Gretchen and I are here for the level two authorization training. Don’t ask, we don’t really know what it all means. I can say this (we’ve been sworn to secrecy)… This morning was our Orientation at 7:30 am… It’s been so long that I had actually forgotten that there is “Shala Time” meaning that the clock in the shala is 15 minutes ahead. Anyway, it was the same Sharath that we had just seen in Goa… laid back, relaxed and ready to share.

Everyone stayed to do a class, with Sharath saying there was no intention for him to really teach or adjust (but he did just a little). It was sooooo laid back, no one worried about having a spot, the energy was easy going and dare I say even cohesive… we’ll see how we progress but at the moment, everyone is excited and curious.

Keep you posted,
DK

In the last week Sharath’s family arrived. It was definitely very sweet to see the kids running around and calling sharath Appa (father). Although it added something sweet to the conferences, it made them a bit distracting and unfocused.

On the agenda was the recitation of the asana names which Sharath seemed to take very seriously. He was calling on authorized teachers to run through the names usually starting from the beginning. At the end of the conferences however he would say the name and then the group would repeat the names twice in unison. This by the way is the classical way the vedas are taught to Brahmins, where the teacher says the sloka and the students repeat twice and corrections are made.

Gretchen and I were waiting to be called on, feeling pretty confident in our ability to both know and be able to say the names fairly well. Either fortunately or unfortunately our chance never arrived. We were never called on to recite the names. Oh well… perhaps in Mysore?

In terms of content, Sharath has shown himself to be well studied and growing in terms of knowledge and wisdom regarding the bigger picture of Yoga. There is no change in the message of “do your practice” as Guruji always said. The only change is Sharath’s ability to express this in a manner which is more clear and easily received by westerner’s.

In one of the conferences Sharath mentioned how as westerner’s we would obviously have a difficult time in fully understanding not only what Guruji said, but what he meant by what he said. This is a result of cultural context and differences as well as study. If we were able to “get” 70 – 80% of what Guruji meant we were probably doing well. Sharath also said that if he was lucky he would get 90 – 95% of what Guruji meant by what he said. In this way Guruji always left room or the need for one to continue to study, explore, and try to figure things out for oneself.

Another interesting point, for me in particular, was regarding the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. I’ve been on a little bit of a soapbox (not too loudly though) regarding this text and its relevance to the practice of yoga and more specifically to those practicing Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. My own conversations with Ashtangis about this text is often met with irreverence or even complete disregard. In essence saying that Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras were the only book that should be read on the practice of Ashtanga Yoga.

After a couple of readings of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, however it was obvious to me that the text was directly related to what we were doing on the mat daily. A number of Guruji quotes are there and obvious… read and you’ll see for yourself.

Back to the conference, Sharath encouraged the reading of this text along with Baghavad Gita and the Upanishads… basically any book that discusses yoga. When Sharath quotes the nature of Paschimattanasana, the quote is not from Patanjali. When he quotes the shastra that tells how to do lotus and why you put your right leg first, it’s not from Patanjali Yoga Sutra… Where is it from?

I’m getting off the soapbox just now… trying not to feel too proud, but instead vindicated from the funny looks about reading the Hatha Yoga Pradipika… thanks Sharath.

The most important thing I gained from the conferences (and the 3 weeks of getting to be a student again) is inspiration. There is nothing that pleases me more than being re-inspired by my teachers. To help re-ignite the fire of desire to practice with more dedication, effort, sweat, focus and most importantly with Shradha (faith).

I know Guruji used to talk about a teacher as a signpost, pointing the way. Sharath did it very nicely as well with a metaphor about the area in Goa where we were. He was talking about how he could tell us how to get to Panjim (Panaji-big town in Goa) and how there might be a right or left turn here, or to watch out for snakes or potholes etc… But, just because he told us how to get there didn’t mean that we would arrive. We would still have to get on the scooter and drive ourselves there and maybe even find things that we weren’t expecting. Perhaps we could even find a different route? (last sentence mine, not Sharath’s… and whole thing paraphrased).

I am inspired, grateful and always ready to be a student. If by luck I happen to share what I have learned on my road to Panjim and it inspires someone else, than all thanks goes to my teachers, most importantly Shri K. Pattabhi Jois.

Namaskara Guruji
and thank you Sharath
…..From another grateful student

We finally made it up to the top, and of course my first concern was how to navigate back down after the sun had gone down. I’d figure that part out when needed. We were there, the view was spectacular, overlooking the ocean etc…

Within about 10 minutes we saw two policeman coming up the hill from behind us on a motorcycle. At least I knew that we weren’t the first to get up that hill the way we came on a two wheeler. So, they pull up and we say hello, continuing to take photos while they just stand around us. That part isn’t actually odd for India although it’s not normally the police who are hanging around you.

Then they start, what are you doing here? As if it wasn’t obvious enough that we were taking photos. So I proceed to answer the obvious… “taking photos.” One of them says “What else are you doing? Do you have any drugs? If you have them just give them to me now and no problem.” I quickly reply “Sorry, we don’t have drugs, just taking photos.”

He continued on and I continued on… “If you want to look at our bags, search us etc… please, have a good time.” At this point however, there are a couple of things going through mine and Gretchen’s head I’m sure. One, how long is this going to go on for, they were ruining a perfectly good sunset, for absolutely no reason. Two, were they after compensation? After all, where we come from, that is perhaps one of the stupidest things you could do… hell here in India as well, it’s a slippery slope with no good way of working out. If you give, then they ask for more (and apparently come to you again and again for money) and if they don’t want it, you’re in trouble for offering.

What to do?

Then two more police officers pulled up in a jeep, on top of the hill and of course they start asking all the same exact questions that we’ve been asked already. I gladly offer them my bag to search etc… I definitely didn’t offer them any money.

Eventually they let us go saying that we should be careful that someone doesn’t sneak up on us and steal our bags and take our money. The only people that have scared us so far on the trip have been the police!

Be Well,
David

We have conference 3 times a week on various topics but they started in a logical place, with the eight limbs.

They’ve all been quite good but today’s in particular stood out. Sharath has shown himself to be on the path to being a yoga scholar, like his grandfather before him. During the course of the conference today, Sharath was talking about Guruji and how he always talked about his teacher. That everything came from Krishnamacharya, not from him. He was talking about his relative to other teachers who only talk about themselves and what they’ve created.

Sharath followed this by talking about what Guruji had given to him. How, after reading some text, he would ponder what Guruji had said in the past about the same text. In addition Sharath seemed very grateful for having been given so much by his grandfather. The most emotional part for me and especially my wife was when Sharath said that “Guruji was his god, his Patanjali.”

I’m sure many westerners could take this in a very wrong way, but I didn’t at all. It was exactly what a good guru/disciple should look and sound like. At the same time, Guruji was his grandfather and he obviously loved and respected him in that sense as well.

It was great to see and hear that now, Sharath is not for himself, didn’t make anything himself, instead he also got it from his Guru. This is parampara… lineage. What a great thing Sharath has to pass on.

I’m very grateful to be here.

Namaste,
David

I never advertise that I am here to answer your anatomy questions… unless of course I’m doing an anatomy or yoga workshop. Dare I say, I even hide a little bit when not, this is countered with my desire to help anyone (if I can) that asks.

So, a girl approached me with some pain in the back of her knee, at least that’s how she described it. When probed further, the pain was approximately 2 to 3 inches above the actual joint. In my mind this pretty much ruled out meniscus or ligamentous pain. Upon palpation of the tender area, it turned out to be the tendon of the most lateral hamstring muscle called biceps femoris.

She described that the pain only occurred in ardha baddha padma paschimattanasana (bound half lotus) and in baddha padmasana (bound full lotus). I thought for a moment and considered other information such as where she was, how much walking and practicing she was doing etc… My working hypothesis at that point was simply a slightly inflamed tendon, perhaps due to a little extra tightness.
For the moment I assumed it wasn’t overstretched as she didn’t feel any pain while it was in a lengthened position ie… forward bends. The pain only occurred when the muscle was actually in its most shortened position (at least at the knee end) as in lotus where the knee is in full flexion.

A suggestion came to me rather quickly, although a bit more of a test to gather information. I asked her to go into bound half lotus and then asked her if she felt the pain/sensation. She did. I then asked her if she could try to straighten her knee against the resistance of her hand holding her foot in place. She did. Guess what? The pain/sensation was gone when she did this.

The case of the inflamed tendon was closed.

Oh… are you curious why? You mean you want to know more?

If I was working off of the hypothesis that the muscle was sore as a result of shortness, this basically means that it was remaining in a state of contraction. So, I took advantage of the neuromuscular principle that says when you contract a muscle against a resistance it can’t overcome, it’s opposite muscle will relax. In this case contraction of the quadriceps (while in padmasana) against a resistance that it couldn’t overcome (her hand) resulted in the hamstring relaxing and a cease of the pain.

The anatomy stuff does come in handy.

Shanti,

David

The schedule is led primary Thursday, Friday and Sunday and Mysore style Monday – Wednesday. So, we had a led primary this morning and I think I ate too much last night. It’s one of the harder parts of being at a retreat center… buffet of delicious food! The other part is trying to feel like I’m on vacation but also practicing with Sharath. Balance is coming.

Last Puja

I’ve got to backtrack a little bit. We arrived in Delhi to a hotel room booked on the wrong day and the flight the next day actually departed before we arrived in Delhi to get to Goa. So we started off a little bit bumpy. It was kind of surprising as we’re supposedly savvy travelers.

In the end, we made it to Goa, which is a very different state in India than the one we’re used to. At first glance not so different, but once you arrive at the beach… It’s a completely different scene.

Tourists and westerners everywhere. This is in sharp contrast to what we’re used to in Mysore where when we see a westerner, we almost always recognize them from yoga class.

In Goa, there are hippies who arrived 25 years ago… and they haven’t left.

Food is amazing and there are many options near us for amazing organic foods. Salads which we never find (or eat) in Mysore are plentiful and delicious.

The best part of course for Gretchen is that the beaches are only 15 minutes away on a scooter. Some are a bit touristy and remind us of home too much. But others are empty stretches of beach that go for as far as the eye can see.

Arambol Beach

If there’s one thing you get in Goa… It’s sunset after sunset. This one was taken from Peet’s Shack on Candolim Beach.

More importantly is the realization by both me and Gretchen that we have missed our trips to India over the past two years. It certainly wasn’t planned that way, it just sort of happened that we didn’t make it. Regardless, it’s recharge time. Time to pause on the giving and do a bit of receiving for ourselves. We always knew one of the best part about being in Mysore is getting to practice fully and completely without having to do anything after. No teaching, driving, thinking etc… Nothing that we had to do.

Away we go…

DK over and out