Morning Mysore Guest Blog - Kirsten Carroll

When people first hear about what my mornings are like, they tend to look at me like I'm crazy.  Yes, it's possible that before you have even considered waking up, I have already done around an hour and a half of hard work in a room full of people doing strange poses and breathing funny. Sounds like a good time, right? Honestly, it's the best way to start the day.

Before I started to spend my mornings in the mysore room, I didn't know much about Ashtanga.  In fact, all I really knew was that I liked the idea of a class in the morning before I had to go to work. I'm pretty sure it's the earliest yoga class offered in Columbus, so I decided to try it out. I had done yoga before at my gym and in my living room, but never yoga like this.

Like a lot of people, I was pretty intimidated at first.  I read a little bit about mysore style and Ashtanga before going to my first class, so I had a vague idea of what I was getting into.  On my first day, I learned sun salutations A & B and then the final three poses.  I am almost amazed now that I got even that far. But I struggled through and Taylor, who I would soon come to refer to as my teacher, told me that if I kept coming, I would learn more. So I kept showing up. And he was right: I have learned a lot more.

Most of what I've learned, though, is not asana.  Don't get me wrong: I have learned plenty about the Ashtanga primary series. But what I've really taken away from the practice is not simply that. I have learned a lot of other things, including things about myself. 

One of my favorite and most unexpected lessons has been how to laugh at myself. I think it really started when I was learning shoulderstand.  I could not for the life of me figure out how to get my legs up. Things were just not clicking.  Normally when I can't learn something quickly or can't figure something out, I will eventually get frustrated and get down on myself about it.  Not then.  I started laughing.  I realized that not only did I look utterly ridiculous at that moment, but that it was okay and I might as well embrace it.  I laughed so hard I cried.  I laughed so much that Taylor could not keep it together either. I laughed myself right into a better sense of humor that day, I think.

I don't laugh every day in my practice. Some days are hard. It can take a lot just to show up. But every day that I practice is worth it. I'm grateful that I get the opportunity.