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     A student wrote to me about the familiar theme of the 'yoga honeymoon', when you first begin you fall madly in love with practice, getting out of bed comes so easily and naturally.  You have nearly infinite enthusiasm and energy for every jump back and jump through, you'll do extra anything -back bends, boats, push ups, you dream about not just yoga but-practicing- when not practicing-sigh.   But alas sooner or later the shine of newness begins to wear off, your body begins to feel a little heavier and the alarm clock's sweet chime begins to sound more like a prison yard buzzer.  And jump back between each side and each posture?-yeah right.  And all those chaturangas?!

    The honey moon phase is apparently a built in story line, a necessary part of the great, eternal story that is told by none other than The Cosmic Trickster.  The story goes that in order to make a beginning with something as formidable as yoga,  the universe conspires to throw you into the new project blindly, you cannot know what you are getting yourself into- otherwise you won't even begin.   And if at least you begin, the universe can hook you like a fish on a line by giving you an unforgettable taste of the power and the magic that is there.  But tasting this magic and ecstasy won't happen if you go about it half heartedly, no!  You are required to launch yourself into it with nearly insane gusto and seemingly boundless optimism and energy, that is the true source of the nectar.

     Thus the honey moon stage is essential, and never mind that it will wane seemingly without providing you with the necessary means to continue to devote yourself to the object of your love.   You have to be duped, fooled into pouring your energy all in, tricked into becoming a yoga drunkard, a raucous, fool hearty fool.  And then after scarcely having begun, you will be sorely let down,  seemingly boundless energy turns into seemingly boundless lethargy.  And now the situation is compounded one thousand fold because you have tasted the nectar, you now know the bliss of yoga.  It feels like you can't go forward nor back.  And thus you are initiated into the eternal cosmic joke. 

       But the Universal Trickster is banking on that by the time you find out just what is required of you, you are already hooked, and have fallen hopelessly in love, there is no turning back.  When the natural enthusiasm that has carried you along in practice dries up, and you are left with getting out of bed without much genuine interest or joy, and you come to the mat with your new friends lethargy, density, carelessness, and others in tow, you reach a crossroads in your involvement with your art, you are forced to extract a greater extent of love for your subject. 

    Can you make a shift away from what I call the 'tinder' energy-away from relying on the intense bursts of energy that accompany beginnings?  How long an initial burst of enthusiasm for a subject will last is variable from person to person, but one thing is certain, these bursts are like tinder whose purpose is exclusively to start the fire. Tinder makes the fire easy to start, you can't start a fire with a log.  But tinder burns brightly and quickly and then fades out fast.  Kindling, sticks, branches and eventually logs are required to sustain the fire.  The main log that feeds and sustains this fire is love of your subject.  Without the log of love your fire will go out, because loving your practice is what keeps the nectar flowing, and keeps bringing you back.  And there is no substitute for this source of fuel. 

    And you have to be the butt of the joke in order to remember that you don't need to gain admittance into this best, most inclusive of clubs-because this is the one that you were born a premier member of- the internal world of your soul and spirit.  This initiation into the vexing upside down world of your inner life has to be a doozy, you wouldn't want it to be anything other way, it must throw you for a grand loop.   But remember to take it in stride because it had to look easier, to appear to require less effort and investment, to be more breezy and fun, and more immediately rewarding than it is.  The way may be difficult but it is your good fortune to have landed yourself in the thick of something deeper, more extensive, more ecstatic and more right than you ever imagined. 
USA Fall Workshop Schedule


Event: Primary Series In-depth Study Philadelphia
Dates: Oct 23rd-Oct 27th, 2014
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Study Type: In-depth Study Application
Email: dvdgarrigues@gmail.com



Event: Balance Yoga Atlanta
Dates: November 7th-November 9th, 2014
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Study Type: Weekend Workshop
Email: balanceyoga@hotmail.com



Event: Washington D.C at Georgetown Yoga
Dates: November 14th-November 16th, 2014
Location: Washington D.C
Study Type: Weekend Workshop
Email: pegmulqueen@me.com 


Event: Ashtanga Arizona
Dates: December 5th-December 7th, 2014
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Study Type: Weekend Workshop
Email: ashtangaarizona@gmail.com


Event: New Year's Tapas & Bhakti Bash 
Dates: December 28th, 2014
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Study Type: 1 Day Special Event
Email: dvdgarrigues@gmail.com 


Event: Mysore Intensive Kovalam, India
Dates: February 1st-February 27th, 2014
Location: Kovalam, India
Study Type: Month Long Mysore Intensive
Email: dvdgarrigues@gmail.com




Kovalam Mysore Intensive
February 1st-27th, 2015

Its time to start planning.


For more information and to apply visit


Download Ashtanga Yoga: A Guide to Primary Series now at




 

 

Ashtanga Yoga is a complete Yoga method based on Bhakti (devotion) to a breathing and movement system called Vinyasa. Through Ashtanga yoga you come to realize your Self and your purpose by learning to systematically combine several internal and external techniques including:

breathing, internal locks, meditation, posture, conscious movement and gazing.

 

When these basic techniques are applied with discipline, subtlety and skill, they are excellent tools for becoming physically and mentally strong and perceptive. When you've developed your practice, you learn to 'inhabit' your body like a animal moving freely in the wild and at the same time your mind becomes strong and fit for meditation.

 

Practicing to create this combination of physical grace and power and mental clarity and openness leads to spiritual awakening. The method consists of learning a rigorous, well balanced sets of postures and the vinyasa positions that form the set sequences. The alternating, opposing movement and breathing patterns within the given sequences help you to internalize your mind and to gain depth and wisdom by observing the true nature of what is happening within you.

 

Video Series includes

 

A) In-depth Fundamentals:

 

Introduction to the set of practices that form the basis of Ashtanga yoga including:

 

* ujjayi (sound) breathing

* Surya Namaskara (Chaturanga, Upward Dog, Down Dog 

* vinyasa (synchronizing movement with breath)

* Transitions (jump back, jump through, standing postures)

 

B) 1 hr 30 minute traditional led Primary Series

 

Helps the student develop:

* a proper understanding of the rhythm and flow of the Primary Series vinyasa sequence

* cleansing internal heat that stokes the fire of awareness

 

C) 1 hour and 35 minute instructed Primary Series

 

An inspiring and challenging home practice that centers around the 6 core aspects of the practice: asana (posture), pranayama (free breathing), vinyasa (movement with breath), bandha's (internal locks), dristi (gazing), dhyana (meditation).


Highlights:

* a variety of verbal cues for becoming absorbed in the internal practices of Ashtanga Yoga

* tips for transitioning between postures with flow and alignment

* in depth asana and breathing instruction

* insights into devotion and the sacred nature of Ashtanga Yoga

 

D) Asana Modifications

 

This section takes you step by step through many postures of first series and will teach you how to troubleshoot difficult postures, think creatively to find variations that are right for you, use props without sacrificing flow.




 
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