I came home from work at midnight last night, and though I'm back at my desk at 8.30am, I wanted to write a little bit here about what I've been working on, yoga-wise.
Not much.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Not really... I've not had the time to have full-on practices. On Wednesday, I was up at 6am and flew to London just for the day, taking the last flight back that same day arriving home at 11pm. It's been lots of early mornings and late nights like this. We are prepping this big shoot in 1.5 weeks, so the heat is ON.
On top of this, sometimes the insomnia strikes as well... which pretty much cancels out any hope of waking up early to get any yoga practice in, if I've been tossing and turning all night. Well, at least not a FULL practice anyways.
So I have been doing short forms. Not DS' short forms from his book, just whatever I feel like after a few rounds of sun salutes in the primary series. Some days I've done some pranayama and meditation. And even these short 15min or 30min sessions help to centre and focus my mind. But some how I seem to just dismiss these little sessions as "not a real practice". It's all I have time for really, and it does help to centre me, so what's my problem again?
This is the thing with an Ashtanga practice I need to be mindful of... so much of it seems like attaining the next goal "When can I get the next pose?" ...But really, that isn't the be all and end all, is it.
Just do your practice.
So much wisdom in that simplicity.
There've been some interesting Twitter comments on people's thoughts on short forms - that it's not authentic, that it's not yoga, blahblahblah. I mean... Really?! Some practice is better than NO PRACTICE. It's all yoga, no matter what form you're into (asana and beyond). And the way I see it, this is my short-term plan for the state my life is at the moment. I'm not planning on doing a 15min practice daily forever. And even if I do... how is that "not yoga"?
ANYWAYS... Yesterday morning I had time to practice the full Primary series. I've been watching more Kino workshop videos on ArkieYogini's site. This video's the same one Arkie linked to, and because it's so great, I'm re-posting it.
Kino's breaking down jumping back from Padmasana, but the first half of it is pretty much breaking down a regular jump-back. The good thing about me not having a full practice in the past week means that I've been THINKING about the practice a lot. This is one of the videos that has been re-playing in my mind.
Remember how I'm working on getting rid of that foot tap on the mat as I'm jumping back? It clicked a litte bit more after watching Kino break it down.
IT'S WEIGHT-TRANSFERENCE. As you're swinging back, you're transferring the weight into the upper body.
Oh.
I've been focussing on trying to clear the feet through, so I've been thinking "shoot the feet back!" When really, at the same time I should also be leaning forward more too. I've been dreaming of these jumpbacks in the past week and it felt so logical, so easy. So when I finally got to practice fully yesterday, I realized how much harder this is in real life. HAHAHA. As I'm swinging back, my arms are almost straight. In order to transfer the weight forward MORE... I need to bend the elbows pretty much to 90 degrees - hence tipping the weight forward. I had visions of smacking my face flat on the floor as I was doing this. And I actually grazed my chin slightly on the floor.
Also, the other thing is the feet need to be tucked in really, really, really close to you THE WHOLE TIME (extreme core!)
Oh.
Makes sense. Why are my feet tapping/ dragging on the floor? ...coz they're not tucked in close enough to the body. DUH.
The practice continues...
Showing posts with label yoga - jumpback/ jumpthrough. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoga - jumpback/ jumpthrough. Show all posts
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
"Pull Through"
Kaivalya, aka The Reluctant Ashtangi, has just posted a video on chakrasana/ setu bandhasana.
As I liked the way this teacher explained the steps, I snooped around the other videos on this same workshop and found one on "Learning the pull through" - her instruction for jumpbacks. (I've never heard it called that before!)
I'm at the part where I'm at "take it up" as Sharath says, and clearing my feet through, but still tapping the top of my feet on the floor before jumping back. So it's nice to think about how to take it to the next step - rounding the shoulders and back.
But too bad the video stops there!!!
I was starting to do this before I left Sydney - rocking back and forth before jumping back, which kind of helps with the rounded action, but somehow I've forgotten to keep experimenting with this. This is a nice reminder.
The other thing is, I really like her explanation of keeping the energy/ prana/ chi pulled inwards. It adds another dimension to working the bandhas... Y'know, not just "engaging them" by contracting your muscles, but with the intention of keeping your energy focus pulled inwards so you're not all over the place energetically.
Who is she? She rocks!
As I liked the way this teacher explained the steps, I snooped around the other videos on this same workshop and found one on "Learning the pull through" - her instruction for jumpbacks. (I've never heard it called that before!)
I'm at the part where I'm at "take it up" as Sharath says, and clearing my feet through, but still tapping the top of my feet on the floor before jumping back. So it's nice to think about how to take it to the next step - rounding the shoulders and back.
But too bad the video stops there!!!
I was starting to do this before I left Sydney - rocking back and forth before jumping back, which kind of helps with the rounded action, but somehow I've forgotten to keep experimenting with this. This is a nice reminder.
The other thing is, I really like her explanation of keeping the energy/ prana/ chi pulled inwards. It adds another dimension to working the bandhas... Y'know, not just "engaging them" by contracting your muscles, but with the intention of keeping your energy focus pulled inwards so you're not all over the place energetically.
Who is she? She rocks!
Friday, February 5, 2010
The International Laghuvajrasana Conspiracy
I think I must have the words "I lurrrrrrve Laghuvajrasana. Won't you make me do it over and over and over again? Please?" tattoed on my forehead.
Either that, or my teachers in Sydney and Singapore read this blog and enjoy torturing me... or it must be plain obvious from the expression on my face that I actually have a problem with this asana (a problem of the "MASSIVE HATRED" kind)... Or maybe I just plain and simple suck at it.
Oh, hello from Singapore by the way.
The past few days have been a whirlwind of eating, drinking, catching up with family, running errands, running more errands... and I just haven't had the time to really get online and have a bit of a brain-fart here.
Just that I thought it was funny how my teacher here made me do THE SAME THING my teacher in Sydney made me do with Laghu. Go down, come up. Go down, come up. Go down, come up. Go down - find that edge before your legs give up - Come up. Do it again. Again. Again. Again. AGAIN. It's a conspiracy!!
FANG PI!!
I actually said out loud at one point "I fucking hate this pose" after coming up (call me the cussing yogi). Teacher James was right in front of me, assisting with pulling my hips forward. I said it into his face.
He replied "You and almost everyone else." (in essence: GET OVER YOURSELF)
I KNOW I just need to shaddup and DO it. Get over this mental resistance. But at this point, I can't. The moment I'm finishing Ustrasana, doom & gloom sets in and I feel like jumping straight to the closing sequence.
Or just laying down on my mat kicking and screaming and saying "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
But I still have some semblance of dignity. I'm just silently throwing a tantrum in my head. Blech.
Anyways, in today's Primary practice, James got a bee in his bonnet about my jump-throughs. He stuck his leg under me while I was in down-dog, about to jump through to the next seated pose.
Okaaaaaaay. He wants me to jump higher, over his leg.
So I kinda sorta did. Clumsily. (The guy's leg was THERE! How not to be clumsy?!)
But after a few tries I kinda got it. My down-dog's been too short... he made me take my feet further back, which then allows you to jump your hips higher up, which then makes your jump-throughs much more graceful and actually easier in a weird way. (...which will then eventually lead to straight-legs jumpthroughs.) NOW I see how straight-legs jump-throughs could be physically possible. Not that I'm anywhere close to doing it, but the mechanics of it kinda makes sense now. Had a bit of an AHA! moment.
I mean, I had a bit of a mini-pause in mid-air as my hips were at the highest point and I was pressing down through my palms like in a handstand and my bandhas were fully locked and everything felt aligned... and then I felt like a rockstar (OK, not rockstar. Maybe Swenson-esque. Even though it definitely didn't look anything like a Swenson-esque jump-through AT ALL. It just felt like it in my head!)
And then after that, Teacher got a bee in his bonnet about EVERYONE'S jump-thoughs, and stuck his leg under everybody as they were jumping through (there were only 6 of us this morning, so it was nice and intimate). I had a good laugh and almost fell out of headstand because of the distracting commotion of everyone getting Teacher's leg shoved under them.
It's after midnight and I'm falling asleep writing this, so this Cinderella's taking me back to my pumpkin dreams. Apologies if this has been a disjointed post. x
Either that, or my teachers in Sydney and Singapore read this blog and enjoy torturing me... or it must be plain obvious from the expression on my face that I actually have a problem with this asana (a problem of the "MASSIVE HATRED" kind)... Or maybe I just plain and simple suck at it.
Oh, hello from Singapore by the way.
The past few days have been a whirlwind of eating, drinking, catching up with family, running errands, running more errands... and I just haven't had the time to really get online and have a bit of a brain-fart here.
Just that I thought it was funny how my teacher here made me do THE SAME THING my teacher in Sydney made me do with Laghu. Go down, come up. Go down, come up. Go down, come up. Go down - find that edge before your legs give up - Come up. Do it again. Again. Again. Again. AGAIN. It's a conspiracy!!
FANG PI!!
I actually said out loud at one point "I fucking hate this pose" after coming up (call me the cussing yogi). Teacher James was right in front of me, assisting with pulling my hips forward. I said it into his face.
He replied "You and almost everyone else." (in essence: GET OVER YOURSELF)
I KNOW I just need to shaddup and DO it. Get over this mental resistance. But at this point, I can't. The moment I'm finishing Ustrasana, doom & gloom sets in and I feel like jumping straight to the closing sequence.
Or just laying down on my mat kicking and screaming and saying "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
But I still have some semblance of dignity. I'm just silently throwing a tantrum in my head. Blech.
Anyways, in today's Primary practice, James got a bee in his bonnet about my jump-throughs. He stuck his leg under me while I was in down-dog, about to jump through to the next seated pose.
Okaaaaaaay. He wants me to jump higher, over his leg.
So I kinda sorta did. Clumsily. (The guy's leg was THERE! How not to be clumsy?!)
But after a few tries I kinda got it. My down-dog's been too short... he made me take my feet further back, which then allows you to jump your hips higher up, which then makes your jump-throughs much more graceful and actually easier in a weird way. (...which will then eventually lead to straight-legs jumpthroughs.) NOW I see how straight-legs jump-throughs could be physically possible. Not that I'm anywhere close to doing it, but the mechanics of it kinda makes sense now. Had a bit of an AHA! moment.
I mean, I had a bit of a mini-pause in mid-air as my hips were at the highest point and I was pressing down through my palms like in a handstand and my bandhas were fully locked and everything felt aligned... and then I felt like a rockstar (OK, not rockstar. Maybe Swenson-esque. Even though it definitely didn't look anything like a Swenson-esque jump-through AT ALL. It just felt like it in my head!)
And then after that, Teacher got a bee in his bonnet about EVERYONE'S jump-thoughs, and stuck his leg under everybody as they were jumping through (there were only 6 of us this morning, so it was nice and intimate). I had a good laugh and almost fell out of headstand because of the distracting commotion of everyone getting Teacher's leg shoved under them.
It's after midnight and I'm falling asleep writing this, so this Cinderella's taking me back to my pumpkin dreams. Apologies if this has been a disjointed post. x
Sunday, January 10, 2010
The Lola Pendant & More Intense Back Work
When I have time to start designing more jewelry, I'm gonna have to design one with that title... "The Lola Pendant". It will have nothing to do with nubile young nymphs though, and everything to do with the vinyasa-jumpback. HAHAHA! (Sounds like an ugly pendant already!)
Patrick had mentioned Maehle's little tip in the comments from my "take it up the lotus" posts a few days ago, and I've been industriously working at it the past few days.
I've snapped a picture of Maehle's tip on Lolasana for those of you who don't have Gregor Maehle's book. And if you don't have this book, you're missing out! It's a super-duper great reference!
(This is from Page 70 of the book. There's another similar tip at the end of Padmasana which roughly speaks of the same.)
It's kinda making the jumpbacks make more sense to me. I've been doing "take it up" (as Sharath says), and pointing the feet back... then instead of cheating by using one foot to kick off the floor as I jump back (coz who am I really cheating right - Myself!)... the past couple of days I've been swinging on the spot like what Maehle recommends.
I'm hoping by building up that moementum, it'll help me to swing back (yes yes, momentum is still a cheat, but let me use momentum first, then build strength later!) I'm still not fully jumping back and my feet are still grazing the floor slightly as I'm swinging and I'm still slightly kicking off in order to get that final jumpback... BUT!! It's feeling quite different for me already.
For a split-millisecond yesterday, I had a flash of that point where everything connected and the stars were aligned and I actually got enough lift to shoot the legs back to chaturanga. It was only a split-millisecond... and in that time, I also had time to think : "OH MY GAWD. It takes THAT much MORE bandha control to achieve THAT?!?"
And er... this morning when I woke up, my abs were sore (I haven't felt sore in a while, mind you)... the muscles on top of my chest (oh dear, here comes my shocking anatomy knowledge)... I think it's the pecs? The muscle on top of your boobs that connects to your armpits (y'know... the ones that makes those weightlifters look like they have man-boobs) Yeah, those ones. They were also slightly sore today.
Hmmmmm... what am I doing that's new? I'm not sure if it's the Backbendus Maximus new poses I was given yesterday (maybe the sore-man-boobs-muscles could've been from Bhekasana)... but I suspect maybe I'm engaging different muscles with this new way of lola-pendant swinging back (coz I'm rounding the back a bit more and dipping a bit lower at the end of the swing, maybe?)
Today, when I came to Baddha Konasana, I had the thought to "Conserve energy! You've got a bastard of back strengtheners coming up!" (Thanks Susan, for pointing out that those are more like back STRENGTHENERS than backBENDS). Er... I remembered to conserve energy a bit late into the primary series coz I was already at all the supine poses which aren't that tough!
I like Salabhasana and Bhekasana, those are pretty easy to nail. What gets me is that LAST Dhanurasana after the Parsva Dhanurasanas. Coz... the sideways Dhanurasanas kinda knock the wind out of me a little... I'm not pushing at my maximum in an effort to "conserve energy", and also just thinking of which muscles to relax, and which to bend into a little more... but after coming up from the left side-backbend I have nothing left to give that last Dhanurasana.
And by this time, my quads are SCREAMING. It's these weak legs of mine. Grr. I had to take a little rest again before the closing sequence.
As I was starting my practice today, Teacher asked "How are you doing from yesterday? OK" I nodded and said "OK. But it was INTENSE." And today was no different.
PS. Liz dedicated a whole blog post to ME?!? Did you see it? I LOVE IT!!! :) :) :)
Patrick had mentioned Maehle's little tip in the comments from my "take it up the lotus" posts a few days ago, and I've been industriously working at it the past few days.
I've snapped a picture of Maehle's tip on Lolasana for those of you who don't have Gregor Maehle's book. And if you don't have this book, you're missing out! It's a super-duper great reference!
(This is from Page 70 of the book. There's another similar tip at the end of Padmasana which roughly speaks of the same.)
It's kinda making the jumpbacks make more sense to me. I've been doing "take it up" (as Sharath says), and pointing the feet back... then instead of cheating by using one foot to kick off the floor as I jump back (coz who am I really cheating right - Myself!)... the past couple of days I've been swinging on the spot like what Maehle recommends.
I'm hoping by building up that moementum, it'll help me to swing back (yes yes, momentum is still a cheat, but let me use momentum first, then build strength later!) I'm still not fully jumping back and my feet are still grazing the floor slightly as I'm swinging and I'm still slightly kicking off in order to get that final jumpback... BUT!! It's feeling quite different for me already.
For a split-millisecond yesterday, I had a flash of that point where everything connected and the stars were aligned and I actually got enough lift to shoot the legs back to chaturanga. It was only a split-millisecond... and in that time, I also had time to think : "OH MY GAWD. It takes THAT much MORE bandha control to achieve THAT?!?"
And er... this morning when I woke up, my abs were sore (I haven't felt sore in a while, mind you)... the muscles on top of my chest (oh dear, here comes my shocking anatomy knowledge)... I think it's the pecs? The muscle on top of your boobs that connects to your armpits (y'know... the ones that makes those weightlifters look like they have man-boobs) Yeah, those ones. They were also slightly sore today.
Hmmmmm... what am I doing that's new? I'm not sure if it's the Backbendus Maximus new poses I was given yesterday (maybe the sore-man-boobs-muscles could've been from Bhekasana)... but I suspect maybe I'm engaging different muscles with this new way of lola-pendant swinging back (coz I'm rounding the back a bit more and dipping a bit lower at the end of the swing, maybe?)
Today, when I came to Baddha Konasana, I had the thought to "Conserve energy! You've got a bastard of back strengtheners coming up!" (Thanks Susan, for pointing out that those are more like back STRENGTHENERS than backBENDS). Er... I remembered to conserve energy a bit late into the primary series coz I was already at all the supine poses which aren't that tough!
I like Salabhasana and Bhekasana, those are pretty easy to nail. What gets me is that LAST Dhanurasana after the Parsva Dhanurasanas. Coz... the sideways Dhanurasanas kinda knock the wind out of me a little... I'm not pushing at my maximum in an effort to "conserve energy", and also just thinking of which muscles to relax, and which to bend into a little more... but after coming up from the left side-backbend I have nothing left to give that last Dhanurasana.
And by this time, my quads are SCREAMING. It's these weak legs of mine. Grr. I had to take a little rest again before the closing sequence.
As I was starting my practice today, Teacher asked "How are you doing from yesterday? OK" I nodded and said "OK. But it was INTENSE." And today was no different.
PS. Liz dedicated a whole blog post to ME?!? Did you see it? I LOVE IT!!! :) :) :)
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The Move & More on Taking It Up The Lotus
Thanks everyone, I've been overwhelmed by your emails, tweets and comments on my previous post on leaving. It's nice to know that you guys are "there" and I can kinda sorta share this move (AGAIN!) with you.
See how I changed the blog description above? ...I'm now moving "To infinity and beyond!" ...also coz at the rate I'm moving around like a gypsy, there'll be no more space in that blog description for more countries.
Now starts the calls to removal companies, immigration agents (ARGHH! Visas again!!)... just as well it's part of the new year "purge and destroy" mode I'm in... I need to cull out books, shoes, clothes... put things up on eBay, send things off to the Salvation Army and only ship back the stuff we NEED. Oh, and I'm away on a shoot in Brisbane next week too. And Kelly's still in Cape Town by the way... not sure if he's headed back this way again before I leave here. So... ARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Solo packing up SUCKS. (And try solo packing up within 3 - 4 weeks!!)
Breathe.
ANYWAAAAAAAAAAY.
There's been a Youtubing blitz going on here!
Got lots more great videos since I've started fixating on "taking up my lotus". Thanks to you lot, of course! Most of these came from comments on the post. So here they are again, in case you missed them.
Scroll through to 00:49 on one of Guruji's world tours. Yes, that's David Swenson taking up his Navasana into handstands between each asana, and as Liz pointed out... STILL STAYING ON COUNT! If I were the girls on either side of him, I would've stopped and watched him. No, stopped and STARED at him. (And then GLARED at him, thinking "SHOW OFF!" Hehe.)
(OK, so this isn't exactly a take-it-up lotus but it's still cool to watch. So zip it!)
I remember Daydreamingmel mentioning that someone said apparently at one point in Mysore, all the fancy transitions by the advanced practitioners in the Primary series got a bit out of hand and Guruji finally decided "Enough with the circus!" and banned all the fancy transitions. I hope it's a true story coz it's kinda funny. :)
And then here's a kinda grumpy Govindakai in his take-it-up-lotus (is he grumpy coz the camera-lady said "Whatever"?) Hahaha.
(The lift he's got looks like Gregor Maehle's photos in his Primary series book)
Grimmly had a good suggestion of puttng knees up to chest before even pushing off your hands. Tried that today and it definitely helped to make the pose feel "lighter" and easier to lift up from, but HOLEEE MOLEEEEE! How do you swing back so you get a high enough lift?
My knees just keep getting stuck on the floor as I'm trying to swing them back. Yeah yeah... Maehle says something like "lift the tailbone as high as you can"... BUT HOWWWWWWWWWW?
I suspect I may need to tilt forward A LOT more as I'm swinging back, but part of that is conquering the fear of falling splat on my face as I'm trying to uncross the lotus while leaning forward and only having faith in my core and arm-balancing strength. YOGA IS HARD.
The lotus obsession continues...
See how I changed the blog description above? ...I'm now moving "To infinity and beyond!" ...also coz at the rate I'm moving around like a gypsy, there'll be no more space in that blog description for more countries.
Now starts the calls to removal companies, immigration agents (ARGHH! Visas again!!)... just as well it's part of the new year "purge and destroy" mode I'm in... I need to cull out books, shoes, clothes... put things up on eBay, send things off to the Salvation Army and only ship back the stuff we NEED. Oh, and I'm away on a shoot in Brisbane next week too. And Kelly's still in Cape Town by the way... not sure if he's headed back this way again before I leave here. So... ARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Solo packing up SUCKS. (And try solo packing up within 3 - 4 weeks!!)
Breathe.
ANYWAAAAAAAAAAY.
There's been a Youtubing blitz going on here!
Got lots more great videos since I've started fixating on "taking up my lotus". Thanks to you lot, of course! Most of these came from comments on the post. So here they are again, in case you missed them.
Scroll through to 00:49 on one of Guruji's world tours. Yes, that's David Swenson taking up his Navasana into handstands between each asana, and as Liz pointed out... STILL STAYING ON COUNT! If I were the girls on either side of him, I would've stopped and watched him. No, stopped and STARED at him. (And then GLARED at him, thinking "SHOW OFF!" Hehe.)
(OK, so this isn't exactly a take-it-up lotus but it's still cool to watch. So zip it!)
I remember Daydreamingmel mentioning that someone said apparently at one point in Mysore, all the fancy transitions by the advanced practitioners in the Primary series got a bit out of hand and Guruji finally decided "Enough with the circus!" and banned all the fancy transitions. I hope it's a true story coz it's kinda funny. :)
And then here's a kinda grumpy Govindakai in his take-it-up-lotus (is he grumpy coz the camera-lady said "Whatever"?) Hahaha.
(The lift he's got looks like Gregor Maehle's photos in his Primary series book)
Grimmly had a good suggestion of puttng knees up to chest before even pushing off your hands. Tried that today and it definitely helped to make the pose feel "lighter" and easier to lift up from, but HOLEEE MOLEEEEE! How do you swing back so you get a high enough lift?
My knees just keep getting stuck on the floor as I'm trying to swing them back. Yeah yeah... Maehle says something like "lift the tailbone as high as you can"... BUT HOWWWWWWWWWW?
I suspect I may need to tilt forward A LOT more as I'm swinging back, but part of that is conquering the fear of falling splat on my face as I'm trying to uncross the lotus while leaning forward and only having faith in my core and arm-balancing strength. YOGA IS HARD.
The lotus obsession continues...
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
"Take It Up" the Lotus (!)
Today, it feels like my body is starting to feel a little more like it belongs to me. All that holiday feasting has made me quite physically disconnected from er... myself, and practices have been a bit off. So it's nice to start feeling a bit more "normal" now.
I have been watching Sharath's Primary Series DVD. Yes, that's right. Just watching him. Not practising along with it. I think only a Yogadork would go pop on the Sharath DVD and study it. Study him.
Out of all the yoga DVDs I've got, if I could only save ONE from my collection (ie., out of all the David Swenson, Shiva Rae DVDs etc...), I would save this one. (Ask me again in a year's time, it might change).
(Photo credit here)
It's so no-frills and basic and he doesn't even explain anything at all while he's practising. It's even got the cheezy transitions like page-turns and cube-turns (which you're explicitly taught in film school NEVER to use! But it's cute in this basic-no-frills context so you forgive it)... All he does is count and call out the next posture ("Ekam, inhale. Dwe, exhale..." etc). And that's it. Nothing else. It's all shot in the same room too, at different angles. I like how at some points in profile shots, you can see the wall sockets. No attempt to hide it/ beautify it. It just is what it is.
(Photo credit here)
But for me, this works.
Maybe I'm going through a "cut out the bullshit" phase, maybe it's part of the new year "purge and destroy" phase, but it's nice to keep things brief and as they should be (haha, from my Bali posts, you'd never have guessed this, no?)
I like how Sharath isn't the most graceful practitioner. I think this is something Grimmly pointed out a while back too. He is extremely accomplished of course, but there's none of that flow and grace that for example, someone like Kino McGregor has... or even David Swenson has (even though he's tall and lanky and almost awkward, there's a grace about the way Swenson flows through the sequence).
With Sharath, it feels like he just gets on with it and that is all. It's to the point. And it's still so beautiful to watch. I think part of the draw is realizing that "Hey! I don't HAVE to be all flow and grace and it's still OK!"
DUH. Just... Do your practice.
Here's an excerpt from Youtube:
So the past couple days, I've been trying to "apply" some of the seated transitions he does. I like how he jumps through with bent knees (Like me! Yay! I don't need to fixate on straight-legs jumpthroughs!) (For now at least) And for most jumpbacks, he literally just does "take it up" and swings back (Like me! ...but I still cheat and push off with a foot though).
I've been trying to "take it up" in the half-lotus seated postures and swing back while still in half-lotus. Yesterday was dismal, my body had no idea what I was trying to make it do. My legs were splayed everywhere.
Today, however, it seemed to click a little bit more. I'm in no way close to it yet, but at least I'm "taking it up" in half lotus, and then slowly walking and hopping through the jumpback from there. Hey, you gotta start somewhere right. (I've been watching Grimmly's videos too. Some nice examples on his blog, but here's a link to one of his videos!)
I have also been trying (dismally) to jumpback from full lotus. The "take it up" is OK since this is pretty much the Uthpluthi asana. It's the swing back that's HARD!! In Maehle's Primary series book, there's a good series of profile photos after Kukkutasana of how you're supposed to get the tailbone swinging high in the sky in order to get the swingback from full lotus.
Found another good Youtube video of this. He makes it look so easy!
(Hey! I think this is Malaysian blogger, Crazy Cacat in the City!)
I end up having to balance on my knees, bring my arms forward, then clumsily disengage from lotus, one leg at a time before jumping back to Chaturanga. I keep telling myself "BANDHA! BANDHA! BANDHA!" in an attempt to lift myself higher to swing back. But it still feels like there are too many things going on in the transition that my body hasn't "got it" yet with the multi-tasking.
Funnily enough, for once this time, I have patience with it. I know it will happen, it's just a matter of time.
Practice and all is coming.
I have been watching Sharath's Primary Series DVD. Yes, that's right. Just watching him. Not practising along with it. I think only a Yogadork would go pop on the Sharath DVD and study it. Study him.
Out of all the yoga DVDs I've got, if I could only save ONE from my collection (ie., out of all the David Swenson, Shiva Rae DVDs etc...), I would save this one. (Ask me again in a year's time, it might change).
(Photo credit here)
It's so no-frills and basic and he doesn't even explain anything at all while he's practising. It's even got the cheezy transitions like page-turns and cube-turns (which you're explicitly taught in film school NEVER to use! But it's cute in this basic-no-frills context so you forgive it)... All he does is count and call out the next posture ("Ekam, inhale. Dwe, exhale..." etc). And that's it. Nothing else. It's all shot in the same room too, at different angles. I like how at some points in profile shots, you can see the wall sockets. No attempt to hide it/ beautify it. It just is what it is.
(Photo credit here)
But for me, this works.
Maybe I'm going through a "cut out the bullshit" phase, maybe it's part of the new year "purge and destroy" phase, but it's nice to keep things brief and as they should be (haha, from my Bali posts, you'd never have guessed this, no?)
I like how Sharath isn't the most graceful practitioner. I think this is something Grimmly pointed out a while back too. He is extremely accomplished of course, but there's none of that flow and grace that for example, someone like Kino McGregor has... or even David Swenson has (even though he's tall and lanky and almost awkward, there's a grace about the way Swenson flows through the sequence).
With Sharath, it feels like he just gets on with it and that is all. It's to the point. And it's still so beautiful to watch. I think part of the draw is realizing that "Hey! I don't HAVE to be all flow and grace and it's still OK!"
DUH. Just... Do your practice.
Here's an excerpt from Youtube:
So the past couple days, I've been trying to "apply" some of the seated transitions he does. I like how he jumps through with bent knees (Like me! Yay! I don't need to fixate on straight-legs jumpthroughs!) (For now at least) And for most jumpbacks, he literally just does "take it up" and swings back (Like me! ...but I still cheat and push off with a foot though).
I've been trying to "take it up" in the half-lotus seated postures and swing back while still in half-lotus. Yesterday was dismal, my body had no idea what I was trying to make it do. My legs were splayed everywhere.
Today, however, it seemed to click a little bit more. I'm in no way close to it yet, but at least I'm "taking it up" in half lotus, and then slowly walking and hopping through the jumpback from there. Hey, you gotta start somewhere right. (I've been watching Grimmly's videos too. Some nice examples on his blog, but here's a link to one of his videos!)
I have also been trying (dismally) to jumpback from full lotus. The "take it up" is OK since this is pretty much the Uthpluthi asana. It's the swing back that's HARD!! In Maehle's Primary series book, there's a good series of profile photos after Kukkutasana of how you're supposed to get the tailbone swinging high in the sky in order to get the swingback from full lotus.
Found another good Youtube video of this. He makes it look so easy!
(Hey! I think this is Malaysian blogger, Crazy Cacat in the City!)
I end up having to balance on my knees, bring my arms forward, then clumsily disengage from lotus, one leg at a time before jumping back to Chaturanga. I keep telling myself "BANDHA! BANDHA! BANDHA!" in an attempt to lift myself higher to swing back. But it still feels like there are too many things going on in the transition that my body hasn't "got it" yet with the multi-tasking.
Funnily enough, for once this time, I have patience with it. I know it will happen, it's just a matter of time.
Practice and all is coming.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Sharath in Sydney: Week 2, Day 5
I found it hard to concentrate today. Had to extremely consciously focus on the drishti, or I'd find my mind wandering off to random places.
Following yesterday's conference and Sharath's awesome display of bandha control, bandhas were also of particular interest in today's practice for me. And the importance of bandhas was again hammered home to me after sitting in on today's intermediate class.
So before I get into the intermediate class, these were internal observations of my practice today:
1. Jumpbacks
With bandha control on my mind, I was wondering how I'd apply this to my jumpbacks today. I usually lift bum up off the floor (similar action to Uthpluthi), but it's that curving/ rounding your body to tilt it forward before shooting your legs back that I'm still working on. Feels like I'm lifting bandhas up on the lift, but when it comes to tilting forward I can't find how that works yet, then I cheat by dropping one foot on the floor to give me a boost to tilt me forward before shooting legs back. Kinda like KMB's Shuffleback. Feels more like I'm hauling myself through, through sheer brute arm strength than with the ease of bandha control. It's that bloody tilt forward.
(Side note for Liz: I tried looking back through folded legs before, which kinda helped, but got scolded by a previous teacher who insisted drishti should be ahead of you instead. I think I'll go back to trying it your way again!)
So today, I consciously thought of engaging bandhas the whole jumpback (instead of giving up and cheating with the foot) and it kind of made that initial tilt forward a little bit easier. Just a little.
2. Sirsasana
Held till his NINTH count today! Longest yet. So... I don't think I'll be able to hold all 15 counts by the time he leaves (last workshop is tomorrow), but at least it's baby steps to increasing confidence and strength in the pose. Do or don't do, there is no try (why am I quoting Yoda?!) ...so tomorrow, I WILL hang out in Sirsasana for all of his 15 counts.
OK, INTERMEDIATE WORKSHOP UPDATE!!!
First off, while the lights were still off and the intermediate cool kids were setting up their mats and getting ready, it was beautiful with the sunlight streaming in through the windows, so I whipped out my camera and took a shot (I was far away in the back of the hall, so all you could see were silhouetted bodies). And I immediately got blasted by Sharath. He yelled out from the front "NO PICTURES!!"
Eeks! I was so embarrassed. I won't even post the picture here since it's illegal. I feel so guilty I feel like deleting it completely from my camera. Remove all evidence.
There were about 30 people practising intermediate, including my teacher and her 3 assistants (one of them has just recently been authorized to teach! YAY!) It's rather awe-inspiring watching your teachers go through their practice. I have so much respect for them as it is already, and even more so after today.
I realized today that I've never just sat and observed a class. Ever. Even during my teacher training when we took turns teaching, the rest of us would be assisting with adjustments and watching out for the students; there was always something "to do". So it was an extremely interesting experience today just sitting and watching people in their practice.
First off, you can so tell when someone is "in the moment", completely internalizing the practice. Their eyes almost have this glazed over look. Coz when someone is struggling or isn't quite present, you can totally see it in the eyes. It is amazing to watch that moment when someone fixes his/ her drishti, everything looks sharp and in focus, and then the glaze comes over the eyes at that point when they go within. Pretty damn cool.
It was great seeing everyone lined up in Trikonasana and it would've made for a great picture. The alignment even in this basic pose was sometimes a little bit off, but it was interesting to see how different body types end up having different kinds of alignment issues (how someone needs to rotate the torso more, or how someone needs to tilt the pelvis more...) I have a fixation on alignment, especially with my rotated pelvis issues. Sorry for going off-topic here.
Everyone got up to Eka Pada Sirsasana, and then the last row of people dropped off and didn't practice Dwi Pada.
A few people were told to stop at Tittibhasana. While everyone was in the A version, someone was already wrapped up in the B version. Sharath looked up, pretty annoyed and said "What are you doing?" He kept repeating "What are you doing" several times coz the person didn't realize this was directed at them. Everyone else had to hold A version the entire time. He told this person "you stop after this".
B version walk forward & back: Everyone had to synchronize each step to his slow count. I felt their pain!
A couple other people dropped off at Pinchamayurasana. By the time they got to Karandavasana, there were about 18 out of the original 30 left. Out of this group, only 3 were able to do the full Padmasana lift back up. Of course all 3 were boys. How annoying! (Sorry, I struggle with arm balances and like to think it's the guys who have it much easier in these!)
Sharath went round the room and gave everyone else an individual assist to boost them back up again, and this same group continued all the way till the 7 headstands. (I'm struggling to hold my ONE headstand for longer, and now there are 7 more to look forward to. Oh Yippee.) (Of course, that is if and when I get there)
During the 7th headstand, Sharath motioned for the others who dropped off to join the group again, and everyone then went into 3 regular backbends, followed by 3 unassisted dropbacks/ standups.
EVERYBODY could dropback (I'm just thinking of Grimmly's earlier question here). Some people struggled with coming back up again on their own, some people struggled with doing it a 2nd time, but most were dropping back and standing up like they were doing it all their lives. Interestingly, I looked over at Sharath at this point, and he was watching the people who were struggling. I can't tell if he seemed a little distressed or worked up, but the expression on his face was definitely tense. And he was definitely watching the students who were struggling. I don't remember seeing him assisting anybody here - he might have but I might not have seen this.
The energy in the room during the Intermediate class is definitely a lot more serious than in Primary. No jokes from Sharath, it feels like your asana needs to be completely buttoned down before he'll let you move on to the next one.
So, in wrapping up... it was completely inspirational to watch the Intermediate series in action. The amount of strength and CONTROL it takes to do things so seamlessly, so effortlessly. And this also goes beyond just physical strength - you can see how much mental strength it takes as well to master the series. Respect to the discipline and dedication it takes to get there.
Listen to me, I am head over heels in love with Ashtanga again.
Following yesterday's conference and Sharath's awesome display of bandha control, bandhas were also of particular interest in today's practice for me. And the importance of bandhas was again hammered home to me after sitting in on today's intermediate class.
So before I get into the intermediate class, these were internal observations of my practice today:
1. Jumpbacks
With bandha control on my mind, I was wondering how I'd apply this to my jumpbacks today. I usually lift bum up off the floor (similar action to Uthpluthi), but it's that curving/ rounding your body to tilt it forward before shooting your legs back that I'm still working on. Feels like I'm lifting bandhas up on the lift, but when it comes to tilting forward I can't find how that works yet, then I cheat by dropping one foot on the floor to give me a boost to tilt me forward before shooting legs back. Kinda like KMB's Shuffleback. Feels more like I'm hauling myself through, through sheer brute arm strength than with the ease of bandha control. It's that bloody tilt forward.
(Side note for Liz: I tried looking back through folded legs before, which kinda helped, but got scolded by a previous teacher who insisted drishti should be ahead of you instead. I think I'll go back to trying it your way again!)
So today, I consciously thought of engaging bandhas the whole jumpback (instead of giving up and cheating with the foot) and it kind of made that initial tilt forward a little bit easier. Just a little.
2. Sirsasana
Held till his NINTH count today! Longest yet. So... I don't think I'll be able to hold all 15 counts by the time he leaves (last workshop is tomorrow), but at least it's baby steps to increasing confidence and strength in the pose. Do or don't do, there is no try (why am I quoting Yoda?!) ...so tomorrow, I WILL hang out in Sirsasana for all of his 15 counts.
OK, INTERMEDIATE WORKSHOP UPDATE!!!
First off, while the lights were still off and the intermediate cool kids were setting up their mats and getting ready, it was beautiful with the sunlight streaming in through the windows, so I whipped out my camera and took a shot (I was far away in the back of the hall, so all you could see were silhouetted bodies). And I immediately got blasted by Sharath. He yelled out from the front "NO PICTURES!!"
Eeks! I was so embarrassed. I won't even post the picture here since it's illegal. I feel so guilty I feel like deleting it completely from my camera. Remove all evidence.
There were about 30 people practising intermediate, including my teacher and her 3 assistants (one of them has just recently been authorized to teach! YAY!) It's rather awe-inspiring watching your teachers go through their practice. I have so much respect for them as it is already, and even more so after today.
I realized today that I've never just sat and observed a class. Ever. Even during my teacher training when we took turns teaching, the rest of us would be assisting with adjustments and watching out for the students; there was always something "to do". So it was an extremely interesting experience today just sitting and watching people in their practice.
First off, you can so tell when someone is "in the moment", completely internalizing the practice. Their eyes almost have this glazed over look. Coz when someone is struggling or isn't quite present, you can totally see it in the eyes. It is amazing to watch that moment when someone fixes his/ her drishti, everything looks sharp and in focus, and then the glaze comes over the eyes at that point when they go within. Pretty damn cool.
It was great seeing everyone lined up in Trikonasana and it would've made for a great picture. The alignment even in this basic pose was sometimes a little bit off, but it was interesting to see how different body types end up having different kinds of alignment issues (how someone needs to rotate the torso more, or how someone needs to tilt the pelvis more...) I have a fixation on alignment, especially with my rotated pelvis issues. Sorry for going off-topic here.
Everyone got up to Eka Pada Sirsasana, and then the last row of people dropped off and didn't practice Dwi Pada.
A few people were told to stop at Tittibhasana. While everyone was in the A version, someone was already wrapped up in the B version. Sharath looked up, pretty annoyed and said "What are you doing?" He kept repeating "What are you doing" several times coz the person didn't realize this was directed at them. Everyone else had to hold A version the entire time. He told this person "you stop after this".
B version walk forward & back: Everyone had to synchronize each step to his slow count. I felt their pain!
A couple other people dropped off at Pinchamayurasana. By the time they got to Karandavasana, there were about 18 out of the original 30 left. Out of this group, only 3 were able to do the full Padmasana lift back up. Of course all 3 were boys. How annoying! (Sorry, I struggle with arm balances and like to think it's the guys who have it much easier in these!)
Sharath went round the room and gave everyone else an individual assist to boost them back up again, and this same group continued all the way till the 7 headstands. (I'm struggling to hold my ONE headstand for longer, and now there are 7 more to look forward to. Oh Yippee.) (Of course, that is if and when I get there)
During the 7th headstand, Sharath motioned for the others who dropped off to join the group again, and everyone then went into 3 regular backbends, followed by 3 unassisted dropbacks/ standups.
EVERYBODY could dropback (I'm just thinking of Grimmly's earlier question here). Some people struggled with coming back up again on their own, some people struggled with doing it a 2nd time, but most were dropping back and standing up like they were doing it all their lives. Interestingly, I looked over at Sharath at this point, and he was watching the people who were struggling. I can't tell if he seemed a little distressed or worked up, but the expression on his face was definitely tense. And he was definitely watching the students who were struggling. I don't remember seeing him assisting anybody here - he might have but I might not have seen this.
The energy in the room during the Intermediate class is definitely a lot more serious than in Primary. No jokes from Sharath, it feels like your asana needs to be completely buttoned down before he'll let you move on to the next one.
So, in wrapping up... it was completely inspirational to watch the Intermediate series in action. The amount of strength and CONTROL it takes to do things so seamlessly, so effortlessly. And this also goes beyond just physical strength - you can see how much mental strength it takes as well to master the series. Respect to the discipline and dedication it takes to get there.
Listen to me, I am head over heels in love with Ashtanga again.
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