These words have come up in some way or another during my last few years of yoga practice I knew the meaning but I never really understood or better yet applied it to my practice:

Pantanjali’s yoga sutra describes an asana or posture as having two qualities: sthira and sukha.  Sthira is steadiness and alertness and sukha refers to the ability to remain comfortable in a pose.

This concept to me about being comfortable in a pose is so important.  Often times its easy for us to muscle our way into a certain posture in order to feel like we have “achieved it”.  But in the end it only can cause pain and long term injury to our bodies.  If we really look at this concept of relaxing or being comfortable in a pose we can also compare it to our everyday lives.  The steadiness and alertness, sthira, is easier to be aware of especially if the breath is synchronised with the vinyasa.   In order to reach this level of sukha and sthira in a pose we have to accept ourselves just how we are.

During the last few weeks of practice I have become much more aware of my body and more importantly where I have a tendency to tense rather than relax.  As soon as I bring my awareness to that area and relax I am able to go deeper.  This resistance or tension will only lead to injury if we try to force it.  This has also led me to accept my strengths and to know my own limitations. Only by this discovery was I able to then move to other poses.

The same concept can be applied to our lives and how we chose to lead them.  When we create tension and resistance with others it only leads to hurt and disappointment why not just accept that we are who we are and react in a more understanding way? We can often times live our lives being guarded and afraid of being are true selves but in the end the only ones we are hurting are ourselves. Deep, I know, but at the same time liberating.  The moment we start to relax and bring awareness to a  pose  we can then learn to let go and bring awareness to the life that is happening around us.

Its been really interesting to get to know the Indian people and their customs.  I have to admit I knew very little about it before coming here.  I’m not a fan of spicy food so other then curry even the food was new to me.  Their culture is filled with colors and rituals.  The most interesting thing so far has been the way they interact and treat the “westerners”.  Some are complete opportunists and immediately inflate prices when they see us coming.  Others can be quite the opposite and treat us like long time friends.  The thing that has intrigued me the most is the children.

In conference today one of the topics Sarath spoke about was the importance of surya namaskara or sun salutations.
The reason why it’s so important to start our practice with them is not only to get good health but it’s also a way to pray to the sun gods.  Living things, including humans, need sunlight for good health.  I was skittin to myself because he mentioned that in countries that don’t have a lot of sun people tend to be depressed and use smoking and drinking as vices…lol! My friend from Galway and I had to laugh! We all know the feeling!!!
Guruji created these sun salutations to give other yoga practitioners a way to pray to the sun god if they couldn’t recite the mantras.
By doing the sun salutations or praying it will destroy enemies, enemies being lust, anger, pride, greed, jealousy, and attraction.  The more spiritual we are the more clear our minds are.
By practicing Surya namaskara you also achieve good health benefits.  They build strength, builds heat inside the body and brings positive energy.
So many great reasons to practice our sun salutations!

Last week at lunch I met a lovely woman from Australia named Melanie, from the moment we started talking to one another we connected instantly.  She started coming to India a few years ago to practice yoga and eventually met her Indian husband.  They live right around the corner from the shala but what connected us the most wasn’t the yoga but our experience of working with mentally handicapped children.  We exchanged emails and we sincerely agreed to meet up again….
I’ve always had an interest in finding out more about Ayurveda and what better place to do it than India? I asked a few people if they had any recommendations and a few doctors were mentioned but one in particular kept being mentioned. A man named Kamur that specialises in Ayurvedic massage.  A few of the girls were interested in taking a massage course specifically for Ayurveda.  I wasn’t so interested in the course but I said I’d join and book a massage and see what it’s all about.  Yesterday after Sanskrit we ventured over to his house and sure enough it was Melanie’s husband.  He had just arrived from a trip abroad so lucky enough his schedule was pretty light and he could facilitate most of our requests for appointments and a course.  Of course while the girls were asking him questions about the massage course Melanie and I started chatting as if we were long time friends catching up and making plans to meet for lunch then next day.  I remembered that Melanie had mentioned her husband was also involved in past and present therapy through meditation so I asked him about it.  He explained that we have blockages in the body that can be caused by traumatic situations from as early as the embryo stage of our life.  And if these blockages aren’t released they can lead to physical, emotional problems including disease.  He then gave an example of someone possibly being stuck on a particular yoga pose and one side of the body being more difficult to twist into then the other.
Here’s where the full circle comes in….
That morning after practice I felt very disappointed in myself and frustrated with the fact that I still couldn’t bind marichyasana D on my right side.  Sharath helped me bind but then said the way I was getting into it was the problem. So I left feeling confused and frustrated.  I just thought it was really ironic that out of all the examples Kamur could’ve given that was the one he chose.  He even said he only just met me but that’s what he sensed at the time.  Of course I was immediately intrigued and figured why not take a session while I’m here?! Could our bodies really form blockages from past experiences? Is it our anatomical bodies that makes a pose difficult or the power of the mind?  It does make sense but I guess we’ll just have to wait till next Friday after my session.. Lol! It’s such a small thing but it helped me feel better about the whole thing and it just all circles back to our awareness of our own bodies.
One thing that I have noticed while I’m here are a lot of coincidences happening and I’m not sure if it’s me becoming more aware or I have less external distractions that don’t allow me to notice the small things…very interesting.

Surrender:
Sarath made a point last Sunday in practice about “surrendering to your guru” but what I have come to realise this week is that it’s much more than surrendering to the physical practice. Our ego  holds us back from really reaching our full potential.
In the Shala it’s so easy to judge yourself and others until you accept who you are and where you are in your practice.  I feel so privileged to be here among some amazing people that I’m fine stopping at marichyasana D and sitting back and taking it all in.
Today during lead practice I felt exhausted, 6 days straight can really be tough on the mind and body.  My first reaction was to be slightly disappointed in myself until I let the ego go.
But how can we apply this so other aspects of our lives? That’s the real challenge.
I have noticed myself thinking differently about my relationships.  How can I improve them and how do I surrender to them.  Not an easy thing to do.  But as they say awareness and admitting it is the first step