Posts Tagged ‘melbourne yoga’
It’s All About the Space
April 21, 2009 | 
Author The search for a new space to take yoga classes in this year has been a wee trial. The Tasdance space of last year was a special thing indeed, especially with that glassed garden view. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to secure the same times for the entire year in advance. I’d noticed that quite a few people like the option to attend in a drop-in class. At least half of the group likes the commitment of pay-in-advance style. Continuing at Tasdance made drop-in attendance impossible.
With that phase over, we enter a new one in a new space and it’s a doozie. Here t’is:
I promised myself last year that if I couldn’t find a good space that was free for the full year long, I’d not teach at all. Reason being is that the space is all-important; it’s all about the space!
The new studio has bags of character and is home to Launceston’s precious Stompin youth contemporary dance company. Sarah, the company’s GM, has been super easy going and open about our making ourselves at home in her company’s space. The facilities are perfect: loo, great audio system, hot drinks, beautiful floor, lots of light & a couch and table corner for a cuppa after class.
I’ve just returned from Melbourne where I did an Ashtanga Primary Series class with a teacher I’ve not met before. He was a hard-liner; bags of rules, looked like a small army man, take-no-shit attitude, rules rules rules. I loved him! What a goose! He doesn’t like yoga tourists and asked those on tour to leave. Officially he could have been speaking to me, but I like small hard Irishmen, so I took the risk and stood there pretending to be a hard-core Ashtanga yoga head.
At one moment he came over and made an adjustment on me in Virabhadrasana A and the way he held and spoke, in that briefest of moments, was no mean Irish task master. It was a gentle souled, open man. Something happens each time I do yoga. Something inside me tells me something that feels good and right to hear. A good teacher, no matter what theire teaching method is, can make it easier and safer for us to stand and wait and listen for the important stuff.
The class smelt horrid. People were sweating like hairy monsters. As I always do, standing is a horror posture, I questioned what draws me to this room with these people, why do I continue? I’m not sure exctly why, but it has something to do with love. Perhaps it’s as simples as just loving yoga. But it stinks and the people are mostly a tad … kind of odd, to me, but I dig them and what we’re all trying to learn. I’m unsure what it is, but I’m in for life.
Here’s a vid about Ashtanga Yoga
Here’s a link to more inspirational Ashtanga yoga photos on Flickr by
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nat_sf_05/sets/990381/ Nathalie Mullen-Briquet
ENJOY!
D
Posted in Uncategorized | 
Tags: inspiration, launceston yoga, melbourne yoga, stompin, yoga class, yoga photographs, yoga video | 
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Question: where does a yoga beginner begin yoga?
A good friend of mine recently asked me where to being when looking for a yoga class and this was my response. It’s a good question, and the answer is simply, commit and follow your nose. If you’re thinking of starting, or changing teachers or forms, have a wee read of this mail to give you tips on what to consider.
Below is a copy of our correspondence about beginning the yoga teacher search.
Hey S,
Your “Do you know of good teachers in Melbourne?” question has many many answers; many answers but really it only ever has one answer. Follow your nose, sniff it out with your heart.
There are lots of forms of yoga … and they vary enough for some people to become devoted to a form because it may somehow speak something to the practitioner that they understand, or want to understand. It’s important to remember that movement arts are, at their simplest, a form of communication.
At the moment I’m trying to get my body around Ashtanga, but in the past I’ve loved Iyenga. My attraction to Ashtanga is unclear to me right now.
I’ve a basic rule of thumb when going to any class: I always go to a new teacher on word of mouth and commit to 5 classes, then move on and do the same until I find the teacher and the form that I love.
I have a 100% faith in movement practice being entirely and perfectly right for me, so I go into all classes with an open-opportunity gateway in my soul and recognise that all classes and all teachers are good for me. Having said that health food is good for us but often tastes like shit, so … initially and ultimately it’s about commitment and following through. No Pain-No Gain is inapplicable to yoga, btw.
There is a great space in Fitzroy very close to you:
My friend loves the classes taught by Eoin @ the Melbourne Ashtanga Yoga Centre. I’m coming over in April to do one of his lead classes on a Sunday morning.
Maybe enroll in a beginners Ashtanga course.
The space down there in Firtzroy is beautiful.
Ashtanga will get you REAL strong and REAL fit REAL fast.
I like to tone my practice down in the winter and top up on slow regenerative Hatha style practice. Learning to break down the poses and getting to know them on a intuitive level is really important. Yoga works on all of the subtle bodies of Us; breaks down our proverbial onion skins, layer by layer.
Ashtanga is taught in a set series of movements that always follow the same sequence.
It’s strong and fast and gives little time to contemplate what’s happening: I love it!
Wear shorts and a tight singlet and bring a towel.
Iyenga style spend more time in the postures, have a more analytical mode of teaching, slightly more pared back than Ashtanga. I love Iyenga too. Wear long tight leggings and a singlet. Take a long sleeve too. This school has had a good rep for years: http://www.rathdowneyogaroom.com.au
Hatha is more sit and breathe and maybe chant, and all that jive: more om shanti, so to speak. Wear your favourite trackies.
Does this help?
Love
D