Surya Namaskar A Demonstration

No Fearing! A practical guide to starting a Mysore practice

Anyone can practice.

Don't be intimidated about starting your practice.

You don't need to know anything.  Your teacher will show you.

Everyone starts this way.

I was very afraid before I started.  I get it.  Now I know better.

In India you can't be afraid.

Read up.  KPJAYI on the practice and where to find a teacher nearby.

Contact the teacher and set a time to observe a Mysore class.

Start by observing.  The whole point is to get settled into the vibe of the space including the people.  TO feel relaxed and comfortable.  You are investing in your education and a community, not a massage or gymnastics.  Email to request a time to observe.  You'll get a tour.  Find out how the classroom works, etc.  Be ready to remove your shoes and turn off electronics!  Read the etiquette.  Ask about the schedule (below) and tuition.  You'll figure out where it is and how long it will take you to get there.  Essentially we are trying to set a strong and fertile foundation for a lifelong sustainable practice.  Slow and steady.  Tell them about injuries, concerns, etc.  Here is our etiquette at the shala.

You've decided the practice is for you.  Read the schedule.  When does the door open?  When does the teacher arrive?  What time is the opening mantra?  When should you pay?  What will you need?  Budget an hour although it will probably be less.

You've figured out a start date and time.  What to wear and where to find it.  Towel.  Yoga mat and rug maybe.  You'll need fresh ones each day.  Be barefoot.  Pay your tuition.

The day before.  Eat light, sleep well, and hydrate.  Set out your clothes.  Establish good habits from day one.  Review etiquette.  Pay tuition.

That day.  Bathe.  Don't eat or drink.  Arrive in advance.  Fill out forms if you haven't already and pay tuition.  The teacher will show you what to do.

Return the next day and the next.

Part II The first month of practice.

Interview with Paul Gold

e:  Paul Gold

Age:  45

Hometown: Toronto, Canada

# of trips to India: 9, I think.

Current Location: Toronto, Canada

Your yoga shala: Ashtanga Yoga Shala Toronto

Established: 2002

Practice with help from Rachelle, 2013.

What was your first impression of Mysore practice?

It felt very authentic and exotic at the same time.

A Mysore room was quieter than any yoga class I’d ever attended. All I could hear was the sound of breathing and the occasional whisper of the teacher.

When I first started practicing in 1995, there were no Mysore classes in Toronto; so, my first months were in led classes. When I got to my first Mysore class, even though I had done loads of led classes and had memorized the sequence, the experience of not having a teacher leading me through practice made it apparent that I had a very distracted mind. It was very hard for me to keep my eyes on my own mat. It was equally difficult to keep my practice moving. I would dawdle and lose the vinyasa constantly. I hadn’t realized the extent that I’d become dependent on the teacher’s voice to move me through my practice.

I clued in that Mysore practice was going to require me to be a much more self-motivated student than I ever had to be in a led class.

What inspired you to get started?

My interest in yoga practice started in 1995 out of a bad break up with a woman whom I had been seeing on-and-off since I was sixteen. Let’s just say that when things finally blew up, I was suffering and was keen on doing some personal work to ensure that I would never be in such a messed up relationship again. So when I saw a pamphlet for a yoga studio in my neighbourhood, I thought “yoga is supposed to be good for me. I think I’ll check it out.” The rest is history.

Toronto, 1996.

What did you like about ashtanga yoga? 

I loved the vinyasa and loved how the movement between asanas forced my mind into a more meditative state that had the result, after class, of greater peace and clarity. In effect, just trying to get through class was enough to make thinking about anything else impossible; so, after practice, I would notice that I hadn’t thought about anything for 90 minutes and gained some valuable perspective on my life.

What was hard about it?

Everything was hard. Before starting yoga, I was as an avid alpine skier who skied moguls all day long. I have very bowed legs and limbs that don’t entirely straighten. I also have wrists that don’t bend. Add to the above a stiff back, tight hamstrings and tight shoulders from playing bass guitar. So, everything was difficult for me. It was a festival of resistance, soreness and intense sensations. The only thing that I could do, almost from the first day, was lift up and jump back. The fact that I persevered is really incredible when I think back. I must have strong yoga samskaras from past lives.

Feeding cows in Gokulam, 2009.

What keeps you inspired?

The benefits of practice keep me inspired. For 20 years, I’ve seen how practice makes my life better than it would otherwise be. When I practice, I have more equanimity and that keeps me coming back to my mat. Early on, I noticed that when I busted my ass on my mat and was humbled by the effort of practice, I was more patient and compassionate with others off my mat. That was a huge connection between my practice and my life off the mat. It was very inspiring to see that the benefits of yoga weren’t just limited to the physical realm.

What do you keep with you from your time with Guruji?

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to practice with Guruji many times. My time with him is really the heart and soul of my practice. I can’t imagine what my life would be like if he hadn’t been so dedicated to sharing this method. He is The Source for me and I’ll always be indebted to him for changing my life.

With Rachelle and Guruji, 2003

What do you keep with you from your studies with Sharath?

I have learned from Sharath that steadiness and consistency are the true measures of one’s practice. He has also taught me to be quietly confident in my abilities. I respect Sharath’s dedication to continuing his own practice and sharing Guruji’s teachings. Sharath works so hard and gives so much of himself to others. It’s really incredible and I admire and respect him so much.

What advice do you have for beginners? 

1. Focus on your own practice and measure your progress from where you’ve started not from some preconceived idea of where you feel you ought to be.

2. Stay aware of how yoga practice is affecting other areas of your life off the mat… like your sleep, temperament, digestion, sex drive, and courage. There are so many ways that practice benefits us if we pay attention.

3. Find a reason to practice and to keep getting on your mat that is outside of progress in yoga asanas and you will reap the true benefits of yoga.

What books do you recommend people read?

Edwin Bryant’s edition of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.

Bhagavad Gita – Ramakrishna ashram edition with commentary is quite good.

Yoga Mala by Sri K Pattabhi Jois

In Search of God by Swami Ramdas

Our old Shala in downtown Toronto.

Interview with Angela Jamison

Name: Angela Jamison Age: 37 Hometown: rural Yellowstone County, Montana # of trips to India: 5 Current Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan Your yoga shala: Ashtanga Yoga: Ann Arbor Established: 2010

Last time I blew off a day of practice: April 2003 What was your first impression of Mysore practice? Wow, these people are focused. What inspired you to get started? A near death experience in 2002 made me get serious about daily practice.

What did you like about it? It brought out a side of my personality I didn’t know was there: this new person who was intense, devoted, and oddly free from the needs to feel knowledgeable or in control. What was hard about it? It made me see that I was spiritually repressed. As a preacher’s kid who had rejected religion in favor of academia, I had settled into a materialist, scientific world view. But the whole reason I loved practice was that it put me in a state of mind in which I felt that i didn’t know anything. It was disorienting to spend two hours every day in intense mind-body awareness, where rational and scientific explanations of my experience were meaningless.

How did you move past those challenges? I guess I just practiced more. Once I had tools and space to look directly at my mind, I was both fascinated and terrified by it. The clear, but unstated, lesson from the ashtanga practice was that moving toward my fear was a good idea. So I started doing sitting practice also. What keeps you inspired? Students 200%. I am introverted, very sensitive to others’ energy, bookish, and tend to prioritize depth over breadth, so there has always been a tendency toward self-seclusion. But as a teacher I feel it’s important to me to just be a normal, approachable, non-pretentious person in the world. Nevertheless, there is a series of filters that students need to pass through before I’ll accept them in the shala, and I only take one new person at a time. Our Mysore program here is capped, and I refuse to let it get too crowded, even though I don’t like making people wait or turning them away. I just love the method so much that I want to do it justice: that means making sure that every new student gets good foundational instructions. 

Weirdly, this arrangement (which I made for pedagogical reasons) has led to a yoga school where there is a huge amount of creative inspiration al over the place. I mean, there is kind of TOO MUCH inspiration - sometimes there is such a desire to practice and study with this group, at such a depth, that I feel my heart will burst. And sometimes I realize that I’m so excited about teaching that I’m forgetting to tend to normal, everyday human things. I’ve also stopped writing (not counting my private journal), which I do regret. So there are some problems with being inspired by students, although I consider these good problems to have. Since I was a kid, creative inspiration has been one of the only things I really cared about in this life. I never would have expected it to be such a strong theme in the business of running a yoga school where the physical method is somewhat rote, and the meditation technique - tristhana - is (in a sense) very straightforward. But it turns out there is a lot of evolution happening in this practice, and that is pure creative energy.

What do you keep with you from your time with Guruji? Guruji was not my teacher - he never knew my name or taught me a posture. The strong feeling I have for him comes through my teacher Dominic Corigliano, who shares his constant awareness of Pattabhi Jois through stories and just through his way of being. Noah Williams has also shared some of that transmission with me, simply because Guruji is so often on his mind. But even from a distance, Guruji did seem to grace me with one of his far-out pranks, which is discussed here: http://www.insideowl.com/2014/06/22/svadyaya-is-not-a-crime/

What do you keep with you from your studies with Sharath? I will try not to say to much here, because I feel that talking a lot about relationships with teachers can dissipate the energy of the transmission. So to speak generally, I’ll say that Sharath’s first set of teachings for me seemed to be about contacting the humor and absurdity of just being a human. I had come to take my concentration and my pratyhara so seriously - and so personally - by the time I first landed in Mysore. Sharath would crack jokes to me when I was in hard posture or catch my eye (altering my drishti) and say something hilarious. I’m sure the first smiles I EVER cracked during practice were with him. My time with Sharath has given rise to a quality of light-heartedness which was not there before. What is your daily schedule like? 

3:00 get up, do some kriyas and sitting practice, get ready for the day

3:45 -4:00 walk to the shala

4:00 - 4:30 chant, burn sage and incense, clean the shala energetically and physically

4:30 - 6:15 practice

6:15 - 8:30 teach

8:30 - 9:00 meditate at the shala

9:00-9:45 walk home, swing by co-op grocery, check on the garden, roll in the grass, shower and change

9:45-1:00 work - either teaching privates or doing shala business, take 30 minutes of quiet time for a small breakfast between 10-11.

1:00 - 3:00 big lunch, rest

3:00 - 4:00 household chores, shala related errands, etc

4:00 - 6:30 work again. Teach small classes or privates at home, meet with students, answer email, receive energetic bodywork. If all that is cared for, this is reading time. If my husband is coming home from work early that night, I’ll make him dinner and sit with him while he eats.

6:30 Evening alarm sounds. That means it’s time to get away from screens, stop talking with people, and go to my yoga room to do sitting and restorative practice. This is some combination of meditation, self-massage, yin style and restorative practice, yoga nidra, binaural beats, or lucid dreaming until bed at about 9:00. This is 2-3 hours of self-care and deep relaxation every evening. 

How do you balance family, practice, and running your own business? 

Practice is first. It gets my best, clearest energy daily. Regarding family, my husband is the boss of my schedule on the weekends - otherwise I’d never see him. 

Regarding children, the amount of work I do for the shala would not be possible with young ones. The Mysore teachers who are also *primary* caregivers are demi-gods to me - they have achieved a level of selfless service that is beyond me. In almost every case, these amazing people are women. If I were to have children, everything would have to change, and I’d have far less to give to students. But I’m not sure that will ever happen. I know most people have children because they feel a primal, and evolutionary, drive to do so. I haven’t experienced that. Rather, what I have experienced is extreme social pressure to reproduce - so much of it, from so early in life, that I developed an immunity to it. Much to my parents’ and inlaws’ displeasure. But I slowly came to understand that the meaning of my life is in no way dependent on having children, and that I can fill my own primal and evolutionary need to serve others in a creative variety of ways. I’m not afraid of being unfulfilled in this life, no matter how it unfolds. For centuries, many men have concluded that their spiritual path, and their ability to serve others, is best fulfilled by refraining from having children. But it has been unacceptable for women - who traditionally do far more of the work for a child’s rearing - to reach this same conclusion. I feel we are entering an age when women also will have space to choose such a path. I have not always been allowed that space, so I have simply (and up until this exact moment, quietly) taken it. I hope you won’t judge me too harshly for sharing from my heart on this matter; and I pray that I have chosen the right time to share this information.

One more comment on balance: For me, developing an ability to do self-care and restoration has been as important for my spiritual and emotional health as developing a highly conscious relationship with food. Relaxation and sleep are skills! I would submit that ashtanga teachers are entitled to a lot of time for self-care and spiritual development. A traditional ashtanga teacher who lives the life and walks the walk is a rare creature. We don’t want such creatures to go extinct. Their care and feeding is crucial! Shala fees need to reflect the importance of this work in their schedules. And if possible, students should become sensitive to the importance of respecting their teachers’ time and energy so they don’t burn out.

What advice do you have for beginners? 

1. Filter heavily. The essence of ashtanga is direct transmission, in person, from one person to another. You can’t learn the technical practice on the internet. That’s fake. Keep your own learning process pure by cultivating real human relationships with teachers, and by taking the best from ALL the teachers and communities you encounter. We are one, and it is only maya that divides up the world in to us and them and other dualities - please remember that if you take this advice of filtering heavily. Comfort with paradox is part of spiritual maturity, and all ashtangis can access that sort of maturity from day one if they want it.

2. Use critical thinking, and trust your gut, when choosing teachers. But once you know you trust someone, don't focus too much on teachers’ limitations or their confusing aspects. Also don’t pretend teachers are god, projecting all your own inner goodness and wisdom on to them. All humans have flaws and it’s important to see each other honestly and give each other grace. What seems to give the most sustainable strength in relationships with teachers is focusing on their most inspiring qualities, being grateful for them, staying wary of any tendencies for ethical trouble in the base realms (money, sex, power, attention), and cultivating a sense of humor waaaaay earlier in the practice than I did.

3. Be skeptical about workshops and anything like asana tricks and tips. I say this because I LOVE the physical practice and despair to see people slowing down their own physical progress by looking for tricks and tips. The only trick is consistent practice. Casting about for more analysis or more instruction just dissipates practitioners’ energy and thus makes it harder to learn the physical skills they seek. Their main purpose is to generate cash for yoga studios - thus the hype. Maybe choose one or two per year at most, with teachers you adore and with whom you want to develop a true relationship. Unless you really have no support from a true teacher relationship, don’t take random postures or “asana tips” at workshops - keep the physical practice stable, with a regular teacher who really knows you, without too many cooks in the kitchen. Your physical practice will definitely progress more quickly this way, if you don’t dissipate your energy by taking too much instruction. If they have any use at all, the main benefit of workshops is to connect with the greater tradition and the broader community.

4. If you teach too early, you will ruin your own practice. You’ll also, in a small way, ruin THE practice. You will put definitions on things from an immature place, and you are likely to remain stuck in the immature framework teaching forces you to articulate. Stay in the space of not knowing what it’s all about. That’s where you learn most and evolve fastest. If you teach before you’ve mastered the material, you’re just doing it selfishly to try to understand the material. But if you wait until you’re really in a place of selfless service (rather than fascination with your own limitations in the practice and projection of your own limited experience on to others), then what you offer will be of genuine, evolutionary value and your students will go farther, faster. 

Ashtanga is an extremely powerful method, and if you try to teach it without full and compassionate understanding of a huge variety of body-minds, or without a senior teacher who has actively transmitted the teaching method to you while you are under her wing, you will hurt people. If you presume to teach, you are responsible for knowing the whole method, for offering it in a healing manner, and for being able to serve anyone with a sincere desire to practice.

If someone tries to push you in to teaching before you are ready to transition from sadhana to seva, they are probably exploiting you. Use your filter. Never teach with the motive of making money. It’s no way to make a living. In the big picture, for some time people lose money teaching. That’s helpful. It’s a great ego-check on whether one’s teaching practice is really about selfless service.

When I first started practicing, I heard a legend that Guruji said you needed 10 years of practice before you could think about teaching. That legend saved my practice from many possible energy drains. Maybe it’ll help you stay focused too.

What is your favorite thing about this practice? I don’t know. I’m just in love, and have been for a long time - long enough to turn my life upside down over and over again. Long enough to hold and release dozens of mindsets like the one articulated in this interview. I finally got it through my head that ashtanga yoga is not the ONLY practice in this world, even though it’s still my main squeeze. I’ve accepted that, somehow, other people can love other methods. Still there is nothing about this practice, this community and our teachers, that I do not find precious. At the moment, I’m especially overwhelmed by its dramatic, sometimes terrifying, capacity to open my heart. Probably when my heart is done opening, I’ll think all the opinions expressed here are worthless. But I share them anyway in case they can get you across some uncertainties here at the start of your practice. Not acting, and instead remaining introverted, is not always an option. What books do you recommend people read? Start with Guruji, edited by Stern and Donahaye. The Heart of Yoga by Desikachar is worth reading annually for the first decade. There is one legitimate internet swami - swamij.com - read that guy over and over again instead of garbage on FB or EJ. Tap in to ayurveda early - a guided ayurvedic cleanse is a good way in, seasoned with anything and everything by Svoboda and Frawley. Eventually find a way to get interested in the Hathayogapradipika, the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras. It makes sense if they feel dry at first, but there is SO much there. Finally, read several good cultural-political histories of India if you’re headed to Mysore - people who take pilgrimage to KPJAYI without some knowledge of the context miss out on many fascinating layers of reality there.

Little moon day notes / links to check out

 Navratri

- colors 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/fashion/style-guide/navratri-colours-day-date-wise-list-of-9-navratri-colors-and-their-significance-sharad-navratri-colours-list/featureshow/113851775.cms

ARGHALA STOTRAM

https://greenmesg.org/stotras/durga/argala_stotram.php

 Maha Lakshmi Ashtakam 

https://www.siddhayoga.org/practices/chanting/hymns/mahalakshmi-stotram

Narayani Stuti 

https://greenmesg.org/stotras/durga/narayani_stuti.php

Sri Durga Saptashati

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oivShijbbTU

Where to start AT HOME (Ashtanga Yoga Led Classes on YouTube 2024)

 So if you want to practice and home or don’t have a local teacher etc etc here are some free YouTube videos you can follow along with…

Absolutely a Beginner / Ashtanga Newbie

I send these out to yoga-curious friends. Just try to do these 10 minutes each day and boom you now have a daily yoga practice. The class is taught by my teacher, Sharath Jois. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybRZa2WK0tA

Seasoned Ashtanga Yoga Practitioner 

This is for you if you have a Mysore practice. It is a recording of a full led primary series class with Sharath.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNxda4Oxyeo&list=PLFMBVx1px256nJqangJbe58Lp-mDlK81D&index=31

Those are my top picks. Really though, the best classes will be the ones that speak to you. Not everything or everyone is for everybody. Just find something that speaks to you. That’s the perfect class.

2024 Ashtanga Moon Days

Jan 11 & 25 

feb 9 & 24 

mar 10 & 25 

apr 8 & 23 

may 8 & 23 

jun 6 & 22 

jul 5 & 21 

aug 4 & 19 

sep 2 & 18 

oct 2 & 17 

nov 1 & 15 

dec 1 & 15 & 30

Ashtanga Yoga LIVE from Mysore, India via Zoom

For those who make or have made the pilgrimage and for those who wish to or plan to — these classes are for you.

It doesn’t get any closer than boarding a plane and heading to India. 

Usha teaches ongoing classes at the main Shala and has perhaps spent more time studying at the source than most. These classes are seriously not to be missed. You will be led through primary series in the traditional manner with a small conference to follow. Born and raised in India, Usha brings together a deep knowledge of Indian culture and spirituality with the technical asana teachings. 

Classes will be held via Zoom

Sign up here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/ashtanga-yoga-live-from-india-2975099?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=creatorshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=odclsxcollection&utm-source=cp&aff=escb

Dates:

20 January

17 February

16 & 30 March

Who should register:

-Current ashtanga practitioners

-Vinyasa students

-Athletic beginners

Classes are on zoom. Gathering is encouraged. 

Karen Rain’s Blog #metoo

 Karen Rain: Ashtanga Yoga and #MeToo

My Learning Curve From Ashtanga Yoga to Matthew Remski

Update (April 2021): In February 2021, in an exchange between Matthew Remski and a friend of mine, who was trying to offer him feedback about his tone, Remski wrote the following:

“You might be interested to learn that I’ve alienated a substantial portion of the yoga abuse survivor network I worked to support, largely without pay, for 4 years. Not because of my tone, but because I spoke out against QAnon, and many of them are indoctrinated.”

As a survivor who expressed disappointment with Remski publicly, I imagine that he would like people to believe that QAnon has indoctrinated me. I personally think QAnon is both racist and a front for child sex trafficking. 

And speaking of unpaid labor, I (and other survivors) trusted Remski and, with his ongoing encouragement, spent countless hours sharing traumatic experiences and insights giving him content for writing that culminated in a book that has gained him clout, social capital, and career opportunities.

Remski claims that he is open to and appreciative of feedback. While he worked on abuse in yoga, he was always interested in my opinions and seemed to earnestly cultivate what I considered a friendship. However, his interest disappeared when he pivoted from covering sexual abuse in yoga to covering conspirituality. He switched from publicly saying, “We need to listen to survivors,” (which was in his best interest professionally at the time) to “survivors are particularly susceptible to conspiracy.” I told him that this abstraction was both harmful to survivors in general and personally made me feel objectified. He essentially disregarded me. 

Also noteworthy is that my original FB post trying to get him to take some responsibility was precisely critical of his dismissive and condescending tone while also insisting to a survivor, who was sharing trauma, that he believed her, during a FB exchange. He knew it really hurt me when someone told me they believed me but did not actually support me and he did that to someone he did not like. His tone is definitely part of how he alienated me. 

With time, distance, and reflection, in addition to his sudden lack of respect for my feedback and what is written in the post below, there are many other things that lead me to believe that Matthew Remski’s “friendship” with me was merely opportunist and that he is a total fraud. But I am not ready to discuss them publicly. I am sorry that I trusted him and believed him to be a friend.

(From Nov 2020, edited) One of the main points I tried to make in a recent interview that I did in Spanish is that an organization or community can have the best policies for addressing abuse and sexual violence but that won’t matter one bit if there aren’t individuals who are willing to speak up when an influential or respected person does something unacceptable or ignorant. And by speaking up, are willing to risk damaging or losing any of the following: connections, status, opportunities, social capital, work, money, and sometimes more. 

In an ideal world there would be consequences, both big and small (sometimes education might suffice), for all speech and behavior that is degrading, sexist, racist, abusive, exploitive, etc. Unfortunately, the more privilege and influence one has, the less likely they are to face consequences for such behavior. Maybe the best that onlookers can do is set an example by making our disapproval known. Hopefully, making such instances into learning opportunities will lead to more community pressure for accountability and justice. 

The following is in no way meant to discredit any of Matthew Remski’s writings that feature survivors who expose abusers. While Matthew Remski was working on covering abuse in yoga, he gained my trust by listening carefully and attentively to me (and other survivors) and  my name is connected with his. Yet at this point, my praise of him would not come without reservations. I’ve noticed some patterns that conflict with not only my own ethics and values, but with those I believed Remski shared, and that contradict the standards he held other people to and the work we did together. 

One pattern includes scornful modes of communication with people who have infinitely less influence than he does and do not warrant his disrespect, especially in a public forum. Impulsivity and anger can be hard to avoid on social media, I am no exception to that. However, this type of response is particularly problematic with Remski because of his position as a white, cis, male who champions survivors and allies in his commentary on dominance, abuse, and trauma.

Another pattern revolves around questionable choices in the people he is amplifying or using to amplify himself. There are recently at least three people with whom Remski has worked that directly conflict with what I thought were his values. One of them Remski himself has told me is narcissistic and hypocritical, and that they blatantly ignored survivor testimony for their own self-promotion (something he cites as motivating him to sue one of his critics).  Another has taken a position on abuse in a manner that Remski has criticized in the past, and the third has ethical complaints against them. The burden should not be on me to try to hold these people accountable, I’m not associated with them. Remski knows who I am talking about. 

For eight weeks, I tried communicating with Remski about these patterns and him taking responsibility, but it didn’t go well, which was both surprising and disappointing. I thought he was different, because in the past (when I was useful to him) he had been receptive, even appreciative, when I offered him feedback and criticism. As a survivor, true receptivity to my suggestions and critique has been very rare. Plus, because Remski (sometimes along with me) has pushed for and written about transparency; justice; and making skillful apologies, accountability statements, and amends. I never thought that he would complain about “cancel culture.” I always thought that he would take responsibility for problematic behavior. Wagatwe Wanjuki has written an excellent article about how “It’s no coincidence that people on top of the privilege pyramid are the ones who complain about cancel culture the most.”

After I publicly posted concern on FB, Remski reached out offering to pay for mediation, rejecting other communication as unviable. I declined for several reasons, including that it sounded like he would not be willing to own accountability publicly. Accordingly, mediation comes with a Non-Disclosure Agreement, which I’ve told him I strongly oppose. And one of his followers commented on social media that he and I were working things out privately. I have no doubt that’s what he told them and that’s what he wants people to think.

I went public because I wanted Remski to take responsibility publicly. Furthermore, since I now question Remski’s integrity, I want to distance my name from his, as they have been closely linked. And more importantly, I want to do what I have asked other people to do: let people know when you have concerns about the behavior of an influential person who you have openly trusted, respected, worked with, or supported.

https://karenrainashtangayogaandmetoo.wordpress.com/2020/11/30/my-learning-curve/

https://karenrainashtangayogaandmetoo.wordpress.com/about/

https://karenrain.medium.com/

Ashtanga Yoga Closing Mantra - A call for peace

ॐ

स्वस्ति प्रजाभ्यः परिपालयन्तां न्यायेन मार्गेण महीं महीशाः ।

गोब्राह्मणेभ्यः शुभमस्तु नित्यं लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु ॥

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ।

Oṃ
svasti prajābhyaḥ paripālayantāṃ nyāyena mārgeṇa mahīṃ mahīśāḥ |

go-brāhmanebhyaḥ śubham astu nityaṃ lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu ||

Oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ |

May the rulers of the earth be virtuous and protect their people and future generations.

May the spiritual leaders have good fortune in their efforts of connecting people with all divinity in this life.

May all beings be happy, healthy, and free

Shanti one - I send calm to obstacles (Adhi-Bhautika) that may come from the physical realm, external uncontrollable forces - wild animals, people, nature...

Shanti two - Calm to the spiritual (Adhi-Daivika) realm...

Shanti three - Calm to my inner (Adhyaatmika) realm - my body and mind...

Not a direct translation, but where my mind is right now.  

Yoga / work / life balance

After a couple weeks of volatility and then this historic week in the market - there simply wasn’t time for any extras. Yesterday I took a shower, tied back my hair, put on that lip and went straight to work. Reaching out to clients, reviewing research, making updates - today my throat is raw from so much talking. 

I always set my day with my morning yoga practice but yesterday I had to press it down into a single moment of prayer and hummed my little chants on the way to the office. After I finished up (there is always more to do) I headed home where all my instincts said to curl up with Olive under a blanket and turn out the lights or watch show after show until I went numb. Instead, I pulled out that youtube playlist I made (you can access it here) with led classes. There is one of my teacher Sharath Jois leading a class in Russia. I rolled out my mat and hit “play”. I am instantly transported to Mysore, India. 

 Maybe it looks mentally and physically easy. It isn’t. When I started twenty years ago, I could not touch my toes or hold even the top of a push up position. I can remember my arms trembling and then collapsing beneath me. I have a touch of asthma that made any kind of physical exertion a challenge. Add in a sprinkle of scoliosis and years of PE teachers yelling that I was weak and how I “throw like a girl”. Each pose has taken years to become accessible. Going from 5 minutes a day to anything beyond that is a testament to how well this works for me. 

 And mentally? Well- at first my mind is replaying every story of the day and always through the voice of the very judgmental and evil imaginary overlord in my head. Then comes the pulls of the all the senses - listen to that, what is that in the corner?, this itches, my hair is in my face, etc. And my mind having to swat away each thought and focus on my breath, pose, gaze, my teacher’s voice steadily counting one, two, three. 

 I can feel all the inflammation and stress bloating from the day. The smoothie I try not to expel. I can feel all the reasons to stop the yoga and do something else. And then it shifts. I suddenly realize that my thoughts have stopped. I am just here. Inhaling, exhaling, lift up, jump back. Inside of myself, outside of myself. Residual panic and anxiety from others is now removed. The impossible has happened - I feel centered and grounded.

 My background is not in finance. It is in yoga. I used to try to hide that fact. I was scared people would think I wasn’t good enough. This wasn’t only in my mind. People told me. With time and perspective I now understand a bit more how it all comes together. How it makes perfect sense and how an Ashtanga Yoga practice can help to prepare you mentally for anything. I remember my interview. I remember saying something about how obviously I don’t have a background in finance but that knowledge can be learned and I can learn. The real question was that when you are stuck in an elevator who do you want with you? I have a ton of stories from India, I know how to sit with uncomfortable situations, and I know how to keep showing up each day no matter what. They hired me.

My point is that we all need to develop skills to cope with life, keep healthy, help the world. Skills can be learned.

My thoughts and prayers go out to anyone suffering as a result of the current state of the planet. I’d like to recognize the local business YogaZo for their recent initiative- cancel to keep safe but also continue to pay staff and offer help to anyone in need. This is the kind of thinking we need more of right now.

 I am reminded of something Sharath once said to a student years ago. They said they had so much energy - what should they do for an afternoon practice? His response was that if you have extra energy (even after your morning yoga asana practice) you should volunteer and take care of others.

Finding Stillness in Frenzy

Finding stillness.  That’s my focus right now.  Walk slower.  Move slower.  Give space to recognize feelings.  Space to recognize that we are not our feelings.  Space to think.  Space to understand the difference between a snake and a rope.  Space to keep my mind in the present.  Not dwelling on past or worrying about future.  Remembering that my thoughts color what everything looks like.  When I remember I have agency, I can start to realize that the “good” or “bad” sensations are labels that I can change.  To realize that if they are changeable they aren’t real...

Everything is still happening and always will.  Read the Bhagavad Gita.  We learn that even abstaining from everything - our bodies are still working.  Everything is happening and always will.  So how to deal?  How to be a human in the world?  In society?  How to people?

This is the time to focus on practicing the 8 limbs of yoga.  This is the time when even a little knowledge can make a massive difference. Even before asana practice comes the yamas and niyamas.   This is a time to bring these into focus.

Non-hoarding, aparigraha...  Think about minimalism.  Think about FIRE.  Think about what really is important in life.

Remember to take care of each other.  What about the children who will be home for three weeks without free school lunches?  How can we help them?

Remember to take care of ourselves.  Remember to keep up our asana practice or maybe it is an opportunity to begin.  Maybe it helps us to process thoughts, emotions, energy.  Maybe it helps reduce stress and keeps us healthy and infuses us with the vitality to be able to help others and the world more.  That would be nice.

Oh and also from the yoga sutras:

maitri karuna muditopeksanam sukha duhkha punyapunya visayanam bhavanatas citta prasadanam
“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.”