Pasasana see ya later
Posted in ashtanga yoga on 04/10/2007 07:44 am by karen***
sthirasukhamasanam
***
Verse 2.46 from the Yoga Sutra. Sorry, Sanskrit Scholar, for the lack of accent marks 
Desikachar translates it as: Asana must have the dual qualities of alertness and relaxation.
And he adds: There must be alertness without tension and relaxation without dullness or heaviness.
I read this a couple of days ago and though Volleyball Guy talks about it often, I was for some reason quite struck with it anew. I think perhaps because it not only informs asana practice, but also how I am trying to balance my mental state these days.
Farewell practice this morning was lovely. A little underlying preoccupation/tension in my mind, but not too bad. And in what felt like a bit of a gift from the universe, I managed little fingertip binds on both sides of pasasana, and even had my heels down. It was ugly, of course, but still, it’s always delightful to puzzle through the mechanics a bit and come up with some semblance of a pose. Now that I think about it, I can honestly say that it is my favorite part of practice. Not so much the “perfecting” (as if!) of poses, but that first time when you go, “Oh, so that’s how this goes!” before you teeter and crash out of some crazy, twisted facsimile of an asana.
Triumph of the human spirit and all.
Hmmm. Perhaps I’m channeling My Gift, who is always cheery and ironic when she is excited. She’s been very happy lately: she and a friend found a little house to rent just off campus, and she got a job this week at a veterinary clinic. And she went to a Bikram class, which she adored. I know folks talk about how they dread seeing their children grow up, but I don’t really get it. I love watching My Gift grow up!
Okay, off to work. Last day before my “vacation.”
04/10/2007 at 8:31 am
I love watching my boys grow up, too. For every baby thing that they abandon, there’s a new “big boy” thing that they embrace. But when I look at them I can still see them and feel them at every past stage. And I love seeing the (almost) 7 year old reflected in the face and actions of my (almost) 3 year old.
04/10/2007 at 9:31 am
Hmm, Bikram? Reminds me of the article in the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago about kids from non-religious parents becoming devout . . . . I can hear the mirror / no mirror arguments beginning
04/10/2007 at 11:06 am
Funny you should say that, Tim. I have a confession: I have a mirror in my yoga room. I don’t practice in front of it, but I do use it to check form on asanas I am struggling with. In fact, I would not have gotten the pasasana bind so quickly without being able to see what I was doing. That said, once I get a pose “figured out,” I ditch the visual aid.
Cody: I laugh sometimes when I’m talking with my daughter who is 19. Suddenly I’ll see her 3 year old face there in front of me, then her 9 year old face, etc. Just lovely.
04/10/2007 at 4:23 pm
Karen: best of luck with your surgery. We’re visiting Scottsdale again this August so I hope to see you at VBG mysore.
04/10/2007 at 5:47 pm
Oh, that’ll be great! Write ahead of time so I know exactly when. Will you come to Saturday led, too? I’d love to go have chai or coffee afterwards, if you are available.
04/11/2007 at 7:23 pm
Good luck with the surgery, Karen.
Arturo
04/15/2007 at 6:32 pm
Hey Karen…I wanted to reply to your comment on my blog, but wasn’t sure when you’d be back to look at it…so here is the thing…I know that my body is using carbs and fat stored in my body…but my tummy feels so EMPTY! You’re saying that’s just a vritti? I can overcome it? I hope so…
Lauren
04/16/2007 at 4:12 am
Welcome to the world of the hungry yogis