Sri K Pattabhi Jois said, "Yoga is 99 percent practice, one percent theory." This blog is a resource to explore the one percent theory and to inspire you on the mat.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Real Progress: Ageing and Ego

Greetings! I'm teaching this week in Olympia! I'm happy to be able to share Yoga with so many dedicated, serious, and beautiful people even if I miss the philly crew but I'll be back soon! Below I have posted three videos from various discussions and talks I have given the past year. The first one discusses ageing, the second one discusses our egos and daily practice, and the last one is a response I gave to a woman who was struggling with progress in her practice.
May each of us go within with devotion and prayer to find and share our Yoga...enjoy! David

David Garrigues on Ageing and Ashtanga from David Garrigues on Vimeo.


David Garrigues on Ashtanga Yoga: The Ego and Practice from David Garrigues on Vimeo.



David Garrigues on Get Ready for Practice from David Garrigues on Vimeo.

Sunday, May 2, 2010



David Garrigues on Jump Back from David Garrigues on Vimeo.



Greetings! This weeks post features a video on how to jump back between seated postures. The options that I demonstrate follow a progression from easiest to mastering the jump back. I suggest you play around with the variety of versions, find one that works the best for you at this time, and then work from there into the progressively more difficult steps. Here's a few additional tips to keep in mind as you practice it:

#1) memorize the set up position:
lift up the feet and knees
extend the arms forward just in front of the hips
empty the lungs and coil the body in anticipation

#2) This is the biggest key:
all of a sudden with a burst of power push the hands down in front of the hips inhale
decisively suck the feet and thighs up towards you
Immediately lean forward

#3) Bend the elbows:
pivot on an axis exhale
keep the thighs and feet sucked up as high away from the mat as possible

#4) Project the chest forward:
thrust the legs back
arrive and stop in a clean cetvari (Caturanga Dandasana) and smile
draw the shoulders back away from the mat 6 to 7 inches position the hips very low to the ground
cultivate a strong uddhyana lift of the belly
hug the thigh muscles to the bones
keep the head up gaze slightly forward

Pay particular attention to the flow of the breath (presented in bold and italic). Due to my upcoming schedule constraints I'm now going to begin posting every other Sunday. As always I encourage you to share your comments and questions with me either via the blog comment section or an email. I really appreciate hearing from you. Thank you for your sincere dedication to the practice, to holding the mirror up up to your self each day anew, and thank you for including me in your beautiful journey of Yoga. Enjoy!!