I was asked in comments about plans for the year and if I might go to Mysore now that I'm practicing some Ashtanga once more.Well I'm kind of practicing Ashtanga again but it's a strongly Vinyasa Krama influenced Ashtanga. Would I be allowed to do my ten minute tadasana sequence warm up I wonder, or slip in maha mudra, the shoulderstand prep I do, or the long stays in Paschi and the inversions, probably not. But I could live with that of course for the intensity of that room, still love Govinda Kai's pictures and videos of the mysore room.
I'm tempted to go to India this year but probably not Mysore, the JoisYoga thing still sits uncomfortably with me, some of the comments that come out of conference grate a little and, I don't know, perhaps there are just too many people going there now, think I might have liked it ten, twenty years ago.
Rolf in Goa is a thought, he's been a bit of an Ashtanga hero of mine since watching the GURU movie a couple of years ago. But what would I do in Goa, I'm not a beach person, be worse than the pools of Mysore and besides I'm not really interested in having an asana teacher. My asana comes along well enough on it's own, untidy perhaps but a few visits to an Iyengar studio or a London Shala would sort out a lot of that. The advanced asana I'd rather work out myself, that's part of the fun of it.
KYM perhaps or of course to practice with Ramaswami in India if he and LMU run the winter course again. But to be honest I think I rather just go to India for India rather than yoga or at least asana, travel around a bit and just throw a towel down to do my practice each morning wherever we happen to be.
Other travel plans are a couple of mini breaks ( so as not to leave the chinchilla too long ), one to Heidegger's hut up in the German Black forest mountains (I worked in Switzerland for a while back in my traveling days and have recently been craving mountain air).
The other mini break is to Sicily, hopefully Syracuse, but we say that every year.
I put my Heidegger away last year so I could study a little Indian philosophy and literature without him whispering away on my shoulder. Just ordered his Phenomenology of religious life, although he's writing about Christian mysticism and religious experience I'm hoping I'm going to hear him talking about Indian mysticism in the back of my mind. The question, what would Heidegger say about yoga. Heidegger, it's all study of the self, Patanjali would surely approve.
UPDATE. Just had a wonderful call from my Continental philosophy teacher in Greece, best teacher I ever had. It was he who first introduced me to Heidegger fifteen years ago and I've been reading him ever since. Such a nice surprise and quite out of the blue, perhaps it'll be a trip to Athens and Delphi this April, be lovely to see him and his family again.
I also want to fish out my Brain science course books from a couple of years ago and catch up on what's been going on lately in that area, couple of interesting podcasts from the BBC HERE.
the main thing I want to work on is deepening my pranayama and meditation practice. I do them for a little while in the morning but my evening practice has become a little inconsistent over the last couple of months (down to an hour three times a week), want to tighten that up. Maybe, just maybe go on a 10 day vipassana retreat, we'll see.
And as for asana, consolidate my 2nd series ( get back my hands to heels from the air), get rid of that squish in Karandavasana and work on the Advanced series from the David Williams. More interested in those hip opener postures like kandasana and yoga dandasana than deepening my backbending much further. Oh and get that ruddy flip out of Viparita dandasana.
I also plan on spending a day a week practicing a whole vinyasa krama sequence or two, rotating them, just to keep my familiarity, find it so useful having that tool chest to hand. perhaps I'll have a go at putting together a poster of the sequences.
That's plenty to be going on with.
Oh, thought of a couple more....
Write up and review my notes from last Summer's Vinyasa Krama TT course
Get back into some chanting
Clean my Manduka
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9 comments:
Your thoughts about going to Mysore mirror mine completely. When friends go, I read their emails with great interest and a bit of envy, but I'm leery of 'the new guard' and the direction the shala has taken.
I've also thought about Rolf in Goa, but if I'm going to travel that far for a senior teacher, might as well go to Nancy G. in Maui and visit my sisters at the same time. Travel is so expensive, too. And like you, I'm not keen to leave my pet behind for long.
Guess it's hard taking over tha familey business, give the lad twenty years and he'll be fine : )
Maui, did I tell you I was offered a teaching gig there, perhaps I should add that to the list.
H.N.Y. Tony ( ... already getting tired of saying the unabridged version, and I've not even gone back to work yet!)
On trips, and deepening your pranayama practice; have you ever considered Tiwari? Some time with him has been very beneficial for a couple of friends of mine.
Don't the 10 day Vipassana retreats require you to give up ALL other practices for the duration? Now there's a challenge for you. ;o)
That is how I do India..5 times in 6 years and yes...
"But to be honest I think I rather just go to India for India rather than yoga or at least asana, travel around a bit and just throw a towel down to do my practice each morning wherever we happen to be."
Enjoy India for India, and do your practice for you~
OM!
Thanks Steve HNY to you too. I checked out your guy Tiwari but by deepening my Pranayama I basically meant through more practice. Spent a month learning it with Ramaswami and we used to practice for forty minutes every afternoon. These days I mostly do ten minutes in the morning after Ashtanga and twenty minutes in the evening before meditation. Slipped to only three or four evenings a week too, want to get back into the habit of practicing for forty minutes every evening.
Hi Tracy, lovely to get your comment, means a lot. Love the idea of travelling all over and doing my practice wherever I happen to be, to the sounds and smells, the light......
Grimmly, de-lurking again to say: I am *very* envious of your planned trips to the Black Forest and Athens! Heidegger's hut, and the agora! *sigh*
Bloodsugar hi : ) Hunted down your blog last night, haven't posted for a while hope all is well.
Athens trip is coming together hopefully the Agora in May. Of course your philosophy too and 'continental' I believe, saw a reference to Levinas. have you seen the book heidegger's hut, lovely little book, must tell Arturo about it. Hope i can make it this year.
All the best for your practice this year as well as life in general.
Heideger's Hut? will have to look into it. thanks. did he have a meditation/yoga/study hut? haha. i love my little hut.
No Heidegger's hut was built for him by his wife in the mountains and he would go there to write. in the paragraph about it in this post there is a link to the book.
Just saw your latest post on your 'hut' Arturo' looks wonderful.
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