Day 2, Part 2

This afternoon we talked about Bikram a lot. So many of the trainees here are Bikram teachers or studio owners. And most if not all of us are regular practitioners of Bikram's class. There were lots of questions about the differences between Tony's philosophies, alignments, engagements and those in Bikram's dialogue.

For example, in the standing backbend, Tony encourages soft knees. In all the standing balancing postures he encourages strong and straight but not locked or hyper extended legs.

Also Tony's series, supposedly directly from the Ghosh lineage, puts Triangle, Rotating Triangle and Standing Separate Legs Head to Knee as part of the Half Moon series. So they go before the Awkward series and Eagle instead of after the standing balancing series the way they are in Bikram's class.

So there were lots of questions and lots of discussions about the development of Tony's teachings. He says his practice is always evolving, always changing. And that is necessary to keep the yoga alive and to keep it individual. Here are a couple of things Tony said:

"Don't be afraid to say 'I changed.'"

"Be open enough to say 'I found a better way.'"

"If it works, use it. If it doesn't work, don't use it."

"No more gurus."

"I am not saying that everything I say is right. A lot of what I'm saying needs help."

"I utilize my extremities to focus my efforts into my spine."