HOW TO BE A DUTCH ASHTANGI
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The Ashtanga Doctor

6/20/2017

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Last night I had it rough. My throat ached, I was tired but could not sleep, my eyes burned, I coughed and my nose was running: Hey hey hay fever (Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen. Pollen is a fine powder from plants.) Yes, it is that time of year, and it hasn't been raining for days, so there is a lot of pollen in the air.
When my alarm clock woke me at 5.30, I felt run over by a dozen elephants. My eyes were swollen, my throat felt soar and I felt extremely tired.

I am not going.
Better to stay in bed.
I can sleep for another two hours.

Then I remembered the line I read yesterday: If you don't push your boundaries, you will never get to know yourself.
I changed my clothes and packed my stuff.

In the shala, arriving on m mat, I was still sniffing and scratching my eyes. But I thought: no worries, I can  quit at any time if I want to.
I started my practice, and finished it the way I always do. I didn't quit, not even a bit.
And when I lay in savasana, I felt way better than before. I didn't have any symptom of hay fever. My nose wasn't blocked anymore, nothing ached nor itched and I felt awake and fine.

Unfortunately, during the day, the symptoms returned. I am looking forward to tomorrow's practice.

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Poetry

6/17/2017

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Sometimes an empty page presents the most possibilities
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This Saturday I am taking the traditional Saturday Day of Rest very serious. I slept till seven and after  cleaning the house, running errands, and walking around my neighborhood, I crawled back in bed in the afternoon. I had my laptop with me and decided to watch the movie Paterson. But I felt my eyes being heavy, so I first took a nap and then watched the film. I liked it very much. It is about a bus driver who writes poems, or it is about a poet who rides the bus. It has this beautiful saying in it: 'Sometimes an empty page presents the most possibilities.' (I find this quote completely in line with my day of rest. Tomorrow, a new Ashtanga week starts, so first I have to create an empty page.)

When are you a poet, or a writer? Do you have to be published first? I know for myself I have this criticism. And even though I already published a book, I still find it hard to call myself a writer. When people ask me what I do, I always refer to my day job at the office. And it is not that I am proud of that job. Because somehow, I am not. But I don't ever call myself a writer out loud.

Difficult subject, I could go on about it for hours. And that is not what I am supposed to do today, as I am resting. Not only my body, but my mind as well, I guess.




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