Living the Wisdom of Yoga in Modern Times

10 Reasons Why Ashtanga Mysore Style Rocks

1. You don't have to be on time. Most teachers give you a window of time and as long as you arrive within it, you are fine.  You can sleep in and still get your practice on.
2. You can move at your own pace.  You don't have to move with the class so you can move with your breath and take time getting into your poses
3. Personalization for your body-the teacher assesses where you are and works with your body accordingly. 
4. You learn a practice that you can take anywhere-Once you memorize the sequence, you can practice it at home, on vacation, or in your office. You can join any Ashtanga community in the world at any time because they all follow the same traditions.
5. Community- Everyone is sharing the same experience which builds camaraderie and friendships
6. You can get all the help you need-Unlike a led class where the teacher has to keep the group moving,  the teacher works with each student one on one.  Any poses that you don't understand or are stuck on, the teacher will take their time and work with you.
7. Assist, Adjustments, Massage, oh my!-You get lots of hands on attention. 
8. You are not held back for the sake of the group-In led classes, certain skills are not addressed for fear that people who are not ready for it my get lost or hurt themselves trying. In Mysore style Asthanga, your progress is your own. Poses are added as you are ready.
9. You are not practicing poses you are not ready for -In led classes, new students are often rushed through poses and lack a foundation in the basics. In mysore, a foundation is established over time.
10. You leave when you are done-In the same way there is not start time, there is no exit time. When you feel that you have done all that you can for that day, you can leave. In many led classes, poses are added to fill up the time and you wind up over worked and actually deplete prana/energy instead of gaining it. In Mysore Ashtanga, however long it takes for you to complete your practice is personal and different for everybody.

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The Truth about Truth

On the road to enlightenment and self realization, we find lots of books, organizations, paths and wise words. It is human nature to want to accept a dogma that has all the answers that we are looking for because it makes things easier. Who wouldn't want one book or one source they can go too? It cuts down on all the confusion and getting questions answered and  is fast and simple. However, there is always a context around "truth". The environment and the situations surrounding  " truth" colors it so that even "truth" itself is not absolute.

Merriam Webster Dictionary defines truth as:

 

Definition of TRUTH

1

a archaic : fidelity, constancyb : sincerity in action, character, and utterance

2

a (1) : the state of being the case : fact (2) : the body of real things, events, and facts : actuality (3) often capitalized : a transcendent fundamental or spiritual realityb : a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true <truths of thermodynamics>c : the body of true statements and propositions

3

a : the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or realityb chiefly British : true 2c : fidelity to an original or to a standard

4

capitalized Christian Science : god

— in truth

: in accordance with fact : actually

According to the definition above, truth is related to events and has to be accepted by the individual. 

It used to be a fact that people couldn't fly, that Black people were more similar to animals then White people and that the Sun revolved around the Earth.  As people stopped accepting these truths, their minds opened up to new possibilities and they found these truths to be false.

One of the 8 limbs of yoga is Svadhyaya or study of self and of spiritual and religious texts. It is easy to accept and see that we ourselves change daily but what about our most beloved spiritual leaders and religious texts? Has the truth changed as related to them as well? What about our favorite style of yoga or your favorite teachers? Has the truth changed in relation to them as well? If the truth is related to events, does living a modern life or even living in a different environment change what is truth?

Even if we look at the worlds greatest religious books, we find that the truth changes.  The Bible is one of the most important books in the world. All Christians know that the New Testament ratified many of the laws or truths that were in the Old Testament.

Any person who curseth his mother or father, must be killed. (Leviticus 20:9) 

If anyone, even your own family suggests worshipping another God, kill them. (Deuteronomy 13:6-10)

Kill anyone with a different religion. (Deuteronomy 17:2-7)

If a man cheats on his wife, or vise versa, both the man and the woman must die. (Leviticus 20:10)

Thankfully for everyone who does and does not believe in the Bible, Jesus came during the New Testament with a more loving message.

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14:15)

"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matthew 5:44).

Thank goodness that truth does change and has to be accepted or the streets would be littered with dead people killed by those who live by the Old Testament.

So what is a truth seeker to do?  Live in the present moment.  By being in the present moment, we judge our truth according to the facts of today knowing that they may change tomorrow. 

To find truth, we have to tap into our intrinsic being and see what we resonate with at that moment. We can chose to accept what we see with our eyes as our truth or we can accept  that reality can be different and chose another truth.

It is not our job to worry about other people's truths. While we can share our truths, it is a personal choice unique to every one. The wisdom, religious texts and teachings that we receive may turn out to be our truths but in order to find self realization we have to question it for ourselves. If that step is missing, you are not " self realized" you are  "other realized" or you accept other people's truths dogmatically. You are not "enlightened" but "out-lightened". You put on someone else's clothes and they fit but they are not yours.  The wise man uses dicernment and fashions their own garments of truth.

Truth is just want you accept as fact according to the events you see around you.

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Ashtanga and the Gift Of Dedication

"Nothing will work unless you do." ~ Maya Angelou

I always feel that starting my yoga journey with Ashtanga was a gift. I was not told that yoga was a hobby or that it was a feel good activity that you do in your spare time.  From the beginning, I was taught that yoga is not easy. That the transformation that I wanted to see came with dedication and perseverance. Yoga was to be practiced 6 days a week with time off for moon days and “women’s holiday” once a month. Like good parents, my teacher’s were loving but they were also strict. I knew that I would be sore, sick, busy and just downright overwhelmed but Ashtanga’s philosophy is “Breathe free and all is coming.” A gentle reminder that no matter what was going on in my life that I needed to breathe and get on my mat. I was taught that the rewards I reaped from my practice were directly proportional to my level of dedication. Strength,flexibility, peace, good health and enlightenment were all waiting for me as long as I worked for it.

 Students walked into the Shala every day with endless reasons for why they had issues with the practice. Their arms were too short, their hips were too tight, they were too old, too inflexible, they had health issues etc. Yet they were all still given the same prescription.”Get on your mat 6 days a week, breathe deep, set your gaze(drishti), use your bandhas.”  Nothing would work unless they did.

Ashtanga set the stage for my dedication. I knew what I was getting into from the beginning and I was ready for it. I never had any doubt in my mind that getting on my mat everyday would be extremely difficult but extremely rewarding. I knew that nothing would work unless I did.

 When I step off my mat, It take yoga's lessons with me. I know that living my truth won’t be easy. It will take 24/7 dedication and perseverance. There will be days where I will feel that it would be easier to give in to the demands of the world.  However, I have to breathe free and know that everything is on its way and that the present moment is perfect in its imperfection.  I must set my gaze on my vision, root down and hold the energy of my intention at the center of my  being. This is the message of Ashtanga. 

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