The Sea and the Photographer

I'm just back from a weekend on Nantucket where I got to work with the terrific photographer, Robert Sturman.  I was a bit apprehensive about making my practice an opportunity for a photo shoot.  What I found is that Robert genuinely sees his work as a collaboration - that yoga is a form of expression of the body and the exuberance of the human spirit.  Somehow his work really manages to capture that.  So I was deeply honored to spend a chilly, windy morning on the beach making art with Robert.  I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures from the shoot.

Photo by Robert Sturman

And of course - this darling video of another great shoot by Robert:

Vande Gurunam Charanaravinde

I bow to the lotus feet of the Gurus...

At the beginning of class in Ashtanga Yoga, we usually offer up this mantra beyond the traditional OM or three OMs.  I know from both leading classes and being in them, this can be awkward at first.  Students wonder if they are not dipping their toes in a bit of Hinduism they don't understand or have suddenly found themselves in some sort of cult practice.  But then, soon enough, we are moving and breathing and forgetting all about the odd tradition until the next time.  In time we can even come to look forward to the practice of mantra, letting the sound create a barrier between our day and our practice time.  There is a sacred feeling that comes from opening with sound prayer, regardless of our level of understanding.

Here's what I think about it by way of a story.  The one time I was lucky enough to study with Guruji in New York, almost a decade ago now, there were hundreds of people in the room.  Guruji walked in (in his trademark Calvin Klein boxers and gold chains) and we chanted, then it was "Ekam inhale..." and off we went.  From my vantage point in the front of the room, I looked back while in down dog, seeing the crowded room full of Ashtangis moving and breathing in unison.  An amazing sight!  Among the crowd were many of the senior teachers I had studied with at some point and others I had only heard about along with practitioners of all levels.  At the end of practice, Guruji would sit and folks would line up to bring him flowers, take a picture, and touch his feet.  Practicing in that room gave me such deep respect for what this man had sown worldwide to inspire us all to practice Ashtanga - but no way was I going to bow and touch his feet.  I don't do the Guru thing.  As the week progressed, I began to soften but still, I held back and watched the procession from my mat.  On one occasion during practice, Guruji came behind me while in badha konasana and stood on my knees.  He leaned over, smiled at me, laughed and patted my back.  "Why fear?" he said. (I was fearing I would never walk or have a deep voice again at the moment...)  His warmth, his command of the room and his smile made it impossible to continue to hold back.  So, like everyone else, I got in line, bowed with reverence and touched his feet.  When I looked up, he was already greeting the next person.  What was a big deal for me was not so much for him.  He had done his part but I felt transformed.
Now, all these years later, I think about him every time I roll out the mat.  Inevitably, I think about the other wonderful teachers I have had over the years throughout my practice.  I hear their corrections, their words of encouragement, the little jokes and I feel their presence with me.  On a good day, one by one they leave the room, leaving me alone with my breath.  During challenging times, they inspire me to keep going.
Yogis refer to this passage of knowledge that happens between teacher and student as Parampara.  It is a transmission that occurs in order to create a lineage that is as much energetic as it is knowledge based.  Meaning, that true "knowing" comes from an understanding gained through experience with the teacher or Guru over time.
So corny as it is, I have been thinking of these teachers and wanting to bow long distance to them - to acknowledge all they have done for me.  The "Gurus" referred to in the opening mantra is plural - meaning all the teachers on whose shoulders we stand across the stretches of time.  So, teachers of mine, past and present, I bow to you.

Guruji

Shri K. Pattabhi Jois - has to come first.  Though I never felt that he was my guru, none of this would be possible if not for his teachings and what he has spread throughout the world.  So first, Guruji, I bow to you.

David Swenson

Of all the senior Ashtanga teachers, David is the one from whom I have learned the most.  I first learned the Primary Series from his videotape on a tiny TV set in the corner of the studio what seems like a long time ago now.  Over the years I have done numerous workshops and teacher trainings with him and am grateful for any time I get to spend practicing with him.  Through his books and videos but more importantly his patient teaching, David teaches the practice clearly and solidly, providing the basis for lifelong continued practice.  He is also just goddam funny.  You will never laugh as much as you might in a David Swenson class!  David, I bow to you.

David Williams

Only a few times now have I practiced with David Williams but what he says is so simple and clear "If it hurts, you're doing it wrong."  He has made it his mission to teach Ashtanga the way it was meant to be taught, as a healing practice after seeing so many students get injured or be injured in a class.  He has practiced daily for over forty years and speaks with real authority about how to practice safely over time so that your practice stays with you for life and benefits your life.  I subscribe to his notion that the person who practices tomorrow is the one who has a good experience on the mat today.  This has truly shaped my teaching and my own practice for the better.  David, I bow to you and can say that with your inspiration, I have practiced daily for some time now.

Tom Gillette

Tom opened his studio, Eyes of the World, in Providence at about the same time that I moved back to Providence about 12 years ago.  I was relatively new to yoga, had been doing a lot on my own and in classes where I could find them but Tom's studio gave me a practice home.  In those early days, I went to every class I could, soaking in all I could from this wonderful, gifted teacher.  What I always get from Tom is a sense of the larger purpose of yoga.  That the postures are not the whole practice and that we need to take ourselves less seriously.  He has great humor and compassion and his classes are always wonderful.  I am proud to have completed teacher training with Tom and see that experience as one of the most important in my life.  I haven't been to "Eyes" in a while, I confess as I am focused on my personal practice these days but I would send anyone to study with Tom to deepen their understanding of yoga.  Tom, I bow to you.

The Bride

I have to give props to my lovely bride, Shannah Green, who first showed me yoga on my back porch in Savannah as I stumbled around looking for ways to heal my twisted spine.  Years of working construction had led to these painful episodes where my low back would give out and I would be immobile for days and in great pain.  I took to yoga right away and then later started with Shannah's classes in the Twin Street Barn (you Nantucketers may remember).  She's a remarkable teacher and has built an amazing community of teachers and students in the studio that we built on Nantucket.  One side effect of having a child is that you can rarely take your spouses class so we are not often in the same room when yoga is involved except on retreat.  Nonetheless, we share as teachers now our experiences in the classroom.  I'm eternally grateful for the introduction to this practice.  So, dear (if you read this), I bow to you.

Jill Manning

I have had very few classes with Jillji but having picked up where she left off teaching Ashtanga in Providence, we have had occasions to overlap.  I have learned a great deal about teaching yoga through watching her.  If you have the opportunity to seek Jill out and attend a Mysore intensive, you will be transformed.  Her energy is infectious, and her enthusiasm and knowledge of the practice is vast, stemming from a deep personal practice.  So Jill, down there in Farmville, I bow to you.

I could go on... there have been too many teachers over the years that I need to thank and honor, Nancy Gilgoff for showing me the healing aspects of Ashtanga... sister in-law and Iyengar instructor extraordinaire, Debby Green for helping me to understand the deep meaning of externally rotating my upper femurs, Danny Paradise for his life as yogi, artist and traveler by example... and on and on.

I bow to you - Namasté.