Sunday again.

I can’t believe how fast my time in Mysore seems to be going.

After two days off it was back to led this morning, it was packed, but I still got my usual spot 🙂 Umit asked me how I always get the same spot, I just do, though I have been one either side on occasion. I think it helps Sharath and the Assistants too, so they can look out for you and the things you need help with.

My legs were a bit tight after the 614 steps up then down Sravana Belagola yesterday, forward bends pulled the back of my legs, just a case of not pushing it and plodding through. Hopefully I will be more open tomorrow and able to take more time. The walking certainly tightened my hips and knees up, oh well.

Chanting was cancelled for some reason , I didn’t see the notice and turned up along with a few others and Butter Naan, read about the Muts of Gokalum here

So instead of chanting I went home and played backbends, up from one block again, just that last poxy inch to go.

More familiar AYL faces arrived today, Michael and the Japanese girl who used to come for breakfast, but whose name I never knew, it was she who recognised me.

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Post conference

Conference

Sharath began by talking about how yoga and Ayurveda can be used to heal different ailments, Ayurveda can apparently cure Yellow fever with a 15 day programme of herbs. Yoga can be used to cure ailments such as Bronchitis and Asthma. Just as well as according to the WHO Bangalore is Asthma central, most people had a chesty cough when they arrived in Mysore, so I suppose it’s true that yoga cures as the coughing has died down!

New asana new pain!

Pains are often from previous exercise types, running, cycling skiing etc, these make you stiff in the hips, thighs and knees, its not from yoga, though people then blame yoga for subsequent injuries. Yoga uses the muscles and tendons in a different way and we must give the body the time to adjust. You have to allow the process to happen, not strive for more and more postures. Hurrying makes injury more likely.

Primary series has everything we need to heal injuries.

Enjoy asanas you have, no ego striving for more. Not many people can catch the knees in backbend, or ever will. Perfect each asana, enjoy doing it, be absorbed by it, think about what it’s doing for you. Being able to do 100 asanas doesn’t make you a good yogi.

Sharath said he enjoys each asana in the same way as he enjoys his coffee! He said when we are doing practice and dreaming about breakfast, that’s the feeling of “yearning” we should have for our practice, we should look forward to practice with as much relish as we do the food that follows.

Have the attitude that you know nothing, there are always new things to learn in yoga.

With intelligence asana practice becomes meditative. Sharath said he had days when he would get to backbends and his mind was saying ” I can’t do this today” then Guruji would stand in front of him and suddenly his mind would clear and he would do it, this is the meditative state when you mind is completely in the asana, when the mind is quiet and you lose awareness of your surroundings.

Sharath said he has two reasons for the very long count in Uthpluthi , one to make us use our Bandhas to stay up and two… Because he likes to wind us up!

Lovely sunset again this evening. Lots of beauty in the sky here, sunrises, sunsets and the Lunar eclipse.