… more reading.

I finished the first book by the Mohans the other day and now I’m halfway through their second one. They’re so comprehensive, I still can’t understand why they are so underrated. Desikachar’s “The Heart of Yoga” still remains my favourite introductory book on yoga (or my favourite book on yoga, for that matter) but these two are close runners-up.

I have to say some of the ideas shown on the Ayurveda section of “Yoga Therapy” are new to me in that they’re slightly different to the approach taken by some important authors on the subject (Vasand Lad, Robert Svoboda). For example, the Mohans describe Vata Dosha as being formed by air and Pitta Dosha exclusively by fire. All the other sources seem to agree that Vata has space as well as air, and Pitta is a combination of fire and water. I don’t think this makes a big difference in diagnosis or treatment, but it’d be certainly interesting to know the reason behind that apparent simplification.

I’ve also finished reading the first part of “Instructing Hatha Yoga” and I’ve stopped right before the section on asanas. I’ll resume reading once I’ve finished the teacher training but I wanted to cover the introductory sections so I can then go straight to the meat of the book. I didn’t learn anything new, but it served as a nice refreshment on some basic concepts like the mechanics of breathing and the three different styles of learning (visual, auditory and kinesthetic), which I already heard about in the Pilates teacher training. It’s great to have all this information together in one single book and I think it should be listed in the recommended bibliography of all yoga teacher trainings.

I practised yoga on Monday. These days, I’m mostly doing a modified version of Primary Series, skipping some poses and adding some others so, I guess you can’t call me an ashtangi anymore. I still feel I am an ashtangi, though – I just have to add some variations or else I’ll get bored (that, and it’s a bit too late to change the name of the blog, anyway). I planned to practise again on Wednesday or Thursday but that didn’t happen because, despite still being officially on vacation until tomorrow, The Boss asked me to substitute her and I just couldn’t say no. I’ll try later today.

On a different note, I realised the other day that I probably won’t have access to internet during the training. Not that I can’t live without it, but it’d be sad to miss the chance to keep a record of the experience in my blog. I could write something every day, save the entries as drafts and then publish them all once the course has finished, but it sounds somewhat excessive. A weekly summary sounds more sensible but that can only happen if I the schedule allows me for some free time to come back home (I won’t be losing sleeping hours for the sake of a post).

Come to think of it, the course starts in two weeks and I still haven’t received
any information regarding the schedule we’ll follow, equipment needed
(if any), etc. I’m so eager to get started!

I’ve been spending these past few days in the apartment I mentioned in my last post. I’ve been studying, reading a lot about yoga and just relaxing and disconnecting from the world. I came back home today because I’ve got some errands to run tomorrow in the morning but after that I’l go back there at least until Thursday (The Girlfriend’s birthday).

I practised yoga there on Wednesday. I did Pilates on Thursday and Sunday. I would have practised yoga again today but:

- It’s New Moon
- I had a birthday party (had lots of fun)

On a different note, I finally ordered some of the books I had on my wishlist:

- Yoga Journal’s “Yoga as Medicine“
- “Yoga Posture Adjustments and Assisting” by Stephanie Pappas
- “Teaching Yoga: Exploring the Teacher-Student Relationship” by Donna Farhi
- “Instructing Hatha Yoga” by Kathy Lee Kappmeier

The first one is pretty new and the reviews sound good. I’m interested in the therapeutic use of yoga and that one looks like a reliable source of information. The other 3 books are all aimed at yoga teachers and, being a newbie, I’m sure they’ll come handy.

I also ordered the two books by A.G. Mohan:

-”Yoga Therapy“
-”Yoga for Body, Breath, and Mind“

They’ll be selling both of them here, during the teacher training but I just couldn’t wait until then. After all, the Mohans are going to be my teachers and I’d like to have some background. Can’t you tell I’m eager for the course to start?

B is for busy, E is for exhausted

In my previous post, I wrote that I’d be having a busy day on Thursday and that I didn’t know if I’d be able to practise. Well, the day ended up being even more hectic than I had first thought. I woke up early and, after walking the dog, I had my hair cut. Then I went out and washed the car. Back home, I sat on my desk to study Anatomy for a couple of hours. After lunch, I took the car to its first MOT test and afterwards came back home again, earlier than I had expected. It was then when I squeezed a 1-hour long practice. I did a slightly modified version of Primary Series (because I was short on time) and then ran to the Spa I work in to teach 2 Pilates classes in a row. As I’ve said, I’m on vacation but my boss asked me to sub her before I left last Tuesday (although it was meant to be only for an hour). I’m good like that.

After all this rush and activity, I slept like a baby and didn’t for a moment consider practising yesterday. I was sore and preferred not to overdo it. I studied some more Anatomy and read a few more chapters of “The Heart of Yoga” by Desikachar.

On the subject of books, I’d like to share my current Amazon wishlist with you. I plan to place an order this month and I’d love it if any of you out there shared your opinion, in case you own or have read any of the following:

- “The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga” by Srivatsa Ramaswami
- Yoga Journal’s “Yoga as Medicine“
- “Yoga Posture Adjustments and Assisting” by Stephanie Pappas
- “Teaching Yoga: Exploring the Teacher-Student Relationship” by Donna Farhi
- “Instructing Hatha Yoga” by Kathy Lee Kappmeier

Today, I’ve spent most of the day reading. I went through a few chapters of Desikachar’s “The Heart Of Yoga” and Tara Fraser’s “Total Yoga” as well. I’ve had them both for a couple of years and have read them from cover to cover but I want to use this time on vacation to get a clear picture of the basics of yoga in preparation for the course. The Mohans studied directly with Krisnamacharya, Desikachar’s father, so their ideas have a common root. “The Heart Of Yoga” is one of my favourite yoga books and I think he does an excellent job in thoroughly explaning the most important aspects of yogic philosophy. Besides, the book is completed with Patanjali’s “Yoga Sutra” with Desikachar’s commentary.

No practice today. I intended to practise right after helping The Girlfriend do some Pilates but I wasn’t really in the mood and it had got a bit too late. I’m having a busy day tomorrow but I’ll still try to squeeze an hour of yoga before lunch. Not necessarily Ashtanga, by the way, as I’m trying to make my yoga practice more varied. I’ll design a short vinyasa-style asana sequence favouring standing postures and twists, things I’m not getting much of with Pilates. We’ll see how that goes.

It’s been insanely hot here since the week started. The minimum temperature expected today is 28º C (82.4º F) and we’ve been exceeding 40º C (104º F) by far during midday, which is the shift I’ve been working lately. I feel quite relieved now that I’m off work until September. It might get even worse, so it’s good to know that I can spend that time of day safe at home with the air conditioning – or on the beach!

I’m not going to any special place this Summer. I can’t afford it now that I have to pay the teacher training (thank G*d I don’t have to make a single payment!) Besides, I have to take some exams in September and it’s wiser to stay and use the free time. I’ll stay a few days in an apartment near the beach here in the South of the island but that’s it.

I plan to practise tomorrow, probably in the afternoon rather than in the morning. We’ll see how it goes.

I’m taking the teacher training course. I still can’t believe that people with such a background are coming here to teach. At first, I had my doubts as to whether I’m ready or not to take that step, taking into account that my own practice hasn’t been that consistent these past few months. However, after much inner debate, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a chance I can’t miss; furthermore, it actually couldn’t have come in a better moment.

You see, the main problem I’ve had with yoga and the primary reason that I even gave it up for a while is that I somehow lost motivation. Keep in mind that I never had a teacher, so I had to learn on my own, buying lots books and DVDs. While I’m perfectly aware that yoga is an individual experience and a very personal journey, being all on my own became too much for me. That’s why I’m sure that this experience is going to give me that extra boost of energy and motivation that will put me back on the right track.

In preparation for the course, and taking advantage of being on vacation during August, I plan to practise yoga at least 3 times a week, starting today. I’ll still be fitting 2 or 3 days of Pilates each week, too. They’re completely different activities and, while I admit I’ve never been as fit as when I used to do yoga daily, I definitely don’t want to lose the Pilates. One month off that would be too much and I know I’d regret it come September, when I get back to work. Besides, it’s a nice way to do some cross-training.

The only downside of all this teacher training thing is that it’s really expensive. I was traying to save some money for a trip to Greece next year. On a longer term, I was also saving so I could finally move out of my parents’ place. As much as I don’t like the idea, I’ll have to put these things on hold because, well, there’ll always be time for them.

The Other Pilates Teacher came back to work today after 2 weeks off (1 due to illness and 1 because she was on holiday) so I’m finally back to my normal schedule of 3 classes on Tuesdays and another 3 on Thursdays. I must admit it wasn’t as tough as I expected although it took me a while to get used to that amount of exercise. They intend to arrange another room in the studio to offer more classes, to be given simultaneously with the ones already running. Which means I’ll be giving more classes soon so this has been a nice training.

Elvis is going through a “bite and chew” stage and likes to destroy everything at his reach. Other than that, he’s a good dog. He eats well and sleeps better than we do (he snores). He’s adorable.

I really haven’t been able to get on the mat with all the Pilates and that (no time and no mood) but I intend to practice next Friday. Let’s see how that goes.

That’s how I’m feeling right now. Not only did I give 6 classes on Tuesday but I also had to repeat that yesterday. And, the other teacher still being off sick, I’ll have to give another 6 clases today. So, that’s three days in a row.

The funny thing is she’s taking a 9-day holiday starting next Monday, so I’ll have to sub her all those days she’s away. If I don’t look like Mr. Universe after that, I never will.

I keep repeating to myself: it’s worth the pay… it’s worth the pay… it’s worth the pay…

Now I know how one feels after 6 hours of Pilates in a row. If my abs burn like this when I’ve just arrived back home, how will I feel tomorrow?