You Need Chestnut? (Yoga Practice Notes)

This post will perhaps have less interest for those who are not active yoga people.

What's it like to practice in Mysore, compared to daily mysore practice at Yoga East?

At one level, it's the same. The sequence is the same, the shala/studio etiquette is the same, there are adjustments. It's hard work, just like home. Everyone should be reassured that Laura is a very skillful, effective teacher who instructs in the true Mysore tradition. You won't feel like a fish out of water practicing here.

You will, however, feel a definite shift in the level of energy in the practice. Just being here has a distinct, intangible effect on one's practice; this is ashtanga central. There are more people (maybe 70?) and a number of them are excellent or superb in their practice skills. Everyone has come a very long way to do one thing -- advance their ashtanga practices. There is, then, a kind of atmosphere of intensity and energy which one can feel.

There are, however, plenty of newer students. Some people appear to be first time students (not first day, but just learning the sequence) and they appear to have Saraswati's full attention and interest. This, too, is like Yoga East. The practice really is for everyone, not just the stars.

There are some really good folks. I haven't seen any David Swenson or Lino Miele, but there are plenty of people working on intermediate, some of whom are most skillful. The second series people are a bit older, and I'm guessing that a lot of them are yoga teachers back home. A lot of the primary series students are in their 20's.

The age spread here is different from Yoga East, where we are a decidedly grayer crowd. I can't tell if I'm the oldest student, but I'm willing to bet that I am. It looks like there are three or four of us in our fifties, and I don't see anyone who I think is older than I am (almost 60).

There seem to be a lot of practicioners from Europe and from Australia and New Zealand. There definitely are some people from the U.S., and I've hung out a fair amount with a fellow in his mid-50's from NYC. He's a regular at Eddie Stern's Yoga Shala in Soho, and has been to Mysore some ten times -- a very good resource.

There is no reason why a regular Yoga East mysore person would not significantly benefit from study here, and no barriers in the studio at all. It's a long way to travel, but you would feel comfortable and energized.

Personal practice comments: I got the bind in Supta K again, after missing it yesterday. I "turned the corner" on one side in Marichy D, but couldn't clasp. I continued on, as Saraswati was busy. She shouted (in a nice way?) across the room, "You need chestnut?" I misunderstood, and thought she was asking me if I wanted an adjustment. In reality, she was telling me I needed to wait for an adjustment, so I waited a long time while she assisted other people, who had started earlier, in backbends.

So far I have not been stopped, and have continued throughout the primary series. I have a hunch, though, that after enough observation, I'll likely get a stopping point at Supta K or somewhere, as my limited skill set deteriorates after navasana.