One More!
"One more!"
It is the infamous call in Mysore,India, when you're sitting outside the practice room in the shala, waiting to go in to start your morning "mysore" self-practice. In the practice room there will be anywhere between 60 to 80 other practitioners, all at different levels. Some are relatively new to the practice; others have been doing it for a long, long time. It is almost impossible to describe the feeling in this room. The air will be quite heavy with sweat, there will be a loud sound of people using their Ujayi breath, it will be crowded like no other practice room you've ever been in, literally no space between mats, and there will hardly be any adjustments or verbal instructions given. It is just you and your practice. And it is the most amazing experience. The energy in the room is unbelievable, from the other practitioners, from you, from practicing in the same room that Sri K. Pattabhi Jois taught in for many years. He died on May 18th 2009. He was 93 years old when he died, but until a couple of years before this, he was still walking around correcting people, shouting "You do! Bad lady!", helping people do drop-backs. And even though he was sick for a long while before he died, every so often he would be in the shala, giving the room a special energy. He was an inspirational teacher and man. And the energy from him was beautiful. Very hard to describe, but you simply felt blessed when near him. He will be sorely missed. But his light lives on in the worldwide practice of ashtanga yoga. That is his legacy that he gave us.
So "one more" student, one more posture, one more day, one more life experience, one more breath... The continuing reminder that there is always further to go, whether we want to or not. Life brings us onwards. Our breath carries us through. Yoga is a tool for helping us realize this. So go forward, be "one more".
"Yoga is possible for anybody who really wants it. Yoga is universal. Yoga is not mine. But don't approach yoga with a business mind - looking for worldly gain. If you want to be near God, turn your mind toward God, and practice yoga. As the scriptures say "without yoga practice, how can knowledge give you moksha [liberation]?"
-Sri K. Pattabhi Jois