John Scott Rocks

Of course, how can you not be cool with an accent like that? And the incantatory Sanskrit counting...what a trip. He manages to do the Sanskrit count, explain the movement, and indicate the exhale or inhale--all while executing the move. Very impressive.

Watching DVDs always reminds me of what an experiential thing Ashtanga is. Something about being in a room with other people practicing (whether led or Mysore) just can't be reproduced.

John Scott's got some serious Michael Jordan hang time going on. It cracks me up as he's jumping back or jumping through and he says, "Find the balance point" as he gracefully hovers. LOL! Yeah, uh, my experiments with the physical laws kind of indicate that the balance point is something that I go flying through and past, just before I crash.

Teaching is such an interesting thing, whether in person or on DVD. My job is in instructional technology--essentially I spend my time figuring out how to design instruction so it will be effective. Obviously there are many ways to teach people things: from the highest-tech online multi-media extravaganzas, to the lowest-tech "Hey, look at what I'm doing" teachings where you show a kid how to tie her shoes. It's funny, because in my professional life, we are always trying to push the envelope with technology. That's the nature of technical training, of course--how can you train the most people in the shortest amount of time? But my favorite real-life learnings have always come from the direct coaching method: tae kwon do, zazen, rock climbing, Ashtanga. You have your teacher and you have your own motivation and you have physical laws and emotional responses and spiritual realms.

Your teacher shows you, and you try it, and then you trust that the process--the teaching--will take over and you will learn something greater than the sum of all the parts.

This just made me think of a koan:

Master Seong Am Eon used to call to himself every day, "Master!" and would answer, "Yes?"
"You must keep clear!"
"Yes!"
"Never be deceived by others, any day, any time!"
"Yes! Yes!"

LOL! Okay. So there is a koan that reminds me of teachers, and of the balance point. I have to laugh at myself as I go crashing past, again and again.