Sitapati at the National Yoga Asana Championship - 4th in Australia

Veni, vidi, vici - I came, I saw, I conquered.

This past weekend I competed at the National Yoga Asana Championship in Melbourne. Manoj, leader of the "Sitapati Cheer Squad", wrote a detailed report.

I'd like to add a few things. First of all thanks to Aniruddha prabhu, temple president of ISKCON Melbourne, Kotisvara, Nanda Mandira, Vaisnava caran, Prema Dharma, Manoj, Jolie, and the other Melbourne devotees for their hospitality and support.

Next, after the misleading headline creates the overall impression that I came 4th in the competition, comes the fine print, for those who can be bothered reading it, where I explain the subtle nuances of the actual result.

The first three place getters are announced, the others are not. I have no way of knowing for certain where I ranked in the field of ten, so I give the order of my appearance on the stage as my "position". ;-) Dodgy, eh?

Manoj asked me during the comp where I thought I was ranked. At the time I answered with a shaky "6th". After re-reading the rules, which Manoj posted on his blog, I can definitely say that I came in last. My final asana went over time, by just a few seconds, which means that it was not counted. I didn't see anyone else go over time among the men (or the women for that matter). So while everyone else was evaluated on 7 asanas, I only "did" 6.

On top of that, one observer told me that I did not flex my toes back in standing head to knee posture. Beforehand, I thought that I could use my conscious mind in the competition. However, once I got on the stage it was all autonomic system and learned reflexes. There was too much information to think. If I had been able to think I might have caught it, but I need to train more to make it unconscious and automatic.

Sadhana is like that. I've been in a head-on car collision at 70 km/hr, in the driver's seat with no seat belt on, and I had less than one second between the moment I realized I was about to die and the impact. If you think that "oh yes, at the moment of death I can choose what I will think", then you will probably be in for an unpleasant surprise. At the time of death our bhajan is tested, and you don't get to think your way through it.

So those two things, going over time and not flexing my toes, cost me my championship title. I was robbed at the finishing line!

In reality, I was batting way, way above my league. I had planned to go to watch this year, train for a year, and then enter. Instead Darrin (the two-time champion - he came third this year) convinced me to enter this year, and I had two months' training. I am really grateful for the impetus to train for those two months, the experience of being in the competition, and the association of the advanced yogis who were there. I was a duckling amongst the eagles, but I think rubbing feathers with them something has rubbed off on me. Next year I'll be back, with one competition under my belt, the inspiration of watching and hanging out with them, and a year's training.

If nothing else, this year I acted as an inspiration for others to enter. I spoke with one guy in the audience who told me that he had entered, but pulled out a month before as he didn't feel ready. Unspoken (at least in my mind) was "...but after seeing you up there I realized that I would have kicked butt if I did enter!"

Hey, I'm in the top 10 in Australia not because I'm the most flexible, the strongest, the most controlled, the most balanced, or can do the craziest postures - I'm in the top 10 in Australia because I had the chutzpah to get up there and give it a go.

You'll be surprised how far that can get you sometimes.