The mystery continues

yogasutra.org is a website that plays the yogasutras (by Dr. M.A. Jayashree). The website belongs to Kimberly Williams, who has been studying the Ashtanga yoga system since 1993.

The more I listen to the chants, the more mysterious the practice becomes for me.

Greg is fond of playing Manju's CD of chants during class, and I have actually purchased the sutras and sometimes play it in my computer when I am home.

There is so much to this practice that I find myself quite overwhelmed. Today I noticed that I don't yet know all the names of the poses in the primary series, not to mention the counts, or where the dristi goes. And that is just the surface.

It is only since last week that I have been able to finally concentrate for the majority of the practice, being present, feeling the poses, staying in them, allowing myself to feel what exactly happens to my body as it stretches.

As I sign for yoga teacher trainer I am reminded of a story my mother told me of her brother (my uncle), whom aparently on his first day of school, at age 6, went running and hid under the bed, refusing to go . Upon inquiry, my grandmother found out that the reason why he did not want to go was because he did not know how to write or read.

I kind of feel the same way.
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Thailand Teacher Training

I have been accepted to study with Paul Dallaghan in Thailand, and get my 200 hour YTT certification through the yoga alliance.

The acceptance requires that I send an email saying that I "Accept and commit".

Even though I have been "committed" to my yoga practice daily for 1.5 years now, it was still interesting to write that word, to actually say "I commit". It sounded funny to me, since I cannot really imagine my life without practice anymore.

There are many changes coming into my life and I am happy/disoriented, as my brother said in an earlier e-mail today after he quit his job.

I am ready
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Christopher leaves yogasutra

The classes have not been so full since Christopher left (he is now teaching at new york yoga on the upper east side). I am not sure if it is related to his departure or maybe it is because people are taking vacation at this time of the year.

I thought I would be sweating profusely in class these days but not having a lot of people in the room and it being so early in the morning translates to a cool room, not the kind that I found when I joined Mysore classes last September.

As usual, things are never what we expect them to be, better to have no agenda, like wanting to sweat on your yoga class.
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Hitting Bottom

I confess. When I started practicing yoga 6 years ago I did it because I wanted to look good and feel peaceful. Mostly to look good though.

That came quickly and was the easy part.

If someone would have warned me about all of the discoveries I would make along the line about myself, maybe I would have thought it twice. Maybe not, I really wanted to look good.

Today I find myself face to face with my conditioned behaviors, recongizing them as old friends, noticing as they arise. I see the psychich energy leaving my body trying to "grab" what I want, when I want it. I see in full force, the lack of control over surrendering to a higher power. And I thought I was so enlightened.

Never in a million years would I have guessed that being on this path, in this practice, and opening my body through it, and releasing old holdings I would actually come accross to "behaviors", "patterns of thinking", "ways of acting", "my relationship to the world".

I am infinite grateful to be given the chance to go deeper into practice.

In the words of my teacher, Greg, what I am going trhough is the peeling of layers that eventually will reveal the Shiva within. Let me tell you, this Shiva entity is not exactly a walk in the park. I guess I am getting closer to the full meaning of surrender. Yes, shit happens and you accept it, you walk through it, you don't hide.

Namaste
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Puerto Rican gift to my yoga class of Sunday


Today is Sunday June 8th and the Puerto Ricans have their parade on 5th Avenue.

Because yogasutra is on 42nd street and 5th avenue, during class we had the benefit of a parade spokeperson talking us through the class on loud speakers. The amazing thing is that he kept saying "aqui y ahora" (here and now). At least that is all that I understood.

Even though my Spanish is, well, perfect, it is my native language after all, it is all I could hear.

It came very handy to get me back into the poses that hurt, or when my mind went wondering and worrying.

Who knew that having loud people outside of class could actually be so good.

This is a picuture of me with the dress I had made in India, I like it so much I wanted to share


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Wayne Dyer is looking for your Excuses

Indeed.... he wants to know why is it that you don't leave that job you hate, or dare talk to that guy, or throw that fabulous party...

Tell him

http://www.onlinebookpromo.com/dyer/excusesbegone/
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