Today I went for a “refresher” Ashtanga class. It’s been a long time since I did Ashtanga yoga. I used to go for Ashtanga at least once every two weeks two years back but now it has dwindled to an occasional one every now and then.
I am always in awe of Ashtanga practitioners. It takes such dedication and discipline to be able to practice every single day ( except on full moon days ) on your own early in the morning if possible. And to remember all the poses in the series? Wow… I cannot even remember past the 2nd pose after the sun salutations. Yeah, I am that forgetful. So it just shows that I need to go for more ashtanga classes to train the mind. Maybe even Mysore so that I get to train my brain.
Another great thing about ashtanga is that I always feel energized and alert after the practice. Maybe it’s because of the twisting and breathing that you try to maintain throughout the practice. And I am happy to report that my jump throughs are finally happening consistently. 
So ok, it may not be the slow-mo type of lift off and then slowly gliding through… but it was still a smooth (swift) glide through. Hmm… well, using a trick anyway. I believe everyone’s body is built slightly differently and well, I have short arms and jump throughs are really quite hard for me. Just imagine someone with very short arms and then a bigger body trying to jump through the tiny “doorway”. I guess unless you have super duper core strength to lift all of my hips, legs and body, I always get “jammed”. Now a trick will be to lift your palms and wrist as you jump through. This gives me additional height for me to move through with jam! yay!
I like how the teacher encouraged us when we cannot do a pose.
He says “If you cannot do a pose and you see that your friend beside you can do, be happy for them. For they are our future and we are their past!” Now that’s inspiration!
~Namaste!
Tags: ashtanga yoga, Mysore
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:04 am
Cool quote … !