SSYTTC08 – Samatwan Yoga Uchayate
I started teaching yoga about 10 years ago in schools. It was a non-violent and non-competitive way to exercise children today in California. Immediately after I began considering about going for long-term Yoga TTC program in India. I looked and searched for a long time since then. During the 10 years yoga had become a fashion. There were so many different branches and schools of yoga. None of them was quite right for me. For me, yoga was not just an exercise. Yoga was not for business. It was something much more deep. Even after taking SSY course, my search continued. Of course SSY had the depth I was looking for. But SSYTTC was not accredited by Yoga Alliance, a big stamp to become a recognized “yoga teacher” in sports gym and alike. Other yoga TTC programs would grant Yoga Alliance Certificate after 2 weeks or more. But SSYTTC has 4 separate phases! It would not garantee me with employment either.
Yoga chitta vritti nirodaha. Exactly!! All of those little thoughts were stopping me from taking SSYTTC. All I had to do was to restrain those unnecessary thought waves. It all happened during SSYTTC in the mountain of Fujian Province, China.
Until then, I lived in such an easy life. I had 3 jobs to keep me busy and alive. I always had a routine of things to do. Sadhana, work, hobby, knowledge… My life was clean and regulated–leaving not too much room to apply knowledge. Indeed I had clean and regulated days during SSYTTC, but in the different setting required me to pull out knowledge from my head to apply onto everyday situation. Yoga karmasu koshanam. Skill in action! For me, finding a nice balance between knowledge was very challenging.
I had a great thirst for knowledge, and I wanted to ask every bit of questions I had kept in my head. However, it was also important for me to stick to the mission to keep our group strong and going. Keeing the culture within knowledge was also important. In fact, I would have ignored my group completely and concentrated in the course like I did for all the previous courses I took as a part of US team. Being in Japan for a while, I was thirsty for living knowledge and craving to hang around the teacher. But I was now put in a different position. For the past months, AOL teachers in Japan constantly told me that the way I have been doing things in US would not work with Japanese people, and I needed to learn the Japanese way. So I took it as a great opportunity to practice skill in action.
Accepting people and situation as they are and opposite values are complementary. Again and again these knowledge points were applied out of necessity. Sharing knowledge points with sense of humor also helped to keep us up as a group. For the first few days my frustration level had gotten very high, and I was wondering when the teacher would put a botheration basket. Instead, constant surrendering to divine happened. I do not get to have a botheration basket everyday at home. Being aware and offering each and every good and bad thoughts to divine was such a wonderful skill I acquired during the course.
One of the most memorable day was the seva day. We cleaned up the canteen area of the venue opening up a whole new room for the employees to use. The space was filled with junk. I even found a dead kitten in the mountain of junk we carried outside. As disgussed as I was, I was also delighted to find the dead kitten, and wished that I had a camera. During my travel in India, people quite often asked me if Chinese and Japanese people ate cats. Finding a dead kitten in the canteen, I found a proof that cats are not eaten there! Besides that, I met a bunch of Chinese people who enjoyed having vegetarian food.
The view of the city I saw from the hill (of the venue) every morning remains in the back of my head. The business of the city stayed under the fog in calm manner. Just like that, I am able to observe myself from from a higher place. When that happens, I am also able to observe my busy thoughts underneath the fog down low. Knowing the existance of madness in my mind, I am able to stay in equanimity. Samatwan Yoga Uchayate.
Why Yoga in China? Many people asked. There is a special reason why we gather together in the special location with Kamlesh. I am glad that I got to be a part of SSYTTC in China.
Lastly, I led a yoga asana session this Sunday. I have led many asana sessions in the past, but this was a different one, so energetic, so spirited. I felt Guruji’s presence with me. Now I teach asana as a yogi. I am grateful for the deep knowledge of my guru. I can now surrender everything, because I know I am well taken care of by him.
Love & JGD,
Chikako (Japan), SSYTTC08, Fuzhou, China
