HOW TO START A MYSORE PROGRAM, PART I

I had a brief FB conversation with Lisa (and Charles) about how to start, build, and grow Mysore-style classes, and then I was ranting and raving at poor Andrew and Jess the other night about Ashtanga Vinyasa taught in the Mysore-style. Like, for-real ranting.

My experience practicing and transmitting has been a continual reaffirmation that to show the Ashtanga Vinyasa sequence, one posture at a time, suited and scaled to each person's physical and mental conditions at that very moment, is the best way to teach a Yoga asana practice.

Look, we can get into the issue of whether the Primary Series is the most ideal sequence for that person, and we can also get into the shadow aspects of the Primary Series, as well as the implicit assumptions and belief structure woven throughout. But still, this shit really works.

1. Get a space.
To find a satisfactory space is very tricky. This might be the second most difficult part of hosting, holding, facilitating or, god help me, teaching Ashtanga Vinyasa in the Mysore style.

A lot of people just rent a storefront or warehouse space. This means signing a lease as well as a series of other issues with which I have no experience, such as parking, insurance, renovation, maintenance, front desk and employee management, retail, etc., etc.

A lot of the older Mysore studios in the States were in shadier or run-down neighborhoods, simply because floor space was cheap. The Ashtanga Yoga Center in downtown Encinitas, It's Yoga in SOMA in SF, Yoga Works on Third Street in Santa Monica, Ashtanga Yoga Los Angeles in Los Feliz then Silverlake, Ashtanga Yoga New York, as well as tons of others. Some of those places stuck around long enough to watch their neighborhoods gentrify.

I practiced with Noah and Kimberley at their first space, on Sunset in LA. It had cement floors onto which I poured copious amounts of sweat. I believe the place had been a hair salon or barber shop, because when I left I had 8 pounds of hair trimmings glued to my mat.

The actual physical requirements for a Mysore space are small. It's just a room. Thank god we practice a style of yoga that doesn't require elaborate props, such as these belt-and-wall contraptions I've seen at some studios, as well as elaborate blocks, bolsters and blankets. Sure the props are helpful, just not a necessity.

The best yoga prop I use is an old fold-up massage mat that Kristin, a long-time yoga practitioner, donated. The only "yoga" prop I would ever buy is a Swedish ladder or Stal bars.

We have at Yoga Pearl, where Portland Ashtanga Yoga is hosted, stacks of various blocks. I'm not adverse to using them as the situation arises, though I don't see them as essential.

So if you want to rent your own space, you can sign the lease. You might want or need to put down a wood floor, which would then be the main expense.

There are other ways to find studio space, though, some of which might more organically serve the current needs of your community, which, let's face it, might be five people.

I've practiced at many different places during my global vagabondage. Maybe some of these locations might ring a bell with you.

Yoga studios are the obvious go-to. Once, when I traveled to Michigan, I rang the local studio and paid a drop-in to use their space during an open slot. It's not a far cry to then offer to rent the space each morning to hold Mysore class.

Some other places I've practiced that you might consider leasing: Pilates studios (we had to move the "reformer" machines out of the way each morning), climbing gyms, boxing gyms, martial arts studios, dance studios (the mirrors are always a bummer), the Sandcastle Room and the buffet room at the Encinitas Best Western (cigarette smoke in the carpet in the former, breakfast crumbs in my mat in the latter), living rooms in Tokyo and Mysore, of course, as well as on an enclosed roof-top at Monica's house in Auroville.

Regardless of dirt, mosquitoes, carpet, mirrors, or croissant crumbs, hopefully the space is warm, safe and available daily.

2. Let people know about it.
I have the firm conviction that not everyone will want to practice Ashtanga Vinyasa in the Mysore style. But a lot of people come home to this practice as though it were a long-lost friend.

Those people need to know about it.

The obvious outlet is the Internet. Do not waste your time or money with print ads. Register a web-site for $10 on Google Sites, or get a free blogspot, and put up the particulars: time, location, cost, maybe a brief description of what you offer and of Ashtanga Vinyasa and the Mysore-style.

Get that shit on Facebook. You could also try Craig's List. It's free, so why not? (I've never done this, so let me know how it goes.)

For meatspace promotion, you could always flier New Age bookstores (if you've got one) as well as coffee shops.

Finally, maybe the most important detail of all, if you've attended teacher trainings or workshops, tell everyone with whom you attended that you're hosting a space.

In fact, tell everyone you know, period.

Word of mouth is huge.

3. Show up every day.
This may be the most difficult part of hosting a Mysore space. Constancy is the queen of kings. Constancy is also gnarly. But to grow your community, you've got to show up every day, or as you've scheduled. Be present with the people in the room. Be active. Be engaged, whether there're two people or 50.

As a teacher, a Mysore class hums and crackles with more people than fewer. However, I always feel that regardless of how many turn up to practice — and I've taught Mysore class with 2 people and with 65 — these people woke up early, established their intention and their commitment, turned up at the studio, and unrolled their mat(s). I try to meet that intention and commitment with my own.

Just something to be prepared for.

4. No really, show up every day!
This is not a workshop, a retreat, or a hobby. A Mysore class is every day. Be ready for that! It can also be an additional physical demand. In my case, I am moving around constantly for three hours a pop.

Physical burnout is a real issue, and a key symptom of physical over-reaching is mental and emotional fatigue. I can tell when I'm frying out because my desire to get on the mat evaporates.

I define "over-reaching" as when my physical output has outstripped my recovery. The one-on-one exchange of energy in a Mysore setting can be intense and, if you're not careful, enervating instead of innervating.

Personally, I also have my own Ashtanga Vinyasa practice that I tend, as well as other physical pursuits and interests. I try to be careful when I dial up the intensity of each, and I try to get enough sleep and food.

My personal strategy thus far has been to plan or program chunks of time away from the studio once every month or six weeks. This has been a process, though, and not a fixed schedule. The moon days really help in this instance. I try to plan a trip if the moon days fall on several Saturdays.

I also think there's a lot of value if you can offer a Mysore class Monday thru Friday, or even Sunday through Friday, although I know conditions vary.

5. Stick to your guns.

The longer I've done this, the more I've come to realize that it's the rules, boundaries and limitations that we agree on that add depth, value, and ultimately meaning to our practices.

I teach the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga pose-by-pose because I've seen again and again that it's the best, safest, most approachable way to learn it.

If someone is interested in exploring their own sequence or another style of yoga, there are other studios in Portland that are better suited to their needs.

I believe this works best for almost everyone, so I try to explain it to them in this way. If they're interested in practicing, great. If not, then, as I said, there are other studios that can help them.

SPRING POTLUCK APRIL 10

Fellow yogini Ghretta Hynd (and yogi husband Rick and daughter Macy) has graciously agreed to host a "spring" potluck on Sunday, April 10!


Will it be spring by then? Who knows. 


Either way, the usual applies: bring either a food item of your choosing, or just your company.

Significant others as well as children are welcome!

It will run noon-3 p.m.

Location:

4223 NE 18th Street
Portland, 97211

CHATURANGA

Note: I haven't posted here in eons as I'm working on a book, of which the first draft is now complete! Cheers.

I love the practice of yoga asana, so much that quite frequently I drop in at classes around Portland or whichever town I'm in (Bend, Los Angeles, Encinitas, San Diego, et al). I also attend workshops as often as my time, budget and personal interest allow. For example, in January I dropped in at an Anusara workshop by Sianna Sharman here in Portland.

I do all this that I might hear a teacher's wonderful turn of phrase, watch their presentation, or experience their asana sequence. I also like to simply practice with a group of like-minded people drawn together in mutual interest.

There's a lot to refract back through my own daily practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa. It's compelling to me to see and feel the similarities and differences between systems, and to consider what works for me, what doesn't, and why.

I'm not going to talk right now about the fundamental differences between Ashtanga Vinyasa and other systems; rather, I want to focus on the physical presentation of asanas.


The various "key" teachers of the different traditions all observed common physical tendencies in the people performing asanas, and almost all have responded by systemizing alignment cues as to what's "correct" and "incorrect."


These cues are often quite different, though they're all trying to achieve similar goals, whether it's to protect the lumbar spine, the shoulders and wrists, or the knees.


I've heard several variations of cues for chaturanga dandasana. Chaturanga dandasana means "four-limbed staff" in Sanskrit, though you may take comfort and hilarity in that "danda" has also been noted as slang for penis. 

This pose is ostensibly the near-bottom portion of a push-up. The two most strident directions I've received have been:

1.) Keep the upper arm just above parallel. 

2.) Never let the upper arm descend below parallel.

One of Ashtanga Vinyasa's greatest strengths is this lack of directives like these, although this disinterest in anatomy can cast quite a large shadow. Still, a one-size-fits-all approach ignores individual anthropometry, or specific bone and joint characteristics.

I've questioned these cues for chaturanga dandasana for a while because I have trained daily with guys who have performed dozens to hundreds of full-range, chest-to-floor push-ups on a regular basis, many of them for at least a decade. Basically I've observed a population of guys doing with no ill effects what many yoga teachers might consider anathema.

During chaturanga dandasana the hand is fixed and can't move, so the pose is what's called nowadays a closed-chain movement. If the pose is done correctly, musculature is triggered sequentially through the legs, trunk, and the scap muscles. The pose should activate and strengthen your serratus anterior; our friend the serratus anterior works with lower and upper trap to upwardly rotate the scapula.

As you lower from the top of the plank down to chaturanga, you'll get both "core" stability training and proprioception as you resist gravity's attempt to pull your lumbar spine or low back into an arch or extension. It's also a great proprioceptive exercise for the shoulder girdle. 

Chaturanga dandasana ought to help you gain an active range of motion and make you stronger. These are good things. It can be a great asana to perform to maintain or improve shoulder health.

However, poor movement patterns or weakness in this chain caused by poor scap stabilization can contribute to shoulder injuries.

What do these movement patterns or weaknesses look like? If your hips and low back sag to the floor, you're gonna arch your upper back, and your shoulder blades will hike up and tilt forward. This is gonna impinge your rotator cuff. This is not good. This also means you're using your pecs and not your serratus anterior, which is what we want.  

Your shoulder girdle works best when its muscles work together to do their jobs. In the case of the rotator cuff, one of its main jobs is to keep the head of the humerus centered in the glenoid fossa.

I take a simple approach. Do what you need to do to maintain this.

This works best in a Mysore-style setting, where a teacher can watch someone's chaturanga dandasana and then make suggestions tailored to that person's specific needs.

For example, one way to scale down surya namaskar is to use scapula chaturangas, in which the person holds an engaged plank with straight arms. They would inhale and retract the scaps, exhale and protract them, and then, still exhaling, move to downward dog.


Scaling might also mean quarter-chaturangas or half-chaturangas, as the person moves through whatever range they're able to maintain a stable, centered arm position.

It also might mean hands by waist, chest a quarter-inch off the floor — chest below upper arms. Heresy, right? As long as the arm remains centered. Also, hips shouldn't sag, and don't lead with the chin! Meaning the chest would hit the ground first, not the chin or the hips.

Personally, nowadays I like my hands near my waist and my elbows, rather than hugging my sides, out a bit less than 45 degrees (like 30). I also try to actively pull myself down to the bottom, chest almost reaching the floor. I experimented for a while with hands turned to the sides, and also the hands turned completely backwards, which torched my biceps and made for an interesting transition to upward-facing dog.

There's a wide range of possibilities for the way this pose can look dependent on the person's features and their current strength levels.

I teach both led and Mysore-style classes, so I appreciate the need for blanket alignment statements designed to decrease overall risk (and therefore teacher liability), though it's a scattergun approach at best — short on details in order for maximum coverage. The verbal cues in many systems are designed to hit the middle of the class' bell curve. People at either end of the curve are either under- or over-challenged.

A led class is a great way to learn a system and to challenge the dozens (hundreds?) or personal tics and nuances in your personal yoga practice. But to learn one-on-one, pose-by-pose, is really the best, healthiest way to learn Ashtanga Vinyasa, or any system of yoga.

POTLUCK REMINDER: THIS SUNDAY!

Reminder! 


January is always a strong month at Yoga Pearl, as people turn to a yoga practice to help with post-holiday ablutions.

However, by February, winter has sunk its hooks and our tamasic, or more inert, tendencies tend to run a shade stronger.

These are the times when community and conversation play as vital a role in practice as posture and breathing.

To that end, Dawn Uchiyama has graciously offered her house for a pot-luck to be held on Sunday, February 6, from noon-3 p.m.

Dawn lives at 1325 SW Upland Drive, between the Zoo and Sylan exits off Highway 26.


I hope to see everyone there!

Dawn's house on Google Maps.

TWO-FER

This is a two-fer:

The white-noise opening squall of "Nervous Breakdown" still makes my neck-hairs stand up. The song's gotta be 30 years old and still its mushroom cloud anger grabs you by the throat.

Also, Haku was a black cat with yellow eyes. He had three good years with us before the Sickness took him.

NOW UP: PORTLANDASHTANGAYOGA.COM

Hey everyone, Portland Ashtanga Yoga will be running March 1.

Meanwhile, I'm pretty excited to announce that the Web site, portlandashtangayoga.com, is up and running!

More than just the location, schedule and workshop info, it's got a comprehensive FAQ for those of you contemplating beginning a Mysore-style practice, as well as interesting info on moon days.

Click here; tell a friend.

JANUARY 2011 NEWSLETTER!

COMING MARCH 1: PORTLAND ASHTANGA YOGA
To practice Ashtanga Yoga in the Mysore style is to commit to a consistent practice.

To be sure, we each do our own practice. Thankfully, though, we don't practice alone. Even as we move to our own unique breath, in a Mysore class we both support and in turn are supported by one other.

I'm asking new and continuing students to make their commitment to this practice official when Portland Ashtanga Yoga launches on March 1.

I'm honored that Portland Ashtanga Yoga will be hosted at Yoga Pearl, one of the premier studios in Portland.

Morning Mysore class will continue from 6–9 a.m. I've also developed new membership pricing and options to better reflect the choice to commit to this practice.

Yoga Pearl will continue to offer my evening and weekend led classes. If you wish to attend these or other classes at the studio, Jen and Alice (the studio owners) have extended a generous discount to Portland Ashtanga Yoga members.

The Portland Ashtanga Yoga Website is set to launch February 1. It will have scheduling, pricing, moon days, as well as answers to commonly asked questions.

Please contact me with your questions.

AUTOPAY?
I'd like to hear from those who prefer auto-pay to see if this is a worthwhile addition.

BHAGAVAD GITA STUDY GROUP
Here's your chance to dive into the Bhagavad Gita, considered the locus classicus of yoga.

A five-week Bhagavad Gita study group, to be held Sundays in Yoga Pearl's Studio II, will begin January 30 and end February 27. Class time will be 4-5:15 p.m.

We'll cover 3 to 4 chapters of the Gita per class, read our favorite passages, look at various well-known interpretations, and discuss their implications to our own practice of yoga. Perhaps we'll enjoy treats from Prasad.

There's no cost to participate, although I'm asking everyone to show up with J. van Buitenen's translation. A renowned sanskritist, van Buitenen did one of the few creditable prose translations of the Gita.

Here it is at Powell's!
Here it is on Amazon!

FEBRUARY 6 POTLUCK!
January is always a strong month at Yoga Pearl, as people turn to a yoga practice to help with post-holiday ablutions.

However, by February, winter has sunk its hooks and our tamasic, or more inert, tendencies tend to run a shade stronger.

These are the times when community and conversation play as vital a role in practice as posture and breathing.

To that end, Dawn Uchiyama has graciously offered her house for a pot-luck to be held on Sunday, February 6, from noon-3 p.m.

Dawn lives at 1325 SW Upland Drive, between the Zoo and Sylan exits off Highway 26.

Dawn's house on Google Maps.

HAND BALANCE INTENSIVE!
Want to explore key yoga concepts embodied in handstands and hand-balancing? Want to exclusively practice handstands and hand-balancing, either kicking up or learning different hand-balance-based asanas?

Then I've got good news for you: I've got a hand-balance intensive scheduled at Yoga Pearl for Saturday, February 19, from 1-4 p.m.

Attendance will be capped at 12 to guarantee one-on-one attention.

Cost is $50. If there're no spaces left, be sure to get on the wait list!

We'll explore the yogic principles manifested when you stand on your hands, we'll undertake an asana sequence designed to prepare for handstand and hand-balances, and finally, I'll work with each person individually to address their unique and specific needs.

All levels are welcome, whether you've just started to address inversions or can climb stairs on your hands! Be prepared to work! Everyone will come away with practical experience, as well as strategies to improve their hand-balancing and incorporate this practice into an Ashtanga Yoga or other daily practice.

Please visit Yoga Pearl's Web site for more information, as well as to sign up on-line.

MEXICO RETREAT IN APRIL!
We'll be deepening, intensifying, and yet paradoxically relaxing our practice during our upcoming retreat to Xinalani Retreat, Mexico, which will run April 23-30, 2011.

This retreat is gonna have it all: pranayama, led and Mysore-style classes, as well as asana workshop, philosophy discussion, and my favorite Hindu and Buddhist stories and myths.

Did I also mention the location will be an eco-retreat on the beach just south of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico?

Amenities include an on-site spa, healthy cuisine, and oh yes, dear god, the BEACH AND THE SUN.

Surya namaskara, or "bowing to the sun," can be radically difficult during Portland's "spring," when the sky is a ruthless gray mono-cloud. This retreat will be your opportunity to welcome Surya into your life, surrounded by good conversation and community.

Here's more detailed information on the retreat!

Check out Xinalani Retreat Center!

Contact Tara to inquire about availability, or to get on the waiting list.

PRACTICE NOTES!
I practice and teach Ashtanga Yoga as taught by Pattabhi Jois and in turn Tim Miller, one of his most senior, beloved students as well as my teacher. Both gentlemen repeatedly emphasize that "Ashtanga Yoga is Patanjali Yoga" as an invitation to explore the philosophical aspects of this practice.

Patanjali, in book II of his Yoga Sutras, suggests that there are three components to kriya yoga, or the yoga of action: tapas, svadhyaya, and isvara pranidhanani.

Generally translated, tapas means "disciplined practice," svadhyaya as "self study," while isvara pranidhanani means "surrender to Source" or to "the Lord."

Patanjali has suggested that a yoga of action is one that encompasses our body, our minds, and our hearts.

The relationship between tapasya, svadhyaya, and isvara pranidhana — as well as between our bodies, minds and hearts — aren't merely different "pieces" or "parts." That metaphor doesn't fully convey their true interdependence. Each contains and is in turn contained by the other two.

Most of you address tapas (literally "heat") daily, simply by practicing in the Mysore style. Perhaps you offer the results of your practice to whatever you feel to be at once larger, yet nothing other, than your deepest self.

These two aspects of kriya yoga may give rise to svadhyaya, or self-reflection — though you will realize at once that svadhyaya has always been there, and in fact, may be why you came to a yoga class in the first place.

If you're interested in reading about yoga, I've recently finished several books that I can recommend to further gird your self-study.

The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation with Commentary by Chip Hartranft
The Yoga Body by Mark Singleton
Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings by A.G. Mohan

CONVENTIONAL ASANA WISDOM

Can any sport physios, MDs, or PTs out there chime in?

I'm interested to hear about empirical or practical experience with regards to:

1. Chaturanga dandasana, specifically the directive to not let your shoulders sink below your elbows, or to always keep your triceps parallel to the floor.

2. Utkatasana, to tuck in the tail.

I'm curious as to whether these directives are still valid in 2010.

If anyone has any other alignment-related cues they're curious about, post 'em in the comments.

DECEMBER 2010 NEWSLETTER

WE'RE BACK!

It was a privilege, an inspiration, and an honor to visit Mysore Tokyo. My friend Tarik is a brilliant, charismatic teacher. He's spent a lot of time in Mysore, India, as well as with many long-time
Ashtanga teachers. He's also fluent in conversational Japanese, and his space is in Shibuya, minutes from the city's second largest train station.

Suffice to say the space was utterly packed each and every morning, and next to the Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, India, it may be the busiest morning Mysore program in the world. Tarik's students practice so diligently and so earnestly that it brought an unexpected surge of devotion to my own practices.

It's been even more wonderful to return to Portland. I'm a little hazy with jet lag — waiting, as William Gibson put it, for my soul to snap back into my body — though I'm recharged and re-energized to resume my classes.

Thank you very much to John Haag, who so ably and terrifically held down the space for Mysore and led classes to continue in my absence. I've gotten a ton of positive comments about him.

I look forward to seeing everyone in class soon!

NEW CLASSES
As of Sunday, December 5, we've added a new class to the Yoga Pearl schedule! The new Guided Intermediate class runs from 8–9:30 a.m. You must practice to at least dwi pada sirsasana to attend; there're a couple other
performance-based criteria as well, such as competency in primary series as well performance of its key asanas. Email me if you're in doubt. We've shifted the schedule to accommodate the new class. Led Primary now runs at a much more humane hour, 10–11:30 a.m.

HAND BALANCE INTENSIVE

Shoulder-angle check in Meiji-dori Park.

Want to work exclusively on handstands and hand-balancing? I've got a hand balance intensive scheduled at Yoga Pearl for Saturday, February 19, from 1-4 p.m.

Attendance will be capped at 12 to guarantee one-on-one attention.

Cost is $50. Reserve your spot today, or get on the wait list!

We'll explore the yogic principles manifested when you stand on your hands, we'll undertake an asana sequence designed to prepare for handstand and hand-balances, and finally, I'll work with each person individually to address their unique and specific needs.

Everyone will come away with practical experience of several key yogic concepts, as well as strategies to improve their hand-balancing and incorporate it into an Ashtanga vinyasa practice

MEXICO IN APRIL 2011

We still have spots left for our Xinalani Retreat, which will run
April 23-30, 2011!

It's gonna have it all: pranayama, led or Mysore class, asana
workshop, philosophy discussion, and stories and myths.

Did I also mention it's an eco-retreat on the beach in Puerto
Vallarta, Mexico? Amenities include an on-site spa, healthy cuisine,
and oh yes THE BEACH AND THE SUN.

More detailed information on the retreat!

Check out Xinalani Retreat Center!

Contact Tara to reserve your space today, or to get on the waiting list.

TOKYO 2010 SNAPS

The Big Guy watches.

Where the magic happens, et cetera et cetera.

My favorite people. This includes Green Lantern.

Shoulder angle check? Still a little ear visible. Back to work.

Color coded. Also: pink blocks are SO hot.

2010 TRAVEL UPDATE: ENCINITAS, LOS ANGELES, TOKYO

Well True Believers, I spent last Friday in Encinitas. Tara and I practiced at the studio on Friday morning — full power!

Later, Andrew prepared sambar, dosas and idli ... it was great to reconnect with him.

Many of the relationships I have developed through Ashtanga run deep — unfortunately, it's a global community, and we're all very spread out. I wish I could spend more time with Andrew and many of my friends around the world, so it's a bit sad. The distance really sharpens the joy of being with them, though.

On Saturday, Tara and I drove to Santa Monica to swing on the rings, climb the ropes, and do handstands on the grass. After, we headed to another friend's wedding. The service was on the lake in Echo Park, and the reception was in the Echo Park Rec Center. It was a mega-blast.

We drove back to San Diego on Saturday night, and I left for Tokyo the next morning. Now, one week later, I've managed to slough off most of the jet-lag. I'm still having trouble sleeping past 4 a.m., though.

Ashtanga yoga thrives in Tokyo. I was last here 2 years ago, and am pleasantly surprised to find so many familiar faces still practicing at the studio. There are no dilettantes. It's simply stunning to see the degree of transformation that's taken place.

I've been very inspired by the Japanese dedication and devotion, so much so that my own time on the mat has been deep, rich and compelling.

Fam arrives on Monday night, so until then I'm reading Ramesh Menon's "Siva: The Siva Purana Retold," trying to eat my bodyweight in Japanese food (kilos or pounds, take your pick), and planning to crash a sento.

Here's a link to "Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods," a new documentary on Grant Morrison, one of my favorite authors. "Animal Man" and "Doom Patrol" changed my adolescent life ... and then, along came "The Invisibles," which did it again. I think "All Star Superman" is one of the best pieces of fantasy-science fiction of the last 10 years.

 I've got two words for you: Gnostic superheroes.

NEW CLASSES...

Expect to see this on Sundays.
Yours may not look quite like this, though.

Class promotion:

We're adding Guided Intermediate Series to the Yoga Pearl schedule, beginning Sunday, December 5.

Class time will be 8-9:30a.m.

This will be a challenging and advanced class. Completion of and competency with the Primary Series is required. Please contact me to attend and/or with questions.

The Sunday Led Primary Series class will now run from 10-11:30a.m.

NOVEMBER TOKYO

Hey True Believers --- I'll be spending the month of November in Tokyo, Japan, one of my favorite places on planet Earth.

The Fam will be joining me for three weeks, too, so we'll see how much kawaii we can soak up before our heads explode.

Why fearing, you! I've arranged for experienced, intelligent and compassionate ashtanga yoga teachers to fill in my classes during my absence.

So do your practice!

In Encinitas, there was definitely a dip in attendance when Tim would go out of town.  The longer he was gone, the greater the dip.

During my initial transition phase from led to Mysore-style classes, the first few times Tim was gone proved revelatory opportunities to turn up to morning pranayama and asana practice anyway, if only to see how practice would transpire without an authority or teacher figure on whom to rely.

It turns out my mildly grabby, clingy, clutchy feelings were baseless, and that the ashtanga practice works whether Tim is in the room or not, and whether there are 45 people in the room ... or just me in my bedroom, as is now the case.

So why were we paying Tim the big bucks? Sheesh.

Anyways, I'll be posting photos and stories at my teaching blog, at Leaping Lanka. 

As always, anyone's welcome to join the Yoga Pearl Mysore group on Facebook, too!

MYSORE FAQ!

It's a varied path to a Mysore-style ashtanga yoga practice. Where do you fall on the continuum below?

1. Sporadic led or guided evening classes.

You go to class when you feel like it and when you have the time.

2. Consistent led classes.

You make the time to hit class a couple times a week.

3. Scheduled led classes.

You go to class on a set schedule, for example, every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.

4. Scheduled morning Mysore classes.

You start attending morning Mysore class on a set schedule, like every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

5. Daily morning Mysore classes.

You hit class every morning but moon days and holidays.

Generally, one's priorities change depending on the seasons and states. 

People tend to bail on classes during the dog-days of summer and during holidays.

More than just the weather, the seasons of life also affect one's capacity for the ashtanga yoga practice. I find young adults have a difficult time committing to a schedule, mostly because generally their life-stage is characterized by heavy flux.

Also, your capacity for yoga will vary depending on your state. For example, just have a baby, move to a new city, undergo a massive relationship meltdown, or catch mono? 

If you're somewhere between items 3 and 4 above, you may be considering attending a Mysore class. I resist strong-arming people, but at a certain point, after you've exhausted the led class setting as everyone does, a Mysore class is the next stage in practice.

So here's a FAQ regarding morning Mysore classes for those of you considering it.

How is a Mysore Class Different from a Led Class?
In a Mysore-style class, students generally practice an established, predetermined sequence of poses from among the various ashtanga vinyasa series.

They proceed at their own pace, which will depend on their unique situation that morning, and they will follow their own length of breath.

Depending on their current physical conditions, they will address problematic areas by remaining in poses longer or repeating them.

The instructor is available one-on-one for physical assistance and suggestions for scaling, and can therefore meet each student where they are at that moment.

Why Is It Called "Mysore?"
This style, an individual practice set amongst a like-minded group, originated in the south Indian city of Mysore, and was maintained by Pattabhi Jois, among others.

It's Not Called Mysore Because It Makes You Sore?
It's not called Mysore because it makes you sore.

I've Been to Some Led Classes --- Do I Have to Remember All the Poses?

Don't worry, you will remember more than you think. Trust me. Just make an honest effort. Relax. Do less. Try to show up consistently.

For a short period of time, you will make a concession to transition to a Mysore class from led classes. You'll relinquish an entire, familiar sequence for a usually shorter yet more profound practice, one that is entirely internally generated.

You'll move to a finishing sequence when you lose the thread of the practice.

This is either physically --- that is, you're trembling, shaking, exhausted, and quite obviously spent --- or, more subtly, when you no longer remember what comes next. Which usually means you don't know where you are now.

These terminal points differ for each person.

So you'll stop when you're quite clearly tapped out. For those not on the verge of cracking, I'm available to help guide you through those unfamiliar parts of the sequence.

Given consistent effort, you will very quickly learn the sequence that is appropriate for your current conditions. 

It's my hope, of course, that you eventually remember the sequence of the primary series poses.

We have print-outs of the sequence (a.k.a. "cheat sheets"), but they tend to become a distraction or worse, a laundry list.

I've Never Been to a Led Class --- Can I Show Up, Too?

Turn up off the street and we'll start in a more traditional style. I will show you surya namaskar A and B and perhaps a few more poses. Then you will sit down and breathe. Finally, you will lie down.

Each time you return, you will be taught another pose in the sequence, usually one or two poses per day, until you hit your first major road-block.

What Time Can I Arrive?

Doors open at 6 a.m.; you can arrive at any point until class ends at 9 a.m. If the door is locked, stand on the sidewalk and jab the button until I come out to let you in.

I'd prefer everyone start by 8, but if you have to choose between arriving at 8:30 or no practice, show up at 8:30.

Do I Have to Get Up That Early?

Listen Buttercup, it's time to rip off the band-aid. If you want to deepen your practice beyond the more mediated led classes, and take the benefit of the intention of a like-minded group --- I tell you, some morning Mysore practices are like stepping into a jet-stream, whoosh, you're off, and you don't do the practice, the practice does you --- if you want to deepen your practice in that way, you have to fucking get up in the morning.

How can I break this to you gently? "I don't do mornings" or "I'm not a morning person" are bullshit. Despite what your mom told you, you are not a unique snowflake. You, as a member of homo sapiens, are a diurnal mammal, which means you're hard-coded to be wired in the morning and tired in the evening (If the opposite is true, you've got other issues).

We're not even talking crack-head early, either, which I rate as a 4:30 a.m. wake-up, so I'm sorry I'm not sorry. We're all adults, and adults know how to prioritize their interests and their energies to meet deep needs.

What If I'm Not Flexible in the Morning?

To paraphrase a quote I saw posted at Vancouver Ashtanga, you're never too dirty to take a shower. Wait to be flexible enough to take a yoga class and you'll wait 'til death.

Morning practice is a ritualized way to welcome the sun into your day and into your life. It also re-establishes a vital psychospiritual balance and, as B.K.S. Iyengar calls it, an "equipoise."

On a purely physical level, consistent morning stretching eventually allows you to perform movements requiring considerable flexibility with little or no warm-up.

Do I Have to Go to Work All Sweaty?

The delightful environs of Yoga Pearl also include luxurious showers, organic soap, and towel service. Prasad Cafe features raw cheesecake, Bachelor bars and other brekkie items.

Failing that, you can always go with baby wipes or, as I used to do in my heathen "corporate" days, simply lather on the deodorant during the car ride to the office.

ASHTANGA YOGA FOOD FRENZY

The US mascot is a scavenger? Yuk.

Here are several eating modalities to which I've been exposed during my time practicing ashtanga vinyasa yoga.

The word "diet" has been emptied of relevant meaning, so I'm going with "eating modalities" until I come up with a better one.

Scavenger

My friend Tony's roommate was a scavenger --- someone help me with the correct name for this subculture --- but Tony's roomie was essentially a vegetarian. Except for scavenged meat.

As you can imagine, the scavenged-animal food sources in Southern California amounted to road-kill --- squirrels, dogs, the occasional coyote.

I heard there were Raw scavengers, too, as in: they ate uncooked meat.

Watermelon

When I lived in San Francisco, friends practiced with "The Watermelon Man." He ate only watermelon for four months.

Oranges

Apparently, at one point "The Watermelon Man" switched to oranges. I didn't hear for how long; I did hear the citric acid stripped the enamel off his teeth.

Stripped the enamel right off.

Fruitarian

In the same family as the Watermelon Man are the fruitarians, who eat only fruit. I'm not sure if they can cook the fruit, so perhaps they're also considered Raw?

Of note, I met a Fruitarian outside the yoga world. I was at a Fourth of July barbecue some years back where I met this kid with a shall we say interesting smell and glazed-over, sunken eyes.

He'd ridden a bike from Vancouver, Canada to San Diego down the 101. He ate only fruit, and mostly bananas. When was served at the barbecue, he pulled out a bunch of bananas and ate five.

I asked him why he ate only fruit, and he declared that one, the brain ran on sugar, and two, fruit is sugar. Therefore fruit was the ideal brain food.

I have a rough grasp of neurobiology, enough to know there were gaping holes in his logic as well as his knowledge of nutrition and anatomy.

He aggrieved a group of Southern California barbecue-goers, all with veggie burgers in hand, by telling them, "I used to feel like you did --- but I'm beyond that now. You wouldn't understand how I feel. You're just not capable."

Raw

These dudes are vegetarians who only eat uncooked fruit and vegetables. I'm not sure their dairy intake --- I imagine there are sub-groups within groups.

Alien fruit that smells like rotting corpses.

I met Doug in Mysore; he's a very charismatic raw foodist who once had the chance to meet George W. Bush. He shook the former President's hand, looked him dead in the eye, and said, "Mr. President, I believe raw food is the future American diet." He also told stories of utterly depraved orgies of durian consumption.

In his house in Mysore, there were hundreds of coconuts in the kitchen, stacked floor to ceiling and completely covering one wall, a feat I'd only ever seen accomplished before in a dorm room with empty Pabst cans.

Once a week, Doug had a truckload of coconuts delivered to his house. He'd also visited local machine shops to have fabricated a unique coconut puncturing device that let him quickly get the juice. This way, he didn't risk severing his fingertips with a machete.

There was also a fairly healthy sized raw community in San Diego, with several teachers and practitioners at the Ashtanga Yoga Center practicing this eating method. A couple guys who used to practice at the studio maintained a raw house, in which all members agreed to follow raw principles.

Oh man. Just like a

straight-edge X: bad idea.

Vegan

This is no meat, seafood, or dairy. I've met a few vegan ashtanga practitioners through the years, but I don't know any who have stuck with it --- doubtless they're out there, though.

Veganism appears to be very threaded in Portland culture, as many restaurants and cafes offer vegan menu choices and baked goods. Prasad Cafe, at Yoga Pearl, offers a vegan, mostly raw menu. The Bachelor Bars and the raw cheesecake kill!

Ayurvedic

The ancient Indian system of wellness emphasizes a healthy digestive system through eating according to one's dosha, or constitution type. What's interesting to me is that it's not inherently vegetarian or vegan, and diet is one of the first variables its practitioners adjust in order to address health issues.

I want to do a bit more reading to see if its principles are truly cross-cultural --- I'm sure Michael Pollan would agree that laying off over-stimulating and processed foods is a good thing.

Macrobiotic

I haven't honestly run into many macrobiotic yoga practitioners --- perhaps this manner of eating never gained popularity in the yoga world? I do recall hearing Mattew Sweeney jokingly refer to it as "macroneurotic."

There's a macrobiotic restaurant in Tokyo in which, to the horror of the assembled wait-staff, I attempted to eat my bodyweight in gobo root/burdock.

Vegetarian

No meat! This is a popular lifestyle choice within yoga circles. It's the food mode that appears to be the most popular first transition one makes when the practice of asana initiates a deeper look at other quality-of-life factors.

SAD

The "standard American diet." I'm not sure what this constitutes, though I imagine it means simply to eat "whatever, whenever." Most consistent yoga practitioners seem to think a bit about what they eat, though, so I'm not sure how common this modality is among yoga students. Certainly it doesn't seem to hold for long once a regular yoga practice takes root.

HOW TO GET SIX-PACK ABS DOING YOGA

It is difficult to find pictures of
non-freakish, non-drug-induced
female six-packs on the internet.

You must admit, that is a zinger of a blog headline, designed to generate one shit-ton of page traffic and drive my Google analytics through the roof.

Meanwhile, there's that scene in the documentary Ashtanga NYC in which a woman smiles like the cat with the canary and says,"Well, we all know ashtanga can give you a great body!" As if the particular brilliance of ashtanga vinyasa is that we can be spiritual and have tight buns. Nestled under that is the idea that the harder we work, the more spiritual we will be — that in order to reap the greatest benefits from this system, we really need to feel the burn.

It would be remiss of me to not answer the headline, so: body recomposition — a 'six-pack' of abs, or sub 10-percent bodyfat for men, sub 15-percent for women  — is 85% food choice, 15% effort. Eliminate grains, legumes, and fructose. Reduce dairy to the whipping cream you put in your espresso. Notice the words "food choice": do not "diet" or restrict eating. Give it 3 months of ashtanga practice. Submit your success photos.

That better be a real tattoo.

This occasional acknowledgment of the physical transformation this practice creates is interesting. We have this difficult primary series we are expected to practice 6 days a week, and that can and will transform your body in many ways.

The shadow aspect of this and any hatha yoga practice or physical discipline is narcissism. Thankfully we are not the first to confront these issues. Far from it: in the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali balances disciplined practice with equal measures self-study and devotion.

So let's at least acknowledge and honor the desire to look good naked, but let's tease it apart from the samadhi that is the residue of this practice. Meaning, to look good naked does not equal samadhi. Let's also tease apart the Protestant work-ethic notion that the more we put into this practice, the more we get out.

I'm not sure if it's obvious, but I don't practice yoga to eliminate or extinguish desire. I don't believe that's possible; or at least, I've never met anyone free from desire. I've never met a saint. Desire makes life possible, after all, and there's a good argument for the idea that life is desire.

This one's for the ladies.

It's the practice of yoga that balances our desire with our consciousness, which helps clear the confusion of our desires and preferences with our essential nature. It doesn't mean we don't have desires and preferences. It's just that practicing samadhi means our desires and preferences don't lead us around by the scruffs of our necks.

To layer guilt for having the desire to look good naked — or for having any thought, really — will turn this or any practice into an insidious means of self-torture.

These desires will arise. Thankfully we have simple tools — the tristana, or ujjayi breathing, vinyasa, and drishti — that allow us to watch them, and then return to our enlightenment.

* Alternate headlines designed to drive up page-traffic:
"How to Chisel Six-pack Abs with Yoga"
"Easy Six-pack Abs with Yoga"
"Lose Belly Fat and Get Six-pack Abs with Yoga"

MYSORE GUILT

Nandi on Chamundi.

As of September 2010, it's been 5 years since we've returned to practice yoga in Mysore, India.

The decision to not return to Mysore hasn't been a negation; we as a family have instead chosen to pursue other interests.


For example, we've chosen to return to Encinitas more frequently, rather than make the increasingly larger, riskier, and complex choices we'd have to make to travel to Mysore for a month.

Still, my relationship with the place is a complex one, and from time to time I feel a small but noticeable pressure to return there.

The first time I traveled there, the decision was sparked in part by my first meeting with Pattabhi Jois in New York City. I had such a terrific time practicing in the Puck Building that I began to organize my life to spend an uncertain amount of time in India.

I sold, gave away, or threw out all my belongings beyond clothing, quit a great job, and virtually abandoned my car.

I never had a personal relationship with Pattabhi Jois, beyond that he vaguely recognized me as Tim's student, and maybe even thought my tattoos were vaguely humourous, but since his illness and passing, that gravitic pull to Mysore has lessened.

When I started practicing in Encinitas, a trip to Mysore was a steady if discrete current, because, “When are you going to Mysore?” was a topic of pre- and post-practice conversations.

The feel in Encinitas has changed somewhat during the last several years, of course, as Pattabhi Jois has passed. 

Ashtanga in Portland has a different feel, too, in that there's not as much social pressure to travel to Mysore, quite simply because it's not really a topic of conversation. Although I expect I may inadvertently encourage people to travel to India when I share India stories or pass along the aspects of this practice that I picked up in Mysore.

The occasional pang to return to Mysore, occurring less and less over the years, is sharpened by the fact that I'm not authorized by the Ashtanga Yoga Institute to teach. This in itself is the seed for small but nagging doubts about my own validity and legitimacy.

The idea of official recognition is tricky. I know I have the tendency to “collect,” and I know what that means for me — the pursuit of the recognition becomes a goal unto itself, a thing pursued for no other reason than to collect it.

The “Collector” mentality also gives the illusion of direction and meaning, but is another elaborate method of avoidance or disengagement with my life as it is now.

Getting authorized, or even certified — well, I guess it's something to do, right?

Idli.

I am now hungry.

The ashtanga vinyasa community is also so dispersed and spread out these days that it'd be nice to see Sharath and old friends, as well as meet new members of the growing community.

The tours were a great opportunity for everyone to come together in one place and for one reason, which is one of the reasons that, even if they were in an air-conditioned gymnasium, they were very powerful.

Ashtanga vinyasa is a solitary practice — only you can do it. In a Mysore setting, though, the yoga is not practiced in solitude.

The in-breath brings a great many people into your life, and of course the out-breath takes them away again. They come, they go.

Part of the yoga practice is to acknowledge and work with the current situation of your life — not as you wish it to be one day in Mysore, and not as it once was, the last time you were in Mysore, but as it is today, right now. 

So a journey to Mysore can be a holiday, a pilgrimage, or a flight. It can be a luxury or an imperative. But we don't need to be there to honor this tradition — we do that every time we practice it.