I Discover The Joys of Mysore
by carl on Apr.04, 2010, under Yoga
Since I started practicing Ashtanga, I’ve almost always practiced in a led class. Part of the reason was simply because I have not completely memorized the sequence (it’s long and has many poses), but partly I’ve just never taken an actual Mysore class (except once, at Mike Mattews’ studio in Austin). The other day, though, I arrived too early at the studio for Mysore, and so I just started out the sequence on my own. For whatever reason, I felt like I had a real breakthrough or something. For the first time that I can remember, I really felt comfortable and relaxed as I worked through the entire sequence, only having to refer to my “cheat sheet” a couple of times (although I later realized that I completely left out kukkutasana; oh well, that’s not my best pose anyway). I got such an interesting feeling of power during this practice, and it went quite a bit faster than a led class would have. This is something that I’ve not considered before…that you can get through 90% of the Primary Series in an hour. It certainly makes a daily home practice more doable.
April 7th, 2010 on 10:50 am
I enjoy yoga on my own, in silence (sometimes music), but I don’t understand why I would go to a class for that. Are the adjustments worth working it into your schedule, getting there, and paying?
April 9th, 2010 on 8:59 am
As it happened, I got to the studio too early for the actual Mysore “class” and ended up practicing on my own as you described. Yeah, that’s a consideration: is it worth it to do what amounts to a home practice at the studio? The discipline involved in getting started by yourself seems to be the sticking point, sometimes. Also, it depends on who’s doing the adjustments, I suppose. I’m at the point right now that I really value getting any kind of helpful suggestion or adjustment; even one would be worth it to me.
April 11th, 2010 on 11:27 am
You are quite right, also, to distinguish between self-practice and Mysore, which is just slightly different. When I went on Friday, I did have to wait or go back to allow instructor to make adjustments on the poses she wanted to concentrate on. Also, there’s an indication that this Mysore class will eventually adopt the strict Ashtanga practice of stopping the student when a particular pose cannot be attained, and sending them directly to the closing sequence. Hmmmmm…
April 30th, 2010 on 5:32 pm
I just saw your 2nd comment. I love Ashtanga, but I hate strict rules. Funny how that works out…
I don’t know the reasoning behind sending the student to the closing sequence when a pose cannot be attained. The student misses out on all of the benefits of the other poses.
I also feel like that reinforces the idea that yoga asana is a goal. This is something that I am strongly against. The asanas are tools to heal, increase flexibility, balance, and strength (if you only look at the physical level, beyond that there’s so much more).
When achieving the asana becomes the goal, I might as well go to gymnastics or become a springboard diver again. Yoga is so much better than that to me.
May 3rd, 2010 on 8:44 pm
I’m eclectic in most of my life, and it’s probably unrealistic for me to adopt a traditional style without any reservations. Certainly, a dogmatic approach to Ashtanga is a real turnoff to me. Tim Miller was asked a question about this at the workshop I went to, and he at least gave lip service to the idea that a rigid approach to Ashtanga isn’t correct. I believe in the Ashtanga system, but not to the extent of being inflexible.