David I know you must do yoga!

The makings of a yogi.

I think always knew that there was much more to being a yoga teacher than teaching a class, yes I knew that there would be more to it then putting together a sequence or throwing together a set number of poses and then having a nap at the end. And I also knew that what most people consider yoga to be is completely different to what yoga is about.

I came to yoga because I worked with a German guy called Christian and everyday he would come to me and say, “David I know you have to do yoga, I can see it in you, you must come with me tonight and do yoga with me! (In a very strong south German ascent) I knew he was speaking the truth but I just wouldn’t go I would make up excuses or just say no I’m too busy. About six months for this continuous bantering and song and dance of yes I’ll be there and not showing up one cold June evening in Newcastle I did manage to make it to a beginners Ashtanga class.

Downward dog! Mmm…I would have been about 37/38 then and looking a lot fitter then I am now but I wasn’t. Slimmer yes, not grey haired as I am now but not as healthy and much more stressed and concerned of what people may be thinking of me. That first downward dog I remember my legs being as crooked dogs hind leg, my hands gripping the mat for dear life and my breath being more like a dogs pant than the sound of the ocean. After struggling through the serries of a much broken down Surya Namaskara A and B with many Child poses in between I remember feeling a joy and a calmness in myself that I know I needed than and I know I need now.

This now what has lead me Tirisula Yoga and although my Adho Mukha Shvanasana has improve quiet considerably it still needs a lot of work. I find myself here at Tirisula learning and I know why Christian kept bugging me to do you yoga. It couldn’t be put any better than this quote for the Yogi himself Yogananda .

“You may control a mad elephant;
You may shut the mouth of the bear and the tiger;
Ride the lion and play with the cobra;
By alchemy you may learn your livelihood;
You may wander through the universe incognito;
Make vassals of the gods; be ever youthful;
You may walk in water and live in fire;
But control of the mind is better and more difficult.” 
― Paramahansa YoganandaAutobiography of a Yogi

Control the mind and generate my discipline and than I know the world will be my oyster. And through the union of my mind body and soul and the tools I am learning and being reintroduced to at Tirsula I know David you must do yoga.

 

David. G.