E-G-O

yesterday was another splendid vinyasa workshop with lino. he was in high spirits, which always makes for fine entertainment. i have taken this counting workshop several times over the years, and it gets clearer each time. he demonstrates the real science behind astanga-each breath has a specific count- each asana a specific amount of vinyasas-breath movements. this has been an issue in my classes as well as his. some students love to linger and mince around the asana, when they should be taking only one long breath. this helps to bring the attention to the bandhas and breath, rather than fixating on perfect asana, which is a different style of yoga (vinyasa flow or iyengar). many students waste their time with thinking too much, and incorporating unneccesary movements when entering and exiting postures. this is NOT astanga. astanga is a very precice science. unfortunately some students are stubborn as bulls, and think they know what is best for them, when the fact is that they are fooling themselves into thinking they are doing astanga. i can't tell you how often this system gets no respect, some even dragging toys (props) into the mix, which is NOT astanga! guruji is famous for drop-kicking blocks out of his classroom! it's unfortunate, because these students are wasting theirs and my time, are completely disillusioned, disrespectful to me, and will never reap the fruits of astanga yoga. astanga is not a popular yoga because it requires complete surrender to the system. it's a science. and westerners don't like to be told what to do. (why is this never a problem with asian people?) i often wonder why some students come to my class, because they never change these problems. like i am supposed to cater to what THEY want, like it's supposed to be all about them or something. pity. there's a 3 letter word for that- E-G-O.