Day 10
Style: Ashtanga
Teacher: Michael Dynie
Studio: Rama Lotus
Namaste. Ashtanga round two. Day ten! Officially in the double digits. On to the next one. A bad habit of mine during the last challenge was constantly showing up two minutes before class started. Basically, I would wait around until the last minute, realize that I was probably going to be late, franticly run to my car fumbling with the keys, throw my yoga bag in the back seat then tear out of my driveway in a cloud of dust. Praying I would only encounter green lights, I'd race across the city and screech into a parking spot three minutes before class was about to begin, scramble into the change room, tangle myself up in my clothes, grab my water bottle and stumble into class seconds before it began, finding myself the last available slice of floor to unroll my mat and lay there, gasping for air. Very Zen. If the idea for yoga is to bring about peace of mind and a general calm to your state of being, then leading up to class I practice anti-yoga.. rushing as fast as I can getting as frazzled and stressed as possible. True story: Once, late for a class and not paying complete attention, I ended up cutting off a cop half a block from the studio. He blasted on his sirens and pulled up beside me, asking me "what the hell I thought I was doing." All I could do was stare back blinkingly. Shaking his head, he took off.. just another dazed yogi posing a hazard to the road.
Along with completing the challenge in one piece, another personal goal has been to arrive early to the studio and walk whenever I can. I can say I’ve only been late a few times so far (maybe last nights Ashtanga.. my bad Mike!), and I’ve even walked the distance through this deadly Canadian winter. I’ve rediscovered the beauty of foot transportation. With a few layers of warm clothes and some good music on my ipod, I’m growing to love it. Putting foot to earth is an immensely satisfying activity. You might think that the worst part would be the walk home, that after a long class, all you would want to do is climb into your warm, toasty car and jet back home as fast as possible. I've experienced the exact opposite. Coming out into the fresh air half-hidden under a cozy scarf, my heart has leapt out of my chest as the open road stretches out in front of me and I place one foot in front of the other, alone under the sky. Maybe life works the same way. All in all, it's all just one long pilgrimage.
Teacher: Michael Dynie
Studio: Rama Lotus
Namaste. Ashtanga round two. Day ten! Officially in the double digits. On to the next one. A bad habit of mine during the last challenge was constantly showing up two minutes before class started. Basically, I would wait around until the last minute, realize that I was probably going to be late, franticly run to my car fumbling with the keys, throw my yoga bag in the back seat then tear out of my driveway in a cloud of dust. Praying I would only encounter green lights, I'd race across the city and screech into a parking spot three minutes before class was about to begin, scramble into the change room, tangle myself up in my clothes, grab my water bottle and stumble into class seconds before it began, finding myself the last available slice of floor to unroll my mat and lay there, gasping for air. Very Zen. If the idea for yoga is to bring about peace of mind and a general calm to your state of being, then leading up to class I practice anti-yoga.. rushing as fast as I can getting as frazzled and stressed as possible. True story: Once, late for a class and not paying complete attention, I ended up cutting off a cop half a block from the studio. He blasted on his sirens and pulled up beside me, asking me "what the hell I thought I was doing." All I could do was stare back blinkingly. Shaking his head, he took off.. just another dazed yogi posing a hazard to the road.
Along with completing the challenge in one piece, another personal goal has been to arrive early to the studio and walk whenever I can. I can say I’ve only been late a few times so far (maybe last nights Ashtanga.. my bad Mike!), and I’ve even walked the distance through this deadly Canadian winter. I’ve rediscovered the beauty of foot transportation. With a few layers of warm clothes and some good music on my ipod, I’m growing to love it. Putting foot to earth is an immensely satisfying activity. You might think that the worst part would be the walk home, that after a long class, all you would want to do is climb into your warm, toasty car and jet back home as fast as possible. I've experienced the exact opposite. Coming out into the fresh air half-hidden under a cozy scarf, my heart has leapt out of my chest as the open road stretches out in front of me and I place one foot in front of the other, alone under the sky. Maybe life works the same way. All in all, it's all just one long pilgrimage.
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