Question for Seattle Ashtangis, Practice report, Notes to cybershalamates

Posted in ashtanga yoga on 05/27/2009 10:06 am by karen

I’ll be in Seattle Saturday through Tuesday. My hotel is less than a mile from Troy Lucero’s place. Any Seattle Ashtangis who want to fill me in on what the shala is like? Do I need to email Troy ahead of time? Is there a secret handshake or password to get in the shala door? Is the door hidden away & almost impossible to find? Is it cold in the shala? Any info would be appreciated.

***

I went to the shala on Monday and today. I have no idea why. I’d read Grimmly’s reminiscences of starting his practice, and when I read the part about why he likes to practice at home instead of at a shala, I thought, “Yeah! Me, too!” And then the next day I wanted to go to the shala. So I did.

It was good to see Muscle Man, and it was great to practice in the heat. Yes, all things being relative. It is always hotter here in AZ than pretty much anywhere else, so my “cold” is Patrick’s tropical paradise. Still, the extra people in the room makes it nice and toasty, and I enjoyed that. Also enjoyed assisted backbends. Muscle Man thinks I am bending my knees too soon, so he had me not bend them at ALL for as long as I could. Which is not very long. Still, I’ve been doing some hangbacks with totally straight legs, and that seems to be a useful exercise.

Today, The Poetess was subbing. I haven’t seen her in ages. Her assists are getting very strong — just the right spots and just the right kind of pressure. Sometimes I feel like teachers are bending me to their ideas; with The Poetess, it’s clear she’s “listening” to my body. It’s not all in her head.

She gave me a smoking adjustment in supta kurmasana, getting my legs behind my head more deeply than they’ve ever been. Some of this had to do with the fact that I bit the bullet and wore shorts to the shala. Between the sweat and the shorts, it was easy to push my legs down my back. Very nice.

I think I will probably do three days at the shala per week for a while, just to see how that affects my practice.

***

Grimmly: A bit of data for you: temperature when I left the shala today: 85. It felt perfect.

Fatou: I struggled mightily with one pose this morning: UHP. It gets me every time I practice with other people. At home, I’m solid. If there are other people in the room, forget about it!

Liz: Yes, I wore shorts. It felt kind of weird, like going to class in my undies, but once I got going, I was perfectly happy.

 

14 Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing the UHP troubles with me. I skipped practice today, did part of the Moon sequence instead, UHP is getting to me, to the point where I don’t want to go to shala, I feel like a failure (wow, I should really stop this selfpittying, not attractive). But since I have only two days left here in Paris I better go at least once more, then it is back to my home shala, where there is no early morning mysore and where people still have to get seriously bitten by the astanga bug.
    Hope you have a good practice in Seattle, I love going to different shalas when I travel. It’s both intimidating and fascinating.

  2. ha ha!!
    Hey, I’ve seen your legs in photos… if I had them, I’d have on shorts too!
    Sweaty, bare legs are good for some poses, but murder for others. They’re great for slip sliding the legs into a deep dwi pada sirsasana, but then to hold it or to come out of it without shooting 100 miles an hour is hard. And Bakasana! Oye. Might as well be doing a handstand.

    I can’t wait to read about how practicing in a shala a few times a week will affect your practice. Sounds fun.

    The straight leg drop back will really help you in the long run. Strengthen those great legs of yours to shoot you right back up!

  3. hi Karen
    smoking around here reminds me of the 40 cancer causing elements derived from the byproducts of using tobacco products. hehe. hope you enjoy Seattle. i don’t have much choice with respect to shalas, and my teacher travels a lot.
    hugs
    Arturo

  4. It seems that everybody knows about sweaty legs and success in SK but me! I just discovered it on my own and was so excited, until I read the same thing in your blog. Ugh…

    The shortest length I can allow myself in the yoga pants is knee high. Anything shorter is un-humanitarian, can scar my nice shalamates for life. :D

  5. I figured shorts’d be the way to go for SK, but was reluctant to torture my shalamates. But then I thought about it: it’s early morning, the lights are dim, people are supposed to be sticking to their dristi. It all adds up to an acceptable environment for shorts. Plus, I went to a couple of Bikram classes and witnessed utter shorts shamelessness. Now I don’t feel so bad about it. :-)

  6. Karen, I think you need to bust out in the Kino MacGregor uniform! Little shorts, tied up on the sides, strappy little top! I think you could pull it off.

  7. Sure, Liz. But it has to be dark outside and the shala can only be lit by one candle. :-)

  8. ha ha ha!!!
    One candle outfits, dim lighting outfits, 60 watt outfits, florescent lighting outfits, full on sun skimming across your skin outfits. I see now. There’s a scale.

  9. i got a bit distracted by one person at the Bikram’s class i attended. it wasn’t shorts, it was swimwear :)

  10. I still have the sneaking suspicion that Karen looks fantastic in those shorts! We need to ask the Cop, he will be more objective :)

  11. I’ll be up there Sun-Thurs as well. I tend not to go to Troy’s because I’m normally staying on the other side of the lake but this time I’ll be staying WestSide so maybe I will. It’s not hard to find but when you go into the building you have to figure out which room to go to… I never emailed Troy ahead of time when I went. Room is fairly warm at least last time I was there but it is a big open space so I always bring a long sleeved shirt. Maybe we’ll get to meet!

  12. Thanks Karen. Around 78F feels about right for me, 80 tops. Your making me think about visiting a Shala now. Next time I’m I feel in a rut I’ll go, but just lately every thing’s been going great, lots of ideas some progress and feeling very motivated. Repairer wisdom, ‘if it aint broke, don’t fix it.’

  13. You guys are funny about the shorts! I feel like a Bikramite among Ashtangis at the shala, but I’m going for comfort…

    Julie, it would be great to meet you! I’ve been in contact with Armani — we may grab coffee after practice on Monday. I’m on a tight schedule since I’m there for business, but if you can join us, that would be terrific.

  14. Karen, where are you staying? I’m staying at the Westin Seattle… as it stands right now I have to be in Redmond around 10am which means I need to leave the city at around 9ish. What time are you practicing and where are you meeting Armani (I don’t know who that is :>)? Depending on what your work schedule is, perhaps we’ll have another time that will work. Tuesday is a bit easier for me practice wise because I don’t have to be in Redmond, just at the hotel for a conference. Email me ashtangagirl@live.com

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