Guest guest Posted August 29, 2000 Report Share Posted August 29, 2000 we stayed to watch your group again yesterday. i'm not sure i have ever been so captivated and fascinated by watching an event like i was there. it's just so amazing to see so many accomplished yogis doing their practice at once. watching alone is worth the price of attending. you're right, noah and kimberly (from ahimsa yoga in LA) were amazing. we just dropped our jaws the first day watching how deep she got doing padahastasana. it looked like her elbows were going to touch the floor. there's so many others as well. that's the most fascinating part. seeing how some people excel at one area but struggle a bit more in others--even the best ones. trying to pick out who to watch is like being a kid in a candy store.<br>the holding of uth pluthii was tougher the second day--knowing it was coming and that we were going to be played with worked on me (us) mentally. the first day i got to the seven count (about half the full time that he expected us to hold it). the second day i only got to five. thinking about what was coming rather than focusing on the pose did me in. the mind is a powerful ally or enemy.<br>he also made eveyone hold setu bandhasana a long time--a lot of folks let it down. that's a pretty tough one to be played with in. <br>i wonder how many people on this board are at the workshop<br>today on moon day, it's raining--that "never" happens in this part of the country at this time of the year. i hope the people who are at the campsites in the area have tents. it would take some of the fun out of the trip to sleep wet in your car then try and do your practice at 7:00 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2000 Report Share Posted August 29, 2000 Speaking of uth pluthii, I am interested in how long folks are holding this asana (or is it really an asana?) in their daily practice. I believe Yoga Mala says hold as long as possible, and David Swenson recommends shooting for 100 breaths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2000 Report Share Posted August 29, 2000 Guruji was counting to 10 in Boulder, but that was a really slow count. Normally in class I shoot for 25.<br><br>That's just my experience. :-)<br><br>Nada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 15, 2000 Report Share Posted September 15, 2000 I know you are only trying to give those of us who were not there a picture, but unfortunately your accounts of yoga almost as a spectator sport just reinforce an impression that many postings here give, namely that what counts is not yoga but what your body can DO! <br>How do I get into this asana or that asana? If I use drugs, massage, hemp, stop cycling, eat almonds, etc. will I be able to do Supta Trivikramasana?<br>What does it matter? Can you even do a perfect Tadaasana yet? I can't.<br>I was on holiday in Kenya ten or more years ago and the hotel - along with all the others in Mombasa - had a weekly "Yoga Show". You saw lithe African bodies moving easily into more of less any posture in "Light on Yoga", often singing, smoking cigarettes, or eating fire at the same time. Surely this kind of exhibitionism is not what we are all trying to achieve. (And the words "trying" and "achieve" are also quite an indictment, aren't they??)<br><br>I love the postings and dialogue, and would really like to meet you all - but as one of my "floppy yoga" (i.e. pre-ashtanga) teachers used to say "There's nothing to strive for: you have all your life to achieve Paschimottanasana - and if you don't do it in this life, there's always the next ...". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 15, 2000 Report Share Posted September 15, 2000 Great post, skinnda. Achieving the final pose is very overrated, and I think that someone has to realize this on his/her own, through their own practice, in order to fully appreciate this concept. In my practice, "playing the edge" has become my focus. To me, this is where yoga happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 15, 2000 Report Share Posted September 15, 2000 You are of course both completely right. This is a difficult one to learn, though. If you consistently practice at your edge you will inevitably, sooner or later and possibly even in this lifetime, get to be able to do things that look outwardly impressive and that you maybe thought weren't possible for you. Which of course is pleasant and gratifying. And being pleased and gratified is relatively harmless in itself - the trick is not to mistake it for the object of the exercise.<br><br>Me, I'll be pleased and gratified if I can ever do padmasana without hurting my knees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 15, 2000 Report Share Posted September 15, 2000 I enjoy the comments from the tour since I can't be there. I also love watching yoga that's done well!! This form of yoga is nice on the outside as well as the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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