Darren Rhodes is the director and owner of Yoga Oasis studio in Tucson, AZ. Darren is a certified Anusara teacher who demonstrates all of the poses on the From Tadasana to Savasana poster with deft and ease. In the interview I ask Darren a series of questions to unpack how it is that he has come to master these poses in an effort to get a glimpse into what it would take for an average yogi to achieve such greatness.
I had the pleasure of reconnecting with Darren at the Sadhana Shop workshop with Sianna Sherman at Yoga Kula about a month ago. It was then that I asked him if he would be willing to be interviewed, and he graciously agreed. I bought the new improved From Tadasana poster at the workshop and shared with him that I study the previous version of the poster almost everyday for insights on the postures. He autographed my new poster after a contemplative moment, “Jai Ginger. Your sweetness is sacred. Love, Darren”.
I continue to be amazed by Darren’s yoga proficiency and by the same token, his humility. Darren definitely holds a sweet spot in my heart, and is a continual source of inspiration.
Some quotes from the interview:
Q. What does your practice consist of and how many hours a day do you practice and meditate?
A. Well, I wake up every morning (like most people) … do a little reading and underline certain things that I love. Write those down and then send them out in what I call “Daily D” to about 50 friends, these quotes that inspire me for the day. Then I meditate or, at least sit there for about 20-37 minutes. Afternoon, before I teach I do an asana practice. Then I teach. In between those two times I, like I did today, we’re compiling certain sequences that we are going to be using for various products that we are going to be offering. So my day definitely revolves around Yoga one way or another. An hour and 1/2 minimum asana practice per day would be minimum. I find that more and more that it’s no longer relevant to me (the hour and 1/2) because the practice itself just seems to be more seamless. Like a conversation I might have or interaction… contemplation … it just all seems to be part of the practice with me…
not seeing the time doing asana or meditating or the time doing reading more important than anything else…
Q. I remember one time you mentioned that a lot of these poses are the same shape, but differ in the way they relate to gravity. For instance paschimottanasana is uttanasana sitting down. Are there any other poses that may not occur to Yogis that are very similar or could help a person realize how to get into the posture if they could only see that relation more clearly?
A. Yeah, I think that is helpful. Well, at least from what I like to do, especially with the syllabus poster is that you can really start to see relationships between postures sort of as… they really start to become pathways. So, either sequencing wise or seeing direction…
Q. What are you working on these days to further your own practice? What postures or classes of postures do you find to be the most difficult for you in particular or students in general?
A. I like that question, cause I think that being in this practice for as long as I have, the practice evolves in surprising ways, and therefore, I really get that what I’m into now is not what I’ll be into soon, so I might as well embrace what I love now fully, because there is only a window of opportunity in each sort of segment of sadhana (the practice or walking the path) and so for instance, my real desire to be able to at least, with some efficacy do every asana in “Light on Yoga” … that desire is gone. I’m no longer interested in pushing my physical body as far as I can go to see… to gain what I can gain… to gain access to certain states. I am not interested in that anymore. What I am interested in, is what are some sequences that would really work to give someone access to what asana offers, you know, that anybody can do. That everybody could do, and really enjoy. So that’s what I have been spending a lot of time on, is certain sequences that someone who has been doing Yoga for a few months or a few weeks can jump right into and feel really good, and yet, know so little about the practice – What’s the easiest/hardest practice? Or, what’s the most difficult, yet safest practice that I could possibly offer? So I just spend most of my time doing postures in the basic sequence and I LOVE it! I really enjoy it, knowing that it’s going to serve other people… I spend hours and hours with that…
Darren Rhodes, Sianna Sherman, and Paul Muller-Ortega June Esalan retreat, June 7-12, 2009 5th Annual Yoga Festival: The Fire of Yoga – The Path of Tantric Alchemy
Shantala-Benjy and Heather Wertheimer, at Yoga Kula, May 23, 24th
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