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Yoga for sadists

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Moni wrote<br><br>>? Is ashtanga the most

excruciating form of yoga? <br><br>Quite possibly. Madonna got

into it not long after publishing her notorious book

"Sex". I suspect she got into Ashtanga because it is the

only physical activity more painful than

S&M.<br><br>Cheers,<br>DMCG

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""I’m assuming you mean second series? Primary

series is not THAT tough… ""<br><br>Ahhh, to be so

flexible. Yes, for those that cannot do the first series,

it is that tough. I have done a lot of physically

challenging things in my days, nothing uber-man or anything,

just what most people would consider tough. I've been

to Ranger school while in the military, hiked up and

down Mt. Whitney in 15 hours, trained for and done 10

and 15 k's in respectable but not competitive times,

lots of different things that were hard. I feel as

challenged in doing the first series as I did in any of

those. Well, I was pretty wiped after the Whitney hike

but I didn't train for that.<br><br>There is often a

sort of myopia that goes along with physical

challenges, I fall prey to it myself. It goes something like,

"If I can do it, it's really not that hard." As in,

"I don't see what the big deal is, baddha konasana

is pretty easy, it's upavishta that's really hard"

or any other combination along those lines. It may

be easy for you, that's great. For most of us,

though, it is hard. In fact, for many, doing the first

will never even be possible. <br><br>I've never been

able to find another activity that keeps me at a

truely aerobic level of cardiac output for such a long

period of time in the way that ashtanga does. Running

doesn't, lifting weights, other hard activities, none of

them. I've never done anything where I sweated enough

that my clothes look like I have just jumped into a

swimming pool, where after practice I can ring water out

my towel that I put on top of my mat to soak up my

sweat. It's plenty hard, thank you. After a year and a

half I'm just now getting to the point where my

flexibility has improved enough that my exertion levels are

lower so that I don't overtly dread or fear each

upcoming practice. Now, I doubt it's that bad for

everybody, most probably come to the practice with more on

the ball physically that I have, but I just wanted

you to understand the perspective of us challenged

folk.<br><br>And as far as second series being harder than first,

my wife has done the first half and finds it easy

compared to the first series. She just has the back and

hip flexors that let her do that. Everbody has

something they can do, and that they can't.

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My comment was only in response to “it is the

only physical activity more painful than S&M.” That is

a ridiculous exaggeration. Be that as it may, I do

not consider myself superior to those individuals who

struggle through the series. Some of the persistence I

have seen demonstrated is quite admirable.

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I'm very intrigued by what I'm hearing of

asthanga yoga. I've learned what I know from TV and

videotapes.. I think it's hatha yoga. Mostly Yoga Zone stuff.

The problem is I NEED A CHALLENGE! I'm extremely

flexible, have great balance, and stamina. Is there maybe a

videotape out there that someone can recommend? I

appreciate your help.

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Definitely David Swenson’s Primary Series tape. You can order it from his site

www.ashtanga.net. The beginning segment is amazing; he is absolutely beautiful

to watch.

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"My comment was only in response to “it is the

only physical activity more painful than S&M.” That is

a ridiculous exaggeration"<br><br>If someone has to

clarify for you that that was meant to be a humorous

comment, well, its probably not worth the trouble.

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Boy, feel the love in the room – back to business as usual! I was starting to

get nervous with all the civility we’ve been seeing as of late. Where’s SPW

when you need him?

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>My comment was only in response to “it is the

only physical activity more painful than S&M.” That is

a ridiculous exaggeration. <br><br>I'm sorry. I

meant to say that Astanga is "the only LEGAL physical

activity more painful than S&M."<br><br>Cheers,<br>DMCG

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