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| Happy Wednesday All,
Having never formally introduced myself, I would like to do so. I've been lurking / randomly posting on this forum for months. I greatly appreciate getting my daily dose of Ashtanga ramblings since I don't live in a city (or really even near a city) that has a strong Ashtanga community.
I've never practiced in a formal Mysore-style class (although I am excited for the opportunity). I know that teachers usually "give" postures and you progress until a posture gives you sufficient trouble. Just out of curiosity, how does a teacher decide if you "get" the posture enough to move on? For example, the most difficult pose for me in the primary series is Triang Mukhaikapada Paschimottanasana.  I often wonder if I would be stopped there in a more strict setting. I have been practicing consistently for about a year and a half now and have seen HUGE advances in every other posture. I still have never made the bind in Supta K, but the progress towards the bind is obvious.
This question probably stems from me being worried about getting stopped there if I were to go practice in Mysore. Then again, I probably shouldn't be so attached... |
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| You'll probably get a really strong adjustment on one foot west and be able to move on.
With Supta K. Or Marchi D, it's more likely to get stopped there. But the teacher will do everything they can to help you find the posture. So, you might be surprised at the intensity of the adjustment and the ability to do more than you usually can do.
With mysore the emphasis is on the long term, so you'll be evaluated over time whether it is a week or month. Another thing you can do is try to do the posture and then try again with the teacher.
The last time I did mysore, I was very surprised to find myself binding in Supta K. and getting moved on to intermediate. She allowed those that could do dropbacks to add the fist few intermediate.
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| And a happy Friday to you,
I think it very much depends on the teacher as to where you are "stopped"; I came back to ashtanga after a few years away from it and when I finally plucked up the courage to try Mysore classes the teacher gave me the nod to do as much of primary as I want.....even though I can't thread my arms through my legs in garbha pindasana. I know many other teachers would not be so lenient. I don't practise all of primary (because I don't have the stamina), but it seems as though there are certain "gateway" poses where many students are stopped - Mari D and Supta K appear to be fairly common stopping points. If the rest of your practice is solid, I don't imagine you would be stopped at tiriang mukha etcetc - you would probably get a firm smooshing from the teacher and move on. What exactly in the pose is difficult? Pain in the knees? Dodgy quads? This would also be a factor in how far you go into the series
Good luck with the practice; home practice can be tough, but there are some definite upsides too. I was loving it before I plunged into Mysore, and still do a fair amount of my ashtanga at home because I feel more at ease with going with my body and not just plunging through the series.
cheers,
lisa |
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| Interesting.
On Trianga M I just need to be smooshed down. Doing it on my own, i usually just plant my hand down on the side on my leg or mush down my hip before bending forward. There is no pain; I just sort of fall out to the side. Generally speaking, my hips and knees are pretty good, for some reason that pose--or doing it correctly--has given me more trouble than anything else.
I have a wonderful teacher here in town. She gives me pretty strong adjustments and can get me into almost anything in the primary series (minus the hand grasp on Supta K. It's getting closer every time though!) She has talked about getting Mysore style classes going, but there is just a handful of people in town that would be interested. For now, I just go to led classes 3-4 times a week and practice at home.
And for Garba Pindasana--dear God. When I first encountered that pose there was not a full primary class being taught in town. I was doing the David Swenson CD alone at home for the first time. I watched as the demonstrated the pose and thought "That looks kind of cool and fun." He makes it look so easy. Boy was I surprised when I realized how little room there is to slid your hands through. Then I started experimenting with putting a little sesame oil on my arms. My hands slid right through, no problem, but as soon as I tried to roll I got stuck. I found myself stuck, on the floor trying to roll but not wanting to "unwind" after I had worked so hard to get there in the first place. My cat, who always watches me practice from a distance, immediately pounced on me and started licking my face. I laughed, unwound, and moved on. I still dread that pose unless I am REALLY sweaty. |
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Getting Stopped
