Day 2 - Saturday with Lino

Picking up where I left off, here is the post for Day 2 that followed on from Day 1:

Reverent is the word I'd use to describe my practice this morning.

Moving through primary series with Lino Miele's DVD this morning, I was transported back in time to 6am at the Ashtanga shala - the sun is about to rise, the room is hot and filled with yogis intent on their practice, faint wafts of incense float above the sweat, tribal music pumps through us, occasional soft voices chant the starting or finishing mantras, fierce Ujjiya breathing fills the air, people come and go. The room is infused with spirit, prana and devotion, and a focussed intensity.

Here I am in my large room, moving elegantly and rhythmically through sun salutes and vinyasas, alone...but not alone.

Between poses, the full vinyasas are a sacred dance, returning me to samasthiti, the sacred still point upon which the practice is built. The vinyasas encapsulate each pose with a beginning and end. Even the finishing inverted poses have a full vinyasa between them - hold shoulderstand for 5 breaths, come down, vinyasa up to samasthiti, then vinyasa through up dog, down dog, jump through, lay back to halasana, 5 breaths then roll out, jump back to chaturanga, updog, down dog, jump forward and up vinyasa up to samasthiti again etc... etc. This was the first time I'd done the full practice along with Lino and the full vinyasas between the finishing poses and back bends startled me (I had only watched a few earlier sections before deciding to take the plunge with this DVD practice).

I followed along through the practice with Lino, drishti on Him for now, adjusting some of my moves to mimic the simplicity of his style, glad to be following a Master. In time, as I become more familiar with the nuances of these moves, I won't need to watch, just listen, follow the count, and focus internally. But for now, I'm relearning the practice, Lino style.

It took one hour and forty five minutes, plus a well earned savasana after that.

Saturday afternoon was a mixture of meditation, gardening (planting more kale and spinach for the green smoothies) and walking Buffy.

Evening practice was just a few supported restorative backbends.