A week in review: Poop, Poses, Sharath, Gommateshwara, Wild beasts, and Ayurvedic Massages

Daily posts are better. A lot happens in a day and now I have to mush them all together. I am scrambling to catch up. But I'll try. This sounds like a long post but actually I get distracted and it starts to taper off at the end.

Poop:

There is that scary moment when you are about to crap your pants for real. You feel this curling cold sensation up the back of your neck. It's panic because you know that you could easily loose control of your bodily functions and be stuck cleaning shit out of your pant leg in about an hour's time. Your mind realizes that actually many of your bodily functions happen on their own and if you begin to doubt your ability to control them at this point, you're going to be in serious trouble.

I was farting these real stinky ones at a friend's house. He gave me a very large dose of wormwood extract and grapefruit seed extract because the farts smelled a lot like eggs which could mean giardia and the extracts will kill anything. I drank it down and started the walk home. What I didn't know was that this concoction was like the five point palm-exploding heart technique, five steps out the door and two farts later, I had a fart that was not going to be a fart at all. Gross but true. What's an India story without some dilemma of the bowels?

Okay so I knew I really had to go right away. So I walked faster and then the mind started going and questioning and I started running. I contemplated squatting in the bushes but the possibility of an unexpected meeting with a cobra kept me running. My bowels knew I was close to my house before anything else and a good punch in the belly had me sweating and running faster but running is tricky when you're about to crap your pants so it was more of a quick waddle...Let's end it there. I didn't crap my pants. The end.

Poses:
Yesterday I got parsva dhanurasana, ustrasana, and laghu vajrasana. Today I got a stamp of approval and also got kapotasana.

Sharath:
More on this later. But--apparently we're supposed to read. Imagine! Also we're supposed to be thinking more about the yamas and niyamas. But what are those? Hmm.

Gommateshwara:
Is this big ole statue that we drove a long way to see. We had to walk up the stairs--barefoot--to see it. Fun.

Wild beasts:
The zoo is cool. People are crazy.

Ayurvedic Massage:
Is nice.

So I think it is obvious that I need to be in a quiet space to write. Thanks for helping to shape this post John.

Tittibhasana - A User's Manual

"Be careful what you wish for."

These are the words my teacher says to me with a smile as I stand there after practice, still shaking. Today I got Tittibhasana.

Now this is one of those poses (or clusters of poses, really) that I never EVER really thought I would be doing. I mean, there is always the fantasy of me floating through the air in fifth series postures, but I know that they aren't ever going to happen--except they did today.

I hung out in yoganidrasana as long as possible. Just breathing, hoping I don't know, maybe to hide? Yesterday Guy said that I'd get Tittibhasana today. "No new poses on Tuesdays," he laughs. All day I was thinking to myself how he is crazy and there is no way that that is ever going to happen. At the same time, he gives poses out about as frequently as Sharath, so if you get a pose, you know you are ready for it. Still, I was convinced I might break in half this time.

So there I am in yoganidrasana. I didn't get an adjustment, so I figured I might slip by. I did chakrasana, took a few breaths in downdog and then I heard it, "jump your legs around your arms." Its funny how you always know when your teacher is talking to you, even if it is across the room.

1.) How to jump legs around arms so they land high? I can jump them, but I feel like I can't get my arms deep enough under my thighs. Maybe I should just jump to handstand and then lower down from a straddle on Sunday. Yes, that's what I'll do, no problem.

5 breaths here in Tittibhasana (with pointed toes), then swing legs to the floor around hands.

2.) Feet were too wide apart. They need to be pretty close in to the hands. Maybe squeeze thighs together a bit more?

Then lock hands behind waist and look to navel without falling over. Don't know if my legs were straight. There was just so much going on. And I was laughing involuntarily almost the entire time. 5 breaths here. Then walk.

3. Figuring out how to walk was pretty challenging. The first steps were not steps at all, just little shuffles. Then, I got a momentum. Inhale step right exhale step left. My fingernails were digging into my fingers. My thighs were burning. 5 breaths later, I have to now walk backwards. By this time, I can feel the blood rushing to my thighs. I can feel them turning into jelly. I am struggling to recall the last time I was working this hard. I am covered in sweat. I think I lose my grip and come up for air. I say something like "oh my god!" And then dive back in to finish walking back. I can feel the whole class watching me, I feel like I'm giving childbirth I'm making so much noise. I complete 5 breaths and Guy says, "One more!". I huff and puff and take one more right and left step back. Then the feet come together. I stand up for air. My legs are useless at this point.

4. Saving enough energy to bring heels together, interlace hands around tops of feet, look to navel, AND not fall over. 5 very quick breaths and faith in a teacher later, titibasana. I sigh heavily, probably say, "THANK YOU!" again. I rock back onto my hands, lift my feet, struggle to lift my jello legs, bakasana, jump back. "Next time 5 breaths tittibhasana and bakasana and then jump back". I look at him and say, "That was so hard! You got me this time! I had no idea!" He just smiles. I lie down with all circuits firing. The rest is a blur in the wake of tittibhasana. Back bending, finishing, resting.

I never really thought I'd be doing leg behind the head stuff with confidence, but it is true, just a few weeks later and my neck is a million times stronger. After the initial shock wheres off, my muscles and mind will remember that these poses are possible. Slowly slowly.

Be careful what you wish for.

David Williams is in town for a weekend workshop. I've got a pass for the first night's talk which is not to be missed (and a bit of chat time for the magazine). This is also during the time I am supposed to teach a brand new class. What to do? Sub it out and make a totally bad impression? Teach it and miss out on meeting a legend? What to do?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWdO7RmTs5M

Oh, youtube, how I love you! This is a video I found on youtube posted by ashtangaboi. Enjoy!

Week 3 and 1/2: Getting Settled

I got an apartment! I really like the place. It is maybe a 5 minute walk from the Shala, as well as a lot of different groups of friends. It is in a big, well run building with a reputable landlord. It is all the way on the roof! The apartment is actually a (literal) one room studio with small kitchen area and bathroom (western). Apparently there is hot water on demand, and did I mention that it is on the roof with a killer view? A huge roof, mind you. I've got the place until September 14th, and after that who knows? I'm glad I found a place. I'm sure Alex is as well. I think I'll go buy her some chocolate.

Lunch at Rishi's again today. I love eating here. Rajini (the owner) cooks meals out of her house. So you just walk in and tell her you're hungry and she gives you what she thinks you should eat. It feels a lot like visiting a grandma. They always know best. But she also keeps track of my eating habits. Like, "you barely finished your food yesterday, I won't give too much spicy today. Better the cold salad and lots of chapatis." She also has a small Internet area with 4 computers. Its a bit less expensive here than Anu's.

Anu
Lunch/dinner buffet 100rs
Internet 20 rs/hour
phone 5 rs/minute

Rishi
Lunch/dinner (family style) 70 rs
Internet 15 rs/hour
phone 4 rs/minute

It doesn't seem like a lot, but it can be easy to spend a lot of money around here buying lots of little things all day long.

Practice was good today. Not as powerful as yesterday, but deeper. I go into the breathing in a really heavy way. After, I went to breakfast at Shakti to wish Stina fair well. She's had enough of Mysore for now. She's fairly new to yoga and came just for the experience. On one hand it can drive you crazy listening and seeing 100% yoga all the time, the lack of structure to the days, the endless discussions on what time is the best to eat in order to take a good shit before practice. On the other hand, it is absolutely inspiring to see the dedication and the practice.

Once I was talking to my cousin about how I did a lot of yoga, to which he replied, "I did a couple of poses once, but is so self-centered." I was so busy thinking about myself that I didn't even notice that before. He's so right though. For most people it seems that you cultivate an inner garden and then after it blooms, you take the flowers out. How nice to simply pack flowers in. I think that we get flowers all the time, but to really understand how special they are, we have to grow them ourselves.

Stina is always very concerned about me being in India. She says, "are you sure you're going to stay? You are going to have a very hard time." As much as it may seem that India and I don't mix, I feel like this place is only for me. It can be like a Disney World for yoga students. You can sit on the floor everywhere you go. Sometimes you can even recline. Everyone takes their shoes off at the door. You get to eat with your hands. Everything is super cheap. You can take classes in anything you want. Ayurveda. Chanting. Yoga books. Indian music. You can talk to anyone for hours and hours about yoga. You can meet people that don't say a thing about yoga but will change your life. Scooters are fun. Animals are everywhere. I get to live in my own private oasis.

Student rule regarding the reception of poses #248
Sharath only gives poses on Mondays and Wednesdays.

*shrug*

Always on the prowl for downloads:
Sun salutes and standing:
http://www.tevenei.com/yoga/img/astanga_A_1.jpg

Primary series and finishing:
http://www.tevenei.com/yoga/img/astanga_B_1.jpg

And of course, the post would not be complete without an image of a pose. This is from Advanced Series. Check out more stuff from www.absolutelyashtanga.com