Come sit by me

Sometimes it seems to me as if I am the only Ashtanga blogger out there who doesn't have a favorite place to set my mat in the practice room. I practice wherever there's a spot. And I could care less if it's on the right side or the left, near the altar or in the rear. I pretty much don't much care who practices next to me either, although lately I have noticed that it's kind of funny to practice within eyeshot of one particular student because when I do, we usually share a smirk or giggle at some point, which is somehow kind of nice during a two hour practice. Plus, she and I almost always start at around the same time, and even if we don't, I usually catch up to her during the standing series, such that we're practicing pretty much the same poses at the same time (until she splits into Second sometime after Navasana - it seems to be different every time). She has a lovely practice and she has given me some really wonderful pointers on opening the armpits (yes, Carl, the ARMPITS).

Oh, and during Led Primary Friday practice, I like to be as close as possible to the front and center because I've found that a front and center spot increases the odds of my getting an assist in Supta Kurmasana. Those assists really mean the world to me at this point because the less I "do" in Primary poses, the better my backbends feel.

On a side note, I often wonder, as a teacher and as a student, who really SHOULD get the Supta Kurmasana assist in a led class...the student who is most likely to get into the full version of the pose WITH the assist? Or the student who has no shot of getting bound but who might get a little further with an assist? A student like me, who can get into Supta K without an assist probably shouldn't be getting the assist, truth be told, at least in my opinion. When I was teaching led classes at Shala X, for example, if the lithe and willowy Miss T was in the room, I knew that I would not have to assist her in Supta K and that I could focus my attentions on someone who needed the help more.

But back to the topic at hand, other than my preference for a front and center spot in Led and my enjoying being near Miss M during Mysore practice, I don't really care who I practice near, or where I practice. I wonder how and why the attachment to certain places in the room sets in.

Lord, my life must be boring today for me to be writing such drivel.

YC yoga; Yoga Poses; Health and Wellness;