The Joy of Order

Despite The Teacher’s explanation and reassurance, the non-existent focus on alignment in Ashtanga continue to gnaw at me. So at a recent chai session with The Seer, I voiced my frustration once again.

The Seer looked at me thoughtfully and remarked, “Well, perhaps you like the order that alignment offers.”

The Seer has recently embarked on a Montessori course and is in the midst of understanding how preferences are imprinted on an infant’s mind. One of these preferences is for order. For structure. For a framework that makes sense. For a place for each and each in its place.

It sounds terrible boring, I realise, to know the next move every time and have no room for spontaneity. But I also realise that it is when I know how each line fits together to form a picture that I know which lines to erase, lengthen or reshape.

So yes, I have a deep fondness for the comfort of order that alignment offers in Iyengar which Ashtanga unfortunately lacks. However, I love the power of breath and flow in Ashtanga, of which Iyengar falls short.

In that case, I think I’ll move those lines of tradition a little and place an order for the best of both worlds.