His: Still Flowing Stream

9/20/13

Every year I assign my middle school students to write for five minutes without stopping; it’s a way to free up their thoughts, letting them know that whatever topic their brains are thinking about is okay to write about. The mind works easily, nonstop, and the job of the writer is simply to record what the mind is thinking. The only rule of the assignment is to keep their pencil or pen moving. I will attempt to do a similar writing here, but on the typewriter—I mean computer.

Yesterday, I felt the pressure to get a sequence done.  It turned into a chore; something I had to do. The resistance was centered in my stomach, and I felt like a high school student who didn’t want to do their homework. I kept telling myself it’s not supposed to be like this. This should be something that you love. Yet, yesterday, I hated sequencing.

I see no point in it. Why should a beginning teacher have to design these steps for their students to follow?  It should be the job of the advanced teachers to come up with the subtle, beautiful, free-flowing, rejuvenating, and, especially, safe sequences. New teachers aren’t capable of coming up with sequences.

As I write this, I realize I am avoiding the responsibility of a teacher, even a beginning teacher who is learning. How does one become an advanced teacher? Capable teachers all begin somewhere. And the best way to learn is to make mistakes. Jump in, childlike, and have fun. Who cares? Enjoy. This is the attitude that I am striving for anyway.

9/22/13

After I finished my third sequence, Virabhadrasana II, Warrior Pose, Jen reviewed it with me.  And I feel like I’m making some progress:

 

His: Sequence #2

Jen writes every evening. Tap, tap, tap-tap, tap, taptaptap, tap. I hear those keys. I better get writing. Good motivation.

A friend visited this weekend. We taught middle school together for 6 years, rooms side by side, until he retired to The Villages last year. We play golf. Then drink and eat, and drink a little more. 

I wondered how this partaking in sake and beer will affect me. I had stopped the alcohol and caffeine. The accumulative effect of these pleasures tends to fatigue the mind and body, especially during the school year.

But I woke up at 4:30 AM and practiced for a couple of hours and feel grateful for the practice. It centers, relaxes, rejuvenates, and restores. When I practice on Monday morning, I know it will be a good week.

Today’s practice encourages me to teach yoga—maybe sooner rather than later. Here is my second corrected sequence with notes:

 

 

Before practice, I read. This quote jumps at me: “The problem with desire is that you do not desire deeply enough! Why not desire it all? You don’t like what you have and want what you don’t have simply reverse this. Want what you have and don’t want what you don’t have. Here you will find true fulfillment.” The answer.

Hers: It's Your Practice



Me in a three-legged Dog Pose taken at Bandeliar National Monument
(Which, after seeing, I made Gary take another picture of another pose because I didn't like what I saw.)

I've been lax.

I haven't published a post in a week and a half.

My metta practice, thankfully, is solid. Each day, I wake, I floss and brush my teeth, I find my way into our yoga room, and I sit for my morning metta practice. It's now part my routine.

But still, I've been lax. My daily writing practice has waned. I've only jotted a few ideas, a few notes, bullet points of experience...

My practice has been weak. And I'm not too happy about it. Just like the picture above that I made Gary retake, I want to see something different than what is.

However......

Even though you say your practice is not good enough, there is no other practice for you right now. Good or bad, it is your practice.             Shunryu Suzuki, Not Always So