I once had a fabulous collection of Yoga books; but since travelling so much over the past years, many of these books are now in various countries, the result being that they're not with me. For instance, my Donna Farhi book has lived with me in Australia, Shanghai, Bali, India and Italy. Currently it's in Italy but I'm not, so...in a way it's been good, as I've just had to get on with my own practice myself.
Then I discovered that my friend and neighbour has a fantastic collection of Yoga books. I couldn't help myself, so yesterday, after raiding my friends library, I picked up a book called 'The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga', written by Srivatsa Ramaswami.
Srivatsa Ramaswami was a direct student of the renowned Yoga master Krishnamacharya for at least 30 years.
After a brief glance through, I thought I'd attempt a couple of the sequences he outlined in the book. So I had the book besides me as I did my asana practice this morning, and it made for a very enjoyable 'shift in focus' for me.
I basically do my own practice these days, and don't really go to other peoples classes very much anymore. I attended public classes for many years; in fact, that was basically what I did in my first decade of Yoga practice - Yoga classes and cafes. But these days, most of my learning seems to come about via my own self practice and experiments with myself, through my teaching and sharing with students, and through discussions with my fellow Yoga practitioner friends. And I enjoy it like this.
In the past week however, I did notice a slight tightness and dare I say it dullness creeping into my routine. So it was in an effort to regain some inspiration that I raided my friends library. And I'm so glad I did!
It got me thinking again about how important it is to find the balance between just getting on with ones practice so that it becomes a habit, like brushing your teeth; and staying inspired so the practice never starts to feel mechanical.
Because I teach trainings, and I know many of my students struggle with this issue, I tend to pay attention to it in my own life these days. Certainly for me anyway, I need to re-inspire myself from time to time - often this comes about through experiencing other creative things in life...or nature, or just shifting the way I'm doing things.
As we all know, the world is feeling kind of intense these days, and as I am based in Indonesia and travel to India each year, I am feeling it quite strongly lately. Things are heating up, and although it's not against me personally, I am feeling it strongly. The other night, in an effort to cheer myself up and shift some 'stuck' energy, I went along to a Kirtan that was held here in Bali. Sometimes I find Kirtans can be a little flat, but this one was fantastic and I'm so glad I went. People jumped up and started dancing and singing away with all their hearts. Balinese with Westerners. Kids and adults. You could feel a build up of energy and what a relief it was to let it out and shift it. The singers were Geoffrey Gordon and Larisa Stow incase you ever get a chance to hear them. Mia Watson played exquisite cello and some other musicians played along too. A really glorious evening and I'm so glad I went. (side note: I just spoke to someone who said they wanted to jump up and strangle the singer at the Kirtan... I guess it's a very personal thing:-)
So, with my new CD's from the Kirtan, and a new book to read and practice from, I'm all ready to stay inspired for a while longer.
As this year comes to a close, I can look back and reflect upon the things I envisioned for the year. In fact, I can look back very clearly because I spent last New Years Eve doing up a Vision Board. A bit New Agey you might say, but hey, I'm in Bali which is an artistic place - so why not? My Vision Board is below. In one section I put some faces of people that I wanted to study with, and I had included Paul Grilley. Those of you who know who he is, might notice his face there down the bottom in the middle. It had been my intention to manifest a workshop that I could attend with him, as I really like his approach to anatomy for Yoga and other things. Seeing that he's in the US and I'm in Bali or elsewhere, it was a bit of a stretch. But guess what? I taught a workshop in Hamburg, Germany earlier in the year, and I did manifest Paul Grilley. The only problem was that he was teaching a workshop in Hamburg at the exact same time as mine! So I couldn't go that time. If I do a Vision Board at the end of this year, I must remember to be very specific about the idea of me actually participating if thats what I want! As for the other things, well, I certainly did travel Europe and India, see family, make new friends and eat good food and the years not even over yet...
