all the full sequences again. Such a subtle practice Vinyasa Krama and there are so many 'simple' postures that are so hard and that I do so poorly. Perhaps that's the way to go in winter, work on the seemingly simple subtle postures and leave the intricate 'advanced' poses for the summer.
I enjoyed the pace of VK this morning too. Recently I've been doing a short Vinyasa Krama practice in the evening but it's not the same as a long meditative VK practice where this sense of peace slowly envelops you and stays with you for most of the day. Despite the frustrations of this process I haven't screamed at the mac once, big improvement on a few years ago.
Something someone quoted recently ( wont name names as I've mangled the pithy quote) that came from her Ashtanga teacher has been playing on my mind. This isn't how she put it but how it's lodged and played in my mind since. Something about the difficulty of Ashtanga never really going away but that we seek to keep our mind steady and controlled throughout this challenging practice and then try to retain that focus and control of the mind throughout the day, whatever gets thrown at us. I really liked that idea, the practice kind of training you to cope with a hectic and stressful life, hadn't really thought of that aspect of Ashtanga
Here's the actual quote and it's context HERE.Thank you V
"You see, that is your work. That is the yoga: to get on the mat and be the boss of your mind, be present and mindful all the way throughout practice and then stay present and mindful during the rest of your day. You can do it."
...how far off was I ?
Vinyasa Krama goes about it in a softer way perhaps, putting you in this peaceful, mindful state that stays with you throughout the day, perhaps both approaches are useful.
Rambling, no doubt because I can't face labeling. Glad I'm doing it though, good to see the sequences laid out like this, seeing the postures and their relationships at a glance, makes me want to practice and explore them more. So do really I wish I hadn't started it? No, not really.
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8 comments:
Wow, that is a lot of work, and I feel it... I am doing the chanting of the sutras and that one also involves recording plus making video as blogger has still to put a button to just upload sound... good to know that is helping though, that seeing it and being able to compare helps with the practice, at least that is what I am finding too...
P.S.: Sharath has been droping the term vinyasa krama left and right... need to look at my notes again... thought about you every time he did
Hi Claudia, loved your fella's post on your blog, must comment. yes , you know, can imagine your sutra series is a bit or work. all worth doing, was just grumbling yesterday because Supine is such a long series and i had to revfilm it as well as everything else. i think the other thing is that I'm just seeing so many errors and the quality isn't great so there's the awareness that i really should do the whole thing again. But then it's just supposed to be an aid for home practice, nothing too fancy.
Interesting about Sharath using Vinyasa Krama... plus Mohan visiting..... hmmmm, wonder if he'll invite ramaswami to conference next : )
Funny, but I seem to remember, when I first got Ramaswami's book, writing that I thought the Ashtnaga series were Vinyasa Krama and got some flak for it.
Some con ference reports might come out today, be interesting to hear if anyone puts it into context.
One more day and I should be finished and i can catch up on what everyone is up to.
Journalism 101: respect your citations and your references.
"You see, that is your work. That is the yoga: to get on the mat and be the boss of your mind, be present and mindful all the way throughout practice and then stay present and mindful during the rest of your day. You can do it."
http://thehiddenashtangi.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/the-real-work/
My intention V was to show that your quote had played on my mind, shifted about and settled down into something like I presented it. That was why I was careful not to mention you ( I did in the first draft) or your teacher. I even resisted the urge to go back and check how closely I remembered it but the point wasn't IF I remembered it but HOW I remembered it ( not shouting there but no italics : ).
Thanks though for posting the original, mind if I put it in the main body of the post?
Grimmly, thank you, he is funny indeed...
I just went through my notes on Sharath and posted about the conference, but I cannot remember on what context he talked about Vinyasa Krama, I think he just kept repeating "do your yoga" which was the only answer I feel he gave to everything... so it may have been as an interchangeable way of saying the same thing...
Sure.
you're so hard working and dedicated, Grimmly. what you're doing is a labor of love. I don't think your method is that different than what a professional publisher would follow. It might feel that way to you because you're learning as you go and it feels (and is) a LOT of work.
Thank you Arturo, think it started off as a labour of love but ended up as sheer bloody mindedness, think I have RSI on my mouse clicking finger. You really think this is kind of how the pro's go about it, they must be almost Zen like at one point I was working on pranayama while repeating the same sequence of operations.
Anyway all done now, most irritating thing is that i cant print them out and use them myself because the printer is broken from the leak and we broke our mini usb flash thingy so can't take them to the shop for printing.
Tried to practice lotus sequence this morning and thought while doing it that a poster or practice sheet might be a really nice idea : )
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