Difference between hearing and listening

The yoga practice has continued at home for the most part over the last two weeks, even though the studio is open again with limited capacity. 

The first few days I was simply not fast enough to get on the waitlist and then given my zen place, decided to do yoga alone at home to recorded classes. 

The last few zoom classes my teacher has been trying to give me very precise instructions on one pose. 

The balancing stick pose (Tuladandasana) which is a short and sweet pose. . . no I am kidding. We are talking Bikram hot yoga. There is nothing sweet about it. It is a time lapse trip to hell and back in 10 seconds, and that is my PG version. 

The idea is to stand on one leg and stretch the hands and legs like you are the rope in a tug of war competition. The number one thing that puts anyone on guard in a hot yoga class is "lock the knee" which sometimes is also refered to as "lock the damn knee" etc. So whenever the teacher mentions locking the knee, or using your inner thighs etc. the brain automatically thinks "standing leg" or the "balancing leg" that is usually unlocked. 

Turns out my teacher was talking about the stretching leg. She even told me in two classes back to back "use the inner thighs on the left leg and lift it". I heard it and processed it as "Sarah has got the legs mixed up again. I am standing on my right leg and lifting up my thighs all I can but nothing is moving!" 

Then in an act of coincidence, when I was in zombie autopilot mode for a fraction of a second, I let the brain process what had just been heard and accidentally realized that she was indeed talking about my left leg! 

She had practically given me a "paint by numbers" type instruction and I had still managed to $#% it up two days in a row!

Funny thing is that the correction made me balance easier and I was not killing my ankles and feet trying to lift from the bottom part of the leg. 

The fact that she literally has to beat it into me, on zoom, three days in a row is a testament to the perseverence of the teachers! 

Today I was part of a livestream class where you watch the people in the hot room and join the class. The teacher cannot see me on video as they are in the room. Sarah knew I was in the zoom version of the class and she gave me the exact same correction, even though she couldn't see me! This time I was ready and doing it right. Had even practiced it a few times yesterday. 

Here is a video showing a before and after.

Normally you take the step everytime you go down but I planted my front foot down in the video for a reason. That way I can superimpose the two versions in photoshop easily..

The other interesting thing is that this concept works well in two of the four poses in the spine strengthening series where you have to lift your leg and push it towards the back!

Some of you might be thinking "hasn't this guy been doing this 2000+ times over 10 years? he must be the worlds dumbest student". Well, I think that sometimes too but then realize that it has nothing to do with the effort or dedication or what type of intelligence you have.

It all has to do with registering certain things. Watching someone end up in a pose just tells you the end result. Which muscles they used to get there is not obvious. They might explain the body mechanics and practially give you very specific instructions but we are inherently biased. We put filters between what we hear and what we actually process in our heads!

I am happy to have realized this. This is not the first time there has been a lightbulb moment and this surely won't be the last. 

Just cannot wait for going into the studio and embrace the heat and humidity! 

When I am teaching something to my kids, by the third time my voice or body language shows my frustration as a teacher and my kids pick up on it! 

A big thanks to my teacher for being soo persistent and patient, even when she could see that I simply was not getting it, days at a time! 

A decade of practicing anything..

Exactly 10 years ago, my MIL and me walked into the old studio of BYSJ to do our very first hot yoga class.. it was not "bright and early".. more like "dark and cold".. but early it was at 5:30AM.

Over the years it has been a journey filled with little joys, frustrations (mostly in the early days of practice) but mostly realization of what this body and eventually mind can do and how things are connected.

Practicing yoga is the one thing I could always count on to bring me a level set every day, no matter the other circumstances that weigh in.

My MIL does yoga at home (whatever yoga works for her) and I have stuck to Bikram Yoga for 10 years now. Have tracked the classes, my weight after coming home (or walking to the bathroom now that coming home after yoga has been reduced to a 30 second thing!) and have been doing yoga very regularly. It has been 2259 classes as of yesterday and hopefully tonight we get to round it to 226 classes a year. 

The teachers tell you to practice at least 4-5 times a week and that is about there. 4-5 times a week. 

I cannot tell you enough how good this practice has been for me. It is my sincere wish that more people pracice yoga and practice regularly.

My MIL has not been fortunate enough to practice in the latest BYSJ studio. She showed up here on March 13th last year and the studio closed on 16th. We did get a chance to go see the studio, thanks to BYSJ!

 

Cannot wait for the doors to open again and soak in the heat and humidity! 

Today also happens to be Maha Shivarathri, a day for spirituality and a special day that brings back so many memories for me personally. The fact that the 10 year yoga anniversary fell on Maha Shivarathri made my day! 

This photo was taken last night by San of me doing yoga..

Incidentally, my first yoga blog post 10 years ago was about being able to do this pose with some semblance to what it was supposed to be. I could not grab my feet for the first 9 days. Finally managed it on the 10th day! 

It is a lifelong practice.. just getting started.

Wishing myself and the MIL a very happy Yoga anniversary and a happy Shivarathri to all of you!

A heartfelt thanks to BYSJ and all the teachers for the yoga and everything the yoga has given us!

A new marker on the yoga journey

On Sunday, an experienced and expert Yoga teacher, Mary Jarvis was to visit Bikram Yoga San Jose and teach a class at 10AM followed by a special posture clinic class from Noon to 4 PM... at least that was the plan.

She did come and the regular 90 minute class at 10AM went till 1:15. Almost everyone in the room just stayed the entire time trying to grasp every little detail of what she said. She chose her words carefully and she gave us perspective on the Yoga practice itself. It was a window to what was possible and why. The how of it was secondary. It was personalized depending on the student and the day and time of class, a function of everything else in their mind and life.. but she was not going to judge us as long as we tried. 

We got a 15 minute break and continued. There have been a few special classes over the years as part of practicing Yoga that helped improve the practice and produce light bulb moments. This class was up there on that list.

At this point everything in class looks like "BM" and "AM" .. Before Mary and after Mary, which is why I call it a new marker on the Yoga journey. 

Since Sunday I have been in three classes including tonight and I started thinking of some little things first. 

1. No fidgeting in class. You stay still in the pose and in between poses. Apparently she ate flies that sat on her face just to avoid fidgeting. Her teacher(Bikram) threw her out of class for fidgeting in between poses.

2. No water during the class. If you breathe through the class, you don't need water (her words, not mine). Apparently there were no water bottles allowed in the days she learned yoga and in her studio she asks teachers to lead by example. However she doesn't insist on students giving it up but asks them to try. 

3. 4. 5. ... 655.. the rest can wait. I was going to try 1 and 2 first. 

First class AM, too much fidgeting but at least I was conscious of it. Also avoided water till half way point when we got to the floor series. 

Second class AM, 3 fidgets and they were pre-meditated. There were many that were subconcsious but didn't know it. Also almost made it without water for 80/90 minutes. Just before we went to the final stretching pose I caved. Went for the water bottle. 

Today was class 3. I did not fidget knowing it. There were 6 instances where subconsciously my hand was going to my forehead to clear sweat and every time my hand went up, brought the other hand up to do a Namaste in front of the mirror.  I am sure the folks around me were thinking "what a narcissistic asshole Namastaying himself after every third pose... but it doesn't matter. What was important is that I was in "eyes wide open" mode the entire 90 minutes. It is amazing to realize that there are points in the class where I had no idea what I was doing.. at least prior to this class, and I have been in Jesssica's class a gazillion times and I think I pay attention to her. Apparently not a 100%. It is not easy to be conscious of every little movement. 

One thing that was sacrified to be that conscious was my face had this intense stare throughout the class and I did not smile. Maybe that is the next step in the evolving process. Stay alert and smile.

As for the water bottle, didn't touch it today. It was there, inviting me all the time, taunting me, tempting me.. but made it through the class and all the way home. Drank water after a shower. Nothing bad happened by skipping water. So far so good..

Sometimes a special teacher can make a world of a difference. Mary Jarvis has made two small dents in my practice within a week. Will see how many of the rest of her words of wisdom sink in and make a difference over time.