Comments for YogaRose.net

Comment on ‘All that you learn you may need to unlearn once you enter a Mysore room.’ by wyattsgravatarwyatt

wyattsgravatarwyatt — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:12:27 +0000

Word. I totally agree. It was exactly that; my mistakes, led to some nasty habits and injury, which led me to seek good teachers (Timji), and then to develop a dedicated practice, with regular check-ins with our elders. Much better now xoxo Love this Blog!

Comment on Kino MacGregor making news in the Ashtanga world — why is this not surprising? by Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:40:30 +0000

I don’t know Kino and assume she has the best of intentions but it seems incredibly naive of her to not have gotten written consent from other students at the Shala in Mysore to be included in a copyrighted commercial video. It’s standard practice at events to have to sign a consent form for your image and likeness to be potentially used for promotional purposes, etc. I had to sign a consent form when I attended the 2013 Confluence for example. I would imagine everyone in the Shala during taping should have been asked to sign a similar waiver. Oooops.

Also, if I found it strange that if people have protested about being in a video without permission why would you then upload that very video as part of an article on a public forum? Isn’t that putting gasoline on a fire?

She seems a bit tone deaf on this issue for sure.

Comment on ‘All that you learn you may need to unlearn once you enter a Mysore room.’ by Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:41:21 +0000

Hi Rose,
Thanks for your kind words. i don’t know if I’m the best person to give advice but one thing I would share is having a dedicated space to practice yoga in was helpful for me.

The other thing I would suggest is to set a schedule/rules, and insist to yourself on keeping it. For example, on Sundays i have a rule that I cannot eat until I practice. I practice in the AM before work during the week and while I do have to miss a day very rarely because of work travel or other obligations, I have also gotten up at 2am to get my practice in and still catch a 6am flight. I guess you just have to decide “I’m going to do this no matter what” and then not worry about the 5 or 6 days a year you miss while on vacation or whatever.

Comment on ‘All that you learn you may need to unlearn once you enter a Mysore room.’ by Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:30:33 +0000

I think your point about a self-led practice potentially leading to more self awareness is a good one. That said, sometimes it takes “mistakes” to increase awareness. For example, while you would never purposely push yourself too hard if you never did it, you’d also have no idea what pushing too hard might look like.

At the end of the day, if people are practicing that’s what seems (to me) to be important. The how is less important. I think by practicing one has the potential to learn what we need to learn. Perhaps that’s what Guruji meant when he said “practice and all is coming”?

Comment on ‘All that you learn you may need to unlearn once you enter a Mysore room.’ by wyattsgravatarwyatt brown

wyattsgravatarwyatt brown — Thu, 09 May 2013 00:18:51 +0000

Rose-
ONE of the fastest routes to injury seems to be inconsistent/irregular practice, especially if you are “trying” hard. Injury from asana is exactly what motivated me to A. develop consistent practice and B. to develop my own personal practice. Much happier now!

Comment on ‘All that you learn you may need to unlearn once you enter a Mysore room.’ by wyattsgravatarwyatt brown

wyattsgravatarwyatt brown — Thu, 09 May 2013 00:18:21 +0000

Jeff-
I like the notion of practitioners taking responsibility for their own practice and well being. I also think that is a difficult concept for some people to fully come to terms with, especially at shalas that do not offer Mysore-style. Many (maybe even most) shalas emphasize a softer, touchy-feely approach to ‘yoga’, without a substantial emphasis on strict fundamentals and dedicated(daily), focused practice. Some degree of pratyahara and strong internal awareness is requisite in order to be in touch with what is actually going on internally, both emotionally and physically. Without this awareness, asana can be dangerous. Mysore lends itself to this cultivation of internal awareness, but it is personal practice where this will bloom most fully, I think. Thoughts?

Breathe on!

Comment on ‘All that you learn you may need to unlearn once you enter a Mysore room.’ by Rose

Rose — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:50:57 +0000

Thanks for sharing your experiences with injuries (or lack thereof) in a led vs. Mysore setting. So true about the consequences of that “by God!” pushing.

And congrats, seriously, on establishing a home practice! I know from experience how challenging that is. Any advice, based on your experiences, for folks who are trying to start up their own home practice?

Comment on ‘All that you learn you may need to unlearn once you enter a Mysore room.’ by Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:55:32 +0000

Although I have a home practice now, my very first day of doing any yoga at all was a led Primary series class, the entire primary series. needless to say that while I “completed” the class i could hardly do any of the postures (I could touch my toes in paschimotanasana for example) and it was overwhelming. That said, I didn’t hurt myself either.

I wouldn’t blame the led class format for any injuries, its most often a student either forcing something or lacking body awareness. Ashtanga isn’t inherently injurious, we students are usually to blame when soemthing goes wrong.

I’ve injured myself twice doing yoga, both fairly minor, and both times it was doing mysore-style practice … and both times i was pushing something i shouldn’t have been pushing because by-God I was going to get into that posture the way I wanted to. I learned a lot from it and my practice is better for it now.

Thanks for this blog, i enjoy it.

Comment on Neti pot fail by Rose

Rose — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:25:28 +0000

Awesome!

Comment on Road to redemption by Rose

Rose — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:25:09 +0000

Thank you. _/|\_