I am finally, a week later, writing the final report on my experience at the San Francisco workshop with Desikachar. I have been reflecting on obstacles and structures in learning.
I guess it comes as no surprise that every person who came to the workshop had something else on their mind --- in addition to the poses, breathing, and meditation. At the breaks, as I chatted with people, I heard about family illnesses, marital strife, economic worries, and physical pains.
This reminds me of many years ago, when a teacher said, "The thoughts that pass through your mind during the poses---they are part of the yoga."
On the one hand, they are distractions. For, they are not the chosen focus at the time. To practice vairagya, we need to set aside whatever thoughts are not on task.
But on the other hand, once we have finished our practice, the yoga has --- we hope --- made us more clear-headed. So then, we can focus on these life issues and make more intelligent, compassionate responses.
The other area of learning that I've been reflecting on in the last week is how Desikachar taught. He didn't have much, if any, Q&A time. I am curious about this choice. When I saw him at the week-long Omega conference in 2000, he did have Q&A. But perhaps he has decided that it is best to give people an experience and let that be the learning.
Also, contrary to popular conception of yoga, we didn't do much asana. We did a lot of breathing, meditation, and chanting. Perhaps this was because he didn't want to strain people, and he couldn't easily assess 150 people on the spot. Or, perhaps his notion of what we needed were the tools of breathing, meditation, and chanting. In Desikachar's system, these simple, clear, accessible techniques are crucial to creating positive change.
