Joelle Hann : Yogi, Take Me To A Higher Place

Joelle Hann of the YogaNation blog had given me the head's up earlier part of the week that her article on ADVANCED YOGA PRACTICE would run in today's Health & Fitness section of the New York Times.

I've been thinking about being a senior practitioner and its connotation as my teacher mentioned in passing last Saturday that it was MAHA I had brought my SENIOR energy to a studio full of newbies ( & their inseparable  water bottles , chug-a-lug) . And on my way out of class this evening, I was asked, "How long have you been doing this ? "  My response being " going on 7 years, but I'm still learning ."

So here are some excerpts from Joelle's piece that resonated with me :

"Advanced yogis work on breathing techniques & focus, since mental acuity eventually helps them transition into MEDITATION, considered the ultimate goal of yoga. Even if advanced students can't find the full expression of a pose, they will try it with concentration & HUMOR."

"If they are truly advanced, they can perform challenging asanas without  the accompanying SMUGNESS." ( Right on Alonzo E., pop-up to standing from Urdhva Danurasana. Well done ! )

There are some quotes as well from Cyndi Lee of OmYoga NYC & Kino McGregor from Miami Yoga Center, both of whom have been featured earlier on this blog.

The quandry or Zen Koan for SENIOR /ADVANCED practitioners is , as  instructors & studios start catering to the boom by providing "Yoga-Lite" classes , where to go for "higher learning" ?

Cyndi Lee's OmYoga has started to offer advanced level only classes , meaning you are advanced enough and ready to learn more. I've been fortunate to find reciprocity from  teachers in my devotion towards them (as recognition of their light & talents) by being gifted with additional instruction.

My parting words to the ladies who had inquired into my practice this evening was , "Asana & vinyasa, if learned properly from a good teacher, are actually very liberating ."(JIVANA MUKTI in Sanskrit)

Image via the NYTimes.

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