I take it back, I take it all back! That Ashtanga, and Primary in particular,....don't mess with it, don't tweak it, don't fiddle with it, doctor or accommodate it, don't tease it, bother it, worry it, don't do as the Romans do....
it's just dandy as it is.
Just practiced with Sharath's led from Friday's Joisyoga stream again. Much much better this time, better prepared. Managed to fit my breathing to his count, to play in time. Worked out where I was screwing up the vinyasa, basically stuck with a straight leg jump through throughout. All flowed more smoothly, glorious practice. Thinking about it I haven't practiced like that since the stairwell on the Vinyasa Krama course at 5am before the 3 hour asana class.
Nothing kicks raja butt like Ashtanga and that's kind of the point isn't it.
I still have some issues with the breath.
If it's a breathing practice, then why no time to breathe?
But it was, of course, a led class. In a mysore solo practice I imagine everyone takes it a little more slowly no? But then that pace is important and while lengthening my breath in my own practice this last year I've lost something of the dynamism of Ashtanga, it's tapas aspect (?). I'd want to slow it down just a little, a smidgin, but not too much. It would be OK if you did a good Pranayama session afterwards, really hope that Sharath will encourage/reintroduce that soon.
So back to basics, Primary for a month with this Sharath led ( I captured the stream ), strip it back down, tighten it up and then think about doing the same to my 2nd.
And in the evening my Vinyasa Krama, twenty minutes of the odd VK subroutines, twenty minutes pranayama and twenty minutes meditation.
I might not want to mess with my primary at the moment but still think it's so important to have the VK tool chest if and when you need to ( injuries).
Vinyasa Krama still makes more sense to me as a practice, mainly because of the length of the breath and variety and range of asana, it's integration of Pranayama and meditation. Plus there's the flexibility and adaptability, Ashtanga's not going to be everyones cup of tea.
But for now, in the morning's at least, it's my Lapsang souchong.
Ashtanga, it is what it is and is all the better for it.
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Lovely! I too enjoyed my month with Sharath's CD, very fast no time to think, wiggle or fuss, just get on with it. When I was in Mysore, yes people went a bit slower, to your own breath, get that little bit deeper, but the full led's were always exactly one hour, whether it was with Sharath or Guruji. Wham, bham, thank you maam, is how it felt. Super slow on Utthita Hasta Pada, Navasana, Set Bandhasana, Sirasana and Utpluthih. This past month has really whipped my practice of primary into shape again, thanks to Sharath, strange, but it's really made me want to visit the man ; )
Funny you said what you said about the breathe. My teacher kept reminding me today to slow down, don't sniff the breathe and take a long inhale and SLOW DOWN. Obviously I also have issues with the breathe. And I came to the same conclusion as you - it is what it is and all the better for it. I'm not messing with it anymore. Post here:
http://yoginicory.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/mysore-class-2/
Care to share how you were able to capture the stream? I must say it's frustrating having to wait for the livestream to refresh every time I'd like to practice. Thank you!
Good for you.
The foundation of the practice is the vinyasa: movement linked with breath. Doing it incorrectly throws off the whole practice.
And no one (living) teaches it better than Lino and Sharath.
Is the live stream comparable in speed to Sharath's CD?
Funny you mention the beauty and perfection of primary. I've been thinking the exact same thing about intermediate lately. It is so marvelously designed...
Mysore, January 2012? ;-)
Can see how Sharath's CD must have been a godsend for you this month エスタ. This faster pace is good for tightening everything up, Just spent my third morning with it and thinking of sticking with it for a month, good pranayama session afterwards. Utpluthi is hard, came down after eight, ( the shame of it).
hi Cory, it's difficult to find the tipping point re the breath, want to lengthen it but then also want to keep the pace up. Was working on lengthening the breath this morning but inhaling and exhaling , quicker more forcefully with Sharath's count seemed to work Ok.
Anon. I used snapz Pro X on my Mac
thanks CK, it's coming along. Would still like to take one of Lino's full vinyasa classes one day.
Hello K, I thought Friday's stream was a lttle was slower than I remember, hang on I have it here somewhere. Just had a listen. I think it's about the same, bit tighter perhaps. on the stream he's waiting for everyone to catch up occasionally, especially on jump backs and through (which was throwing me out a little). the CD is perhaps more consistent. might practice with it tomorrow to compare.
I din't actually mention beauty and perfection but rather 'just dandy' and 'Is what it is'. A perfect compromise perhaps (?) and beautiful when practiced well, John Scott and Lino still blow me away, oh and Laruga, watching them primary seems all you'd ever want to practice.
I used to make lists of the asanas I wanted to work on or felt I should work on, the list always seemed to end up pretty much the same as 2nd. I'd winge about the series, it always felt disjointed and awkward after primary but I'm tending to agree with you, it's grown on me. Going to miss it working on primary for a month. Wonder if I'll ever feel that way about 3rd.
Have to say Grimmly, I get a sneaky pleasure when you get inspired by your ashtanga practice again. I'm always amazed by your dedication to the practice (of yoga) and how much of your day you give to it.
To me it would seem really difficult to attempt to follow two different styles of yoga, but you seem to be doing that fairly successfully. But of course I am personally biased towards Ashtanga, and so am pleased when the pendulum swings that way ... :)
Grimmly
Ashtanga has its own unique qualities especially in a led class and if u try to approach a led class with an Iyengar /Hatha/Iyengar approach you will end up in problem .Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga has its own unique nature especially in a led class and like the saying goes when in Rome be Roman ,so when u practice Ashtanga Vinyasa in a led class setting be a true Ashtangi and do not bring any other practice baggage with you as then u will suffer in a group class setting .
When u practice alone at home , u can do a mixture of Ashtanga + Vinyasa Krama etc and that is perfectly ok if u like it but when u come to an Ashtnaga Led Class just follow like a true Ashtangi . That is the reason I prefer to practice at home with a Sharat Led Primary Audio CD .He has a simple straight forward approach to Ashtanaga Vinyasa practice without adding any cosmetic /gymnastic /new age tone to it .
Ha! No, it was me who went to beauty and perfection. I'm not enough of a philosopher to use the terms wisely or carefully. :-)
If primary and intermediate are so beautiful and perfectly designed, I imagine third is, too. A good designer is a good designer.
Hi Susie, re the two practices, Im still convinced they marry, both krishnamacharya after all. The Vinyasa krama/Ashtanga mix works well I think, using the Ashtanga sequence as a framework, I still think it's probably the best practice for me, it's what i would choose to teache.
Can't help it though, did Ashtanga for long enough to get under my skin and it keeps calling me back. It was a bit of a shock Friday that I struggled with it (Sharath's led) as much as I did. Thought that my friday Primary at home was still pretty straight. oh well, it's fun tidying it up, hard though, I ache and it's only been three days ; )
That's the point Krishna, i wasn't trying to approach the Streamed Led with VK or anything else in mind, thought my friday primary was pretty much as it had always been. The shock was how out of synch everything was. But also a sense of renewed wonder at how tight Ashtanga is.
I always liked Sharath's DVD, as you so straight forward, no fuss, economy of movement is the phrase that always came to mind.
yes Poet, such words send philosophers (even mostly retired aestheticians) into a bit of a tiz. Oh and the logician in me struggles with it following that 3rd is (allegedly) perfect too because primary and 2nd are....allegedly.
3rd would be Ok if they dropped a couple of the arm balances, too flamboyant.... in my not so humble opinion.
glad your loving your 2nd......even the duck?
Kind of especially the duck!I don't have it all put together yet, but the pieces are sorting out. It's a relief to get to strength poses after all these years of back bending/flexibility work. More my element. Feels very exhilarating!
Karen I take it back, the live stream is quite a bit slower than the cd. Just practiced with it (the CD ) and he races through. I've clocked them at something like this from first Sury to laying down in Savasana.
Sharath CD 55 minutes
Sharath DVD 65 minutes
Sharath Stream from Joisyoga 85 minutes
Shattered now, can't believe I used to practice at that pace every morning.
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