Friday, December 19, 2008

Class# 280; AYC DC Mysore Class # 122: Follow-Up


The whole standing thing wasn't a fluke, I feared to say anything for fear of jinxing myself. I stood yesterday and again this morning.

Some observations.
  • number 1. As Tova has pointed out to me (on many multiple occasions), keeping heels down makes standing much easier.
  • number 2. Keeping my rib cage pulling up and head back with my eyes following up the wall in an arc creates an even distribution and transition of weight from hands to feet.
  • number 3. There's a subtle spiraling of the thighs inward - that creates an amazing amount of energy (see crash in my cartoon - I think I had lifted my head too soon)
  • number 4. "Practice and all is coming." Is a true statement - I would add patience, but I'll take the statement as it is - because patience is probably implied and adding it would be redundant.
IMHO, the most important observation is number 4 and this whole "standing thing" renews my confidence that my "art thing" (in whatever form it takes for me) will take off at some point. It just takes time and a willingness to work. As the SPY teacher asked me after I asked him in sheer frustration what I needed to do to stand, he asked me: "Why it is so important to stand?" I looked at him and realized the truth of number 4.

Sitting over tea with the Sophisticate
on Wednesday evening, with my cute 3.75" CK brown crocodile t-straps and she in her super cute black and white patent leather peeptoes, I realized there are so many things we feel we have to do, but hardly ever stop to consider why we do them. Once you accomplish one thing, there will always be something else. So really, there's no reason to become frustrated with the process - it will only make things more difficult. If anything, the process creates conditions conducive to Svādhyāya, in it's most basic sense of the word - be it study of the world, a higher force, or at the most fundamental level - the self.

So, I guess the moral of this story is sit back, enjoy the ride.

4 comments:

Arturo said...

hi Portside
good observations. Patrick was making the same observation about the feet - best if planted. i will pay attention to that tomorrow.
cheers,
Arturo

alfia said...

Wo-hoo! Congratuations, Portside! Big step. Took me 6 months....

LI Ashtangini said...

I'm totally psyched for you!

Lee Istrail said...

As Kings of Convenience sing, "Every day there's a boy in the mirror asking me, 'What are you doing here?' " It is good to reflect on why we do things.