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I don't know why, but for some reason I've always found doing a vigorous practice at home to be especially challenging. Even though I have a strong self practice via mysore, at home I don't push myself nearly as hard as when I'm in a warm room full of sweaty people doing the same thing. Home has generally been the perfect place for some yin, restorative and maybe some slow and/or abridged flows. Well, I think it's time to change this.
This morning I did a YogaWorks style flow with a focus on inversions. And I actually pushed myself pretty hard! The other cool thing is that "good" sequencing is becoming more second nature, so now I can basically make up the flow as I go and have it lead to an intended destination without having to plan it out ahead of time.
I did about an hour and a half practice today that included Pincha Mayurasana, Adho Mukha Vrksasana and Sirsasana as the peak. This is the first time outside of a public class that I've ventured into such extreme inversion territory...and it was freaking awesome! I had no trouble getting up into pincha and handstand and even played a bit with divorcing myself from the wall into full balance. I realized today that practicing these guys at home will be the only way that I'm gonna learn them. Frankly, most teachers don't get there in public classes and understandably so.
So, I'm not making any promises, but I think I'm gonna start trying to add 1-2 YogaWorks style home practices per week to my regime in order to work on more challenging poses. Also, I think this will give me a chance to discipline myself towards more diligent home practices. Stay tuned for updates.
Also...
Yesterday I got a box full of props from YogaAccesories.com. Awesome home practices here I come!!!
Hello friends, yogis and countryfolk. I've missed you guys and feel bad that I have been so absent, especially with how much has been going on in my practice!
I've really just been quite swamped with my work and teacher training. I learned a lesson last week about poor scheduling and admittedly my practice fell off for a couple days. I've compensated my count accordingly.
Oh yeah, it's been over a month either way! Amazing. And honestly it's working. I feel my yoga on a much deeper level than a little over 30 days ago. Of course I must attribute most of that to my training.
The YogaWorks method is such a departure from my typical Ashtanga practice that it's really shown me a completely different side of what the practice can be. There's an intense focus on alignment and most holds are upwards of 30 seconds. This coupled with a bit of vinyasa leads to a really intense practice. Oh yeah. And Natasha has us going for about 2 1/2 hours each time!
The days after I've been super tired, but once I recover I've been noticing new openings in my body. On top of this I have such a deeper awareness of alignment has completely changed my approach. I've done my regular Mysore practice a few times and felt in to my skeletal alignment in a new way. Basically what I've realized is that here to the majority of my focus was on "forcing" my tighter regions to open using mainly muscles, and the wrong ones at that. By aligning my bones neatly and engaging the correct muscles I've been able to come far deeper into many poses while simultaneously using less energy and having more focus on my breath! Hooray!
The single most beneficial teaching I've found is a proper Tadasana in ALL of my poses. By engaging my quads, lifting my arches, and in some cases aligning my pelvis properly I've found that I'm much more stable and can fold much deeper. This is surprisingly effective in the many forward folds in primary. To my amazement by engaging a proper Tadasana in the straight leg I'm able to straighten it nearly completely and fold almost completely flat. So it appears the much of my perceived hamstring curse was actually just poorly executed postures. I really mean this in a non-judgmental way. I'm so happy to be progressing based on execution and not by force!
And as if that weren't enough... I'm also finding that by proper aligning in poses I seem to be receiving much more energizing effects from them. I'm far less tired after practice and feel a deeper connection and sensitivity to the world. The awareness that I'm developing in the poses is helping my with my everyday awareness.
When I made this blog the Sanskrit words on the top that I chose are the second Yoga Sutra - "Yoga Citta Vritti Nirodhah". Roughly translated (and we discussed this in training as well) this means that Yoga enables one to still the mind and achieve an even focus (HA - that's the Rob Phillips version at least). I'm really starting to see how a physical practice of Asana can be so catalytic towards a spiritual and mindness practice.
Wow, that's a lot for one post.
And think, I'm only just over a month in. Where will I be in 11 more.....? :)
Well the big day finally arrived! What day is that? You know, the one I've been talking about since the first day of this blog. My first day of teacher training! This really could be like 3 posts but maybe I'll keep it simple for now.
So, where to begin. Well. For starters it's a big group. 42 aspiring teachers and advanced practitioners in all. For those of you not familiar with Back Bay Yoga that's a really tight fit for the sun room (where the training is being held). But it turned out to be mostly manageable. We staggered mats so we were even able to spread our arms during sun salutes and such.
I don't believed I mentioned this previously but I'm taking the training on scholarship (AMAZING) which means that I have to help with the sign in and administration of the course. As such I was relegated to what is probably the least desirable spot in the room. I had to watch out from hitting my arm on the window to my left and my head on the wall in fron of me. Did this deter from my experience. Hell no it didn't!
I feel like I learned more in that first day than in a month of practice. What I'm coming to realize is how little I know about alignment. Fortunately for me the YogaWorks method is ALL about alignment and correct posture. I'm sure that by the end of this all my practice and understanding will have skyrocketed to an amazing level.
Funny anecdote for the day: Natasha taught us proper forward folding technique using a Barbie doll. Now this is funny in and of itself. What makes this story hilarious is that not only did she demo with the Barbie, but she had cut its hair to the exact same cut as hers. So we watched the doll demo, and then her demo. Needless to say the juxtaposition was hysterical.
Tomorrow's day two! Stay tuned.
So it's labor day weekend and was feeling quite ready for the impending break. I slept in fairly late and putzed around for a while. Then I remembered my rewarding experience yesterday so I reluctantly dragged myself to the mat knowing that by the time I was done that I would feel much better.
Pretty typical practice really. Lately I've been trying to focus on my hamstrings alot in my Yin practice to support my Ashtanga practice. I'm hoping that the repeated attention will help me in all those forward fold and especially Supta Kurmasana, which is currently the last pose in my practice and a truly POOR execution thereof if I do say so myself. So I've been trying to do Supta Padangusthasana with a strap every time I do Yin and sometimes before I go to bed too. There's already been palpable effects in my practice and even in my daily life. Just walking around I can feel my legs as being straighter and more limber. Awesome!
I found these slightly distasteful yet very amusing examples of "Drunk Yoga" online so I'll leave you with this for the day:
PS: Those of you in the know will recognize Natasha Rizopoulos from the picture on the left. I start my Teacher Training with her in just a week. YEEEEEEES!
Hello World! I will confess that I have been neglecting this blog for the past week or so, but fear not! My practice has remained...well...for the most part. Last Thursday I was busy from 4:30am to 9:30pm and was unable to practice. I figure this is a worthy excuse so rather than beat myself up I just hit the mat the next morning. I've skipped that day on my day counter for accuracies sake.
I don't think it will be of benefit to backlog the days so long after the fact so I'll just pick up again with today. A quick aside though. It's been over two weeks! Holy cow! (I don't normally use this expression but somehow it seems a bit yogic, yes?) I'm definitely feeling the benefits of consistency each day in my mind, body and spirit. I have more energy and more equanimity with what the world tosses at me. This is really important since I've just started a new full-time, much higher stress job (the reason I haven't posted in so long). I'm really glad I've made this commitment at such a transitional time in my life. I'm finding it immensely helpful thus far.
I made it to Mysore practice this morning feeling more limber than ever. As I've dove into my practice I can feel the opening in my body, even if it does come with some soreness and the occasional tiredness. Today as I was jumping though and around I felt really light and graceful. I'm also noticing that I am aware of more parts of my body than I used to be. For example in utthita hasta padangusthasana I no longer focus on the stretch in the extended leg but instead focus on the grounded leg. It feels almost as if my leg is attached directly into the floor. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me!
This journey is already about 5% underway and already I'm feeling amazing effects in my practice and life. Lord only knows where I'll be when I reach 100%. Also, starting next weekend I'll be throwing a little gasoline on the fires of my practice. I'm starting a 200 Hour YogaWorks Teacher Training with Natasha Rizopoulos. Needless to say this will definitely make the experiment more interesting!
Also, I found this awesome article on Huffington Post about the history of Asana. It's likely to be a bit of an eye opener for some of the yoga snobs out there:
