Explore First Into Second Series of Ashtanga Vinyasa (Paul Dallaghan)
I decided to skip Jason Nemer's The Art And Science of Handstands workshop after finding out that it would be an Acroyoga class. Too circus-ish for me lah. And having registered for Paul Dallaghan's 2nd series class after that, I figured I needed more rest to prepare myself for it.
So I slept in and got up at 9.00am, did a short Nauli (stomach churning for cleansing) or what I considered as Nauli, 30 mins of Yin before getting myself ready for Paul's class. I don't know why I got myself worked up for this class, well... actually i did. It was because that was to be my first LED class for 2nd series, let alone being led by a world revered Ashtangi, Paul Dallaghan!
My egos and fears started to outdo each other inside me and it started to make me feel sick! Eventually when I got to the class, there were people who expected showing off their prowess, which made me felt sicker. Well, an Ashtanga class is nothing if not intimidating. But as soon as Paul walked in, all these stopped. He started to emanate grace by humbly smiled at everyone making me feel so much at ease.
It got better when he started his introduction by being so down to earth about his approach to the practice and by not regarding 2nd series as an intermediate practice as was previously regarded. He also explained the meaning of Nadhi Shodana (2nd series - cleansing of the nervous system) that requires breathing and stillness using a series of asanas to enter its purification process. Only then the body can emanate radiance and connect to whats happening inside. Thus, he told everybody to stop regarding Second Series as (squinting his eyebrows) "Second SERIOUS...".. LOL!!
We need to feel the connection and understand the relation between Asana and Vinyasa. Paul also emphasized the difference between 'compromise' and 'modify'. In a posture, one should NOT compromise by adjusting it by forcing to a point where one thinks one reaches a goal while the breath loses its comfort and the heart struggles to open. Instead, one should modify by humbly moving out of the struggle without losing the breath and to keep the heart open and yet staying with the principles of asana and vinyasa. He said, the point is NOT to push through but be patient.
With that, we moved through the practice and with Paul's guidance, I felt so liberated and did not at any point feel intimidated or forced. I stuck with the said principles although it was so hard to ignore this acrobat circus act next to me who was flying everywhere! Paul also said if we were to set a long time goal for our practice rather than a couple of months, we would achieve a better success rate than pushing through as that would actually make our practice worse. His way of recounting his own practice when he started out in relation to our practice brought such conviction that everyone can get to where they want through patience and perseverance.
In 90 minutes, Paul managed to carefully choose and integrate postures of the 1st and 2nd series and led everyone to the profound experience of Nadhi Shodana. At the end of the class, a girl shouted "Namaste!" from across the room, Paul looked up at her and said, "I prefer Goodbye. Its more professional, so Goodbye!" LOL!
Goodbye!
Azmi
No comments:
Post a Comment