Krismas In Kovalom

Dear Katie and Friends at City Yoga,
Happy Solstice and other Holiday Greetings from southern India.

As many Ashtangis already know, there are times in our practice when we just have to be willing to sit back for a while and take it easy - ahimsa for the body - for ourselves. It's often a discouraging to do so because, at least in my experience, a big part of me is driven by seeing improvement in my practice. So when the body rebels from time to time and decides it needs a break I have needed to be ready to hear that message and be willing to accept it. That's where I am again now in my practice. For many of us in the Ashtanga community injuries seem to come and go. In India (as elsewhere) it is common to meet people practicing Ashtanga and begin sharing stories about injuries, past or present. Currently I have overcome an 'issue' with my left knee only to have had to completely modify my practice in order to respect a complaint from my left shoulder. This set-back is personally frustrating because I have wanted to stay as healthy as possible while here - afterall, it IS India. But at the same time this injury offers me an opportunity to reflect on how fortunate I am to be able to enjoy Ashtanga at whatever level of accomplishment or modification. There is also the metaphorical element of things happening on Indian time. the hotel room I stay in promises hot water (24-7), but the first four days the water heater was broken - "no problem sir electrician coming, fixing." Well, yes, I had hot water four days later. Many mornings I wake up and there is no water at all (the hotel 'boy' forgets to turn on the pump and fill the resivoir on top of the hotel so all of the rooms have water). "No problem sir, now pump running, few minutes water coming, no problem." In the bottom line is our ability to 'go with the flow' and accept what is. Whether this is an interruption with a daily routine or an interruption with a yoga practice. In both cases the most important thing is not to lose track of the focus on the breath, the bandhas and the dristi. Then there is total enjoyment of the present moment. I don't think it's particularly easy but it is the constant challenge. always lessons to be learned.

Looking forward to practicing with you all soon.

Jai Mata Ki,
Lars

The Antidote to Holiday Stress

Restorative Yoga - Sunday 12.23 at 5:15pm

Feedback from a student after our last restorative class: "Sunday, after the class, I felt “lighter, softer”. This seldom is the type of feeling I have. Generally, I hold everything tightly and with control, putting large amounts of effort into activities. So, soft and light felt very good. Also, my mind and body were working together, I had time to feel a pose, be that pose. Generally, I can be “distracted” for any number of reasons.

< The next night >Monday’s class was very “full” (of distractions…), but somehow, it was easier to stay within myself, to let my mind and body work, lighter and softer again."

For more information on the ways that Restorative Yoga works click here.

Happy Solstice!

From Wikipedia:

The winter solstice occurs the instant when the Sun's position in the sky is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane as the observer. Depending on the shift of the calendar, the event of the Winter solstice occurs sometime between December 20 and 23 each year in the Northern hemisphere, and between June 20 and 23 in the Southern Hemisphere, and the winter solstice occurs during either the shortest day or the longest night of the year. Though the Winter Solstice lasts an instant, the term is also used to refer to the full day and night (24hrs) within which the event occurs. Worldwide, interpretation of the event varies from culture to culture, but most hold a recognition of rebirth, involving festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations. Many cultures celebrate or celebrated a holiday near the winter solstice; examples of these include Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years, Pongal, Yalda and many other festivals of light.^[1]

Mastering the Basics

Here is the current Mastering the Basics class in there sixth week - they are doing awesome! Sign-up's have already begun for the January session, which starts on January 7th - and as usual meets on Monday and Wednesday nights at 7:15pm. For more information about our MTB course click here.

Eating to Support Your Yoga Practice

This is an excerpt from an article written by Guy Donahaye from the Ashtanga Yoga Shala in NYC. To read the full article click here.

If you look at the ancient texts on yoga they recommend a minimal diet of a little rice, a few vegetables, some mung dal (lentils) and ghee (clarified butter). The assumption here is that the practitioner is spending most of the time sitting in meditation or study and otherwise minimalising activity. However, a diet like this may not be sufficient for someone who has a stressful job or is physically very active.
What is perhaps most important to note is that food and eating are there for the purpose of nourishing the body which has an inate healthy apetite for what is beneficial. Unfortunately, in our modern society, divorced from the rythms and influences of nature, our apetite has become completeley disturbed and confused and all kinds of unhealthy eating habits have resulted.
We no longer know what is healthy to eat, how much to eat or when to eat. We use food for the sake of pleasure instead of nourishment, we eat excessive amounts and we eat all the time. The foods we choose are produced in all kinds of artifcial ways and many kinds of chemicals to stimulate the taste buds and encourage us to eat to excess.
Apart from the influence of food on the body, we find that food influences our mental state to a very high degree and we can thus divide food types into three broad categories:Food which promotes a healthy, calm, focused state of mind.Food which stimulates and disturbs the mind.Food which makes the mind dull.
The right kind of food is called sattvic food, when eaten in appropriate amounts and at the right time of day, this kind of food generates the ideal state of mind for practicing yoga and a healthy body. Characteristics of this kind of food: natural, fresh, organic, easy to digest.
Food we find stimulating may contain caffeine, chillies, refined sugars etc. Although in appropriately small quantities these substances may have beneficial effects for producing certain results, when used in excess they have extremely negative consequences for our system.
Other types of food we use for "relaxation". These foods, full of preservatives and other mind-dulling influences are taken to give a certain "comfort", but also result in very negative consequences for the human system.
In adiition to the types of food consumed, negative consequences result from excessive eating and eating at the wrong times.It is impossible to give a general diet which will suit all individuals. Students will need to develop a sensitivity to what foods are beneficial and which ones harmful. A student who also has a job which involves a lot of physical work will need a more protein rich diet than one who's work is sedentary. One who's work requires great mental effort, or who is exposed to great stress may also require more food.It is a general reccommendation for yoga students that they follow a vegetarian diet, however, for those who have a long history of meat eating, changing to this way of eating overnight may not be possible or advisable. If you are a habitual red meat eater and are wishing to transition to a healthier way of eating, you may start by first substituting white meat or fish and gradually reducing the frequency of meat eating. Equally, if you eat white meat you may transition first to fish and so on.As you start practicing yoga, you will notice that your eating desires slowly change. If you listen to your body, the transition will be healthy and happy.

AYRI in the USA

Even though I had been practicing Ashtanga Yoga for three years in the fall of 2001, I was kind of clueless about what was going on.. or maybe I just wasn't ready. But I was living in Virginia and could have easily gone up to NY to do one of those weeks with Guruji. But like I said I was apparently kind of clueless - and pretty much didn't even know it was going on. By the next summer it seems I sort of had caught on with the system, and upon moving to Spokane July '02 registered myself to attend the five day workshop in Seattle put on by David and Satya. (At that time I did not know them at all.) A friend of mine who I had rowed with (and hadn't seen since the "96 Olympic trials)and whose husband was the rowing coach at UW was going to let me stay at their house. So I had a place to stay and a yoga class each morning for a week, and didn't have a job... so off I went. My first day was less than stellar - I have to admit that upon seeing my two friends from the glory days of rowing and consuming a glass or two of wine I was LATE arriving to the venue where our beloved guru of Ashtanga Yoga was going to be teaching for five days. When I finally found the place, there were seemingly hundreds of pairs of shoes filling the anteroom of a community college gymnasium. The owners of those hundreds of shoes were already partaking in surya namaskaras as I sneaked into the very, very, very back row. After I was finished berating myself for being such an idiot - is seems out of all those 250 people, I was the only one who couldn't make it there on time - practice went along as usual. Because I was in the back row, Saraswathi was walking around and helping us bind etc.. Sharath was in the middle, and Guruji was in the very front. After we finished, as we were laying in Savasana, I noticed that people were starting to get up and go stand in this line, that ended at the three of them sitting up in the front of the gym. As clueless as I was I apparently had enough sense to go join the line and wait for my turn to meet this great teacher face to face. I wasn't sure about the kneeling at someones feet, or kissing their feet or whatever it was that everyone was confidently doing, but I continued to wait. When it was my turn I went over to him and sort of semi prostated myself at his feet, too shy to actually touch them, and then just went the easy way and gave him a hug. His smiling eyes, and his bear hug made me forget all my self-consciousness, and then he looked at me and said "you're here?". He must have thought I was someone else, but then of all things, then he thanked me! Wow, meeting him face to face is such a gift.

Well anyways, as the week wore on I was able to make it there on time. I slowly started to make my way toward the front of the room. One day I unrolled my mat right next to a woman named Fiona Stang who I went to high school and college with back East - which was really remarkable. I became more comfortable with the line, the kneeling thing, and began to look forward to that big hug. Since that time I've gone to see our teacher two other times and now (besides going to India) you all can too! He will be in the AYRI center they have built in the US - this March! I highly encourage you to take this opportunity!

'Tis the Season...

From all of us here at City Yoga we wish you are warm and peaceful holiday season! It has been an honor to share the gift of this practice with you over another year, and we look forward to many more.

During the month of December our classes are as regularly schedule except for the following cancellations, and special classes:
Sunday 12.16 @5:15pm Introduction to Second Series with Katie (please pre-register)
Sunday 12.23 @5:15pm Restorative Yoga with Katie (All-Levels)
Monday 12.24 @9:00am Beginners Flow with Judy(Level 1)
Monday 12.24 @10:30am Ashtanga Inspired Holiday Flow with Katie (Level 2/3)
Monday 12.24 Cancellations: 5:40pm and 7:15pm
Tuesday 12.25 Studio Closed
Monday 12.31 Cancellations: 5:40pm and 7:15

Check the website for special New Year's Day classes, January's Karma class and new classes being offerred in 2008!

Lokaha Samasta Sukino Bhavantu, (May all beings ...

Smiles From Mysore

Dear Katie and Friends at City Yoga
1) My Mysore milestone
2) Shala steps at 4:45 AM
3) Guruji
4) Saraswati
Say Puri!

The shala is surprisingly crowded again. I say surprisingly because it will be closed from 14 December until 5 January and so most of the advanced and semi-permanent people have already relocated to Goa and workshops there with teachers like Sharath, Rolf, Tim Miller and so many others. I have begun starting at 5AM to stay with the early group and their heat. Before the sun comes up these last two weeks the mornings are a comfortably cooler 60 - 65 degrees but the shala is energetically and physically steamed with the 30 - 40 early folks. As the morning progresses, the temperature heats up outside but inside the shala the intensity decreases and there is noticeably less heat in the room. It's very interesting. I really love the early morning starts and hope I can continue them when I get back home. Took more pics today in the shala because I wanted to get one with Saraswati but each time I've tried she has been busy with her afternoon class. Today she was in the office with Guruji and when I asked if I could have a photo with her she said "sure, you are my good student". Only two more practices left for me in Mysore. It's sad. There's so much I know that I will miss when I have left. Planning the return trip already.
Hugs from Mysore, Larsy