Its been slightly more than 1 year since my first mysore class. I just realised that yesterday...I started mysore sometime in August 2006..and now its 2007!
I had a wonderful class..(full moon maybe). Everything was pretty good..even vinyasas from Uttanasana back to chatturanga in my surya namaskaras suddenly got lifty instead of jumpy (but VERY tiring to do). I jumped back from both my bhujapidasana and supta K bakasanas, although clumsily. Dropping back and standing up is getting really fun. I didn't think that I would say this, but primary series is getting pretty comfy for me.
I'm still at bhekasana now, and I'm not really in a hurry to get anywhere else. The ankle is still a little problematic, but on the mend. My feet still don't touch the floor in bhekasana..and I asked D if they should..and he said I should work towards it. There really isn't any big issue with my practice right now except for jumping back from dandasana. I don't expect I will be lifting and jumping back so soon..so thats going to take a while.
I don't really have a whole lot to write..just wanted to write about my class like I always do. Oh and another observation I have is that I have stopped sweating much nowadays..I don't know if its the weather (it was cool last nite)..or I'm improving..
Friday, August 31, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Today's class
So today was D's inversion mania flow class. I haven't been there for a few weeks. Nice.
Usual sequence..but the good thing about a predictable sequence is that I know what needs work and can gauge if I am making progress.. And apparenly there were improvements..yay!
I got into koundinyasana I both sides for once! I guess my stomach crunches and oblique work has paid off, and on the right side..I was so stable, it felt like I could stay there forever. Left side was harder, but I could lift my leg off the floor and straighten them..and thats an achivement for me.
I still can't get into version 2 though..where you are in some sort of split..I can't seem to get my elbows near the hips, which I think is a major help with balance. Apparently, it was brought to my notice lately that I have relatively short upper arms..and that makes things like mayurasana and this kind of balances tricky because I'm not in the right position to leverage my body. I found this out from one of my teachers - C. However I don't think that means I can't do the pose..just that it will make things a little harder.
My balance was not great in pincha mayurasana..and I guess it will have to be my new project now..to try to balance there. I absolutely held my handstand today though..I'm not sure if it was because my little trick with the tapping the back thigh worked..or it was just a fluke. I stayed there for quite a few breaths..I don't know how many..perhaps 6-7?? Anyhow it was long enough for me to notice that it felt absolutely weightless, that my legs were squeezing in towards the midline..and that it felt really easy..hahah..well for that few seconds anyway! D just came by and told me to stay there and not move;)
Kapotasana was also surprising easy to get into today. I didn't get the heels no doubt..but walking the hands in to my feet was much easier than the previous few times.. We did that 2 times today. Cool.
Nothing else was really new today, but I enjoyed it nonetheless because I don't usually do much arms balances on my own..this class is a great palce for me to get some practice in doing them. Generally I think I did pretty well;)
Usual sequence..but the good thing about a predictable sequence is that I know what needs work and can gauge if I am making progress.. And apparenly there were improvements..yay!
I got into koundinyasana I both sides for once! I guess my stomach crunches and oblique work has paid off, and on the right side..I was so stable, it felt like I could stay there forever. Left side was harder, but I could lift my leg off the floor and straighten them..and thats an achivement for me.
I still can't get into version 2 though..where you are in some sort of split..I can't seem to get my elbows near the hips, which I think is a major help with balance. Apparently, it was brought to my notice lately that I have relatively short upper arms..and that makes things like mayurasana and this kind of balances tricky because I'm not in the right position to leverage my body. I found this out from one of my teachers - C. However I don't think that means I can't do the pose..just that it will make things a little harder.
My balance was not great in pincha mayurasana..and I guess it will have to be my new project now..to try to balance there. I absolutely held my handstand today though..I'm not sure if it was because my little trick with the tapping the back thigh worked..or it was just a fluke. I stayed there for quite a few breaths..I don't know how many..perhaps 6-7?? Anyhow it was long enough for me to notice that it felt absolutely weightless, that my legs were squeezing in towards the midline..and that it felt really easy..hahah..well for that few seconds anyway! D just came by and told me to stay there and not move;)
Kapotasana was also surprising easy to get into today. I didn't get the heels no doubt..but walking the hands in to my feet was much easier than the previous few times.. We did that 2 times today. Cool.
Nothing else was really new today, but I enjoyed it nonetheless because I don't usually do much arms balances on my own..this class is a great palce for me to get some practice in doing them. Generally I think I did pretty well;)
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Mysore class 23 August 2007
Mysore again today. Ankle still hurts, so modified a few ankle intensive stuff..mari B & D on the left..supta k (or rather left that out entirely).No new pose..and no new progress..still felt great after class though..did a couple of handtands..and D said they were good..but my balance is still bad..and I keep wobbling around..apparently the balance has a good deal to do with focus..and D kept asking me to look at a point on the floor and concentrate hard. He did say my alignment is good..and my body is nicely stacked..I just have to keep it more stable..
I was tempted to try this new tip I found on handstands..and later heard on an mp3 from O2 Yoga teacher Mimi Loureiro..who said to try to tap the back foot onto the top leg to help with balance..but its rather crim to do that in mysore..so I didn't. I might try it tomorrow at home.
D sat on my knees again for bhekasana..and its not fun to be pinned down on the floor in that position..however once he got me to relax the shoulders and he did the work of lifting my shoulders back..its quite comfy actually.
Didn't have any other memorable moments in class.although I noticed I've been able to slow my breath down quite a bit recently..and not zoom through as fast as I usually do. It makes the suryas much more relaxing..but I also seem to sweat less..hmm..I'm not sure if that is good or bad..
On another note..I went for an interview recently with a studio which is going to be newly set up in town. I was actually asked to take up a full time teaching job there..but I told the interviewer I just recently changed jobs..and would have to take a while to ease into being a full time teacher. There's also a great TTC offered..but I'll only have the details next week..and will post on that later..
I was tempted to try this new tip I found on handstands..and later heard on an mp3 from O2 Yoga teacher Mimi Loureiro..who said to try to tap the back foot onto the top leg to help with balance..but its rather crim to do that in mysore..so I didn't. I might try it tomorrow at home.
D sat on my knees again for bhekasana..and its not fun to be pinned down on the floor in that position..however once he got me to relax the shoulders and he did the work of lifting my shoulders back..its quite comfy actually.
Didn't have any other memorable moments in class.although I noticed I've been able to slow my breath down quite a bit recently..and not zoom through as fast as I usually do. It makes the suryas much more relaxing..but I also seem to sweat less..hmm..I'm not sure if that is good or bad..
On another note..I went for an interview recently with a studio which is going to be newly set up in town. I was actually asked to take up a full time teaching job there..but I told the interviewer I just recently changed jobs..and would have to take a while to ease into being a full time teacher. There's also a great TTC offered..but I'll only have the details next week..and will post on that later..
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Led primary
I went to a led primary series class yesterday. Haven't been to one in ages. It was alright, except that I was really not used to following the teacher, C's count. Thats the difference between mysore and led. Once you get used to following your own breath, its just not fun anymore to have to wait for instructions.
Nothing very interesting happened, except that I got my feet binded in Supta K with hands binded, but my head had to rest on my feet instead of behind the feet. Like I said my torso is too long to curl under, so unless I get it behind my head, I'm always ending up with the feet too close to my head to cross in front.
I've been consistently getting into eka pada shirshasana lately, at least right side with minimal fuss. I can sit pretty comfortably with hands in namaste in front. I'm waiting for the left side to get loose enough for me to try dwi pada, cos at the moment the left side is still exerting a lot of pressure on my neck and threatening to slip off but I feel it shouldn't take that long cos my hips have been really loosening up. I think the most helpful thing has been getting comfortable in tarasana with the feet in front of my head, sorta like a loose baddha konasana. Thats helped me immensely with foot behind head.
On the jumpbacks front, there has been not much progress. My lifts are getting a little easier, but its still not helping in swinging back into chatturanga. I end up hitting the floor all the time and then having to hop back from there. But I guess its just a lot of practice..and I think I will one day be able to do it.
I have an interview with a new studio afterwards to demo some teaching and also do some asanas for the interviewer. I'm gonna warm up after this to make sure I can get into stuff without heat afterwards. We'll see how that goes.
Nothing very interesting happened, except that I got my feet binded in Supta K with hands binded, but my head had to rest on my feet instead of behind the feet. Like I said my torso is too long to curl under, so unless I get it behind my head, I'm always ending up with the feet too close to my head to cross in front.
I've been consistently getting into eka pada shirshasana lately, at least right side with minimal fuss. I can sit pretty comfortably with hands in namaste in front. I'm waiting for the left side to get loose enough for me to try dwi pada, cos at the moment the left side is still exerting a lot of pressure on my neck and threatening to slip off but I feel it shouldn't take that long cos my hips have been really loosening up. I think the most helpful thing has been getting comfortable in tarasana with the feet in front of my head, sorta like a loose baddha konasana. Thats helped me immensely with foot behind head.
On the jumpbacks front, there has been not much progress. My lifts are getting a little easier, but its still not helping in swinging back into chatturanga. I end up hitting the floor all the time and then having to hop back from there. But I guess its just a lot of practice..and I think I will one day be able to do it.
I have an interview with a new studio afterwards to demo some teaching and also do some asanas for the interviewer. I'm gonna warm up after this to make sure I can get into stuff without heat afterwards. We'll see how that goes.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Not really Ashtanga related post..
Didn't practice today...had to do some socializing cos I'm trying to avoid becoming an Ashtanga hermit..cos I'm too obsessed with practice..hehe.
I'm starting a new job next week..which requires a bit of travelling around Asia Pacific. I hope that still leaves me time to practice, and also teach some classes. My future boss (well actually my ex-boss as well, since I've worked for him before) has already arranged my training in Singapore in 2 weeks time. I'll certainly try to sneak some time in to visit J again if possible. The good news is that I'm not going to be working a 5 day week on this job. I told my boss-to-be that I want some flexibilities so that I can teach yoga..and surprisingly he agreed to it..so its a cool arrangement that I can live with.
The ankle was bothering me a little today, especially since I spent my whole day tottering around in high heels. It also didn't help that there was a strange guy trailing me around during lunch time when I went shopping at one of the malls..hmmm. I had to walk real fast to try to lose him. Anyhow, he managed place himself right next to me while I was in Borders..and I really thought he was a little pyscho, but he said hi to me..and I guess he was just trying to hit on me..hhahah. Nope, I didn't flirt back..I'm not too used to being picked up in bookshops...
I bought an ab wheel today..Its one of those things you use to roll about on the floor to strengthen the back, arms, shoulders and abs. I'm hoping to try it out after this to see if it works...I will report back soon.
I'm starting a new job next week..which requires a bit of travelling around Asia Pacific. I hope that still leaves me time to practice, and also teach some classes. My future boss (well actually my ex-boss as well, since I've worked for him before) has already arranged my training in Singapore in 2 weeks time. I'll certainly try to sneak some time in to visit J again if possible. The good news is that I'm not going to be working a 5 day week on this job. I told my boss-to-be that I want some flexibilities so that I can teach yoga..and surprisingly he agreed to it..so its a cool arrangement that I can live with.
The ankle was bothering me a little today, especially since I spent my whole day tottering around in high heels. It also didn't help that there was a strange guy trailing me around during lunch time when I went shopping at one of the malls..hmmm. I had to walk real fast to try to lose him. Anyhow, he managed place himself right next to me while I was in Borders..and I really thought he was a little pyscho, but he said hi to me..and I guess he was just trying to hit on me..hhahah. Nope, I didn't flirt back..I'm not too used to being picked up in bookshops...
I bought an ab wheel today..Its one of those things you use to roll about on the floor to strengthen the back, arms, shoulders and abs. I'm hoping to try it out after this to see if it works...I will report back soon.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Mysore Class 16 August 2007
So..I DID make it to class today..ahem..its once a week..if I miss it I'll have to wait another whole week to do my practice in class! I have to say I do much better in class compared to home practice..must be the exhibitionist or competitive nature or something..but anyhow..I always try to do my best while in class..and it usually works well.
No new pose today though..I would have guessed not, since I had to modify all my lotus poses and also avoided D's adjustment in Supta K cos I told him my ankle can't take it. I also had to modify tiriang mukha and bhekasana cos the position of my feet stressed out my ankle.
Well nothing really stood out except for some reason my dropping back and standing up was extremely smooth going..and I just didn't want to stop at 3..and went and did maybe 6. It just felt really easy for some reason today..D stopped standing around to make sure I don't crash in my dropbacks today..so I went ahead and took liberty at doing a few more. I feel like asking him if he can help me out with my ankle grabbing...J gave them to me while I was at his shala in Singapore...but I never mentioned it to D..(I'm not sure if its valid since J isn't my main teacher..and I should by right trust D's judgement instead since he is the one teaching me consistently..) So anyhow no ankle grabbing for me..and I doubt D will ask me to do it..since he has NEVER asked anyone to try it..
My teacher was also teaching the strong guy I mentioned a few posts ago to press up into a handstand with straight legs. Good god..how do you do that? I think its gonna take me forever to lift my feet off the floor..But D kinda just lifted them almost as easily as going into a headstand! Sigh...
I hope my ankle recovers soon..cos it is a pain to have to modify so many poses..and next week I have a demo for a new teaching job at a studio..and I do hope my ankle won't be a hindrance then.
No new pose today though..I would have guessed not, since I had to modify all my lotus poses and also avoided D's adjustment in Supta K cos I told him my ankle can't take it. I also had to modify tiriang mukha and bhekasana cos the position of my feet stressed out my ankle.
Well nothing really stood out except for some reason my dropping back and standing up was extremely smooth going..and I just didn't want to stop at 3..and went and did maybe 6. It just felt really easy for some reason today..D stopped standing around to make sure I don't crash in my dropbacks today..so I went ahead and took liberty at doing a few more. I feel like asking him if he can help me out with my ankle grabbing...J gave them to me while I was at his shala in Singapore...but I never mentioned it to D..(I'm not sure if its valid since J isn't my main teacher..and I should by right trust D's judgement instead since he is the one teaching me consistently..) So anyhow no ankle grabbing for me..and I doubt D will ask me to do it..since he has NEVER asked anyone to try it..
My teacher was also teaching the strong guy I mentioned a few posts ago to press up into a handstand with straight legs. Good god..how do you do that? I think its gonna take me forever to lift my feet off the floor..But D kinda just lifted them almost as easily as going into a headstand! Sigh...
I hope my ankle recovers soon..cos it is a pain to have to modify so many poses..and next week I have a demo for a new teaching job at a studio..and I do hope my ankle won't be a hindrance then.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Crashing out of a handstand
Today, I flipped over while jumping forward from downdog to uttanasana in the suryas..I guess I lifted the hips too high and it sent me into a handstand...except I overbalanced and crashed...on my ankle. hmmm...Now's I'm left with a mildly traumatized left ankle..and I think I may have to spend some time modifying all my lotus poses again..shucks. I do hope it will get back to normal asap.
So..nothing much else to report..especially since my practice today was cut short as I felt too traumatized to do a whole lot after that..
But I did get to thinking just now about my lack of strength and bandha control..especially when it comes to stuff like handstands and arm balances. It also occured to me that people tend to get either stronger or more flexible in their practices based on who they practice with..in addition of course to native strength and flexibility.
I mean..in my rather limited exposure to other studios and teachers..I've mostly worked with teachers who never really emphasized the strength part in practice. Back in the days when I attended classes by Sivananda teachers years ago...we never really did any arm balances or chatturangas. It was always mostly about stretching and more stretching.
Then, I went to Gym X, which was ewhere I met my first Ashtanga teacher, R..and he did do quite a bit of chatturangas..but I certainly wasn't taught bandhas etc..So most of the emphasis was again on flexibility. When I met B, who was my first mysore teacher..although he had beautiful bandha control and was really strong, he ALSO never emphasized strength stuff..nor did he tell me to work on it.
Then now I go to D's class..and he's much more concerned about me building up my strength and bandhas..and of course J, who was hell bent on my jumping back from the very first time I landed up in his shala.
I couldn't stop thinking that if I had met D & J first, I might have worked much sooner on developing my core strength..but perhaps at the expense of flexibility. I noticed that people who come from the nearby Anusara based studio to my studio..are usually very strong...although perhaps not of extreme gumby persuasion. So I just think that it is really important WHO you learn from..as different teachers will emphasize different aspects of the practice..and we end up working on and therefore getting better at the things our teachers teach most.
Well I guess this is getting a little long and rambling...so I'll stop here and go nurse my ankle now..hopefully I will be ok to attend tomorrow's mysore class..
So..nothing much else to report..especially since my practice today was cut short as I felt too traumatized to do a whole lot after that..
But I did get to thinking just now about my lack of strength and bandha control..especially when it comes to stuff like handstands and arm balances. It also occured to me that people tend to get either stronger or more flexible in their practices based on who they practice with..in addition of course to native strength and flexibility.
I mean..in my rather limited exposure to other studios and teachers..I've mostly worked with teachers who never really emphasized the strength part in practice. Back in the days when I attended classes by Sivananda teachers years ago...we never really did any arm balances or chatturangas. It was always mostly about stretching and more stretching.
Then, I went to Gym X, which was ewhere I met my first Ashtanga teacher, R..and he did do quite a bit of chatturangas..but I certainly wasn't taught bandhas etc..So most of the emphasis was again on flexibility. When I met B, who was my first mysore teacher..although he had beautiful bandha control and was really strong, he ALSO never emphasized strength stuff..nor did he tell me to work on it.
Then now I go to D's class..and he's much more concerned about me building up my strength and bandhas..and of course J, who was hell bent on my jumping back from the very first time I landed up in his shala.
I couldn't stop thinking that if I had met D & J first, I might have worked much sooner on developing my core strength..but perhaps at the expense of flexibility. I noticed that people who come from the nearby Anusara based studio to my studio..are usually very strong...although perhaps not of extreme gumby persuasion. So I just think that it is really important WHO you learn from..as different teachers will emphasize different aspects of the practice..and we end up working on and therefore getting better at the things our teachers teach most.
Well I guess this is getting a little long and rambling...so I'll stop here and go nurse my ankle now..hopefully I will be ok to attend tomorrow's mysore class..
Saturday, August 11, 2007
11 August self practice
Practice was nice today, though I did venture off the usual series and did some experimentation. One thing I've observed lately is that I no longer need to do warm up stretches before hand to get comfortable in practice. Last time, because of my stiff hips, I've always had to do some hips opening like sukhasana or sit in pigeon. Now I can start surya namaskaras and that warms me up enough. Perhaps with more backbends added to my practice, I may have to work on shoulders and quads in the future before starting, but at the moment, I'm happy to report I can stop the futzing around and just start.
I got into eka pada sirshasana on the right, and could sit with my hands in namaste in front of me..without holding! Bending forward, I still had to hold on tight though. The left side was not so great though..I still had to hold on to prevent the leg from coming off both sitting and bending forward. I also did dwi pada viparita dandasana today.
I also went and did my few second series poses..cos I reckon I need to do bhekasana to help with my ever stiffening hip flexors and quads. I've never managed to get my feet to the floor in bhekasana. I don't know if I can go forward without getting the feet to the floor. D sat on my knees the other day in mysore class and pulled my shoulders back to open the chest. I reckon that did something to my SI joint. But I feel fine today though..no serious problem.
Also I don't know how come I could get into a pretty decent dwi pada viparita dandasana today. Usually my shoulders are a little too tight to achieve much height in the backbend, but today was nice and open..and I swear I looked like that woman in YJ..(yup..i bought myself a huge mirror and put it into my room to view myself..vain and narcissistic..) I was pretty impressed with myself!
Anyhow, jumpbacks are still more or less where it was all along..which means they are still sucky. Anyhow, I'm doing them as best I can...hopefully it starts to get better soon..
I got into eka pada sirshasana on the right, and could sit with my hands in namaste in front of me..without holding! Bending forward, I still had to hold on tight though. The left side was not so great though..I still had to hold on to prevent the leg from coming off both sitting and bending forward. I also did dwi pada viparita dandasana today.
I also went and did my few second series poses..cos I reckon I need to do bhekasana to help with my ever stiffening hip flexors and quads. I've never managed to get my feet to the floor in bhekasana. I don't know if I can go forward without getting the feet to the floor. D sat on my knees the other day in mysore class and pulled my shoulders back to open the chest. I reckon that did something to my SI joint. But I feel fine today though..no serious problem.
Also I don't know how come I could get into a pretty decent dwi pada viparita dandasana today. Usually my shoulders are a little too tight to achieve much height in the backbend, but today was nice and open..and I swear I looked like that woman in YJ..(yup..i bought myself a huge mirror and put it into my room to view myself..vain and narcissistic..) I was pretty impressed with myself!
Anyhow, jumpbacks are still more or less where it was all along..which means they are still sucky. Anyhow, I'm doing them as best I can...hopefully it starts to get better soon..
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Mysore Class 9 August 2007
Today's practice was dedicated to my dog, who after 10 years with us, had to be put down yesterday due to some serious urinary problems. I hope he will be a good boy wherever he is now and rest in peace.
Despite having a really bad night last night, thinking of my dog, today's practice was really one of the best I've had in ages. Although I did manage to tweak my back on the right SI area...its still kinda achey right now. I think it was from being adjusted in Bhekasana..which I got today. It did cheer me up a little.
Anyhow I don't know what happened but I was incredibly strong today (still no jump backs though). Everything felt really lifty and solid, and my jump throughs were so floaty I was kinda impressed myself! I did crash on my face in the bakasana after Supta K though...despite being "impressively" strong by my standards ;p anyhow D said that its coming along...
And of course I got bhekasana today..which was most unexpected..considering I just got the two salabhasanas last week. I thought I'd have to wait a few weeks for anything new!
Despite having a really bad night last night, thinking of my dog, today's practice was really one of the best I've had in ages. Although I did manage to tweak my back on the right SI area...its still kinda achey right now. I think it was from being adjusted in Bhekasana..which I got today. It did cheer me up a little.
Anyhow I don't know what happened but I was incredibly strong today (still no jump backs though). Everything felt really lifty and solid, and my jump throughs were so floaty I was kinda impressed myself! I did crash on my face in the bakasana after Supta K though...despite being "impressively" strong by my standards ;p anyhow D said that its coming along...
And of course I got bhekasana today..which was most unexpected..considering I just got the two salabhasanas last week. I thought I'd have to wait a few weeks for anything new!
Monday, August 6, 2007
Knees, lifting and backbends..
I tweaked my left knee...I don't think its very serious..but I can hear it clicking when I bend it..There's also a pinchy feeling when I bend it.
I hope it gets better soon...I reckon its because I did samakonasana in class today..hatha class in the studio. I haven't tried it for a while..and who knew I could sink all the way to the floor..I was surprised too..BUT..when I was getting out of it..I had to prop myself up on the elbows to get up..and I think I did something to the knee while squirming out of the pose..hmmm...
I have been practising primary the past few days on my own. I can jump back from bakasana pretty consistently now..Its strange that just a few weeks ago I was completely clueless and now its actually quite fun to jump out of it. I've also been really doing my take it up lifts in nearly every vinyasa. Very tiring, but its getting easier to do now though. I just do not believe that I can't do this, when some people make it look so effortless to lift up and jump back. I am sure that one day I WILL do it!;P
I just have to say that my backbends have been pretty comfortable lately thanks to some research stuff I've been throwing in before practice. I've been really stretching out my hip flexors via lunges, and tucking the tailbone under to get to the top of the thighs, and also lying in supta virasana before practice, because my hip flexors were tightening up a lot. However this seems to really pay dividends when it comes to backbends. I notice it makes it easier to keep my feet parallel in backbends, and I can extend my hips more..and also keep the bend from going all the way to my lunbar too much..
The other thing that helps immensely are the shoulder stretches I've been doing lately..rotating my arms with the strap, and also dropping from urdhva dhanurasana onto my elbows to try to work my upper chest and shoulders. It really does work..backbending have been pretty comfy lately..
I hope it gets better soon...I reckon its because I did samakonasana in class today..hatha class in the studio. I haven't tried it for a while..and who knew I could sink all the way to the floor..I was surprised too..BUT..when I was getting out of it..I had to prop myself up on the elbows to get up..and I think I did something to the knee while squirming out of the pose..hmmm...
I have been practising primary the past few days on my own. I can jump back from bakasana pretty consistently now..Its strange that just a few weeks ago I was completely clueless and now its actually quite fun to jump out of it. I've also been really doing my take it up lifts in nearly every vinyasa. Very tiring, but its getting easier to do now though. I just do not believe that I can't do this, when some people make it look so effortless to lift up and jump back. I am sure that one day I WILL do it!;P
I just have to say that my backbends have been pretty comfortable lately thanks to some research stuff I've been throwing in before practice. I've been really stretching out my hip flexors via lunges, and tucking the tailbone under to get to the top of the thighs, and also lying in supta virasana before practice, because my hip flexors were tightening up a lot. However this seems to really pay dividends when it comes to backbends. I notice it makes it easier to keep my feet parallel in backbends, and I can extend my hips more..and also keep the bend from going all the way to my lunbar too much..
The other thing that helps immensely are the shoulder stretches I've been doing lately..rotating my arms with the strap, and also dropping from urdhva dhanurasana onto my elbows to try to work my upper chest and shoulders. It really does work..backbending have been pretty comfy lately..
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Mysore class 2 August 2007
Was really tired out today. Bandhas disappearing everywhere..even my flexibility was a little suspect...actually found it hard to bind Supta K again! Thats not happened for a few weeks already!
Its THAT time of the month for me...nevertheless, I went ahead for class..and the result is a noticeably weaker practice...it REALLY does make a difference. I never really realised that all this while, I guess mainly because I didn't practice so consistently last time..but now, I can really tell that my strength is much weaker while menstruating. Odd though that I was also stiffer than usual though.
I got the 2 salabhasanas today..yippeee!! despite bombing out all the vinyasas. BUT I did jump back from bakasana on the way out of bhuja..;) So maybe D was a little impressed that I made some progress and decided to give me a new pose...or perhaps because the class was so empty today..that he didn't have a lot to do..and decided to give me a new pose.
Anyhow..I've been doing salabhasana for ages..since I started yoga..so this definitely wasn't difficult. Keeping the feet together is not that fun though..my hamstrings had to work quite hard.
Skipped handstanding though cos I was really tired out by then. I also got to talk to D about the state of my (non-existent) bandhas. He said to do lots of sit ups and concentrate on the navasana lifts. All my teachers are agreement with one thing...that I have weak abs...;( And even though to me, I've made some noticeable improvements compared to 1 year ago..its really still sucky at best. D also demonstrated jumping back for me, cos I told him I recently was taught to wriggle my butt back to jump back..and I asked him if that was the only way to practice jumping back..and he did the perfect jumpback for me to see..of course..but I couldnt do it at all. No help there...seems the only way to do it..is to ACTUALLY try to do it badly until it gets good..
I'm quite excited...I wonder how long its gonna take me to get to kapotasana?? I've always wanted to do it officially...but it seems to be taking forever to get a new pose..Anyhow..J told me while I was at his shala that I will get seriously stuck after the first six poses of intermediate because of my lack of bandhas...I don't know why he said that..maybe to make sure I work on bandha building in the meantime..I do know for sure bakasana is probably really unmanageable for me...but thats really too far off to think about now..
Oh..I've been walking back and forth through my arms yesterday to kinda do my vinyasas cos I was too lazy to do the lift up...it actually takes effort to walk my feet back and walk it back forward between the arms again...I had to really shorten my torso to get through...I reckon I should do that as part of my vinyasas sometimes because I think its better at building bandhas than my straight leg version. And obviously since I can't jump back anyway..this is a good "cheating" alternative..;)
Its THAT time of the month for me...nevertheless, I went ahead for class..and the result is a noticeably weaker practice...it REALLY does make a difference. I never really realised that all this while, I guess mainly because I didn't practice so consistently last time..but now, I can really tell that my strength is much weaker while menstruating. Odd though that I was also stiffer than usual though.
I got the 2 salabhasanas today..yippeee!! despite bombing out all the vinyasas. BUT I did jump back from bakasana on the way out of bhuja..;) So maybe D was a little impressed that I made some progress and decided to give me a new pose...or perhaps because the class was so empty today..that he didn't have a lot to do..and decided to give me a new pose.
Anyhow..I've been doing salabhasana for ages..since I started yoga..so this definitely wasn't difficult. Keeping the feet together is not that fun though..my hamstrings had to work quite hard.
Skipped handstanding though cos I was really tired out by then. I also got to talk to D about the state of my (non-existent) bandhas. He said to do lots of sit ups and concentrate on the navasana lifts. All my teachers are agreement with one thing...that I have weak abs...;( And even though to me, I've made some noticeable improvements compared to 1 year ago..its really still sucky at best. D also demonstrated jumping back for me, cos I told him I recently was taught to wriggle my butt back to jump back..and I asked him if that was the only way to practice jumping back..and he did the perfect jumpback for me to see..of course..but I couldnt do it at all. No help there...seems the only way to do it..is to ACTUALLY try to do it badly until it gets good..
I'm quite excited...I wonder how long its gonna take me to get to kapotasana?? I've always wanted to do it officially...but it seems to be taking forever to get a new pose..Anyhow..J told me while I was at his shala that I will get seriously stuck after the first six poses of intermediate because of my lack of bandhas...I don't know why he said that..maybe to make sure I work on bandha building in the meantime..I do know for sure bakasana is probably really unmanageable for me...but thats really too far off to think about now..
Oh..I've been walking back and forth through my arms yesterday to kinda do my vinyasas cos I was too lazy to do the lift up...it actually takes effort to walk my feet back and walk it back forward between the arms again...I had to really shorten my torso to get through...I reckon I should do that as part of my vinyasas sometimes because I think its better at building bandhas than my straight leg version. And obviously since I can't jump back anyway..this is a good "cheating" alternative..;)
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