Gone surfing

Destination reached and now we’re properly on holiday after an epic journey. So much impatience in the modern world about arriving when really the idea of travelling half way round the world for a week’s holiday is on a certain level quite bizarre. Certainly an indulgence, however you look at it, but one I’m prepared to make for the sake of some winter sunshine and warmth!

So Hubby’s gone surfing. And, yoga nerd that I am, I’m happily back at home after a bit of a frisk in the calmer shallows. I’m enjoying some peaceful space and pleasant warmth for my asana practice on our balcony and still some time left alone for some study.

I’m finally getting round to reading Tias Little’s Yoga of the Subtle Body that’s been sitting largely unopened on my shelf since the summer (don’t bother buying books right before teacher training starts!). I’ve read quickly through the section on feet. So much to fascinate me here, and I’ve been geeking out on anatomy as well as the more subtle aspects of the effect of the feet on all other bodily alignments and energies, as well as the meaning of feet in the traditions of gurus feet and transmission of knowledge, and all the grounding metaphors that yogis love to make.

I started reading this book with some scepticism, hoping it would help me overcome some resistance I have to chakra theory. Can one call it a ‘theory’? After all most of my scepticism arises from the fact that there’s a lot of 20th century twaddle written about the chakras that makes me want to throw the chakra baby out with the bath water. I’m hoping this book will help me find some discernment and experiential understanding. For this reason I LOVE the practice notes alongside the discussions or descriptions — the best way of learning, by doing and feeling for oneself.

But this book is so packed with ideas and lines of enquiry. Each sentence makes me want to stop and think. If I had Tias Little on speed dial I’d be calling after every few sentences and asking “what did you mean when you said…?” There just aren’t enough footnotes for my taste. But it’s OK. I’ll take one level of understanding for now. I’m making a few notes as I go of things that I particularly want to revisit on the mat or that I might use in teaching.

So I hope the surf’s good today and I get a bit more time on my own for this harmless indulgence of exploring feet and hips. Even if I forgo my siesta, I doubt I’ll get as far as ‘the sacred sacrum’ or ‘the belly brain’ but there’s always tomorrow.