From Anna: How low should you go?

Wow. That clip is pretty remarkable. If Pattabhi Jois' presence translates that clearly through a clip on youtube, I can't even imagine what it would like to actually be in a room with him.... Even if you close your eyes and just listen, the rhythmic nature of his voice combined with the breath in the room is enough to truly transport you. However, when I opened my eyes and saw how low their chaturanga's were, I was in disbelief. It may be the YogaWorks method deeply ingrained in me - 'protect the risk factors!' - but I was wincing just a bit.

(Interesting sidenote: according to the comments posted below the video, Maty Ezraty and Chuck Miller are two of the students in the workshop! Kind of ironic considering their role as Yogawork's co-founders... )

Anyhow, we all know that shoulder vulnerability in Chaturanga Dandasana is widely debated in the yoga community and for good reason. Watching this clip, I don't doubt that every leg is activated and every sternum moving forward - but why must they go sooooo low? Perhaps as an Ashtangi you can shed some light?....

From Liz: Enjoying the Sights.

Funny, this sounds a lot like "do your practice and all is coming." ;-)

And I agree. Sometimes I get really caught up in the outer aspect of a pose, commodifying the end product for my own consumption. But reading your post reminded me to be truly interested in the process; the pose is not a fixed object, but a forever unfolding and fractal experience. The series offers me direction, but only as a framework, the poses are not cages, but springboards for discovery. (Do I sound a bit like a yoga bumper sticker machine?) You know that moment when the pose sort of clicks? Like, "oh yeah, there's trikonasana." It's smug. And ultimately, it's a snake eating its own tail moment: noticing my alignment means that I'm away from the breath, dristhi, "dharana-ness" of the practice. This self-satisfaction is short-lived, because I'm not practicing for the sake of trikonasana (or say, something more virtuosic, to show off like a party trick, in place of lampshade wearing... not that I haven't been guilty of both.).

In a vinyasa sequence, such as the one that I follow, it's easy to just slide from one asana to the next, like each is only a step towards savasana. But I need to stop and see the sights along the way, or I'll get bored with this song and dance. It's like they say about raising kids, that you should "enjoy it now, it goes really fast." You get so caught up in day to day survival mode that you lose sight of the sweetness of each moment. The next thing you know, you have an ornery teenager who won't let you kiss him in public. Terrible Toddler got his head stuck in the wine rack today (don't ask) and I just laughed and thought, "guess this is one of the sights I should enjoy along the way."

In his dvds, Richard Freeman reminds us that "ultimately, this is a breathing exercise." It sounds like an off-hand remark, but it's kind of like footnoting a brief sermon with, you know... the entire Bible. Which reminds me of watching this clip.

Listening to the breath in the room made me cry. Does that make me a big cornball?