Ashtanga--- masculine or feminine?

My first thought of the Ashtanga method was very masculine, i used to attempt those challenging poses with brute force--- i was not exactly right.

As i am sticking to it, i slowly realized that it is very much a feminine- supported practice. Instead of fighting to mould myself into the pose; i started to soften all resistance so i can breathe into the pose, more comfortably and deeply.

On my personal experience, the incorporation of partnership from both masculine ( demand of strength and endurance) & feminine ( the full support of breath manipulation & softness) comes slowly through regular practice ( daily).

On one side i can be really impatient with the progression ( masculine), on the other hand i do constantly remind myself to respect what my body condition has to offer and release any expectation ( feminine).
Before, I've tried exploiting my body in order to fit into my ideal practice--- i injured myself. Till then, i learnt to be compassionate to myself and allowing the wound to heal and recover properly.

Just like in any relationship, the balance of the yin & yang within, around and with others--- it takes a great deal of time and effort to straddle towards a more balance and harmonious circle.

I like how Sharath always described the practice of Ashtanga as to climbing Mount Everest-- how those  challenges line ahead of us makes the practice more fun; which applies to our life too:)

"if everything comes easy, there will be no fun"

While those difficulties can ignite the fighting spirit within us; we too need to learn to surf smoothly on the creative energy of breaths--- and enjoy the waves of fun!

#100happydays, whats next?

Recently i realized there is this trend going on about being happy "deliberately"--- which i don't quite get the point.

The game started with a whole package of 100 days, and each day the participants will do the listed activities to prove they had accomplished that mission = they had a happy day.... #100happydays... familiar?  

The first question i thought was.... are you really happy, or just satisfied with the mission you'd accomplished upon showing it to the world on a social media?

Second question was... How does this " pseudo happiness" gonna last? Then what will happen on the 101th day? 

Third... Each task, is just gonna be done ONCE on that particular day? Its like a crash diet-- its not given enough time to incorporate into your lifestyle. Pretty sure you're going to ditch the plan after a day.

Pardon for my personal opinion i ranted out above, a lot of my friends around me are doing this--- i've not objection about that, just a strong view point on my individual side. 

Some says " fake it till you make it"...

Trying to be happy, is it really happy? Or is it an action to avoid the realistic emotion.

I strongly believe, that if one is really happy.... the amount of happiness is immeasurable--- not by number of days or numbers of activities. It just happens.

If one is upset and unhappy--- it is important to go through those aches and down-spiral realistically( i mean, that's life isn't it?) -- as a reflection of current situation, and probably making some changes about it. 

It is OK to be upset, its not something horrible to feel down.  

Else, creating " fake happiness" is just like sweeping all the trash under the carpet-- accumulating more issues and in the midst losing your real self too. 

I mean, this is too just my personal view. #justranting #readwithopenmind 

Who says it's gonna be easy?

One who thinks that practice of yoga is easy, hasn't really quite done it.

Whoever who feels that this spiritual practice is full of pain and torment, hasn't stay long enough to dive deeper for the magic to happen. 

Looking at the sutras and those ancient text of on yoga, it never mention on a word or any description that it will be easy. None.

What those books reveal, are a chunk of benefits and most importantly, a long list of tools for any practitioners who embark in this self- discovery journey. 

The Bhagavad Geeta tells the story of how Arjuna caught himself in confusion and dilemma in the battlefield of Kurukshetra ---- The charioteer, Krishna then has a long conversation sharing words of wisdom before Arjuna took the next move. 

That relate to what is always happening in our inner world, the battlefield is inside each of us; the charioteer is in there, the wisdom is in there too. 

Or we may even look at those reference text of Yoga Sutra, a compilation of 4 chapters delivers the technical and scientific part of the practice--- the reasons of our constant unhappiness, backing-up with methods and qualities we need to acquire in order to stay through with the practice.

These two are my favorite reference books on the philosophical part of yoga; which i will pick up to read anytime.

As my personal practice started to get a little more demanding in general, i was initially ridiculed by how difficult it was getting. 

When i reached to a certain limit of no more strength, where i can't quite figure out what's the next step, desperately wanting to penetrate to the next drop of strength---- i thought...

" Where can i find that much of the strength to do this? What should i do to make to happen. 

Its too tough."

I know it was more of mentally than physically demanding. 

And the ancient text had already hinted us that the practice is going to a very tough ones--- with all those long list of reminders that hopefully be pounded hard in our head to keep us moving on.

Intense faith. Continuous practice. Discriminative knowledge. Dispassion. 

Its simple, yet asking a lot of us. 

Bite on and keep moving.