Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk Flickr via Compfight cc
I had a stellar month of July in terms of yoga. Lots and lots of Ashtanga!
The final tally:
- 5 Mysore classes
- 1 led class
- 1 weekend workshop
What I learned:
- Face my challenges head-on
- Structure pleases me
- Regular practice = gains in strength
- I love Ashtanga more than ever!
I live 80 miles from a shala that offers Mysore-style Ashtanga. That distance doesn’t make it practical for me to practice at a shala regularly. Instead, I have to be committed to a home practice (a woman I met at the workshop let me know about the Ashtanga Home Practitioners network on Facebook — that’s already been so helpful!).
But in July I started teaching a class on Monday evenings at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. So I started to think…I could stay overnight on Mondays and go to Lynn Thomasberg’s Mysore class at One Yoga on Tuesday mornings.
So for four weeks, that’s what I did. I was a little nervous the first day with my limited Mysore experience and being in a new space. But I clearly remember the moment during that practice when the endorphins released and I felt buoyant, energized, and happy. That feeling continued throughout the day.
I finished my last Mysore class yesterday and I was a little sad even before it began, knowing it would be my last one for a while. I will miss the addictive positive energy that comes from a challenging class. I’m already trying to figure out ways to make this work during the school year 🙂
(The fifth Mysore class I did was during the Angela Jamison workshop. That week I had done three Ashtanga classes — a first for me!).
Every time I take an Ashtanga class or attend a workshop, I’m newly inspired in my home practice. Thanks to all the practice I did in July, I have a plan for my daily sessions (prior to this I did whatever I felt called to do in the morning, but that was a little too fluid). I created a calendar in which I do something different each day. For now it looks like this:
- Shortened Ashtanga series (30 minutes)
- Kapalabhati/Bheemashakti
- First half primary series
- Full series
- 2x sun salutations/finishing postures + workshopping particular asanas
What inspires you, in yoga or in life?