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Sometimes during class I suggest to someone a modification or alteration. Now, before you get your Ashtanga fundamentalist undies clenched in your buttcheeks, usually it’s to reduce exposure to injury or take into consideration physical considerations. On occasion I might suggest to eliminate or remove a pose, or sequence of poses, for a certain length of time. A common response is “I feel like I’m cheating!” Patanjali, a key figure in classical Yoga, suggests in his Yoga Sutras that the purpose of practicing Yoga is to calm, cool, or stanch the fluctuations of the mind. To paraphrase, we practice Yoga to quiet or still the turbulence of our thoughts. (Patanjali’s definition of Yoga may not be your definition of Yoga, which then begs the question: why exactly are you doing this? Not a bad question to spend time with.) The traditional postural sequences of Ashtanga Yoga are a means to allow this experience of Yoga to arise. Sometimes those traditional sequences do not and will not meet your physical situation. Some obvious examples: fused vertebrae; reconstructed knee ligaments; metal bars and rods in knees, spines and/or ankles; resurfaced hips. We are not checking off a to-do list of asanas; rather, we practice an established series of poses as a way to allow the sometimes ceaseless chain of thoughts to come to rest. So you are not cheating by tweaking the sequence to meet your current needs. If the inside of your knee hurts, it is probably possibly time to refrain from lotus attempts If I'm wrong about eliminating, removing, or making a posture easier (for a time), what's the worst that can happen? You remain uninjured. If you're wrong about persisting or pushing through, the worst that can happen is that you help an orthopedic surgeon make a house payment. Hey, you!
Sign up now for the February Intro to Mysore Intensive! There are just five spots! Intro to Mysore Intensive - 2 Week Time: 6:30-7:30 a.m. Days: Monday-Wednesday-Friday Dates: February 3-February 14 Price: $125 Details and to purchase LINK: http://bit.ly/1iqiZ2x
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---MOON DAY: THURSDAY!
No class. ---LED PRIMARY SERIES: LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH, BEGINS FEB. 27 There's nothing quite like practicing together in synchrony. Plus it helps soften those unconscious edges of our practice. With that in mind, there will be a led Primary Series class held the last Friday of every month. This will begin Thursday, February 27 --- Friday, February 28 is a moon day: no class! To accommodate schedules there will be two sessions. First session: 6-7:20, second session: 7:30-8:50. Please arrive prior to class start time. All levels welcome; there is no additional charge for this class. (Subsequent led primary classes will be held on March 28, April 25, and May 30.) ---FEBRUARY INTRO TO MYSORE INTENSIVE The upcoming February Intro to Mysore Intensive will only be 2 weeks long. There are only five spots! Details: Intro to Mysore Intensive - 2 Week Time: 6:30-7:30 a.m. Days: Monday-Wednesday-Friday Dates: February 3-February 14 Price: $125 Details and to purchase LINK: http://bit.ly/1iqiZ2x ---DAVID WILLIAMS VISITS PORTLAND IN APRIL 2014 Mark your calendars: long-time Ashtanga teacher David Williams will be visiting Yoga on Yamhill for a weekend workshop April 3-6. David has practiced Ashtanga since 1973, when he began learning this system from Pattabhi Jois at his home in Mysore, India. He was the first non-Indian to be taught the complete Ashtanga Yoga system of asanas and pranayama directly from Jois. David also introduced Ashtanga to the West when he brought Jois to the U.S. for the first time in 1975. More info and enrollment at Yoga on Yamhill LINK: http://bit.ly/1gyJjTL |
AuthorJason owns and directs Portland Ashtanga Yoga. Archives
February 2018
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