Forget Kindergarten— All I really need to know I learned the first weekend I met David Garrigues.

It was a weekend of firsts for me. First weekend ever away from the 18-month old. First weekend not breastfeeding. First weekend standing up from a drop back and first weekend losing my ashtanga virginity, and by that I mean, it was the first time I saw behind the Manduka mats and chaturangas to the weird 4pm dinners, coffee worship, and strange questions like “who initiated your practice?”

Before this weekend, I’d only known David online. Even then, he spoke to me:

“I say bring on the fire, let’s burn this stale, safe, known, fearful place to the ground. Give me spiritual danger, give me the edge, give me something that makes me sweat, makes me breathe, makes me open inside, and feel truly alive. Give me enough fire to face my apathy every day. Give me enough fire to burn my petty mind that continuously spins out just the right type of nonsense to hook me into fear, judgement, and insecurity. Give me enough fire to care more about what’s inside me than any other thing.”

When a new DC friend (Thanks Peg!) offered me a ride to his North Carolina intensive weekend, the choice was simple: “bring on the fire.”

I got fire, alright. David gave me a treasure trove of teaching that has burned energy for my practice for two years since. A small notebook holds everything I scrawled down that weekend when he was talking or answering questions– phrases that I repeat in my head all the time, think about as I’m setting up my mat, and bring up when teaching or responding to questions about practice. Prophetic phrases. All I really need to know– whether I knew it then or not — is in here.

I’ve grouped them into categories of my own making. Please be aware that I formed this list from my shambolic scratch marks, so these are not verbatim quotes (I hate putting words into someone’s mouth). I’ve done my best to honor this teacher who has given me so much.

Breathing 

1. Surya namaskar sets the tone for the whole thing

2. The following of breath is a mantra

3. Defining the position is defining the breathing

Postures

4. Postures- 1^st thing—what is the foundation!

5. 2nd thing — Yogis like to count. Every asana has a certain number of vinyasas. [get it from Lino’s book]

6. Each asana looks more like each other than you think

Dynamism

7. Jump-back and core strength—key to dynamism…but eliminating artful dodging in vinyasa goes a long way

8. Consciousness itself is dynamic

9. Escape valves/artful dodging >>>>not dynamic

10. Dynamism is born from receptivity.

11. We do things against our well-being all the time. We choose badly just because we have a choice. You don’t have to choose that way

Practicing with an injury

12. The practice is malleable to suit whatever conditions come up. Practice can be worked to suit if you have a good teacher and creativity

13. [Said emphatically to the injured woman in the room]: “There are so many reasons to quit, BUT you didn’t!

Practice, period

14. If you are rigid about it, you will destroy it

15. Don’t force time management on yourself.

16. Practice comes from a love, not from a sense of duty

Being an individual in the ashtanga system

17. You have to realize your individuality to a tee to get our togetherness

18. You don’t have to give all of yourself over [to a teacher]

19. When you take on a system, you don’t buy into the whole. You have to keep your identity.

The Eighth limb

20. Samadhi– not some far out thing, the 8^th limb >>>>> NOW

 

The last line of Robert Fulham’s famous “All I really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten” poem reads:

“…no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.”

As I think back on that weekend two years ago, I am grateful to Suzanne Faulkner and the Ashtanga Yoga Club Durham for welcoming me into the community — the ashtanga community, the DG community –with open arms. So my unofficial phrase Number 21 is something quite similar:

Community is everything.