I fell out of vrischikasana today in class. It was pretty terrifying. I thought I was going to break my back...but fortunately I'm fine now with no apparent damage done. I was at D's class today, its a kinda advanced flow class, but not that flowey cos mostly everyone had to migrate to the walls for most of the inversions.
So like the last time, we did all the usual suspects for inversions...handstands, forearm balance, headstands and also D's favourite stuff ..arm balances like koundinyasana and bakasana etc. I've found out that I can only balance one side in koundinyasana. I think my obliques are stronger on the right, and it was pretty easy to twist that way but on the left, I could hardly lift my feet off the mat, let alone scissors them!
Other than that D introduced scorpion today..and my back was pretty bendy from doing UD and kapotasana mid way through class so it was WAY too easy to bend my back and have my legs collapse all the way to the floor from pincha. Unfornately it was also so WAY bendy I had no strength in the core to get them up from the floor. So D came over to try to lift my hips back up...and as things will have it, I fell over on my side in the same deep backbend..and for a second there thought I'd done it and broken my back...but well..nothing seems to be wrong..I don't even feel a twinge now in the back...luckily. D told me after that to just stay with the feet on the wall...I think I must have scared him too;P He said my abs were too soft ..(ie weak I think..but he was too polite to use that word..)
Other than that kapotasana today..hmmm..as usual I can get my head all the way between my feet, but I couldn't get my hands back to the heels..only mid foot. My shoulder is really really stiff...I can't seem to eek out any bend from them and have to rely on the hips extension and bendy lower back to get into all these backbends...I reckon its really a waste because my upper spine is actually pretty bendy as well..but because my shoulder can't rotate around, I can't really use that bend much at all...when I got home just now, I went straight for my block and did some shoulder stretches with my elbows on the chair and head hanging down like this one. It felt like my deltoids and triceps were going to snap.
Sigh...all things considered..I wish I could get my abs stronger quicker...it always seems to be the thing that gets me into trouble in poses....
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Fatigue..
Its been a long while since I've felt this tired during practice. I think perhaps practicing during the "time of the month" may have something to do with it. Anyhow either that or my before class shoulder stretches weakened my triceps so much that my arms couldn't make it through the vinyasas sometime during the marichyasanas. I've not felt this fatigued since my 1st few mysore classes last year!
Anyway as things will have it, when strength gives..I always seem to gain some extra flexibility..so I was extra flexy today, it felt like I could more or less slide into my poses. Kurmasana and supta k was good. In fact I could finally lift into dwi pada and stay there for a while nicely bounded. I lost that ability for months before this, always having to unbind when I lift up. Dropsbacks were also extremely smooth going, I could bend all the way back and not bend my knees to reach the floor though standing back up was a little dodgy though.
But the bandhas and arms strength sucked. I was shaking in handstands and dropped down in ardha dandasana..also a first in ages!
Mixed bag though this practice was, I feel pretty good now, if a little tired out. What am I saying..I always feel good after practice. Still no new pose though..I think maybe D is really serious about me nailing my jumpbacks from tithibasana before giving me anything new. I don't know. As far as I know, my "holes" in practice now are mainly the jumpbacks, and garba. I still have a pretty spastic garba at the moment, arms can't seem to get through all the way to elbows, and hands reaching my face. Supta K is actually pretty decent recently.
So..I'll be patient and wait. Krounchasana is a comfortable place to stay at right now..second series backbends can't be THAT far away...now if only my strength returns soon..
Anyway as things will have it, when strength gives..I always seem to gain some extra flexibility..so I was extra flexy today, it felt like I could more or less slide into my poses. Kurmasana and supta k was good. In fact I could finally lift into dwi pada and stay there for a while nicely bounded. I lost that ability for months before this, always having to unbind when I lift up. Dropsbacks were also extremely smooth going, I could bend all the way back and not bend my knees to reach the floor though standing back up was a little dodgy though.
But the bandhas and arms strength sucked. I was shaking in handstands and dropped down in ardha dandasana..also a first in ages!
Mixed bag though this practice was, I feel pretty good now, if a little tired out. What am I saying..I always feel good after practice. Still no new pose though..I think maybe D is really serious about me nailing my jumpbacks from tithibasana before giving me anything new. I don't know. As far as I know, my "holes" in practice now are mainly the jumpbacks, and garba. I still have a pretty spastic garba at the moment, arms can't seem to get through all the way to elbows, and hands reaching my face. Supta K is actually pretty decent recently.
So..I'll be patient and wait. Krounchasana is a comfortable place to stay at right now..second series backbends can't be THAT far away...now if only my strength returns soon..
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Anatomy workshop Part II
I did gain some interesting insights into my own body in this workshop, among them:
1. Strengthening opposing muscle groups can help the muscle we want to target relax more. I kind of know this, but I always thought of it as contracting the opposing muscle group.
2. My internal and external obliques on the right side is much stronger than the left, which explains why I always twist better on the right than the left. I've never really thought about it, but it struck me while listening to the trainer that was why I always seem to need more help twisting to one side than the other.
3. I walk with my feet turned out slightly, which could be the reason my external rotators are WAY too strong and results in all the hip tightness in any kind of external rotations.
4. My adductors must be too weak. This could be the reason I flop so easily into upavista konasana. However strangely enough I think my pectineus is way too tight which is why my knees still stay up in baddha konasana if I don't spend some time pressing it down.
5. My right hamstring is looser than the left, which could be why my right quadriceps is soo much tighter than the left one. All these imbalances are sooo strange..
6. My habit of arching the chest so much may be the reason my back flexion is very limited. Also I think I don't really know how to engage my upper abdominal muscles because I spend most of the time arching and hence not working the abs in that area. It could also be the reason I have extremely weak core strength.
Soooo...considering I seem to have a huge bunch of imbalances, I guess I'll have to work on my left obliques, strengthen the adductors and stop arching the chest..
1. Strengthening opposing muscle groups can help the muscle we want to target relax more. I kind of know this, but I always thought of it as contracting the opposing muscle group.
2. My internal and external obliques on the right side is much stronger than the left, which explains why I always twist better on the right than the left. I've never really thought about it, but it struck me while listening to the trainer that was why I always seem to need more help twisting to one side than the other.
3. I walk with my feet turned out slightly, which could be the reason my external rotators are WAY too strong and results in all the hip tightness in any kind of external rotations.
4. My adductors must be too weak. This could be the reason I flop so easily into upavista konasana. However strangely enough I think my pectineus is way too tight which is why my knees still stay up in baddha konasana if I don't spend some time pressing it down.
5. My right hamstring is looser than the left, which could be why my right quadriceps is soo much tighter than the left one. All these imbalances are sooo strange..
6. My habit of arching the chest so much may be the reason my back flexion is very limited. Also I think I don't really know how to engage my upper abdominal muscles because I spend most of the time arching and hence not working the abs in that area. It could also be the reason I have extremely weak core strength.
Soooo...considering I seem to have a huge bunch of imbalances, I guess I'll have to work on my left obliques, strengthen the adductors and stop arching the chest..
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Anatomy workshop
Wow am I tired today. The workshop started yesterday evening, and will continue over the weekend. This morning I had to teach my class at the gym, so didn't get to go, but was there since after lunch till 5 pm.
Most of the stuff covered on bandhas I kind of know already, but its good that its been clarified altogether in a class. Only thing I find a little unused to is the way the trainer said to do downward facing dog. I've always done it with a slight internal rotation of the legs and feet, but apparently we should remain in neutral and not inward rotate. Also we were told to do downward facing dog without lifting the sit bones too high as that will not allow mula bandha to engage...I'm pretty much used to the lift the sit bones high version. Also I feel that by contracting the bandhas so strongly in downdog, my back was actually rounding instead of lenghtening....I'm not too sure what to think of this..
Other than that I did get some useful teaching cues to that I could include in my classes. As for so other things like not lifting the chest in poses, because this will not be good for breathing, I'm again not sure what to think...I've been used to a diet of being told to lift the chest by almost all my teachers...hmm.
What I did find quite interesting was that the trainer's comment that most yoga teachers and practitioners tend to have flattened thoracic spines. I'm one of those people with flattened spines I think. I have a very curved lumbar spine and a straight thoracic spine as opposed to the convex shape that most people have. Over the years of yoga somehow I think I've learned to stop standing by jutting my ribs out and swaying the back, but my upper spine remained very straight and doesn't really curve forward much. In fact I recently discovered that this was abnormal because 2 of my teacher's commented that my back doesn't round much and looks really flat in flexion. This apparently contributes to my problems with lifting in arms balances like bakasana, tithibasana, and even forward bends like supta kurmasana and karnapidasana. Apaprenly other people can round their backs very easily and I can't.
I've actually tried to do the back rounding thing more often recently, with poses like the hare pose, and karnapidasana. I'm not sure if my spine is permanently flattened..its would explain why I have a good time with backbends but not flexion of the spine.
More updates tomorrow...
Most of the stuff covered on bandhas I kind of know already, but its good that its been clarified altogether in a class. Only thing I find a little unused to is the way the trainer said to do downward facing dog. I've always done it with a slight internal rotation of the legs and feet, but apparently we should remain in neutral and not inward rotate. Also we were told to do downward facing dog without lifting the sit bones too high as that will not allow mula bandha to engage...I'm pretty much used to the lift the sit bones high version. Also I feel that by contracting the bandhas so strongly in downdog, my back was actually rounding instead of lenghtening....I'm not too sure what to think of this..
Other than that I did get some useful teaching cues to that I could include in my classes. As for so other things like not lifting the chest in poses, because this will not be good for breathing, I'm again not sure what to think...I've been used to a diet of being told to lift the chest by almost all my teachers...hmm.
What I did find quite interesting was that the trainer's comment that most yoga teachers and practitioners tend to have flattened thoracic spines. I'm one of those people with flattened spines I think. I have a very curved lumbar spine and a straight thoracic spine as opposed to the convex shape that most people have. Over the years of yoga somehow I think I've learned to stop standing by jutting my ribs out and swaying the back, but my upper spine remained very straight and doesn't really curve forward much. In fact I recently discovered that this was abnormal because 2 of my teacher's commented that my back doesn't round much and looks really flat in flexion. This apparently contributes to my problems with lifting in arms balances like bakasana, tithibasana, and even forward bends like supta kurmasana and karnapidasana. Apaprenly other people can round their backs very easily and I can't.
I've actually tried to do the back rounding thing more often recently, with poses like the hare pose, and karnapidasana. I'm not sure if my spine is permanently flattened..its would explain why I have a good time with backbends but not flexion of the spine.
More updates tomorrow...
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Mysore 21 June 2007
Fantastic! Really nice practice today. Still haven't earned a new pose though..hmmm.
Lets see..I can float, I can get up from bhuja, I could more or less toe bind my supta K, what else could I possibly ask for??? Well, of course a nice jumpback would be even better, and getting a more steady stand up from UD..which has been inconsistent lately, and being able to roll in garba with my hands all the way through instead of stuck halfway....
Anyway, I'm optimistic..small steps will get me there I'm sure. Handstands were off today though, I just felt like I had no strength in my arms to carry me. I think all the jump throughs must have tired me out. Did I mention I can do it softly now...I think I recently discovered mula bandha, which has helped me a lot in jumping forward. Hasn't helped the jumping back much though.
Also I'd admit I was a little drishti challenged today. I was watching one of the guys I always practice with in class, as in we are always in class together..do a dropback;) His first dropback apparently, and I was quite excited for him. D had to hold on to him quite a bit, but he definitely did it;) YAY. He's really dedicated to the practice, and I have seen so much improvements in him, in fact compared to me, since we started mysore the same time, he has improved much more than I have. He started off really quite stiff, and now he's really so much better, today I saw him put his hands on the floor (well almost) in Prasarita C. And his balance in handstands and pincha (crim...we throw that in after handstands) is so much better than mine, I'm jealous! I'm amazed at what practice can do to bodies. Less than 1 year of mysore and self practice has really brought us a long way..
So anyway, I've an anatomy workshop tomorrow, am looking forward to it. I hope its good.
Lets see..I can float, I can get up from bhuja, I could more or less toe bind my supta K, what else could I possibly ask for??? Well, of course a nice jumpback would be even better, and getting a more steady stand up from UD..which has been inconsistent lately, and being able to roll in garba with my hands all the way through instead of stuck halfway....
Anyway, I'm optimistic..small steps will get me there I'm sure. Handstands were off today though, I just felt like I had no strength in my arms to carry me. I think all the jump throughs must have tired me out. Did I mention I can do it softly now...I think I recently discovered mula bandha, which has helped me a lot in jumping forward. Hasn't helped the jumping back much though.
Also I'd admit I was a little drishti challenged today. I was watching one of the guys I always practice with in class, as in we are always in class together..do a dropback;) His first dropback apparently, and I was quite excited for him. D had to hold on to him quite a bit, but he definitely did it;) YAY. He's really dedicated to the practice, and I have seen so much improvements in him, in fact compared to me, since we started mysore the same time, he has improved much more than I have. He started off really quite stiff, and now he's really so much better, today I saw him put his hands on the floor (well almost) in Prasarita C. And his balance in handstands and pincha (crim...we throw that in after handstands) is so much better than mine, I'm jealous! I'm amazed at what practice can do to bodies. Less than 1 year of mysore and self practice has really brought us a long way..
So anyway, I've an anatomy workshop tomorrow, am looking forward to it. I hope its good.
Coincidence?..more psoas tightness..
Strange...there is a post on yoga.com talking about psoas tightness, just when I'm having this issue. Today the tightness was bad, so I went into the toilet at work to try to stretch it out...
I found that doing a pasvakonasana type pose, really stretching the hand 45 degrees forward and pulling the side of the body long was really helpful in relieving the issue. Gonna do that one more time before bed tonite.
I found that doing a pasvakonasana type pose, really stretching the hand 45 degrees forward and pulling the side of the body long was really helpful in relieving the issue. Gonna do that one more time before bed tonite.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Iliopsoas tightness
I don't think I've mentioned my recent iliopsoas issues. I'm pretty sure it must be the iliopsoas, because I feel this achiness from my illiac crests down to the tops of my thighs..I don't think it can be any other muscle.
I'm convinced its because of all the forward bending that I do in primary series, and the long holds I put in for supta kurmasana (or my pathetic version of it).
Anyway I've been doing crecent moon lunges a lot lately, without much success. I find that lyiung over my gym ball is a good stretch for that area, especially when I move my head all the way to the floor when lying over the ball, and also strewtch the arms overhead. My 5 UDs wok wonders though...I've been holding them much longer nowadays as I feel they work exactly into the area. Thank gawd there's something to relieve the achiness.
Its much worse when I get u from sitting for a long time or when I get up from a deep forward bend like baddha konasana or supta k. Seems its much worse when my legs are externall rotated when I bend forward.
Hope this thing resolves itself soon..
I'm convinced its because of all the forward bending that I do in primary series, and the long holds I put in for supta kurmasana (or my pathetic version of it).
Anyway I've been doing crecent moon lunges a lot lately, without much success. I find that lyiung over my gym ball is a good stretch for that area, especially when I move my head all the way to the floor when lying over the ball, and also strewtch the arms overhead. My 5 UDs wok wonders though...I've been holding them much longer nowadays as I feel they work exactly into the area. Thank gawd there's something to relieve the achiness.
Its much worse when I get u from sitting for a long time or when I get up from a deep forward bend like baddha konasana or supta k. Seems its much worse when my legs are externall rotated when I bend forward.
Hope this thing resolves itself soon..
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Doing primary with my DVD..
Yes..its fun to be led by Richard Freeman;) I mean his DVD ;P
I practiced yesterday along with his DVD. Its refreshing, as I haven't been to a led class for ages. It also slowed me down a lot..usually I move very quickly through the series, but Richard's pace is wayyy slower than how I normally practice. I also find that the things he says makes much more sense now that I have been practising for a while. Previously I always thought he was speaking in Greek because his descriptions of actions are very flowery.
Also for jump thoughs, I'd always jumped on empty, meaning no breath, but in the DVD he says to jump on the inhale and it feels very good, almost like riding a wave of breath, like some people mention. No wonder I have not felt like that on jumping through previously. Very nice to get that feeling.
Ok, am going to sequence my class for this evening now. Hatha yoga at the gym. I really have to remember to slow down a bit for that class. I get the feeling I'm always rushing through things, especially in this class.
I practiced yesterday along with his DVD. Its refreshing, as I haven't been to a led class for ages. It also slowed me down a lot..usually I move very quickly through the series, but Richard's pace is wayyy slower than how I normally practice. I also find that the things he says makes much more sense now that I have been practising for a while. Previously I always thought he was speaking in Greek because his descriptions of actions are very flowery.
Also for jump thoughs, I'd always jumped on empty, meaning no breath, but in the DVD he says to jump on the inhale and it feels very good, almost like riding a wave of breath, like some people mention. No wonder I have not felt like that on jumping through previously. Very nice to get that feeling.
Ok, am going to sequence my class for this evening now. Hatha yoga at the gym. I really have to remember to slow down a bit for that class. I get the feeling I'm always rushing through things, especially in this class.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
June 16 2007
I've been a little out of action the last week. I have this persistent flu which is kinda a pain...running nose and watery eyes etc. Skipped my mysore class on Thursday..although I really wanted to go. Practiced yesterday though and found that my whole body was stiff as a plank througout. Seems that not practicing for a week can make one forget bandhas...hahaha..in my case anyway. I landed with a huge thud on my but in most of the jump throughs..and couldm't even balance in bhujapidasana on the lift! wow. never thought one week of relative inaction could be so detrimental. However, it did make me realise how important it is to keep up the practice.
I felt great after practice though. I could hear pops all over the body as if my body was tied up in knots after the lack of practice too. I did do some asanas and attended a vinyasa class during the week when I wasn't feeling too sick, but apparently that doesn't help me unknot as primary series does.
Anyhow towards the end, my UDs were strong and I could feel myself getting back to normal. Its really a revelation to feel how different it is when you don't practice and when you do. Makes me more dedicated towards making it a point to practice 6 days a week as much as possible.
Today's class at the gym was great. Even though I woke up stiff as a board, and thought I'd really demo badly, my poses were fine. Also my students told me my instructions were very clear and helpful. I'd like to credit that to my recent Iyengar classes though, because I learnt quite a few things about alignment which was really helpful and which I couldn't wait to share with my class.
I felt great after practice though. I could hear pops all over the body as if my body was tied up in knots after the lack of practice too. I did do some asanas and attended a vinyasa class during the week when I wasn't feeling too sick, but apparently that doesn't help me unknot as primary series does.
Anyhow towards the end, my UDs were strong and I could feel myself getting back to normal. Its really a revelation to feel how different it is when you don't practice and when you do. Makes me more dedicated towards making it a point to practice 6 days a week as much as possible.
Today's class at the gym was great. Even though I woke up stiff as a board, and thought I'd really demo badly, my poses were fine. Also my students told me my instructions were very clear and helpful. I'd like to credit that to my recent Iyengar classes though, because I learnt quite a few things about alignment which was really helpful and which I couldn't wait to share with my class.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Inversions and arm balances
I went for a vinyasa class today, turned out to be an inversion and arm balance mania class, which I nevertheless enjoyed. Lets see, we did everything from headstand, forearm balance, handstands, wall squares, one leg up wall squares, bakasana, koundinyasana I and II and side crow. Then kapotasana and wheel, with our chests pressed all the way to the wall.
Wow, I haven't had such a tough class since...forever! D really surpassed himself today. Hahaha..am really glad I went though. I really need to be pushed to do things like inversions and arm balances. They are not my forte..I'm more of a forward bend, backbend, twisty type who has a a pretty decent amount of flexibility, but not a lot of strength. So I was pretty pleased with myself for doing the poses pretty well, I must say.
I've recently been able to balance much better in the handstands/forearm balance department. I think the key being muscle memory attained by sneaking in a few seconds balancing here and there. After that, my body seems to adjust and know better what to do in those upside down situations. I DO however collapse into my lower back a bit, which I also used to do in headstands. Bandha issue I think..my bandhas are sucky.
I also got my feet in kapotasana, but felt too stiff to move my hands to the heels. I think I need a tremendous amount of warm up to do that. I wonder if I would be able to do it when I finally work up to kapotasana in intermediate..? As in without all the research poses before hand. I've figured out that my backbends work much better with some quad stretches before hand and also shoulder opening. Without those warm ups, I tend to take all the bend into my lower back, which I reckon is pretty unhealthy.
I failed to get up in koundinyasana II again though. I can't lift the back leg off the mat. Seems like there's no improvement from the last time I did this in C's class. Nevermind..there's always next time I guess.
Ooohh..and guess wut, I'm going to get my passes for the conference coming up in November. I'm going to all of John Scott's classes. I'm so excited, I just can't wait! He's got a workshop on flight dynamics...gosh I'm really looking forward to that!
I'm also going to attend a workshop by an Australian teacher on the 22nd of this month. Its about anatomy and how it relates to asanas. I hope its good.
Well...ok..I've not been doing much of my practice these last few days, mostly because I am having a cold again...I did do some hip stretches and worked it up to kurmasana, supta k and baddha konasana though. I can't afford not to practice those poses as I'm afraid I'll regress at them since I worked pretty hard to get to the point I'm at now..I hope to sneak in a quick practice after I teach my corporate class tomorrow nite.
Wow, I haven't had such a tough class since...forever! D really surpassed himself today. Hahaha..am really glad I went though. I really need to be pushed to do things like inversions and arm balances. They are not my forte..I'm more of a forward bend, backbend, twisty type who has a a pretty decent amount of flexibility, but not a lot of strength. So I was pretty pleased with myself for doing the poses pretty well, I must say.
I've recently been able to balance much better in the handstands/forearm balance department. I think the key being muscle memory attained by sneaking in a few seconds balancing here and there. After that, my body seems to adjust and know better what to do in those upside down situations. I DO however collapse into my lower back a bit, which I also used to do in headstands. Bandha issue I think..my bandhas are sucky.
I also got my feet in kapotasana, but felt too stiff to move my hands to the heels. I think I need a tremendous amount of warm up to do that. I wonder if I would be able to do it when I finally work up to kapotasana in intermediate..? As in without all the research poses before hand. I've figured out that my backbends work much better with some quad stretches before hand and also shoulder opening. Without those warm ups, I tend to take all the bend into my lower back, which I reckon is pretty unhealthy.
I failed to get up in koundinyasana II again though. I can't lift the back leg off the mat. Seems like there's no improvement from the last time I did this in C's class. Nevermind..there's always next time I guess.
Ooohh..and guess wut, I'm going to get my passes for the conference coming up in November. I'm going to all of John Scott's classes. I'm so excited, I just can't wait! He's got a workshop on flight dynamics...gosh I'm really looking forward to that!
I'm also going to attend a workshop by an Australian teacher on the 22nd of this month. Its about anatomy and how it relates to asanas. I hope its good.
Well...ok..I've not been doing much of my practice these last few days, mostly because I am having a cold again...I did do some hip stretches and worked it up to kurmasana, supta k and baddha konasana though. I can't afford not to practice those poses as I'm afraid I'll regress at them since I worked pretty hard to get to the point I'm at now..I hope to sneak in a quick practice after I teach my corporate class tomorrow nite.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
7 June 2007 Mysore class
Great class. Am back to normal now mostly. I felt good throughout practice. Supta K is getting a little better, but still can't bind my feet on my own, but its getting much easier to ease my feet together in front of the head. No pain anywhere..thats a major good sign for me.
I can hold my handstands for a few seconds now, and I think I sort of know what it takes to stay up. Still sinking a bit into the lower back, but D just said to make sure I squeeze the bandhas tighter, it should get sorted.
Didn't get a new pose, but I wasn't really expecting one, there's so much stuff I still need to work on...in particular the jumping back parts from the asanas. Haven't made as much as a dent of progress in that respect.
I don't have that much to say other than that, but generally my feelings while going through the series has been comfortable. Its really getting meditative in a way, I just in a way "sail" through it. Maybe thats why I have been feeling blissed out after practice lately. I love this practice!!!;)
I can hold my handstands for a few seconds now, and I think I sort of know what it takes to stay up. Still sinking a bit into the lower back, but D just said to make sure I squeeze the bandhas tighter, it should get sorted.
Didn't get a new pose, but I wasn't really expecting one, there's so much stuff I still need to work on...in particular the jumping back parts from the asanas. Haven't made as much as a dent of progress in that respect.
I don't have that much to say other than that, but generally my feelings while going through the series has been comfortable. Its really getting meditative in a way, I just in a way "sail" through it. Maybe thats why I have been feeling blissed out after practice lately. I love this practice!!!;)
Saturday, June 2, 2007
2 June 2007
I'm listening to Tim Miller's introduction to the Yoga Sutras right now...on iHunaman as I type this. I definitely need some brush up on the Yoga Sutras...obviously whatever I learnt in TTC on the sutras have gotten lost somewhere in the grey matter...
Anyhow practice today..was alright. Nothing too interesting happened..except I managed to do eka pada shirshasana today. Am pretty sure it looked quite bad, but I had no mirror to look at, so I can only guess. But I was thrilled that I could do it relatively painlessly, even though I was kinda hunched up like the hunchback of notre dame..I tried supta K first, but since I couldn't get the legs together, I decided to try to put one behind my head first and see if I can get the other.. Obviously Dwi Pada was out of the question, but I do think that if I work on this progressively, I might be able to pull it deeper soon. Then hopefully I can get to working both legs behind my head.
The thing with me is that, my torso is long, and my legs are pretty short. I can bind my hands quite easily, because I am in quite deep in kurmasana, but when I try to cross the legs, even if the legs are snugly over the shoulders and there is no pain anywhere whatsoever, my head gets in the way of me binding my legs. It's very difficult for me to bind in front of my head and wiggle myself under. I need to pull the leg up behind my head instead.
Nothing much else happened in practice today. But I just had to post this eka pada shirshasana thing. I believe this is my key to supta K!!
Anyhow practice today..was alright. Nothing too interesting happened..except I managed to do eka pada shirshasana today. Am pretty sure it looked quite bad, but I had no mirror to look at, so I can only guess. But I was thrilled that I could do it relatively painlessly, even though I was kinda hunched up like the hunchback of notre dame..I tried supta K first, but since I couldn't get the legs together, I decided to try to put one behind my head first and see if I can get the other.. Obviously Dwi Pada was out of the question, but I do think that if I work on this progressively, I might be able to pull it deeper soon. Then hopefully I can get to working both legs behind my head.
The thing with me is that, my torso is long, and my legs are pretty short. I can bind my hands quite easily, because I am in quite deep in kurmasana, but when I try to cross the legs, even if the legs are snugly over the shoulders and there is no pain anywhere whatsoever, my head gets in the way of me binding my legs. It's very difficult for me to bind in front of my head and wiggle myself under. I need to pull the leg up behind my head instead.
Nothing much else happened in practice today. But I just had to post this eka pada shirshasana thing. I believe this is my key to supta K!!
Friday, June 1, 2007
Mysore 31 May 2007
Mysore is back on the timetable. It was great! Hahahaha…and I was thinking of not going anymore because I couldn’t get back into the groove with a different teacher. Well..today worked out very well. Supta K is still left unadjusted..mostly..but other than that I think I am getting back the dropbacks and standing up bit. Still WAY wobbly..but at least I can feel my legs working to bring me up.
Handstands have been really good for me lately. I can balance for a few breaths now. But I have stopped bunny hopping up and instead go up by kicking one leg up first. I find it way more energy saving. However, I do think going up with both feet first teaches much more on bandhas and the weightless feeling when I hit that sweet spot. Kicking up with 1 leg first doesn’t quite do it. Nevermind, will work on it both ways.
Other than that D has been working on getting me to jump back from titthibasana after bhuja and supta K (my pathetic version of it). He gets really anal about those jumpbacks for God knows what reason, so I’ve had to really try hard..but still end up crashing down after bakasana. I told him I will get it next class ..(haha..yah right!;P)
Bhuja was pretty good, I almost hovered today…got down to my chin an inch from the floor..and couldn’t believe it myself..so I dropped my head down. I’m going to try this out again tomorrow and see if it was a fluke. And yep I got back up as well into titthibasana. Yay!
I also remembered to do my intermediate poses today…yes..I’m quite a dummy and tend to forget to do them. D obviously didn’t see me do them though, because he asked me if I actually did them. Too bad..I was hoping that he was going to add something new today, since I was so pleased with myself, I thought I deserved a new pose;)
After class, as I was walking back to my car and in the drive back home, I couldn't stop thinking that I seem to have stopped having those aches and pains that used to be a staple of mysore class for me. When I started mysore back in August last year, after every class I'd have lower back pains, knee pains, collarbone pains (from being tied up into supta K) and a myriad amount of other stuff. Lately, its just stopped..for some reason it just hit me today that I must have managed to open up some stuff to finally not have to endure all that. Then again I suppose when new poses do come, I might be back in the same situation again. But I guess that was one of the reasons I felt really good in practice today, it isn't so achey anymore. And I don't feel as tired anymore...It took me 9 months to get to this point..and it feels great!;)
Oh yes, and one more little detail. I dedicated my practice today, right after the opening mantra. I just stood there, closed my eyes and dedicated my practice to all the important people in my life and all the teachers who have taught me, and who will teach me in the future. It felt much more meaningful somehow;)
edit: I'd like to add I just realised 31 May was a moonday..full moon. Maybe thats why I was so energised! Yepp..I don't really observe moondays...but this was quite interesting too feel the difference.
Handstands have been really good for me lately. I can balance for a few breaths now. But I have stopped bunny hopping up and instead go up by kicking one leg up first. I find it way more energy saving. However, I do think going up with both feet first teaches much more on bandhas and the weightless feeling when I hit that sweet spot. Kicking up with 1 leg first doesn’t quite do it. Nevermind, will work on it both ways.
Other than that D has been working on getting me to jump back from titthibasana after bhuja and supta K (my pathetic version of it). He gets really anal about those jumpbacks for God knows what reason, so I’ve had to really try hard..but still end up crashing down after bakasana. I told him I will get it next class ..(haha..yah right!;P)
Bhuja was pretty good, I almost hovered today…got down to my chin an inch from the floor..and couldn’t believe it myself..so I dropped my head down. I’m going to try this out again tomorrow and see if it was a fluke. And yep I got back up as well into titthibasana. Yay!
I also remembered to do my intermediate poses today…yes..I’m quite a dummy and tend to forget to do them. D obviously didn’t see me do them though, because he asked me if I actually did them. Too bad..I was hoping that he was going to add something new today, since I was so pleased with myself, I thought I deserved a new pose;)
After class, as I was walking back to my car and in the drive back home, I couldn't stop thinking that I seem to have stopped having those aches and pains that used to be a staple of mysore class for me. When I started mysore back in August last year, after every class I'd have lower back pains, knee pains, collarbone pains (from being tied up into supta K) and a myriad amount of other stuff. Lately, its just stopped..for some reason it just hit me today that I must have managed to open up some stuff to finally not have to endure all that. Then again I suppose when new poses do come, I might be back in the same situation again. But I guess that was one of the reasons I felt really good in practice today, it isn't so achey anymore. And I don't feel as tired anymore...It took me 9 months to get to this point..and it feels great!;)
Oh yes, and one more little detail. I dedicated my practice today, right after the opening mantra. I just stood there, closed my eyes and dedicated my practice to all the important people in my life and all the teachers who have taught me, and who will teach me in the future. It felt much more meaningful somehow;)
edit: I'd like to add I just realised 31 May was a moonday..full moon. Maybe thats why I was so energised! Yepp..I don't really observe moondays...but this was quite interesting too feel the difference.
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