show me the light

Inspiration. I don't always know from where it might come. Usually it just shows up and moves through me when I hit my mat. That's the best cause in those moments I know I'm moving like me. It can show up though an experience I've had in a teacher or a friend's class. Sometimes it's music that gets the light shining. Then there are the days (or longer) when the light of inspiration is a little dim...

I needed a little nudge toward inspiration last week so I spent some time fingering through Dharma Mittra's 608 Asanas. Though his sequencing doesn't necessarily work for my body, I find his physical creativity really inspiring, and the photos of his poses - seeing his body in the shapes - can often spark something in my body to move in a particular way. The other place I turned was to Shandor Remete, the founder of Shadow Yoga. Never taken a class or anything - they don't really exist here - but I've read about it and enjoyed seeing his physical interpretations of the body practice.

Seeing these men, these luminaries, got me moving outside of my head. It's impossible to show up on my mat and take the same old routes when I've added new, perhaps unfamiliar shapes, into the mix. It was great. It's like giving myself an assignment: Find a way to get into this shape without ever having it explained, AND then see what naturally follows it.

Ah, Curiosity, I do love Thee.