yogannina

If I stay up late for stuff it’d better have to do with...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:30:50 -0400

If I stay up late for stuff it’d better have to do with Yoga! ;)

Lunch: Fresh strawberry lemonade, grilled veggie sandwich and...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:07:35 -0400

Lunch: Fresh strawberry lemonade, grilled veggie sandwich and side salad. Dinner was tomato soup and a toasted bagel. Lots of iced tea to drink during the day, both sweetened and unsweetened.

Closest to a six-pack I’ve ever been! (Can you even see...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:13:00 -0400

Closest to a six-pack I’ve ever been! (Can you even see anything? Hahaha!)

The Yoga Today

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:37:37 -0400

Awesome! I feel like good sleep equals great practice, but that’s just a hypothesis. Since I had no assisting to do after my own practice, I could really take my time today. Did all of Primary and Intermediate up to Bhekasana. Like every day since I started doing it, I fell during my first attempt to get up to standing from my third Urdhva Dhanurasana. It must be something about my feet or the curve - getting up seems much easier when I can go down from standing first. I need to concentrate more there, too. It’s funny how you suddenly become a beginner again when poses are just bigger than yourself. So many things to pay attention to at once until the body figures its way out. Funny also how, when a practice went well, there seems much less to say about it.

Breakfast: cucumber apple juice (not pictured, drank it too fast...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:26:40 -0400

Breakfast: cucumber apple juice (not pictured, drank it too fast - oops!), unsweetened green mint tea, sesame snaps. Will have lunch in an hour, that’s why there’s not more to show. ;)

Yoga hair. #ashtanga #yoga #yogalife

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:13:31 -0400

Yoga hair. #ashtanga #yoga #yogalife

Uploaded a new Facebook profile pic tonight. If you’d like...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:39:38 -0400

Uploaded a new Facebook profile pic tonight. If you’d like to friend me there, please make sure to send a message along telling me that you’re a Yogannina reader or AYCT member - otherwise you might accidentally end up just as subscriber. Thankssss <3

The local lululemon store.

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:15:29 -0400

The local lululemon store.

Dinner: vegan sushi from some random place down the street.

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:13:26 -0400

Dinner: vegan sushi from some random place down the street.

Welcher Yoga-Stil ist der Richtige? (ZDF Mediathek)

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:43:11 -0400

Welcher Yoga-Stil ist der Richtige? (ZDF Mediathek):

Vinyasa-, Aerial-, Jivamukti- oder Yin-Yoga - welches Yoga ist das Richtige?

Ein ziemlich bizarrer Bericht featuring u.a. Patricia Thielemann. Ashtanga Yoga im eigentlichen Sinne kommt gar nicht vor und auch ansonsten geht Einiges schwer durcheinander… Für alle, die sich 2:38 mit Quatsch ablenken möchten!

The Yoga Today

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:15:54 -0400

Weird practice. There were even more people than yesterday. The only free spot was the one I had yesterday, too: Right where everyone passes through, with a headlight shining right at my face every time I looked up, but somehow still dark. The person next to me practiced Advanced A and put her sweaty feet on me in difficult arm balances multiple times.

I tried to focus on my practice and stay serene, but with everyone walking by left and right, I couldn’t concentrate, and got more and more annoyed. So, when my favorite spot right by the window opened up later, I did a very rare thing: I took my mat and mat towel and made my way to the front. Nobody stopped me. Later, David even came by and closed the blind for me.

It was still hard to practice in the mood I was in. I kept thinking: “You’re leaving so soon, don’t waste this practice, make it count”, but yesterday was a tiring day, and we’ve been going without moon days for all time that I’ve been here, too. And in a warped logic, I believe that by jumping back fewer times I might save some strength for the drop backs.

Before those, David told me to go up to Bhekasana today. I didn’t get the “up to”, though, and just practiced Bhekasana right after Krounchasana, wondering why I was to skip Shalabhasana. I was clearly not fully with it today. When he came over to ask how it went, I said “well”, which could or could not have been the case. Since I’d done it in my practice at home before I met David, it couldn’t have been all wrong. Either way, he said we’ll go over it again tomorrow. I’d also like him to tell me the exact Vinyasa count for up to where we go in Intermediate, just to make sure I won’t mess up too much.

Assisting went well, apart from two Maricasana D binds that I just couldn’t do. The rest of it went perfectly alright. We learned Kurmasana and Supta Kurmasana yesterday, and I got to assist five or so Suptas. When a new student came in later on, I got to teach her for a while (Suryanamaskara B up to Parsvakonasana B). It’s always so nice when people come in and have a good time straight away.

Since it was so crowded today, there were so many people to help out - I loved it. I really hope there’ll be a chance for me to continue this kind of work at home. The other day David said that I should/ could/ might have to open my own shala. Don’t remember his exact words as I was trying to figure out whether he was joking or not. I said that it might be a bit early for that, and that maybe some kind of teaching or assisting gig elsewhere would be good to start with. So nice that he said that, though, even in case it was just a semi-serious remark. My own shala… I wish!

(I’ll be so incredibly sad to leave this place. I’ll miss all of it so much!)

Today’s lunch: Falafel, side salad, unsweetened green mint...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:20:47 -0400

Today’s lunch: Falafel, side salad, unsweetened green mint tea.

The Yoga Today

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:31:00 -0400

Was very much dreading the drop backs even before I started my practice. Mostly, I think, because I hadn’t done any since Thursday - Friday’s Led Primary doesn’t include them and Saturday was our day off. David came round to slightly adjust my Trikonasana A and Parsvakonasana A. He seemed quite content with the result. I know he pushes people harder the further they advance, so I guess with the start of Intermediate Series I’m also getting the start of Intermediate treatment. When it was time to get up from my third Urdhva Dhanurasana, it took me a second attempt to manage. Fell on my first try. Took forever to complete all three drop backs and getting up from them myself, too. I think I was fine coming to standing twice, one attempt was rather messy. No foot touching in the pose that might or might not be called Chakra Bandhasana.

It’s always pretty crowded on Sundays. Today I had someone slap my face with his elbow when I was in Prasarita Padottanasana and a girl land a half inch in front of my face with her feet while I was in Kurmasana.

When it was time for headstand, I asked Jeff, one of David’s assistant teachers, to come over and help me with my alignment. He was of the opinion, too, that I would need to relearn it. Maybe not completely, but that it will be hard enough. Sigh.

Not sure if you've answered this before, but how do you keep from getting bored while doing Primary every day? Do you ever just want to do asanas that you haven't learned yet, and if so, how do you remedy that?

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:05:00 -0400

Hi there, thanks for your question. Don’t think I answered that one yet - but I know it comes up a lot, so good call!

So, do I get bored doing Primary every day? No, not anymore. I was going through a phase earlier on in my practice where I thought Ashtanga was all about piling on the asanas - no matter whether I was actually really able to do them. And by “being able to do them” I don’t mean execute them with perfect alignment, but rather know the pose’s name, its Vinyasa count (which breath goes where and when), and have a certain proficiency getting in and out of it. Which can be pretty hard even for advanced practitioners. Just take the jump backs and jump throughs, for example: Can you transition through the series so well that you don’t need to pay any attention at all anymore?

As of today, I am practicing Primary Series and the first two asanas of Intermediate. At this point, I don’t really see how I could get bored with what I haven’t truly mastered yet. Plus, ultimately, it really doesn’t matter at all which pose you are practicing up to. What you are practicing in your practice is not only asana, but your ability to focus, to control your breathing, and your awareness of what is going on with your body and mind.

David says the work in our practice is where it gets uncomfortable:

I think he also once said that if you get bored on the mat, you’re not working hard enough.

That said, and with my leaving Toronto in mind, of course I would appreciate it if David would give me a couple more poses to work on until when I see him next - just because he won’t be around to do so in a long while. However, I have lots of stuff to work on until then already, and I know the physical shape I press my mental development into is of no meaning. I think once you get that, you won’t ever get bored of what you do again. You might get distracted every once in a while. Whenever that happens to me, I try and readjust my focus to all of what I cannot do on the mat just yet.

Human backpack on @davidrobsonayct #ashtanga #yoga #ytt (at...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:13:54 -0400

Human backpack on @davidrobsonayct #ashtanga #yoga #ytt (at Ashtanga Yoga Centre)

Therapeutic stretches for low back pain

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:52:22 -0400

Therapeutic stretches for low back pain:

Click headline for full article.

Emma of AYCT filling us in on the details of the Jois family and...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:00:11 -0400

Emma of AYCT filling us in on the details of the Jois family and Yoga practice in Mysore. Gotta go one day for sure!

Lululemon to Open Men's Stand Alone Stores

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 09:27:37 -0400

Lululemon to Open Men's Stand Alone Stores:

How do you like this idea? Yay or nay? (Click headline for full article.)

Practicing headstand assists in class today. Mine is still a...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 00:40:25 -0400

Practicing headstand assists in class today. Mine is still a couple centimeters off, as you can see. Will have to p/foint my feet and activate my legs more. No wonder I have trouble holding it long!

Why I study with @davidrobsonayct ? Because he shows...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:26:47 -0400

Why I study with @davidrobsonayct ? Because he shows #Ashtanga clips and gives away free coco water on Friday nights! 💙 (at Ashtanga Yoga Centre)