Tag Archives: Egypt

Meeting in the Mysore Space

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One class day to go here in Cairo. The countdown, I have to be honest, makes me sentimental. While my stay here has just been shy of two months and I recognize that in many aspects I have just been skimming the surface, there is such a great depth built into this work, into this practice of ashtanga yoga.

As we breathe and move in space, taking shapes with deliberate awareness and attention, we embody this process called yoga.

The mind and its trappings come into play, our issues and injuries–physical or otherwise–come to the surface. Our desires and attachments bubble up…and then the practice attempts to burst them.

The practice shines a light on the shadows: tension in the body often reflecting tension in the heart or mind, the dark of the ego lurking in the corners…

Teaching in a Mysore space is like getting to know someone very intimately without any context–and without any judgement. It’s like knowing nothing about a student’s life story yet observing personal symptoms of life and signposts of living.

The joy, particularly, is seeing how it gets physically worked out through this incredible whittling down process, sometimes with grace and ease, while other times, let’s face it, it’s a shit fight!

Sharing in this quiet personal process makes people who practice together incredibly close, sometimes without any of the usual friendly exchanges. We feel each other’s struggles and we celebrate each other’s victories on the mat, which is really a metaphor for our lives.

As for being the “teacher”, I feel incredibly blessed to take part in this process. Often, I do little other than being there. And there are times I need to admit to myself that there is nothing I can do other than to back up and give someone space.

Then there are the little moments that amount to so much: jump starting someone’s practice, moving someone in a different direction, aligning the body to feel secure and spacious, holding someone in a difficult posture…

Understanding and trust are built on this straightforward physical exchange and a very special relationship is formed between a teacher and a student.

I love meeting like this, in such a space that is both so real, so organic, so surprising; this is a space where yoga happens.

Photo: We ease into each other’s company with fluidity that comes with breathing in the same pace. The regular practitioners (Ashtanga Yoga Egypt, La Zone, Maadi) and I engage in the most common post-practice practice: having breakfast fit for champions at Lucille’s on Road 9.

Self-Heating Practice

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Last week, we were at a high of 30 degrees, today: a blistery 7 degrees. It is cold! Winter has come suddenly to Cairo.

It may be nippy to the bone and the cold can be stiffening but don’t dismay because the practice creates this wonderful internal heat.

Breathe deeply that breath with sound. Move with thoughtful, deliberate breath. Ignite the body furnace with deep and deliberate inhales and exhales. Allow your breath with sound (ujaii) to heat and move the body safely from one posture to the next. And melt into the collective energy of a room in practice.

Turn up the heat, breathe fully and steadily.

Reminder: please keep yourself warm during practice, dress appropriately and it is recommended to cover up after practice! Last class for Maadi and Zamalek is this Sunday. Yalla!

Photo: Four can heat up a space. It was such a pleasure to be warmed by the four Maadi regulars yesterday morning. I found myself in a funny yoga clothing strip tease, removing first my scarf, sweater, then leg warmers each time someone entered the room to start practice. La Zone was practically toasty by the end of morning practice.

Night & Day

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ImageAshtanga Yoga Egypt in La Zone, Maadi, Morning Mysore Program 7-10am

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Ashtanga Yoga Egypt in Ashtanga Yoga Cairo, Zamalek, Evening Mysore Program 6:30pm

Practicing in the morning and in the evening are as different as night and day–or, rather, day and night.

The body is different. Having woken up from a night of sleep, the morning body is a little more stiff, sometimes: a lot! But then there’s a freshness in the morning practice. In the early evening, the body is warm, more flexible, but also more tired. There’s a certain depth to stretching and willingness to surrender after a full long day.

The mind is different, too. The morning mind is less cluttered, emptying out during sleep. In the evening, the mind can be churning from a day of activity, stress, work, etc…The opposite can also be true, the anticipation at the beginning of the day can also create turbulence in the mind, while the tired mind can at times relax more easily.

The energy, of course, is different depending on whether it is the start of the day or the end of the day. Morning is a jump start while evening is a wind down.

And while practice is most ideal in the morning–very early morning, as the sun rises (aghast! totally unreasonable, I know!), and the air is fresh and vibrant, prana (vital life energy) is up–it’s more important to just practice, to find the time to show up on your mat for your own personal well-being whether it’s in the morning, at noon or at night…


Classes in Zamalek and Maadi continue until December 15. I will be heading to Aswan for 2 yoga retreats, December 19-22 and 24-17 (there are still spots for the second retreat) at Fekra Cultural Center, followed by a stint teaching at Deep South at Marsa Alem to ring in New Year 2014. 

Sun Powered Practice

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Usually, I am a fan of “controlled” environments for yogasana practice. Enclosed spaces that are safe from the wind and other elements.

But on occasion the call to practice in the outdoors is irresistible. And there is something lovely about breathing through the surya namaskara with the warmth of the sun in your face.

I bow to the light of the sun, I feel gratitude for the warmth and the energy it gives, for the illumination and the nourishment…

Photo: The sun beaming above my rooftop practice today.

Practice Everywhere

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We love sacred spaces. We seek out places that vibrates with energy, where it is easy to get into the zone. We travel to such spots. Sometimes, long distances: the shala in Mysore, India; to favorite teachers, who have put a lot of love in their teaching spaces; to exotic locations around the world.

The real challenge, however, is to practice anywhere. To be able to lay your mat down wherever you land, whatever space is available.

Then, there’s the “practice” that the practice prepares you for. The one that happens in gridlock in the middle of a commute, in the middle of a crazy work day, or amidst a rowdy bunch of party-goes or protesters or people in general.

Always, we find ourselves in the middle, sandwiched between opposing forces, the occasion challenging/inspiring us to breathe, to steady ourselves, to find our center. And practice happens. It comes naturally, a reflex, a response system. Real life, day-to-day yoga.

Photo: My friend’s Maadi rooftop converted into a makeshift yoga space.

Give yourself a gift: Ashtanga in Aswan, Batch 2

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The response for the Aswan Retreat has been really wonderful. The December 19-22 Retreat is already full. As there is still interest, Fekra Cultural Center and Ashtanga Yoga Egypt have decided to hold a second batch! We’re very excited to be able to extend the program for others, regardless of yoga experience or level.

The second retreat will be on December 24 to December 27. It will be the same set up, starting in the afternoon of the 24th, ending after morning class on the 27th, the full two days will have a morning class, brunch, free time to tour beautiful Aswan, and an afternoon talk/meditation/workshop class.

The retreat cost is 1500L for accommodation, food, and yoga classes.

To reserve your spot, we are accepting full or deposit payments (50%) up until December 14. Call 0122 371 7729 or email me at kaz.castillo@gmail.com.

Below is the program for the retreats. In the spirit of the Nile, we’ll keep things pretty fluid, but roughly this will be the flow…

Ashtanga in Aswan Program

Workshop: Expand & Flow in Maadi and Zamalek, Cairo

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Here’s the poster for the upcoming workshops at Maadi and Zamalek. These will be the last of the workshops in Cairo. Excited…and a little sad that my time here is almost at an end. It’s been a very special teaching experience…

Egypt-Maadi-Zamalek Workshops

Workshop: Peaceful Warrior at Shanti Yoga Cairo

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Shanti Yoga Cairo is hosting one last workshop for their growing yoga community. The workshop is beginner friendly but will also be informative for more advanced practitioners too. Will be sharing a special theme also, one that I feel is so important today, not just in Egypt but everywhere!

Egypt-Shanti Yoga Heliopolis

Night Light

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IMG_6352On Facebook today, a student in Cairo observed the irony between the region’s complex history of wars, conflicts, killings, assassinations and bombings and the region’s common greeting: “May peace be upon you…”

It made me think how we need light the most in darkness–and how light shines more brightly in the dark.

Perhaps the greeting–born out of darkness–is trying to ignite in the hearts of each individual a sense of peace, or at the very least, the need for it.

Sadly, sometimes the-powers-that-be promote fear and confusion, which obscures the light of hope and justice, and the work of peace falls on the individual. And this isn’t only in the Middle East, but everywhere.

We must ask ourselves then how do I bring peace into my own life? What can I do to shine a light of peace in the dark? And trust that our light will inspire others to shine as brightly.

And more light means less darkness…

The yoga practice, I feel, is an important tool for seeking some personal peace. My time here in Cairo is helping me feel, however, how this personal peace has to expand from the individual to the communal, that our external actions must promote peace around us also. Still, yoga is good place to start. Practice and turn on that night light.


CLASSES: I continue to teach in Cairo for two more weeks, until December 15. Ashtanga Yoga Cairo in Zamalek: Sun/Mon/Wed 6:30-9pm. La Zone, Maadi Degla: Sun-Thurs 7-10am. Final ashtanga workshops in Shanti Yoga Cairo, Zamalek and Maadi December 6-7.  
Photo: Little light show is from a shop in the Souk at Khan el Khalili, Old Cairo.