Penetration beyond the seen to the unseen.

If you have a stuffy nose, the flowers means nothing to you

If you are blind, the light means nothing to you.

If you are insensitive, nothing means anything to you.

~Sadhguru

We grow up on the mat, and mature with the practice.

Well, eventually.

Looking back from who I was, my mindset of practicing in Mysore has definitely evolved.

Getting new poses from Sharath is not too much of a concern--- the intention of grounding myself by threading through the Primary series & breathes with ease is my agenda.

I appreciate the constant reminder by Sharath during the weekly conference; of not putting the physical practice in the limelight---shining the torch onto the values of the system.

One thing that has really expands my spectrum is the behavior of people.

I’ve witnessed the best & the worst in people--- that I’ve felt heart-warmth & disgusted.

The space between dualities is where my perspective expands.

Seeing the happening of dualism: Though there are many pouring questions unanswered, there are too much for me to comprehend on interaction of different minds.

Most of us started the practice on an interest on a very physical level. 

Once comfort sets into gross body & breaths--- it creates a space for us to go deeper. That takes our practice into another dimension of experience.

Penetration, where our practice experience goes beyond poses.

At least, that is how I am feeling in my 2^nd month of practice in the shala.

I guess it’s similar in life. What we see is not usually what we expect to get.

We all behave in a way to portray how we want others to see us.

Penetrates beyond what is presented in front of our eyes--- we witness both the light & the shadow. In there, we derived our own perception of truth.

Our action creates ripples;

Our voice resonates;

Our energy releases vibes;

We being as whom we are,

Are blessed with freedom of choices;

We decide how we want to treat others;

And how want to be treated. 

A good heart never goes wrong.

I particularly love idea of having last pose of the primary sequence--- “ Sethu Bandhasana”. Its translated as “ Bridge”.

The whole practice of the Ashtanga system comes into life when we learn how to build a bridge between the practice on the mat & into our daily living off the mat.

Every time when I spend my 5 breathes of time in the Bridge pose--- it sets as a personal reminder for me….

To bring what the practice had taught me into my daily living, through me.

Tough love, its the relationship with my practice.

Sharath once said, “ Yoga don’t need you. You need yoga.”

Yes, I humbly take his words for whatever I had been through in the past;

and of having glimpses of clarity of knowing myself better today.

We comfortably get ourselves into one distraction after another, to cover the issues from the previous. Including the accumulation of underlying issues--- giving us a false knowledge (ajnana) of                “ Everything is OK”.

Which give us a realisation of how much we have been cheating ourselves ( asatya).

My current teacher back home, James highlighted a point,

“ Make mistakes. But make different mistakes.”

He explained that there is no point repeating the same mistake, with each time deepening the incorrect impression (samsakra) in us. 

By making different mistakes, at least, we are holding an attitude of exploring possibilities into making things better or right. Through that, we are being push out of our comfortable zone, until we are set on a right direction---

We begin to deepen the positive habits that will eventually progress us (both in the practice & well- being).

We are all beggars in life.

Some begs for materials, some begs for attentions, some begs for love.

In one-way or another, we are beggars of our own desire--- to make ourselves feel better.

In which, there is no superiority or inferiority, we are all the same, isn’t it?

Tough love, its the relationship with my practice. The more I run, the more it pulls me back—putting me into a position to face my own delusions.

Peeling layers of misconceptions, like shedding layers of an onion.

Gaining more clarity gradually--- closing the distance between what it is and our perception;

Allowing truth (satya) to smack right into my face; and I stop playing with denials.

Hitting the rock bottom, a dead end. At the weakest point, the practice teaches us how to draw strength from weakness and move on.

Instilling us to uphold as much integrity in life by having us to work hard—just enough to draw the right amount of strength within us.

James cited, “ A strong support is important.” Many teachers emphasize the essentiality of being grounded. The deeper we root ourselves, the higher we grow—that takes time. 

So how rooted do we need?

How much strength should we acquire?

At this point, I concur…

Strong enough to reject those that doesn’t serve us anymore;

Strong enough to accept the unknown coming into our lives;

Strong enough to recognize whom we are and stay firmly to our beliefs in what we are doing now even the whole world turns there back against us.

That much of a strength, I’ll have to do more chaturanga….

Drops of nectars from the bitterness of work.

Every trip to Mysore, i went back home a different person.
Having to experience two sides of a coin in quick period, being reflective is unavoidable.

Half way through my stay in Mysore, i'm almost hitting the brim of containing what i see everyday--- i'll probably be overflowing at the end of the trip.

In fact, every morning, we woke up from the same bed; a different person from the previous night.
We walked out through the shala door, as a different person who went in earlier. With every moment passed, we shed some skin and a new layer grows.

Perception deriving by experience changes gradually as we grow. The quality of an experience lies in our hands as a decision maker. In each situation, we have the capability to decide how we want to feel-- that goes to history stories too.

The time we put on the mat, is never wasted. It is a long-term investment into the remaining years we have many lifetimes. The drops of nectar sipped into our life subtly, so subtle that we may just miss it with the overwhelming bitterness of the practice.

Down the years, look at who we are now and the person we first started this spiritual practice, do you see the small pool of nectar? Can you smell the fragrance and taste the sweetness?

On a personal journey, the practice doesn't serve purely just an interest, its giving me more that i first asked. Its a space where enquiry and feedbacks happens ( like a moment of Arjuna & Krishna from the Bhagavad Geeta)--- a guide to life.
How i view the world yesteryears and today has changed, and is changing.

Life comes in many pieces, like a puzzle. The piece of spiritual path is like an open-ended question. It has not shape yet it takes shape in any form. From my level of understanding, its still remains a stranger to me.

Spiritual or not, i don't know. i believe there's a piece that governs the puzzle of life brings us beyond and to the unseen. In a matter of fact, i'm taking the practice to be a better person than who i was, and may the people who i met gets a share of the sweetness:)