Developing a home practice Part 2

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11a Part 11b Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15a Part 15b Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21a Part 21b Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26a Part 26b Part 27 Parts 28, 29 and 30 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34

I think in the beginning I didn't even think of myself as doing Ashtanga but rather just doing some Yoga. The book I was using just happened to be Ashtanga. I didn't read much of the introduction but just dived into Surynamaskara and the standing postures. Going to a yoga class wasn't something I even considered. A guy here, outside London, might think about going to a gym to get in shape but not a Yoga class, probably not even an aerobic class, at least not in the beginning. Besides getting fit and healthy was more of a by product. I was doing Yoga more as a meditative thing right from the beginning. I wanted to get absorbed, lost even, in what I was doing. I think it was that absorption that delighted me and that I looked forward to in the morning. It helped that it was the tail end of Winter, still dark in the mornings. I didn't want to put the light on and disturb the Chinchilla so would just throw down my towel (no mat then) and practice in the dark with just the light from the hallway to see the book by. After I finished I would sit for a while and do some Vipassana.

Of course at the same time I started to Google. I found out more about yoga and of course Ashtanga. I remember seeing that Youtube video of the guy practicing in the temple and being blown away by it (still am) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu9Sq1RvuoA ,was this what I was doing? I think that video got me excited and 'lit a fire' for the practice. I started trying out some of the seated postures from the book. My Paschimottanasana's were pretty sad, I could reach my ankles but my knees were very bent, I couldn't imagine ever having them flat on the floor.

I was now thinking about Ashtanga rather than Yoga and wanted a video and a mat. I remember feeling a bit sheepish going to an exercise shop and looking at the yoga section. I bought a box that had a purple mat and some blocks and wanted to say at the counter that it wasn't for me but a present for a friend. But I loved that first mat (still have it). I remember reading Elsie's blog (that I miss, by the way) where she talks about 'old blue', that's how I felt about my purple mat. As soon as I got home I rolled it out and threw down a few Sury A's.

I can't remember how came across the Mark Darby DVD http://www.amazon.com/Ashtanga-Yoga-Primary-Mark-Darby/dp/B0006I036C but I still think I was really lucky to choose it and that it's THE best beginners ashtanga DVD. I lent it to a friend and still haven't got it back. I think it starts with a little Demo of Mark doing his own practice, a mixture of 1st 2nd and Advanced I think, very very cool. Could I ever do that, loved the jump back and the handstand/arm balances even then.

The video has Mark Darby doing the standard Ashtanga Primary but his student Nicole Bordeleau practicing alongside, but doing some simplified variations and explaining them in her French Canadian accent...I'm still madly in love with Nicole Bordeleau. Presenting it this way the practice didn't seem dumbed down for beginners but rather just making allowances for an individuals flexibility. Here was a simplified Jump back or rather step back allowing you to link the poses. I began to get the hang of the Ujjayi breath. I remember it being described somewhere as constricting the throat and trying to sound like Darth Vader. I was skeptical about the Bandhas (no change there then).

If I'd started by going to Shala to learn Ashtanga I guess I would have been given one pose at a time and not allowed to progress past the current pose until it was... acceptable. I didn't hear about any of that until much later, and was, (still am) very surprised by it. I was only constrained by time. The video was an hour and a half, I would just do Standing and finishing on a work day but follow the whole video through on my day off and on Sundays. So within a month I was practicing all of primary, though using variations throughout.

It was a good job I bought the video when I did, Nicola (sigh) would give lots of advice for practicing safely, if I'd just carried on with the book I would probably have injured myself. After an hour and a half practicing with the video I was completely wasted. I would sweat a kilo and every muscle in my body would ache/tingle.....it felt fantastic.

Next : Coming across David Swenson's book and videos