Drishti and Tapas

7/3/2016

Back at the most important Ashtanga yoga shala... where once i come in and felt all the mystic of being in the house of the family that passed on these practice.......

I had been practicing for 4 years before i came here to mysore for the first time.

When i arrived i felt really mystical about doing my practice inside these families house..... at the same time i was really intimidated by practicing along with so many more people..... My head was having so many thoughts and my thoughts looked like monkeys, jumping from one thought to the next.

But we Ashtanga students are thought a tool that helps to abstract from the out side and turn inward .. these tool is called Drishti....
What is Drishti ??
Well......... most of you should know by now, ....... every movement and every asana has a specific place for you to look at. For example you have : Nasagra Drishti (nose ti.. like in pic)

Drishti allows you to practice the redraw from the out side and allows you to concentrate inside... If you do the correct Drishtis during all the practice you are drawn inward and after some time its like nothing out side could disturb you.

So back to the main shala, in Mysore............. facing again a new challenge... now its only yoga teachers who are also dedicated practitioners and our Guru ( teacher ) Sharath Jois... He is a sweet man ..... but you have to do practice correctly and be present and concentrated.... or he will get mad .... also if you are concentrated he will come and try to bring you out of your comfort zone and disturb your concentration...... an what to do????

You do Drishti :))

After knowing inside in detail the out side will not disturb you anymore.... :)

I keep the image of our altar ... with Ganesha .........and i close my eyes at the end of practice .... and............... there she is....

Back in school...

Hatha Yoga Pradipika... One of the most important books for a yoga student to have.....
It takes many life times to put in practice all there is in these book ..... But you can read it many times in one life time ...only :)

Now its time to start learning in Sanskrit, the original ...... Here in the institute we are lucky to have the best teacher.. His name is lakshmi

I am reminded ...
...........Once a student always a student................. ..

Tapas

The first time i hear about tapas was two Sudu's in the north of india that told me :.... We go walking Kedarnath... you come!!! ... We do Tapas .........After you..... feeling very good....( He said )

So i said: Ok we go :)) ..... ( i didn't know he was talking about a place almost 300 km away )

After 10 days walking and sleeping out side i reach Kedarnath

During the walk i missed my friends, my family, my bed back in my mothers home:) food, comfort...... etc ...

I realize all i had was so important to me and that before........ i had not given enough value to all i had.

Today in India i was reminded of these tapas because i miss .... ( saudades )
And so i smile
...Look up and say ...

Thank you for all i have

Shiva temple on the way
Surrendering to the cold and the pain in the feet

Kedarnath temple
Shiva baba and Ramdev baba
Me on the back ......

Wile we were there people would pass by and live us loads of money

6 Comments

Érica Gonçalves

7/5/2016 05:48:40 pm

Great post! :)

Like you say, integrating Drishti to your practice really makes a difference, as it helps you to focus in the present moment and in the asana, so that all the disturbances that come from the outside (like noises or what the other practitioners are doing) or even the ones that come from the inside (your mental - or “monkey”, as you name it - thoughts) don’t affect or distract you or your practice.

So, I feel that Drishti, pulling you energy and attention inward, allows you to practice with full awareness, or as many say, like a true “moving meditation”.

Nevertheless, we all (I think) have days when our inner distractions (especially when you’re worried or fixated on something) get the best of us and our minds start to wander. My question (maybe a silly one ;))is: When that happens, how do you keep your mind undisturbed or “train” it to stay with your practice? Is it a matter of time and learning to fully know or control your inside?

By the way, what’s the difference between Drishti and Ekagrata? Thanks :)

Francisco Rodrigues

7/6/2016 07:16:09 am

Hey Erica...

..... You practice correctly and you learn on your own..... There are no short cuts or easy answers... :)

My experience is ... if i am not well siting and breading in an asana then for shore i will not be well anywhere else .... so i let go whatever i m want to control... and i observe....... breading dristy and my posture.. ( these are the tree basic tools that the practice consists on) Tristhana

Other things might distract you and make you feel momentarily well but sooner or later the monkey comes again :)

Practice seams to work for me.......

Hope you are having a good summer in portugal....
The family is there if you need :)

Érica

7/6/2016 12:32:08 pm

Thanks :)

Yes, I understand exactly what you mean, there are days when I’m upset or just tired and so I practice and it always makes me feel much better… And if that doesn’t work, nothing else does…

Good weather here (beach…finally!) and vacations coming soon :)

So now I’ll have time to organize things for when you come here… There is at least one space available, and then I’m going to start looking for the best accommodation for everyone. Then we’ll talk and with Daniela to adjust the date and other details.

Still don’t know if I’ll be going to Lisbon, but if I do, I’ll be sure to visit the family… :)

Hope everything’s ok there and that you keep writing, we like to read you :)

capitai

7/6/2016 12:49:03 am

Amigao não percebi k tinhas ido para aí, mas rapidamente me disseram. Tenho pena de não termos jantado, mas mando te um grande abraço, e do teu afilhado Jacinto! Aproveita e corra tudo bem!

xico

7/6/2016 07:22:43 am

Gde Abraco Nuno...
Obrigado

Saudades do Jacinto ..... ja deve estar enorme.....

Rapidamente estarei de volta ... setembro 2

Um Abraco gde
Aos dois Juniors também

E claro um beijinho a Ma Mariza

Brother :)

thank you for this post:) and for sharing the beauty of practice.

7/26/2016 01:10:16 am