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Hi well alot of people have told me they hate

senior but did not offer any help, so if someone has any

ideas about how to expand someones yoga practice who is

confined to a rural area that will be most helpful. I

asked cuz senoir always has advice on how to make

someones yoga practice better<br><br>much love to you

all<br>Chris

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chris, you're doing fine. one alternative would

be to pool the money you have in the past spent on

workshops and what not and use it to spend one of your

summer breaks in mysore. you can travel and live

relatively cheaply. your biggest expenses would be the

airfare and the tuition. but, the insight you gain would

likely be worth far more

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Hi Chris,<br><br>I've never posted on this board

before, but I also live in an ashtanga wasteland so I can

relate to your question. I think Bored's advice is right

on target. If you feel ready and are able to do it,

Mysore would be better than any workshop! However, if

for some reason this wouldn't work for you, you could

always modify (no! Not the "m" word! ;)) that advice and

spend your summer, or part of it, studying with a

senior teacher in the US somewhere, particularly if

you've "clicked" with any of the teachers whose

workshops you've attended. I'm sure any blessed or

certified teacher would be happy to instruct you for as

much time as you could manage to spend with him or

her.<br><br>It looks to me as though you're doing all that you

can with what you have right now. I know how hard it

is to have to step onto your mat by yourself day

after day, wondering whether or not you're really

getting anywhere. But having that kind of motivation will

pay off for you in time. The fact that you have

sencerity and respect for the ashtanga system means that

eventually the doors to practicing with a good teacher will

open for you, at the right time and in the right

place. Practice and all is coming! :)<br><br>Good

luck,<br>Pretzel

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Hey Chris,<br><br>Yeah,

Senior...Whatever.<br><br>If you can't find a teacher and are interested in

learning more about ashtanga, I think books and videos are

your options. <br><br>I practiced with David Swenson's

primary series video. I got it on Ebay cheap! Here's his

web page. <a href=http://www.ashtanga.net/

target=new>http://www.ashtanga.net/</a> His book is very

good too. <br><br>Now, the hyper-orthodox (Hi Senior!)

will complain about this and that, but I found that

after using this video, I was able to quickly integrate

into more orthodox ashtanga classes, with a few minor

changes from David's video.<br><br>Although I haven't

used it, Richard Freeman's video

(<a href=http://www.yogaworkshop.com/

target=new>http://www.yogaworkshop.com/</a>) also comes highly recommended.

<br><br>There are

some things only a live teacher can give you feedback

about. I would recommend, if you can, making occasional

weekend forays into some city and attending

classes.<br><br>Coming to Mysore would help as well. I'm in Mysore now,

it's nice. I decided not to study with Guruji because

of all the reasons Yoga Nidra outlined (a bit mean

spiritedly :P). After talking to lots of people, I think it

just comes down to your personal tastes. There's going

to be some bulls*** anywhere you do yoga.

<br><br>Here's my two cents on orthodoxy, because you mentioned

that you wouldn't want Guruji to frown on your

practice:<br><br>Asana has two aspects (1) it is a gift to humanity to

make the body healthy, strong, and comfortable.

Ashtanga is a good system for these goals, practiced with

compassion (for your physical body and mind), sensitivity,

and determination. The level of orthodoxy will have

little effect on your exploration of these goals in

life. What is it that Guruji says, 99% practice and 1%

theory? Here's why:<br><br>The second goal of Asana is to

teach you about the mind, body, and breath

interactions. You can learn this from ANYTHING! I've talked to

classical pianists, golfers(!), mountain climbers, farmers,

and anyone who has engaged introspectively in a

practice for many years--all these people have discovered

at least some of Patanjali's teaching on their own.

If Asana is your deepest and longest standing

practice, it will be a good vehicle for exploring this goal

in your life.<br><br>Remember, there are only a few

sutras in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras on asana. This isn't

to say asana is unimportant, but it is vital to keep

it in perspective. It is a tool. <br><br>I, at

least, have a tendency to put lots of mental effort and

physical time into asana.<br><br>I think most people want

the peace and worldview meditation brings, but

meditation is relatively difficult. <br><br>Compared to

meditation, it seems like asana is something we can (somewhat

easily) improve through systematic effort. It makes

sense. <br><br>A little improvement in out theory of

asana can help our practice a lot, but this theory,

like all things has diminishing returns. <br><br>The

last crumb of any individual teacher's orthodoxy will

have almost no value to you as, at the end of your

life, your life flashes before your eyes.<br><br>The

physical health of a daily asana practice, used to work

towards (and hopefully achieve) a meditation practice,

will have tremendous value.<br><br>Keep your mind

free--maybe read some Krishnamurti on this. <br><br>I hope

this helps,<br><br>(Still doing my ashtanga every

day,)<br><br>Will

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