Marco selected this quote to synthesise his beliefs on the practice of yoga: “She then told us to throw all our life experiences onto an imaginary pane of glass as though they were paint. Yoga, she said, was a bucket of water and a sponge. Each time we practised, we were dipping the sponge into the bucket and wiping it across that painting. Every now and then, we would wipe a tiny portion clear – and there would lie clarity.”
Marco’s classes are challenging and invigorating, and he holds within him a wide breadth of yoga knowledge and wisdom, which he shares at opportune moments. As Marco guides a class, he frequently inspires one to to gaze inwards and intently focus on your own practice, forgetting the motions of those around you.
Marco shared with us the words of an opening mantra he used in one of his classes. Here is the text in Sanskrit, to help with pronunciation, and in English, to help with understanding.
Om
Vande Gurunam Charanaravinde
Sandarshita Svatma Sukava Bodhe
Nih Sreyase Jangalikayamane
Samsara Halahala Mohashantyai
Abahu Purushakaram
Shankhacakrsi Dharinam
Sahasra Sirasam Svetam
Pranamami Patanjalim
Om
Translation
Om
I bow to the lotus feet of the Gurus
which awaken insight into the happiness of pure Being,
which are the refuge, the jungle physician,
which eliminate the delusion caused by the poisonous herb of Samsara (conditioned existence).
I prostrate before the sage Patanjali
who has thousands of radiant, white heads (as the divine serpent, Ananta)
and who has, as far as his arms, assumed the form of a man
holding a conch shell (divine sound), a wheel (discus of light or infinite time) and a sword (discrimination).
Om
Marco currently teaches Thursday 6.30pm hot vinyasa at the Toowong studio.