I don’t know my ass from my asana…

… yet slowly but surely I am noticing my knowledge grow. I am turning into that annoying girl in class who is always asking questions.

I may not be getting my postures perfect every time (and who does), but I now know when I’m doing them wrong, because I can feel if my balance is off or my alignment needs addressing! This my friends, is progress.

Nevertheless, there is an element of truth in the saying ignorance is bliss. Before I committed to this path, I would just show up at my yoga class, amble my way through the practice, do my best and enjoy the ride regardless of my ‘performance’ because I really didn’t know any better. Now, I am having trouble staying ‘mindful’ throughout my asana sequence (which means that I’m not technically doing yoga, but just having a nice stretch). Instead of simply ‘being’ in every posture I keep getting preoccupied with what comes next and rummaging through my memory trying to locate the Sanskrit name of the pose and a list of associated benefits. Am in Paschimottanasana or Parivrtta Parsvakonasana?

I even found myself not only dreaming, but actually performing Matsyasana (Fish) in my sleep last week.

This is probably why I am still attending classes and mixing them up, rather than focusing my efforts on Ashtanga only. That would feel like having the same filling in my sandwich every day. Boring.

Naturally its easier for me to focus on the postures in the class, because there is no need to be one step ahead of myself all the time. Plus, I like trying various styles of yoga and road testing a range of teachers. There is a lot to be said from the experience you gain by adding some diversity to your practice too. Whilst I appreciate the benefits that come with learning one style and building a consistent relationship with one teacher, including a little variety means that I come across postures and techniques for developing a pose that may otherwise allude me. Through my own experience I am building a knowledge bank for what makes a good teacher, an enjoyable class and I am learning more about my own personal preferences too.

The entire lineage of modern yoga is testimony to the impact personal experience can have on your teaching style, proving that how you are taught is one of the most influential variable factors in what you will teach.

You only have to look at Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi, B.K.S. Iyengar and Desikachar, in the knowledge they were all disciples of Krishnamachari, to believe this to be true. Each was taught in the traditional Indian way; one to one, by their Guru. Although they all had the same teacher, who used the same Hatha based system, their individual needs were met with a tailor made practice and this is what was taken to the mass market.

As the ancient proverb says ‘ experience is the greatest teacher.’ So to quench my thirst for yogic knowledge and develop my own opinions and my own practice, I plan to continue feasting on the myriad of different styles out so I can draw my own conclusions and comparisons.

Stay tuned for frank accounts of the multitude of classes out there.