So much fun, and then...

I love Prasarita Padottanasana and I was having a lot of fun playing around with it.  I took Laura's suggestion to heart and I've been doing PP in each class I teach and each time I do my own practice, at least until this week...

This week I've come down with a cold and am quite stuffy and congested.  I'll take this opportunity to reminder you all to first and foremost listen to your body while practicing yoga. If you are not feeling well, rest, relax and restore.  Your yoga practice can consist of just one pose, like Child's Pose or even Savasana (final relaxation).  For me right now, if I bend forward in the slightest it creates tremendous pressure and pain in my head and face so I'm avoiding all forward bending poses. Including Prasarita Padottanasana!  In fact there isn't much that feels good besides sitting.  Even breathing through my nose is a challenge too.  I'll be taking it really lightly in the Yoga practice this week.  I'm taking care of myself so I'll be back to Prasarita Padottanasana in no time! 

Love/Hate relationship

Ardha Chandrasana (half-moon pose) is a pose I used to hate. Actually, I secretly liked it or at least the idea of it and hated that I couldn't do it. I'd start, standing or in Trikonasana (Triangle pose), nice and open feeling and then struggle in the process of getting into balance. Once in the pose I didn't feel open and strong, I felt unstable and saggy.
I think for many people the act of trying it can be a great first step. I've had many students say they were surprised to just get their back leg up in the air at all! Props such as a block under your hand or doing the pose against a wall can then really give you a feel for the strength, balance and openness you can experience in the pose.
Working on other balance poses like Vrksasana (Tree pose) or Virhabdrasana III (Warrior 3 pose) can help strengthen the standing leg and aid in practicing balance. Trikonasana (Triangle pose) gives the same feel of the upper body both in the position of the arms and in the openness of the heart center/chest.
If you also have a love/hate relationship with this pose, take heart (no pun intended)! I now feel that strength and openness when I practice it! If this is a pose you've worked on, I'd be interested to hear what you've done in growing to love it (or hate it) too.

Sleep, blessed sleep

This morning I came back to Savasana. I've been wanting to do it much more than I actually have. Not for lack of want because I want so much to relax (or at least that's what I think).
This morning I had the opportunity to sleep in which happens so infrequently. I'm staying at a hotel with several girlfriends without kids - I'm running on my own time. So what happens? I wake up - wide awake - at 6am. ugh. What did I do? I laid myself out on the bed in Savasana and focused on my breathing. I'm not sure how long I laid there. Eventually I rolled to my side and fell back asleep. Thanks Savasana!

Boojangasana

(by Marya) Cobra has to be one of my favorite poses recently. As I've grown more open in my back and upper body it has become easier and more comfortable. I often choose to do it instead of Up Dog - I think because it feels more grounding.
Tonight on my way to teach a yoga class I accidentally hit my elbow on the car (one of those chasing kids not really watching where I was going things). I didn't hit my funny bone, although either way it wasn't funny. It hurt a little but I was doing fine in class demonstrating and moving. Then we did (or didn't in my case) bhujangasana. I couldn't do it! My new bump/bruise was apparently in the non-cobra-doing spot of my arm. What a bummer! Is my body trying to tell me something? Maybe, slow down and stop chasing?

I 'Heart' Triangle

I thought it fitting to say I 'heart' Triangle, in place of I love Triangle, as it is such a wonderful open hearted pose. I do love Triangle pose (Trikonasana) - it is one of my favorites. But why? Good question. Part of my exploration this month is to find out just why I enjoy it so much.
Is it the feeling of strength and stability and grounding in the legs?
Or because my knees are hyper-flexible and I've been able to strengthen them by learning alignment and having more awareness?
Is it because my hips are fairly open and flexible already?
Is it because for many years my upper body felt so caved in and triangle really lets me open up in the heart?
Maybe its because for a long time I felt an inner strength and through my physical work in yoga have created a body more able to express that strength. When I do Trikonasana I just feel like "here I am!" and it feels good.
How do you feel in Triangle?

Lifting and Grounding

(Marya) I love the feeling of lifting my toes off the floor when I am standing. It lifts me up yet also causes me to feel grounded at the same time. My inner legs work a little more and help lift me (which I love because I have pronated ankles - my legs, ankles and feet tend to roll inwards and feel like they drop down). When I lift my toes I really feel my feet - all of them. My toes are working, the balls of my feet/base of my toes are reaching down, my arches engage and lift and my heels are planted. It just energizes my whole legs! Sometimes when I feel my posture is sagging a little, all it takes is a nice high lift of my toes to bring everything back to life. ahhhhhhh.

a small shift

(by Marya) Last week I taught a class in which we did Sun Salutations and Tadasana in between each one. I spoke of Tadasana and alignment at the beginning of class and also of being Present. With each Tadasana we took a minute to check in with posture and to be aware of where our thoughts were. During that minute I also went around class looking at alignment. There were several people who were aligned fairly well but their hips were ever so slightly shifted forward. Not thrusting hips or anything, just a slight shift of alignment and weight.
I had several people comment after class. One was a woman whose hips were slightly shifted. She commented that the re-alignment of her hips had changed several subsequent poses. In fact, she said her balance had totally changed in Tree pose after!
A good reminder to me that our habitual posture is so important and that Tadasana truly is the foundation of poses.