Suffer from Envy? Desire? Greed? Anger? Sloth? Ashtanga yoga might be just what you need
I HAVE ALWAYS FELT a vague sense of being displaced. That, spiritually, I’m from elsewhere. Somewhere in south Asia. For years, I’ve had a dream of returning home – ideally with an invite to a wedding in India. The closest I have got to this, however, is my current conundrum over whether or not it would be over the top to get kitted out in a sari for a friend’s wedding. Or even a simple salwar kameez. Monsoon Wedding is one of my favourite films. So now you see. If not an Indian wedding, India will do. However, all attempts to get there have so far been dashed by my gastronomically risk-averse husband.
Imagine my envy then, when Gillian Mooney tells her Ashtanga workshop students, me among them, that she spent two full years at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore. Mooney tells me later: “I don’t want to sound corny, but I’d been searching for something, I ran marathons, I travelled. Before I tried yoga, I’d have been the first one to say that’s a ‘wimpish practice’, but I started about seven years ago and I got deeply into it very quickly. I had a strong yearning to go to the source and immerse myself in it, so I stayed at the institute for two years. Okay, maybe it will sound corny, but I felt I was tapping into magic. I’ve spent all my savings but as far as I’m concerned, it was worth every penny.”
Magic aside, I can certainly vouch that there’s nothing at all wimpish about Ashtanga. As Mooney’s workshop moves beyond the first couple of sequences, the body lotion I put on in the morning warms up. Between that and the sweating, it’s difficult to get a grip on the postures or asanas. I am doing my best Downward Facing Dog when Mooney approaches. I can’t really see what she is doing and she doesn’t talk much, but she leans over and applies pressure on my back, creating a tremendous stretch on my hamstrings. It’s almost unbearable, but it also feels great. After this, I’m a bit wobbly and I get nervous when I see her coming. Another asana involves bringing your hands together, prayer-like, behind your back. “You can bind, Angela,” she says, approaching again, this time to join my clammy paws. Somewhere between my shoulder blades, they stick together.
With these levels of physical adjustments, you should let your guru know about any injuries. But Mooney emphasises that asanas can be modified. She wants “to bring Ashtanga to as many people as possible. This practice is for everyone – all ages and levels – when taught properly by a traditionally trained teacher. I’ve had inquiries from GAA and soccer teams, too – apparently Roy Keane is a big fan of Ashtanga. I was initially drawn to it for intensity on a physical level, but slowly, slowly, after years of daily practice, I’ve been amazed by its transformative powers – not only physical, but more importantly, spiritual and mental – so it probably makes sense that the lads are interested.”
Key to Ashtanga is co-ordination of movement and breathing; the breathing helps to “boil the blood”. This effect was so described by Mooney’s late guru, Sri K Pattabhi Jois (he passed away last May, just short of his 95th birthday). The idea is that warm blood circulates more easily and sweats out impurities. Each asana sequence has a set number of breaths. We begin workshops by practicing the ujjayi breath, sound coming from the throat. As we move through a sequence, Mooney counts out the number of breaths. “Many people in the West don’t know about the importance of breath, and don’t learn about the count. Without the breathing, they can lose concentration and it becomes just a physical practice.”
Mooney describes a typical day at the institute in India, getting up at 3am (she now has a lie-in until 5am) to practice. “If you were to walk into the class at the institute, there might be 70 people on the mats and it would initially seem like total chaos. There’s one student doing a headstand, while another is coming into the triangle pose and another is struggling to balance on her arms. But there is a pattern and everyone is on a path, following a precise choreography. Compared to other yoga classes, the silence is striking. Occasionally, the guru will whisper something to a student, but he is mainly moving swiftly from one student to another giving them adjustments, and the dominant sound is of collective breathing. The energy and focus in the classes can be extraordinary, as was my experience teaching in the school of Ashtanga in Milan. You can sink deep inside yourself and achieve a sense of grace that is like nothing else I have experienced.”
Milan too, eh?
I must remind myself that, according to Ashtanga teachings, envy is a block to internal purification. It is one of the poisons that hides the light in our hearts. The others are desire, anger, delusion, greed and sloth. That’s one hell of a lot of yoga. Envy had surfaced earlier, during the workshop, and was of the rich green variety. This time it was set off by the young woman beside me, Patricia, with the burgundy toe nails. That’s all I could see of her most of the time, even though I was supposed to be concentrating on the tip of my nose. But when she tucked her hands behind her shoulders and pushed off with her arms, hips in the air – a full backward bend! – I dropped any pretence of focusing on my nose. I want to be able to do that. And having gone through a gruelling hour of Ashtanga, I know it’s not some abstract longing – I will be able to do that.
Just like I now know that I will finally get my trip to India, because the sister-in-law and her betrothed are moving to Bangalore. It would be rude not to visit. Mother India promises to paint me with henna, feed me dal and denude me of unsuitable delusions, even if my husband has to eat Tracker bars for a fortnight.
THE COST OF STRETCHING
From next Tuesday, Gillian Mooney will hold Ashtanga classes in the Dublin area: YogaVillage, Dalkey(Tuesday, 9.30-11.15am); Richmond Cheshire Housein Monkstown (Wednesday, 7-8.30pm); and St Theresa's Church, Clarendon Street (Tuesday, 6.30-8pm and Thursday, 6-8.30pm). Classes will run on a six-week term, but there is also a drop-in option. Mooney will also be running a series of weekend workshops throughout the autumn, particularly aimed at beginners and will be giving a free outdoor yoga class in Dartmouth Squareon September 26th from 11-12.30am. She also offers one-to-one sessions. Contact ashtangawithgillian@gmail.com or 087-2384335.
The Yoga Room(262 Merrion Road, Dublin 4, 01-2196666, ciara@yoga.ie) stocks US clothing by Omgirl, Be Present and City Lights. They come in very wearable colours that look great on or off the yoga mat. The ranges vary in price, including Omgirl T-shirts (with motifs such as Buddhas or hindi symbols) at €38.99 and yoga pants €58.99; or City Lights cotton lycra mix yoga tops, with built-in bra for support, at €42.99, and yoga pants for €56.99. The Yoga Room's Ciara Cronin says if you're on a budget you don't have to wear special yoga clothing, just something comfortable. Yoga mats cost from €20. Many venues, including The Yoga Room, will supply or rent out mats.