MorningMysore

Hi all,

So 3 responses have come through so far in answer to “What is this practice for you? Why do you show up on the mat, daily? How does it affect or hold a space in your life?”. Reading them, I was touched, tickled, inspired and I realized, whether or not these thoughts end up in the calendar*, that this would be a powerful conversation to have here on MM.com in community. So, in that spirit, the below:

xo
Antonia

* Using quotes from the community would require that there probably be at least 12 pithy quotes that are unique enough from each other to carry 12 months. So, please know we’re in a creative process and there are no guarantees what the final product will be. For now, if inspired, just share what is in you. Thanks.

8/27 Addendum: We’ve decided to accept submissions (deadline 9/9/06) in answer to the above from ashtangi/nis outside the YiY community as well, just to have those quotes as options, so please feel free to pipe in even if you’re not a YiYer. Thanks!

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Why yoga? Answer: Advancing decrepitude.

Ken
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There are so many reasons why I practice Ashtanga…

I don’t feel like this has done justice to the reasons why I practice. I’ve done my best, but words fail me.

SSR

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Yoga practice makes me more aware of what is going in my mind that day and how balanced and centered I am that day.
Yoga practice helps me become more centered and balanced: you just can’t hold certain physical poses without balancing your mind at the same time=) Yoga is a reflection of my life at that moment. Each day is different from another on that same old mat.

I think the fact that ashtanga practice is always the same, on the same mat, helps us realize more all the things that are going on in our body and mind all the time. Since the practice itself or the mat does not change, it is the different and forever-changing circumstances in our lives that makes each practice unique.

Anna-Kaisa

I wrote this a few weeks ago and thought maybe I would share it with the Morning Mysore group…

I was feeling really rotten when I got to Mysore this morning. Today is the first day in a long process of getting my son (actually me, but I will say it is for August) acclimated to going to daycare. My goal was to bring him in for one day this week. I chickened out on Monday and Tuesday, and Thursday and Friday we have house guests, so today has to be the day.

I cried all the way from home (San Mateo) there (Palo Alto). Logic dictates that this is silly, that I have done two months of research and this is actually a great opportunity for August developmentally. It is also good for me to start returning to my old life. Get some of the work done that I so foolishly believed I would accomplish on maternity leave and start getting my family back into a routine. Not to mention actually getting the opportunity to do Mysore much, much more often. However, there was a bizarre panic that my body was feeling. Hard to put words to this sensation, just really an overwhelming ache that has no root at all in the mind. And, for some reason, when I am upset I tend to focus on trying to “do” things. I was furiously running around this morning trying to make sure I had every little thing they could possibly need and transforming my sorrow into hostility for Terence not helping me get everything together this morning. Not that I had asked him to help. He had not even begun to think about what we needed to pack because he wasn’t even sure I was going to bring August in this morning. But, of course, logic doesn’t come into play here.

Luckily, by the time I got to Tia Reina’s (the daycare), there was really nothing left - I was “all cried out”. With dignity and composure I brought the three giant bags of things I had over-packed for the occasion and August to her. I then left as quickly as possible.

I arrived at Morning Mysore afraid that on my first backbend I would burst into tears like I had seen so many of my students do. I was afraid to enter the room. As I poked my head in, my hostility toward daycare, maternity leave, Terence, and the state of motherhood in the United States magically transformed itself into hostility at the layout of the mats in the room. It was like sweet, beautiful magic! I completely forgot about leaving my little buddy with a trusted stranger. For the duration of sun salutations my brain was incessantly returning to our placement in the room. I pick properly? Where should I go next time? What if I come earlier, how will that effect my placement? Do I pick a place where I look face to face with someone? How weird will that be? Do I face the dreaded mirrors? What about when we periodically face the other way, can I really escape the mirror entirely? How do I feel about these new teachers? Why did they do this to us? Why aren’t we all facing east together? What happens to purvattanasana (western facing posture)? Is it really properly named now? Would I get less attention with this position, maybe that is good, maybe not? Blah, blah, blah.

By the time my sun salutations were over I had finally let go of the layout of the room and focused on all the million other things I had to remember (breath, bandhas, rotate this, tuck that). Maybe my monkey mind was finally completely exhausted. After the practice was over, when I finally realized what had happened, it was as if I had the biggest exhale of my life. It’s amazing how we become so very attached, so quickly - from something as profound as a child to the minor obsession of which direction we face when practicing yoga. What a great reminder to just let go.

hi all,

i wanted y’all to be amongst the 1st to know ~ i just launched my 1st photography website a few hours ago!
http://www.divine-eye.com

i’m sure i’ll be diddling with it for awhile before it settles in, but i just wanted to have SOMEthing up. i was up all nite so missed morning mysore but it was worth it.
Pix from a Naked Project shoot with YiY teacher Connie and her daughter Meera are in the opening portfolio. and there’s a pic of Ruth’s daughter Hannah laughing big with foot in the air and hula hoops behind her in the Now portfolio.

antonia

For all interested, I’ll be providing Structural Integration (aka
Rolfing) sessions in the Bay Area beginning this September.

This work is focused on alignment of the body. A series of 10 sessions
is ideal, though individual sessions are possible. This can be a
constructive approach for sorting out long-standing physical issues
(e.g. knee imbalances, lower back issues).

My Background:
30 years bodywork practice in multiple disciplines. Majority of
clientele are yoga and/or sports-oriented. Authorized by Sri K.
Pattabhi Jois for Ashtanga.

Mitchell

Please contact me at smitchellgold@yahoo.com for more information.

[Mitchell asked me to post this, and Ross says hi too; he is currently studying with Kirsten and Michell in Bali and here’s his blog post from there - Philippe]

My wife Jennifer and daughter Megan are performing in the play Li’l Abner, a musical comedy by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, based on the comic strip characters created by Al Capp.

Performances are the next two weekends, and the weekend after Labor Day, August 18, 19, 25, 26, and September 8 and 9 at 8pm, and August 20 and 27 at 4 pm. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for Students and Seniors. You can call (408) 333-9065 to reserve tickets. Performances are at Gilroy High School (Map).