No longer a beginner

‘This contemplation on the asanas means then that you are no longer a beginner.’
– Preliminary Course by Geeta S. Iyengar

It’s been almost a year and a half since I started learning yoga and all this while the focus was on how much of a beginner I am. True, the learning never ends and I will always be a student but perhaps a truer picture would be to acknowledge a certain progression. As Geetaji says, the learning begins now.
Maybe it is time to acknowledge my individual journey as I follow the path laid down by my teacher and those that have gone before her. I see how other practitioners of this system also pursue other disciplines and bring a certain finesse in their chosen areas through their practice.
I see each teacher express his/her unique interpretation while staying true to the teachings as they take a class. So perhaps I need to accept my inclinations whether it is in learning more about the philosophy of yoga or continuing to run. The discipline is such that I will only be learning as much as I am ready to learn. And maybe the label I attach to myself prevents me from getting out of my comfort zone and making mistakes if need be.
Home practice has been a mix of Week 6 and forward extensions. And it is rewarding as I sense each side differently. Sometimes I fret about the time I will need to go through the sequence but inevitably once I am on the mat, time disappears and the curiosity takes over. The why and how? I feel the same way after my home practice as I do after class.
As far as reading goes, the flowers in my balcony reminded me of a line in the Gita where Lord Krishna says that he is Spring amongst the seasons.

Dahlia from my garden

That got me to open chapter 10 and it read like the Song it is.

Among hymns also I am the ‘BRIHAT-SAMAN’; among metres ‘GAYATRI’ am I; among months I am parts of December-January (MARGA-SHIRSHA); among seasons I am the ‘flowery-spring’.
– Ch.10:35, The Holy Gita, Commentary by Swami Chinmayananda

Hari Om