I believe I had been practicing Mysore style Ashtanga Yoga for about 5 months when school started up again in the fall for my kids. I had been blissfully practicing in the studio three days a week that summer and arriving back home casually around 8:30. Swim practice didn’t start until 10:00 which gave me PLENTY of time to pull myself together and get the kids to the pool.
When September rolled around and the kids had to be ready and out the door by 8:30 it put a SERIOUS cramp in my plans and my practice. I was struggling to find a way to do the practice that I wanted, and still fulfill my role as a parent to my (then) 6 and 8 year olds. I was already starting the practice at 6am and the studio didn’t open any earlier so I asked my teacher (Donna) for ways that it would be acceptable to shorten my practice but still “progress.” We came up with a few solutions, and landed on one that worked, but in the mess of it all she also shared a very important bit of history. Her words have stuck with me since then and I go back to them frequently and remind myself of the reason we do the practice to begin with.
In a lovely email, she wrote these beautiful words about Krishnamacharya (from whom the Ashtanga yoga practice originated):
“This practice comes down to us from Krishnamacharya. When Krishnamacharya set out to find his guru in the mountains of Nepal he encountered a man with no other formal students. A man who lived with his wife and children albeit in a remote cave. He did not find a renunciant, a swami, a monk. He found a householder. After living with, studying and serving his teacher for 7 years he asked how may I repay you? His teacher replied: go find a wife have a family and teach what I have taught you. Our tradition is a tradition held by householders—members of society, raising children, engaging in relationships and living in the real world; managing real life. Living the life of a yogi in the world is much more complex than living tucked away in a quiet haven. But this tradition asks this of us just as Krishnamacharya was asked. It’s a challenge we all hope to rise to.”
Phew. This message was everything I needed to hear, and still what I need to remind myself of when life gets in the way. Because it does. Life happens. But it’s also the reason why we show up to our mats every day. We practice yoga to become better humans. We practice yoga to take what we’ve learned about ourselves on the mat into the rest of our lives. We practice yoga so we can live our yoga.
And there it is. Seventh series in your face. Bear with me for a moment here to help explain this term. The yoga I practiced then and now (The Ashtanga Yoga Method) consists of 6 series. Six set sequences of postures designed to be learned and practiced (possibly/hopefully) with the guidance of a knowledgeable teacher. The sequence should (in theory) be practiced every day, with a few exceptions. Many people learn the first sequence (primary series) and never move on from there. That is their practice day in and day out. Some continue on to intermediate series (second series) and maybe even move on to third. I don’t know the actual statistics to be able to tell you how many people are practicing 4th or 5th or 6th series, but suffice it to say, probably very few. Each series becomes more and more physically challenging as you move through each one — and primary is no walk in the park itself.
So if there are only six sequences, where is this seventh series I keep talking about? It is the most difficult series, and we ALL practice this one–whether you are a yoga practitioner or not. Seventh series is the term given to ALL the other things going in your life OFF the mat. Seventh series is life and it is HARD!
I posted this on social media recently, because it dawned on me after my own busy week and noting that my students’ lives recently seemed to be more hectic. I just felt the need to let everyone know, and perhaps remind myself, that life happens and it’s okay. Life “gets in the way” of your best laid plans to make it on to your mat sometimes. When it happens, give yourself a little latitude and offer yourself some grace. We spend those 30 or 60 or 90 minutes on our mats to learn and grow and hopefully become better humans. And we do this, so that we can spend the other 98% of our day doing the harder practice. The practice of seventh series and living our lives with purpose and intention.
In the span of two weeks I had several students miss class. And they were all quick to explain why and also lament their loss. Most of the reasons were related to their children (i.e. their role as caretakers). One momma had a sick child the day before class and couldn’t come to class in person the next morning. However, she ended up being able to log in for the zoom version. Another woman was hoping to start classes with me via zoom, but also recently had a child who had a tonsillectomy. She was up for two hours in the middle of the night before class helping him with pain management and chose sleep over waking up at 5:30am for class. A third woman spent MANY nights with her child in the PICU ater some very serious medical issues. At some point her husband brought her yoga mat to her and she was able to find the time/space to fit in a practice (a recording of a class she had missed). She was really in need of the physical movement after sitting at the bedside for so many days AND just having a few minutes to take care of herself and recharge was invaluable. Her biggest takeaway was that if she closed her eyes and focused on the verbal cues, she could even tune out the cacophony of beeps and alarms that are ever-present in an ICU. Not a bad skill to have — especially OFF the mat.
The point is, we live in a modern world. We are not aesthetics or renunciates practicing yoga in a cave 18 hours a day with no other responsibilities. We have work, kids, parents, significant others, friends, and pets that require our attention and care. We have illnesses and injuries in our own bodies that prevent us from doing our “full practice” every day on our mat. Just like there are seasons in the year, there are seasons of your life when finding those 30 or 60 or 90 minutes can be next to impossible. When sleep may be more important to your physical and mental well-being. When our physical body has changed and perhaps we can no longer bend and twist the way we used to.
We are householders! And as my teacher pointed out, that’s what this practice was designed for. It is in our life off the mat where we get to apply all the lessons we learn in whatever series we are working on. This IS the practice of 7th series. No one cares what fancy inversion or arm balance or transition you can do. It may be fun to watch, but it won’t be what they remember about you. People will remember how you treated them. People will remember how you lived your life off the mat, how you lived your yoga and how you connected with others. That is the real intention and purpose of the practice, and truly all that matters in the end.
Cover Photo Credit to Gaynor Stanicic and her podcast “Seventh Series” (This a great podcast too for those of you looking to hear from others navigating their way through their practice and their life off the mat).
