Gratitude

It often occurs to me how lucky Suzanne and I were to have been able to travel to Mysore when we did; to go and learn from one of the best teachers in the world so early into our ashtanga yoga journey. I had only been practising for a year and a half when I first travelled to Mysore. Ashtanga yoga has become so much bigger in the intervening years that it’s now very difficult to get accepted to practice at the shala with Sharath. When we first went all you had to do was write a letter to Guruji (a letter, remember those?) to say we were coming. Then, you’d turn up on the day you said, and you’d be accepted as a student at the shala. Our intention was to practise with Guruji that year, but he was taken ill about three months before we went (Suzanne was there the previous year and had practised with him for a month or so) so that meant Sharath did all the teaching while we were there, with the exception of a few led classes that Guruji counted himself. Looking back I can’t help feeling how lucky we were to be there. Even to meet Guruji before he passed away was such a blessing. Next Tuesday we are travelling to Barcelona to practise for a few days under the guidance of Peter Sanson, who was Guruji’s student for almost 30 years and still continues to travel to Mysore every year to practise with Sharath or Saraswati. It’s another great blessing to be able to learn from a teacher who has so many decades of practice and teaching under his belt. As the number of students practising ashtanga yoga grows and grows over the years we might find that we don’t have as much access to some of these amazing teachers. Guruji is already gone, Sharath is so busy with so many students that it is hard to even get a place in his class; and who knows how many more years he will be able to keep up such a rigorous schedule. So don’t wait until you’re ‘ready’ to go to a really great teacher. Always take any opportunity that presents itself to practise under the guidance of a master.

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Practising with Peter Sanson in Barcelona

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Our changing relationship with ashtanga yoga