'The Yoga Bums'

Old-school ashtanga article: http://web.archive.org/web/20070401040518/http://www.rebeccamead.com/2000_08_14_art_yoga.htm

Which is hard to find online.

I'm on a hiatus from practice to let my shoulder heal. One week down.

Given all this free time I'm using it to do stuff. Like read. "Guruji" is great. Gregor Maele's practice manual / philosophy is also great.

Lifestyle tinkering

Less coffee?

Less food?

Skip dinner?

Eat more animals? Eat less animals?

Quit drinking beer?

Quit eating wheat?

Drink more beer? Eat lots of seitan?

I felt very thin yesterday, particularly in the twists, and I liked it. My hamstrings were open; I got my head down in kurmasana, which is unusual. Of course, I overdid the jump-throughs and now my shoulder is inflamed. So no practice today.

I also invested in a fancy-spiffy alarm clock which gradually turns a light on in the mornings. The light wakes me before the gentle alarm does. Anything to maximize the quality of my sleep.

Personal

I read a lot of peoples' thought on their practice.

I find it aggravating how many people throw around the word 'yogic'. Confessions of temper tantrums, followed by chiding themselves for not living up to their expectations of what they think their practice should deliver.

Even worse, ruminations on how people with a daily practice could possibly act like assholes. (I admit to personally finding this apparent conundrum absolutely hilarious).

Here's a thought: remove your preconceptions.

Identify your experiences. Learn to process, to experience, not to assume. Self honesty seems a reasonable strategy.