“Buttocks in”

‘Buttocks in’ is a common instruction in class and as soon as it is uttered, there is a collective change in stance.
Wednesday’s class saw us being introduced to backbends and it was kind of off limits to me. I got a little modification and didn’t push beyond the point when the pain would shoot. It would get aggravated if the tailbone was not tucked in. I’m actually grateful for the injury which showed me something new.
Another discovery was not being bothered about what I could not do now but seeing what was available. I’m convinced that doing even just the starting asana of the different categories is more than sufficient to fully engage myself. Some of the asanas I have been doing to ease the back are opportunities to notice and figure out the imbalances. Seated, it is less tiring but no less demanding.
While on holiday recently, my knees were very happy and the reason for that was very simple. I mostly sat cross-legged on the ground or while travelling in the car. Back at work for a few days again and I felt the difference between sitting on a chair and on the ground. Luckily, I work at a place where I can sit on the floor and ditch my footwear. My work requires me to study and understand fruits and vegetables. In the course of reading and research, I find ways to improve how I feed myself and my family. At the risk of sounding too hippy, I also find myself gravitating towards lighter living, needing less. Increasingly, I find that things in my life are intertwined and conducive to living simply.
Sutra reading was mostly restricted to the first two padas since there is a certain comfort with the familiar words. The third and the fourth padas seem way over my head and so I stayed away until a few days ago when the pages beckoned. And it was a startling discovery. Time to get started on memorising the remaining chapters and get familiar with the words. I saw a flyer on Prashantji’s book, ‘Discourses on Yog’ and have been contemplating whether I should get it or just stick to what I have. I keep thinking that I need a basic proficiency in asana before I am ‘qualified’ to explore the other facets of Yog but perhaps that is a fallacy. I see the wholeness of the petals of yoga as a continuum as well as a progression.
Recently, I wrote about what goes through my head when I run and much later it struck me that I had slowed down in my mind chatter enough to catch those fleeting thoughts. This is change in my books and it happened while I was not looking. The only thing I actually did was show up on my mat and practise whatever I learnt. The rest has been revealed as and when I was ready.

Hari Om