Vicissitudes of Life

Dear Yogis.

A yogi who is very dear to me is upset at work. Things haven’t turned out as expected and my treasured yogi is angry. That upset me. This describes a lot of us in past or present circumstances. By coincidence I was reading about the unshakeable spirit of Sri Pattabi Jois in the face of the vicissitudes of his life. When asked to describe him, a friend compared him to this: ‘I recall a passage from the Ramayana where King Darsharatha summons his son Rama and tells him to assume the throne and later, through a quirk of circumstances, orders him to go into exile to the forest. The passage wonderfully illustrates the level of equanimity that Rama showed on both occasions. Apparently, he was unmoved, untouched, and completely bereft of excessive emotion... It says that Rama’s face not once betrayed even a hint of anger or animosity when he was ordered by his father to forfeit his kingdom. His face was calm as the day as he was asked to ascend ceremonially to the throne’. Yoga is trying to show us how to be calm and unshaken in storms and circumstances. Our task is to try.

Home Studio

Next week I have unexpected spare time on Wednesday 8th so I’ll teach an extra class at 6.00pm. It will be an Ashtanga class. The following class is at 8.00 so we have time, if you can stay, to go a bit further than normal. Let me know if you would like to come.

From the following week on Tuesday 14th I’ll be adding a new regular 6.00-7.00 Beginner’s Ashtanga class. Closer to the time I will add it to the website for booking in the normal way.

Yoga in the news

Which Prime Minister said this: “Today, when the world battles challenges posed by terrorism and climate change, yoga has become more relevant than ever before as it shows the way to peace” ? I’ll give you a clue. It’s not ours. 

This ‘article’ is self explanatory: 23 All-Too-Real Thoughts That Go Through Your Head During Yoga.

Feedback

I enjoyed this in an email from an esteemed yogi: ‘The latest OmYoga mag has an article 'Is 2017 the year of men's yoga?' It won't be if W H Smith carries on putting yoga mags in the Women's Lifstyle section and the mag follows this article with 20 pages of 'Yoga Style Guide' devoted entirely to women's clothing. Just getting that off my chest!’ (I enjoy all of the feedback I get from you. Thank you for taking the trouble to write.)

Wishing you an unshaken mind this weekend.