The shala awakening

                 

Every morning at 6:45 @ashtangayogaprem wakes up to the soft light of a couple of night-lamps and a scatter of strategically placed candles to brighten just the perimeter of the shala.

For me, this is the best moment of the day. We have just arrived, everything is still dark and quiet, except some sporadic noise caused by our steps and the ritual actions that outline each beginning of the day. Nothing to do with the vitality and animation that is going to characterize the rest of the day.

Once the room is ready, we change into our yoga outfits, unroll the mat and wait for the first ring of the bell that will soon make us open the door to a new day of practicing.

I start my sequence together with the other students, and the teacher gets ready to watch over our practice and aid us. At 7:30 we chant the opening mantra all together and then the practice of each one will flow in silence at their own pace until it reaches its end only accompanied by the almost imperceptible whispering of a few instructions, assists, and adjustments. Then, after their own Shavasana, each student gradually leaves the shala until the room is empty again, though still impregnated by the energy generated throughout the hours of practice.

This is our daily bread at @ashtangayogaprem, and yet we are pleasantly surprised at each new dawn.