Yoga Skeleton Prehistory

Here are what I believe are the first skeletons doing asanas that I drew. I drew them before I had any kind of understanding of human anatomy, but I figured that it would be fun to look at my process. I put them in the front cover of my copy of David Swenson's Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual, along with the opening chant for Ashtanga in transliterated Sanskrit and English translation. They represent a vinyasa. I should probably redraw a vinyasa for the back cover to go with the closing chant.

previous yoga skeletons

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RIP K. Pattabhi Jois 1915-2009

Last month the yoga world lost a giant. Being a practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga, I am in a great debt to him. I was never able to make it to Mysore myself, but hopefully will someday to study under his grandson Sharath.

While I was in Seattle, a couple of days before he died, I had a dream. In the dream I was living in an ashram somewhere in the forest in Washington or Oregon. I was gardening and sweeping and doing Ashtanga Yoga. The instructor was K. Pattabhi Jois. This was the first time that I had a dream with him in it, and it was a day or two before he died. It was a very odd coincidence. I wish I had had a chance to know him.



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13

Yeah, this is my 13th post. 13 has always been a special number to me. I was born on the 13th. There were 13 American colonies when we fought for our independence. There are 13 heavens in the Mayan cosmology. I have 13 in Mayan numerals tattooed on my chest in the middle of a Mayan ouroboros representing Kukulkan.

I had a better Ashtanga practice this morning. I hadn't been able to do yoga for the past 2 days, because I was really sore from my practice on Wednesday. I made it the whole way through the finishing sequence today. My handstand vinyasas weren't very good and I was only able to hold tolasana for 5 breaths, but it was definitely better than Wednesday. Oh well, that's why it's called practice.

I've decided that I'm going to try and post a different drawing of a skeleton doing a yoga pose each Saturday. Hopefully I can keep it up. This week I'm posting a skeleton that I drew for an assignment in A&P doing padmasana (lotus pose).




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New Beginnings

Today was my first Ashtanga practice in a few months. I use the David Swenson book at home. Once in a while I'll go to class as a sort of tune up.
It wasn't my best practice ever; It was blocky and awkward, I was exhausted before the finishing sequence, but I did have a good savasana. I could almost feel myself aging backwards.
Oh well, that's why it's called practice. It'll get better as I do it more.

I'm hoping to be able to do the Anita Blake post tonight...


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