On Teachers, Time and My Silly Ego BS

I've been practicing daily Ashtanga for close to a year now. There have been many variations in this daily practice though. I've been practicing with different teachers and at different times of day throughout this year. It is only in the past two weeks that I have shifted my practice to be exclusively in the mornings and with Matthew.

I'll be honest and say that I really didn't think that the time or teacher mattered as long as I found my way to the mat. Of course, I know it MATTERS, but what I mean is that they would not have a huge impact on my practice. Well, based on the last two weeks I completely rescind that thought process! My practice has gone through phenomenal changes in the past two weeks. There are many reasons for this. I think that waking at the same time and going to the same space creates a standard energy output for me.

I was practicing at 5:30 AM 3 days a week and practicing around noon on the other 3 days. The noon classes were what they call "short form" and often skipped some of the foundational asana in the series. The noon classes were also in a corporate environment and I was one of the "advanced" students attending. I will admit to the fact that being an advanced student caused me to let down my energy a little. I didn't give it my all like I do in the mornings with Matthew. This has nothing to do with the teacher or the time. This was the result of my own ego. It was something of a "being a big fish in a small pond" complex. Yeah, I admit it. I've written about this before but one of the reasons I love practicing with Matthew is the fact that I when I do look around the room at my fellow students I am totally in awe at their practice. No matter where they are at in the series they are REALLY coming from a place of discipline and focus. They are quite phenomenal!

So, a short story made long there to get my point across. For me, standardizing my practice a bit was just what I needed to get me through a plateau and towards another upward climb.

Garbha Pindasana and Kukkutasana on my own today. Matthew assisted me with the bind in Baddha Padmasana but it is going to be a while on that one. Tight shoulders, whew!