Wandering Mind

Day 1, Session 1

Well, it’s 9 am and I’m sitting in Central Park. I had the first led Primary Series with Pattabhi. First work out of his mouth - “Samastithi”. He is definitely all business but doesn’t mind having a good time while he’s at it. “Catvari, Catvari” (sp?) was the mantra of the morning. I think Catvari is Sanskrit for the number 4 and as he counts the postures of the sun salutations he would bust people for coming out Chaturanga Dandasana and into upward dog… a lot. It seems very common for people to do Chaturanga Dandasana with their chests on the floor, even the more advance yogis. The mats were tight, about 3” between each one. There were times when I think other people had more of their bodies on my mat than I did. I receive 3 assists, all from Sharath. The first was helping pull my hand toward my toe in Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana (it didn’t make it) and the second was when he was nice enough to stick around and try to help on the other side. Kind of made me feel like the awkward fat kid that’s too big to get his arms around his back. I was, however, able to get into Padmasana for the first time with ease, no pain, and a little extra room…It was pretty cool. I couldn’t always hold it and couldn’t get the arms through in Garbha Pindasana but I was even able to do it for Urdhva Padmasana.

One of my mat mates was Megan from LA (Just moved there from Hawaii) She’s been practicing Ashtanga for 4 years and did Guruji’s work shops when they were in LA. It was really nice to have her as a guide. She joked after class about not knowing if it was her toe or mine she was grabbing. (With the mats so close there was a lot of bumping) and I replied “at least someone could reach my toes”.

Oh, Sharath’s third adjustment was putting my heels together in Salamba Sarvangasana.

I did the whole waiting in line thing to bow and touch Guruji’s feet. You do kind of feel like you’re meeting the Pope. His series was different from what I’m used to in a few different ways. His style was obviously different, we did Chakrasana immediately following Urdhva Dhanurasana before Paschimottanasana… that surprised me a bit. We held Uttana Padasana and the pike position in Sirsasana for a 10 count, not 5. My mind was racing the whole time so I couldn’t completely get into my practice. I’m sure tomorrow will be better. I’m going to the 4:30 Mysore class today with Saraswati. The plan for the afternoon is Food, Water, and Rest…

The sun is shining, trees are blooming.

It’s a good day.