JD shares the story of his coming to practice Ashtanga Yoga

When I first moved to New York and was struggling with career, addiction, identifying as a gay man, relationships, to name a few ... I began a journey into yoga. I had dabbled before but now life was crashing in and I needed to find some answers and fast. Without a lot of money I found that I could do Karma Yoga (cleaning and sweeping the studios) in return for free classes. I started my karma yoga with Jivamukti.   They had many classes but the one that made me really sweat, and get pissed, and humbled me, and challenged me, and made me keep wanting to come back for more was the ashtanga class - the led primary series class at 5:00 every Wednesday.

I have never forgotten that class because, little did I know it at the time, it was to literally change the course of my life. Practicing yoga from that point on changed for me. What I thought I had wanted from yoga changed for me forever. I thought I wanted to escape from my life's mounting problems; I wanted to be carried away by the soaring, beating music, or this promise of new and exciting poses, which was what I was getting in other classes. Ashtanga was having none of that. It was repetitive, it was sweaty, and it was challenging to stay focused and present. Ashtanga was asking me to plug in, to not get distracted by outside forces, to hone concentration and focus and stay within. Well, I was hooked.

To my absolute delight I discovered a whole other level to ashtanga yoga called Mysore Ashtanga. Where the practitioner learns pose by pose the asanas that make up that same primary series I had seen at Jivamukti. But, there was no teacher at the front of the room telling us what to do. The teacher would come around to us individually and help us shape our practice, giving it form and structure, and ultimately memorizing it. And it was only the very beginning!   I found this was the first series of a possible six series and there was something great in realizing that this practice of ashtanga yoga would never be finished. Ever!, I mean talk about new and exciting poses ... This type of yoga that originated in Mysore India, and which was carried forth by renowned teacher Sri K Pattabhi jois was being taught by one of his long time students Eddie Stern. I started with Eddie directly after 9/11. In fact I was in class with the visiting Sri K Pattabhi Jois the morning when life was quite literally crumbling down around me.

I studied with Eddie for eight years and also with Richard Freeman. But I must give my time with Eddie the credit of instilling in me the need, the desire, and the determination to practice six days a week. It was not easy, and for me it was not cheap, but I knew that if I was to be content in my life, if I wanted to be fulfilled, I needed to be on that mat once a day, moving through the obstacles of my inner life.   And, as Eddie would say, not trying to get around them but facing them and moving through them with breath and awareness.

I have spent time in India, and worked here in the states with some of the best teachers in the world and I want to just express my gratitude to all my teachers for having helped me to become a better man, a better person, and a more content, loving, and happy human being. I credit my daily practice of ashtanga yoga for all these blessings.

Come join JD in Mysore - Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays