Day Trip
When I read the news or listen to the radio or just stop and think about it, I can get myself all worked up over the imminent demise of the world as we know it. Oil and water will run out, terrorists will stage nuclear attacks, and Dr. Phil will team up with Celine Dion to broadcast 24 hours a day on every channel.
We’re all gonna die or at least want to.
By contrast, if I ride my bike around tree-lined streets as I’m doing today in Portland, (where I’ve come for just a quick trip to practice one morning’s worth of yoga with my longtime teacher, David Garrigues, who’s no longer, as of this summer, based in Seattle), I come to believe that everything’s going to be fine. Even if national governments crumble and international accords fall apart, we’ll still have lovely, cohesive neighborhoods in cities that work and charming late-summer mornings like this where dappled sunshine filters through the leaves of noble trees by solid homes populated with caring people who always strap their toddlers in Volvo’s car seats, even if there won’t be any gas to drive it around.
Change is hard; that’s just the way it is. I talked with David a bit about what is transpiring in Mysore and throughout the “ashtanga community” as our spiritual leader, our Guruji, Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, continues to transition from this world to some other place, slackening his grip on the reins of his organization (such as it is), the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute.
David surmised that it’s going to be a mess when Guruji is gone; things will get worse before they get better as folks wrangle for authority and/or control over their own and others’ practices and yoga fiefdoms.
If I think about that and imagine the future, I can get myself all worked up; on the other hand, if I just get on my mat and practice, all is well.
We’re all gonna die or at least want to.
By contrast, if I ride my bike around tree-lined streets as I’m doing today in Portland, (where I’ve come for just a quick trip to practice one morning’s worth of yoga with my longtime teacher, David Garrigues, who’s no longer, as of this summer, based in Seattle), I come to believe that everything’s going to be fine. Even if national governments crumble and international accords fall apart, we’ll still have lovely, cohesive neighborhoods in cities that work and charming late-summer mornings like this where dappled sunshine filters through the leaves of noble trees by solid homes populated with caring people who always strap their toddlers in Volvo’s car seats, even if there won’t be any gas to drive it around.
Change is hard; that’s just the way it is. I talked with David a bit about what is transpiring in Mysore and throughout the “ashtanga community” as our spiritual leader, our Guruji, Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, continues to transition from this world to some other place, slackening his grip on the reins of his organization (such as it is), the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute.
David surmised that it’s going to be a mess when Guruji is gone; things will get worse before they get better as folks wrangle for authority and/or control over their own and others’ practices and yoga fiefdoms.
If I think about that and imagine the future, I can get myself all worked up; on the other hand, if I just get on my mat and practice, all is well.
posted by Professor Dave at 11:05 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home