It was January 20 something in 2008 and I woke up to the sound of very loud horns with a mosquito bite in my face, not pleasant, then I remembered, oh yes, I am in India.
Like every morning for my entire life I went to the kitchen and prepared coffee, smelled it, followed all the rituals, warmed the cup, got the fresh milk, the right amount of sugar, poured it in and went to the meditation little room with the flashing lights that all Indian homes seem to have.
Then it happened. I could not drink it. The following morning I tried again, and again I could not drink it.
I drunk tea for a while.
Fast forward a few months later when I met my now husband in NYC, he drinks coffee every day, so coffee came back. I cannot imagine a practice without it these days...
Can you? or is Sharath really right when he says "no coffee no prana" in one of my 32 unusual yoga quotes?
Oh, one more thing, if you know of those electric portraits they have in home altars in India, do you know what they are called? been googling it and cannot find them :-)
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"No Coffee No Prana"... interesting. I need some clarification here. Is Sharath saying that without coffee, your practice won't have the jump-start or the "ommph" that it needs?
ReplyDeleteIf this is what he means, then I'm in some trouble: I always drink coffee only AFTER I have done my practice in the morning! Hmm... maybe that's why my SI joint is not as happy as it should be...
Yes I believe that is what he is saying... as per this being the reason behind any trouble with the SI Joint... I am not so sure... but then again, who knows, maybe you could try and see...
ReplyDeleteMay I ask? why do you not drink before? do you not feel like it? you are not tempted? I just cannot imagine getting on the mat without something warm in me first... maybe is just habit
I always practice before my morning coffee for a few reasons: (1) having it on an empty stomach irritates my digestive system, and (2) coffee *really* wires me up, which would lead to a really unfocused practice. I have enough challenges staying focused as it is, I don't need another distraction! :p
ReplyDeleteTo Nobel: I think the'no coffee no prana' quote is meant to be tongue-in-cheek....I can't imagine a pre-practice coffee being a prerequisite for an energized practice...
Actually, I do my Buddhist prayers in the morning before I do my practice, and I drink some warm water when I am doing my prayers. So I do have something warm in my body.
ReplyDeleteHere's why I don't drink coffee before practice: (1) Drinking coffee does something to my nervous system which results in my having sweaty palms, which makes it harder to hold downward dog. I experienced this in my pre-Ashtanga days, when I would get a mocha from Starbucks before going to a Saturday morning vinyasa class, (2) Maybe I'm superstitious this way, but I believe in the "Yoga is my Coffee" mantra (i.e. if yoga can't wake me up, what can?), (3)My favorite drink is a double espresso, and I don't have an espresso machine at home :-)
Danielle, great philosophy, I relate to that, the stomach can get upset sometimes, the coffee is a bit too acidic... I guess I share that one with you, not so much the other one, I kind of do need to wake up...
ReplyDeleteNobel, really? sweaty palms, that is strange indeed... then again you like double espresso, that is some serious coffee... I only have the american type, the one brewed in the regular machines, I set it up for before I wake up so I wake up to the smell... interesting that you drink warm water, I wonder if that would do the trick for others... at least in the having something warm in
I took a Mark Whitwell workshop once, and he said Krishnamacharya used to drink FIVE cups of coffee a day. Sharath also said "No coffee, no prana" at the Sydney workshop. So, bring it on!
ReplyDeleteAs for those flashing light portraits... there is a HUGE ASS portrait of Guruji in the KPJAYI shala with blue lights around it. Once in a while, the blue lights start flashing. I LOVE IT!! :)
HA HA, that is funny skippetty. the H.A. portrait with the blue lights.... and the five cups of coffee.. wow!!! ashtanga masters and coffee... a love affair...
ReplyDeleteWell I think it should be "no coffee, prana" ~ I am always amazed at yogis who drink coffee. But maybe it is because I come from a yoga tradition that says coffee is not sattvic so I never depend on it to get me through the day NOR my practice with the thinking that I am rajasic enough. I also know that it doesn't do adrenals any good and mine were already blown up once before so why chance it.
ReplyDeleteI think this info says a lot - "advanced yoga practice and meditation is all about balance, particularly of the nervous system. Stimulants of all kinds, and caffeine in particular, create immediate imbalances that quickly turn chronic. Not good.
Caffeine in all its forms is also a strong diuretic that leads to dehydration. Since some 75+% of the population is already dehydrated, caffeine just makes things worse. For yoga students, dehydrationg = a stiff/sore body."
And since Ashtanga can be a sweaty practice, I think coffee does more harm than good. Green juice wakes me up really well. Just my thoughts :)
I love your thoughts anonymous! I wish I was that satvic, I hope that soon I will be able to do green juices, I would love to do that... sometimes I think with me the thought of having to prepare a green juice is just too much, there is so much cleaning involved, but if someone made it for me, I would totally drink green juice instead of coffee! oh yes! I would love it too...
ReplyDeleteAgree with Danielle... Sharath has a sense of humour, it would be absurd to take a comment like that literally.
ReplyDeleteI like coffee before practice but can do without it too.. the main reason I have it is that coffee (including decaf) stimulates the bowels and ensures yesterday's meals are gone before practice (sorry for being graphic).
Oh no problem at Susananda, vowel speak is one I am used to ;-) and yes of course it is to be taken with a pinch of salt, it just feels good for us coffee addicts, good thing that you and Danielle keep things in perspective
ReplyDelete