Yoga – this has been something that I kept\neluding for quite sometime. And being me, I have this eternal quest to learn\nthings in an ideal situation that can challenge me from all quarters. This\nquest is a classic example of how to put things on hold, waiting for the\nperfect moment! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I did try doing Yoga across few styles,\ndifferent methodologies, sometimes given as a way to improve flexibility, or as\na magic for weight loss. I always wanted to learn Yoga as a way of life, as a\nmeans to transcend, as a tool to understand my self much deeper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I experienced a glimpse of what I was\nlonging for when my friend Valeria Karuk introduced me to Ashtanga, during our\ntime in Cherai Beach. Though it was just for a week, I had experienced the\nessence of it. I understood it was just not even the tip of the iceberg. That\nstayed with me all through and after that, I vowed not to try any other form\ntill I learnt it as it has to be. I connected so deeply with \u2018Ashtanga Yoga\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, after a wait of 3yrs from that\nfirst experience, I have now stepped into the journey of exploring Yoga and\nPhilosophy. My sincere Thanks and deepest Gratitude to Andrew Eppler for his\ncontribution to the Mysore Yoga Tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I walked into the hall this morning, I\nrealised I was stepping into a zone of yogis, who are so deep into their\npractice and understanding of the tradition of yoga and philosophy. It quite\nsurprised me, can we, being Indians still own up Yoga to our roots? I felt\nthough the roots are here and deep unseen, the branches have grown into such a\nwholesome tree bringing in these blessed souls from almost all parts of the\nworld. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then hit the other realisation! They are\nall in the range of practicing yoga between a period of 7-20yrs or even more,\nand to top that, most of them are yoga teachers! And I, happen to step into my\nDAY 1 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My experience today, was so compelling, that I thought, it would be nice if I could chronicle my journey through it for these 10days! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Day 1: Pain to Perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the practice began, I saw everyone so\ngraciously live every possible essence of yoga. The sequence, the vinyasa, the\nsmile, the congruence was so evident in each of them. All this, while I try to\nfit in, copy, sneak a peek, sweat, tire, admire and long for the moment when I\nwould be able to be what I saw! <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is said that Pain is the best teacher.\nPain gets us to a point where the possibility of a solution begins. Pain either\nphysical, mental, emotional, financial, as Andrew said today, is good. But I was\nwondering why I was not having any pain yet! :)) Meaning, I had prepared for\nthis journey well and also, as instructed, kept things only to an extent of\nstretching to an 80-90% of pushing my limits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Usually we tend to pick up a new learning\nonly when we don\u2019t exhaust ourselves of the excitement of pushing to our best.\nWhen we try to push to our maximum possibility, we tend to wear out and stay\naway. So, to form a habit, it is always better to take it slow, one step at a\ntime, calibrate, adjust, imbibe and then live it. And with all my being, I want\nto live all this learning here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What I experienced today though, is a pain\nof not being able to get to this point earlier. The pain that I have now, is\nthe longing and the long way ahead that I see to be able to live what I still\nsaw today! And hopefully, this pain will get me there too! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Interacting with the scholar, Sri Lakshmi\nThatachar, 84yrs, today, was an humbling moment. It is true when he said – \u201cMy\nroots are in the past. I am in the present. I work for the future\u201d. This was so\nevidently visible in how he could conveniently navigate through the western and\nour culture, traditions and philosophy with a seamless connect with each one of\nus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He took us through the roots of Yoga, why\nYoga, how Yoga, starting from the Sankhya philosophy. Again, the reality that it is all here, but do\nwe know it, do we see it, do we want it is so evident. We have the luxury of\nchoice. But, to make a choice, do we know what we want in the first place? How\ndo we know that? How do we perceive? How can we perceive better?<\/p>\n\n\n\n For\nnow, I am a seeker for every possible experience that can help me learn, live\nand just BE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yoga – this has been something that I kept eluding for quite sometime. And being me, I have this eternal quest to learn things in an ideal situation that can challenge me from all quarters. This quest is a classic example of how to put things on hold, waiting for the perfect moment! \ud83d\ude42 I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-blog"},"yoast_head":"\n