day 2

i was tired this morning and my upper body was stiff. in the led class we were about halfway through the standing postures when john stopped us and asked us to gather round. he gave a bit of a demo and then we started again from the beginning. there were a few more asides where we sat and listened and we stopped shortly into the seated postures, with a brief closing as our 2 hours were up.

yesterday john mentioned something about resolving your issues on the mat. you meet yourself on the mat as the layers unfold and your true heart finds it's voice. as you let go of your ego and find the balance and quiet within, your heart and body opens with grace and you find sukha.

~

so much metaphor. the lotus seed that sinks to the bottom and then roots and takes hold and starts climbing upwards with a great explosion at the top where the bud forms and bursts into a beautiful flower. plant that seed in your pelvis, at the root chakra and have the energy/strength/lightness run up the energy channels to the heart centre and then up and through the top of your head....

this afternoon's session is going to take a while to fully digest. i got home and have spent the past hour looking at the wikipedia pages for chakras, nadis, bandhas, and various other references to explain the subtle body and the energy flow within it, not to mention the history of ashtanga yoga itself and the sage Patanjali who wrote it all out. i've got nearly 20 tabs open in firefox.

the ashtanga yoga practice is meant to teach the tools that help us be to grounded and to give us the strength to be compassionate and open, which then enables us to observe, absorb and react to our environment. i think.

ok, now i'm going for a walk in the sun. i'm excited about tomorrow morning's session.