I started doing yoga when I was 14, I discovered Hatha yoga on my quest to 'be thin', it wasn't very yogic as it was straight out of Heat (Hate) magazine! I soon grew out of my quest with yoga's help, it wasn't about losing weight anymore, it was about pushing my boundaries, my bodies limits. I found it quite easy, I noticed 'improvement' in my practice daily, getting deeper into asanas etc. I was close to 16 when I came across ashtanga & I FELL HEAD OVER HEALS IN LOVE! (no chakrasana pun intended) As I was already quite flexible & strong I quickly learnt the primary series, looking back I learnt it far to quickly through pushing myself so hard, I'm one of those very annoying 'naturally flexible people' you see. Anyway, to continue, I practiced 5 to 6 days a week, I ignored 'moondays' & all the spiritual aspects of ashtanga, I was basically an asana-junky! At this piont of my life, how can I say this, the 'shit hit the fan' seems appropriate, I ended up homeless, very ill with an eating disorder & I dabbled in a few illegal substances - well my teens can't be all yoga, can they? Once my life had settled down, I started to practice again, once more it was all asana until the next trauma kicked me off my mat, my mother passed away when I was 19 & I turned my back on everything that was important to me for a good 10 months to a year. Once I was out of this 'dark time' I focussed my world on my marriage & education while 'now & again' hitting my mat. Now 24, 25 this September, I've decided to truly go for, to truly experience ashtanga yoga for all it has to offer, not merely asana but all 8 limbs! When I was studying to be a counsellor/psychotherapist I was given the opportunity to explore my past, values, beliefs & my development in the future, I was astonished at my strength, concentration, unconditional positive regard & ability to empathise in comparison to other students (who were all double my age) - all down to ashtanga! During my training I'd listen to clients troubles, they'd let me into the deepest scariest regions of their minds, I was always right there with them, never scared & always accepting, it took me a while to realize but this was also - all down to ashtanga! 'Never expect a client to go where you've not gone yourself' - as everyone who's practiced ashtanga knows, when it's just you on your mat, bending & breathing, THERE'S NOWHERE TO HIDE & YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHERE YOUR PRACTICE WILL TAKE YOU! So I found myself wanting to scream ''WHY DON'T YOU BUY A BOOK ON YOGA, A MAT & CANCEL YOUR THERAPY!?'' At the end of the day, who was I screaming at? I was full of angst about 'human potential' & I wasn't even trying to reach my own potential - another gift of ashtanga, my insight. So earlier this year I took the plunge, I walked away from my studies, streamlined my life & started to practice, practice & practice! Which has brought me here, struggling to put my daily practice in place, fighting with my body's abilities & tweeting incoherently about it!!!!
PRACTICE - at the moment my practice is all over the place, at least once a week but no more than 4 times, which is nonsense as I have the time to do it 5, maybe 6 times a week, easily! Something I'm hoping to encourage through keeping a blog.
Right now I'm happily holding back within my practice, I can do the full primary series, but I have found a lot of comfort 'going slow', I happily do 5 of each sury namaskara, standing sequence, practice up to Navasana, throw in Setu Bandhasana & Urdhva Dhanurasana for good measure & then do the finishing sequence. I'm in no rush & think my new found patience is a glorious thing, I am greatful for giving myself the time to not 'go slow' but to 'grow slow'.
So that's me folks, I hope I don't disappoint & those pics will be here tomorrow, fingers crossed! :-)
Awesome pants! Thanks for being so upfront and honest, Dom! Your full-blown thoughts on paper are better than tweets in 140 characters! I'm looking forward to reading about and sharing in your Ashtanga path. xxx
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