It has been more than 3 months since this blog saw an entry! There are no particular reasons for it. We did go on a bunch of hikes, but mostly to places already visited. Then our hikes came to an end as our group leader had an injury and is recovering slowly but surely.
There were two hectic work trips to India in a space of two months. There was some sporadic singing. Some illness, etc.. basically the usual for this household. Somehow didn't get to put fingers to keyboard in 3 months!
Well, now that there is a break for the next ten days, all those unfinished blog posts will hopefully see the publish button!
This one though, is a fresh post. In early September, my yoga guru Michelle watched me look longingly at my usual spot in the hot yoga room.. her mat was already in that spot! She saw me and said "you can have your spot. I can move!". I should have known then and there that there was a catch.. Michelle makes sure I don't miss my mom when she does things like this.
At the end of the class we are walking out and she goes "you know what will be good for you? try a challenge where you practice in all 48 spots in the room! It will give you a much needed perspective. I recently just finished taking class in every spot in the room and it taught me a lot about my practice and myself!"
I mumbled "okay, sure!".. and got a look that said "mean it!". Was even told that the website for the studio had a pdf of the room layout with all the spots marked!
Came home and printed that out and started on 9th September to do this "Do yoga in every one of the 48 spots in the room" challenge. Called it the "studio tour". Finally finished this challenge on Sunday 18th December. It took me 100 days to cover 48 spots! There were many challenges. If I didn't get to class early enough, all the spots I needed were already taken and I didn't want to ask anyone to move. This went on too long and finally my wife asked my friend to move spots on the last day just so I could be done with this!
Now, for the perspective.. all of you know about my spreadsheet that has my attendance, teacher, time, weight after class etc. for 12 years. Have finished 2642 classes as of this evening. I am guessing 9/10 classes have been in the three corner spots in the right side of the yoga room over all these years!
The corner has more clear views in the front and side mirrors and you have less nearest neighbors! Also I cannot hear well on the other side of the room maybe because my one ear has an issue. Whatever the reasons, I am a creature of habbit and have stuck to that corner.
This was a real challenge for me to go off my comfort zone and try different locations in the room. Now that I am back home.. ie. back my usual spot in the last few days, it is actually the best spot in the room for me. My best practice is when I am close to the front and side mirrors and can hear the teacher clearly. There is no doubt about it. That was my learning. Folks who saw me walk into class everyday with a map wanted me to share the experience.. so here is a summary
Are there other spots in the room I liked? Yes. The ones right in front of the teacher, which no one wants. Those are actually great spots if the teacher doesn't move around the podium during the balancing series.
Are there spots I really did not like? Yes. There are spots where the door or window was behind me. I could not balance well at all in those spots. There are spots where you lie down on the floor and can see the sparrows in the trees outside. Too distracting. I don't know how the yogis used to mediate on one leg in a forest.. with all those damn birds flying around from branch to branch. I love birds and watch them for long times at home drinking tea.. but when you are hanging on for dear life and trying to recover your heartrate after an asana, the birds don't help.. at all!
Then there are spots which are directly in line with the mirror ends. The yoga room has wall mirrors.. when you hit the seam of the mirrors and you try to do asanas in front of the seam, you get split into two parts in the mirror. It is as though I have multiple personalities in front of me. A calm me vs. an irate me.
Did I open my mind to new possibilities with this challenge? Yes and No. Sometimes you have to try things that make you uncomfortable.. at least once.. or say in this case 40 times out of 48. Was hoping to become more tolerant to the other locations. When you have three rows of people in front of you and most of them don't think of the people behind them and fidget around, start the pose too early or too late or lie down, it is good that they are doing what is best for them.. but it is not what is best for me. This made me realized the tremendous impact I have in the first row on the folks behind me. Now I think a lot before sitting down for any pose and try to minimize fidgeting.
Did I gain anything by trying out all those spots? Yes. Made some new friends who were suprised to see me in the other part of the room. This room has as much spread as the world. Turns out there are folks who practice for years on either side of this room and they just nod to each other and say hi on the way in and out but never have conversations with folks from the "dark side".. and to each side the other is the dark side! There are front row people and last row people and there are tempraments, reasons, preferences.
Over the 48 spots, I learned a lot about the folks who call those their "usual spot", and why! That was an interesting social study in itself.
Here is the other weird thing. People thought I was sick or recovering from either flu or covid or was having a tough day to show up in the last row.. or I had to leave early right after class, when I took spots near the door. During the early days of the challenge my teachers would call me and say "there is an open spot in the front for you ?".. then I had to go tell them about this personal challenge!
Would I suggest this challenge to others? Yes. You might be a better person than me when it comes to being a lot more open minded or selfless when it comes to the yoga practice. So please give it a shot. This was harder logistics wise than doing a 60 day challenge. You can't always get the spot you want if you don't come early enough. Some folks show up 30 minutes before class to get their spots! You have to come at a different time to even get those spots.
A big thanks to Michelle for pushing me out of that spot for 3 months, my wife for patiently putting up with my requests to go early to yoga class just to get a certain spot .. on multiple days, especially towards the end and to my friend Natalie for giving up a spot on the last day of the challenge!
Somehow I feel free to be in any spot in the room, after this tour! However, my gut tells me that you will most likely find me in my usual corner.
