sacred beginnings

This is where I begin each day.

I took these pictures in the evening after one of my assisting shifts. The room was packed with new years resolution people and much hotter than usual. The bright ochre walls, warm wooden floor, post-practice humidity and strange camera settings resulted in these pictures being completely overexposed but I love it. The outcome is a gorgeous, warm, bright, cozy set of pictures which is exactly what the shala is to me. A perfect, sacred, blessed way to begin each day.

I arrive at 6am, the second to arrive after A. who opens things up. By the time I get there she has already set the energy with hushed lights, twinkling candles, a hint of incense floating, and the sound of her breath as she begins her sun salutations.




'My' spot is in the back corner away from the glare of the ceiling lights and close to the window where I can feel the day wake up as the light changes. After a moment at the top of my mat, I raise my hands above my head with a deep inhale and swandive over my thighs with a deep exhale to merge my breath with A's in what feels akin to jumping off a cliff into beauty of the practice.




My view with the dancing Shiva holding reign at the front of the room. The spot directly in front of him is usually the last spot left in a crowded Mysore class so, on the few occasions that I've had to practice there, I've kicked poor Shiva more times than I can count. He's a sturdy little guy though and the brightness of his blues, reds and yellows never seem to change so I guess he's unphased by the accidental abuse.


Each time I come to samasthihi at the front of my mat I'm met with the same view. The plants change with the season. Small pine trees through the winter, now lilacs in anticipation of spring.

Reception






Not pictured. The changeroom where I'm usually whispering "shit, shit, shit" as I jam my socks on while calculating just how late I'm going to be for work. Also not pictured is the coffee shop across the road where I head, no matter how late I am, for my morning caffeine fix and a catch up with Louie and his motley crew.

If I don't show up for a few days, Louie gets concerned and I have some explaining to do when I finally reappear. Then Louie was sick for a few days and I understood, I was worried about him. His motley crew of cranky old men just weren't the same without him, people dispersed, stopped hanging around to talk about the morning news, and there was less life to the coffeeshop. He's back now and as cranky as ever with the morning headlines dominated by American politics giving him and cronies plenty to complain about.

These mornings, beginning with darkness and solitude and ending in sunrise and hello's called across the coffee shop are sacred ways to begin my day.