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A Long Time Since I've Written...

It's been some time since I've written in my blog.

Originally, I was to attend a teacher training with David Garrigues in February of this year in Seattle. In short, the training was cancelled. I was bummed, but it is what it is...

In February, I attended a workshop with Kino MacGregor at Ashtanga Yoga Richmond. The AYR space is very nice and centrally located in the fan in Richmond. Kino MacGregor is a very sweet young woman and has amazing flexibility and core strength. She is probably slightly taller than 5 feet and seemingly around 100 pounds...a little powerhouse! Never have I seen anyone go into karandavasana, let alone with the ease that Kino presented. Watching her practice showed me that I have no excuses when it comes to body proportions. I used to think I could not do jump backs because of proportionally long legs and large thighs, but Kino has quite muscular legs and has no problem pulling herself back and through. In the past several months, I have incorporated many of her core strength teachings into my practice with very good effect. One exercise was in plank to make sure of the following: mulabandha (per usual), lower belly in, lower ribs in, back of the chest open, shoulders away from collar bones. I could do all of the above effectively except for the back of the chest open. As I suspected, tightness in the shoulders! In the several adjustments I received, she emphasized to extend through my entire length. Despite what people think, this world is not made for tall people (I'm 6'3" and have a 35" inseam), and my habit of conforming to a short person's world is not effective for a yoga practice. I received a lot of attention from her as, I think to many, I do not appear very flexible. Though I felt physically very open during the workshop, I was not very focused mentally. Overall, I was very impressed, and will definitely attend another workshop with her.

I then attended one day of the Tim Miller workshop, the Saturday morning. It was substantially similar to last year's workshop. He is a nice guy, and I feel fortunate that someone like him is willing to come to a little town in Virginia.

I just came back from a retreat this weekend. Overall, it was a good experience and I learned a lot. We did not go in depth in the yoga sutras, but did go deeply into the concept of Avidya. In short, it is ignorance. Avidya has many forms (e.g. ego), but what I was struck with was that one of the signs of Avidya is pain. It has been said that pain can be your best teacher, but I believe that pain is more often than not a bad thing. Pleasant soreness is good and a sign of progress, but injury, joint pain, etc. is a sign that you are not listening to your body. I wish more ashtangi's would heed this advice.

As for recent reading, I have begun reading this book The Gods of India: Hindu Polytheism
by Alain Danielou. So far, I'm not impressed. The author seems to be obsequious in his presentation of the material, and this causes me, as a person not familiar with Hinduism, to lack confidence in his authority. I hope the rest of the book is more accessible.

Also, I -finally- finished Autobiography of a Yogi. Curiously, it was a more difficult book to get through, despite the "easy to read" style of writing. Paramahansa Yogananda's ideas are quite interesting. It seems that he has given great thought to the developments of yoga in modern times, especially as concerns the area of Christianity, Hinduism, and Science. He alludes many times to Hindu gods, but also pays attention to the teaching of Jesus Christ. There is a very interesting passage in the final chapter in the book where Yogananda has a "communion" Jesus Christ. It was quite powerful. (On a side note, the sacrament of Communion is, a high form of yoga). Also, he takes great interest in the developments of quantum physics. Einstein has proved that matter and energy are intrinsically linked. What Paramahansa Yogananda seems to stress is that all matter is, in effect, energy. This makes sense in as far as matter is mostly empty space, and it is the association of the quanta (or energy) that creates the various forms. This discovery has had great influence on mankind. It is my sense that, given this new awareness of power, mankind has so many avenues of karma to manage. The developments of mankind in the last century, from the production of energy like nuclear power, the refinement of farming methods, and the accessibility of information by the Internet, have profoundly influenced the way people interact with the Earth and eachother. But I can't help but feel that many of us are like children given a big responsibility, and we're trying to figure out how to manage such a broad sense of imposing responsibility. Amidst the development of these amazing things is the challenge to retain our connection to the Earth, and to ourselves. My sense is that the greatest developments of mankind in this century will most likely be in the development of a method by which we can manage our mental self, physical self and spiritual self. Yoga, in my experience, is the most effective method to effect a communion or yoking of these things.

Lastly, I got wind yesterday that the teacher training in Charlottesville might proceed as intended, but I have yet to hear a definite word as to dates, cost, schedule, etc. It would be great if I were to obtain certification here in Charlottesville!