I like what it says about yoga being a living and practical science:
“Yoga has always been a living Science in the East and it has had an unbroken succession of living experts who continually verify by their own experiments and experiences the basic truths of this Science… It is only when a Science is divorced completely from its practical application that it tends to lose itself in a morass of words which have lost their meaning and relation with the actual facts.”
Several times in the past week Richard Freeman has mentioned the importance of experimentation, play, and avoiding orthodoxy (Ashtangis have a tendency towards orthodoxy!):
"You should be experimenting. If you are too orthodox, you can’t experiment... Play in the pose."
' you should be experimenting', Music to my ears : )
ReplyDeleteyes, play, play,,maybe less in the beginning though...more as we develop an internal "practice awareness". i think this is the nice part of doing the same poses every day. we begin to see how our physical selves work. and then maybe the rest ... i think its natural for yoga teachers use words with beginners, less so later...very cool hearing about richards inspirations again!
ReplyDeleteyes, Grimmly, I loved this too!
ReplyDeleteand John I think you're exactly right, this play and experimentation is something we can do more as our practice develops and we gain more internal awareness. But at the same time I think it's good for beginners to experiment too - especially since certain postures may not be accessible to their bodies at first (which can be frustrating!). Experimentation gives some autonomy and control over their own bodies and practice.