Jan 21. No Fear No Fun.

Sweating it out in a full conference at the shala yesterday.  300 people heat it up pretty quick.  But it worth it to hear Sharath say: If there is no fear, there is no fun.  Of course, that’s why those of us who are drawn to this practice go through all the craziness of waking up at odd hours and doing physical work that pushes us to the brink.  Its fun!  It’s a rush! It builds Prana!

Which is why we need to work the adrenal energy carefully, take rest at the appropriate times, and not run around like crazy all day afterwards.  At conference, Sharath had us all do a few rounds of Nadi Shodhana together (which sounded like a whole lot of congestion with 300 people who aren’t used to the dust and diesel here- hear the wheeze of enthusiastic beginners recovering from head cold).  This practice, he told, is safe for all to do after Padmasana, and before rest. We also clarified that we don’t take Savasana, which means corpse pose, but Sukhasana which means happy pose. I always just called it Rest to avoid this dilemma.

I did it today, something I used to do all the time before I was teaching directly after practice.  The practice was grounding and nice-feeling.  It truly is a great way to settle the energies, and harness some of that Prana, let it sink in.  Jumping up after a few minutes and starting the day is not a wise way to follow the practice, I’d say.  So then I went home quietly and laid down, one of the many joys of yogacation.

Note: I work much more in the practice here because I don’t have to run around after.  This is why we all come here.  It’s a great opportunity and if I have realized one thing so far on this trip, it is that I am wise enough now to moderate the quality of my effort.  I caught myself trying too hard today, and came right off that trip.  I was not that smart a few years ago.