Purpose of this Blog

This is a blog of my perpetual journey as a yoga student. I'm not really expecting an audience here, although I guess if I go ahead and start a blog, some people may read this. Anyway, considering I keep bits and pieces of paper of my yoga sequences, practice details and all things yoga related, I might as well take the next logical step....blog it.

Which brings me to my first post.

I'm not an expert, nor have I been a serious yoga student for long. I took a teacher's training earlier this year, and I must say have learnt some fundamental stuff that 5 years of on off asana practice has not taught me. Anyway as far as learning goes, I think I have barely skimmed the surface of this practice.

I am a mixed bag when it comes to asana practice. I've had a whole spectrum of teachers over the last five years, mostly teachers who teach at the various gyms around here. I don't know if I am fortunate or not, but I have learnt from teachers from a whole assortment of traditions - Sivananda, Iyengar, Ashtanga Vinyasa and even some pilates teachers.

I do practice ashtanga, the primary series..that too I only started mysore classes this year. Hard to get mysore classes where I live. And harder still in my opinion to find good teachers who can teach it well. However I am nowhere near being a hardcore ashtangi. I actually enjoy going for an assortment of flow and hatha classes to try out new stuff that is not part of primary series.

I guess I am very much a more an asanist than yogi. After all, the main form of pranayama I do is Ujjayi, the only time I think I am stilling the mind is when I am totally immersed in the physicality of asana practice. I never said I am too proud of that, but I do hope that the other aspects of the eight limbs will catch up with me in time to come.

Anyhow my typical practice each week consists of 3-4 classes at the local studio (not necessarily Ashtanga either), and on the days I don't go for class, self practice for about 1 to 1.5 hours. I actually hope having a blog will help me track my progress or non-progress and sort out exactly what kinda practice I actually want.

I kinda like the fact that the Ashtanga series has a set sequence that I can gauge whether I am actually doing better. But looking at what I wrote, I realise I am really contradicting myself..after all yoga is not about chasing after a perfect asana practice, but I can't help it, maybe there is a semblance of a type A personality in me after all. But if I follow that strictly, I'd be far off from doing the fun backbends, inversions and arm balances that only come later in the series.

Ok enough of ramblings, I think I better put it down here...so I know what I am actually aiming to do. I am working towards a few things at the moment and what better place to record this for all the world to see than on my own blog...

1. Open my hips in baddha konasana enough to get the knees down
2. Kick up into a handstand
3. Stand up and drop back with ease

This by no means implies that everything else is fine and dandy, just that I think those are my milestones in relation to what I think I should be capable of achieving next.

Anyway the game plan will have to be next post, cos I am getting kinda sleepy..