Bits and Pieces
Nov 06, 13
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read more21 Day Yoga Challenge: Day 9 – I Am Starting to Get Tired
Nov 06, 13
The teacher today is less rigorous in terms of correcting postures than the teacher yesterday. Some of the teachers are so rigorous and generous in their correction of poses throughout the class. If they correct even one pose, helping me to have better form, I notice how their words stay with me for days as I try to get to that perfect form in subsequent classes. Some of the teachers do this regularly and some only occasionally. I notice that I prefer rigor. I like to try to get the poses perfect and to stretch into postures that are as correct as possible. I make it through this class today and feel proud that I have made it through a second class where I was able to do most of the poses. I am very sleepy today afterward. I feel deeply tired. I have a medical test on Friday that requires me to go easy on the exercise and I think tomorrow I will take it really slow and try to give my body a...
read more21 Day Yoga Challenge: Day 8
Nov 05, 13
I get to the 6:30 am yoga class this morning. I turn in my card to check in and the teacher asks me how it’s going. I said pretty good but I feel like I lie around on my mat a lot. She asks if I have tried the Sweat, Stretch, Unwind class. “Yes, but it was really hard on my knees,” I answer. “Has anyone ever shown you how to make a donut out of a towel? Have I shown you?” she asks. “No, no one has shown me,” I say. She shows me how to wrap my towel around to make a donut for my knees. This is a real game changer for me today. By using my donut, I am able to make it through all the poses and I get a great workout. I feel so proud that I am now doing the whole class. I tell the teacher after the class and she congratulates me. It is nice to share my accomplishment with someone. Yoga is not very chatty. It is a silent practice and I really don’t talk to anyone. I am sore after class and I am really aware of all my muscles all day, but I have a spring in my step and a sense of pride that I have done it. I did my first whole yoga class. I am starting to really love...
read more21 Day Yoga Challenge: Day 7 – Two Yoga Classes in One Day
Nov 04, 13
Today I am going to do 2 yoga classes. I missed one and it is really bugging me that I am on day 7 and it is my 6th yoga class. I want the alignment of being on day 7 and being on class 7. I start with a 6:30am class. I am still feeling the heat and am making it through more of the poses. I am finding incredible peace as I lie on my mat. I am craving spending a long time in shavasana which is essentially lying on my back on my mat with my arms to the side with my hands up. I have heard several things in passing about shavasana. One person suggested spending 20 minutes a day in this pose. That has stayed in my head. I have heard it is the most important pose in yoga. Which makes sense because it is in this pose that I really feel my breath settle in and I get completely relaxed. I am still content to lie in shavasana when the heat is too much for me and my heart rate feels too high. I am also hoping I will be able to do more of the work-out soon. I am craving a good strong work-out. I find I am challenged by the heat so I can’t keep doing all the poses. But then I am feeling like I didn’t get a good physical work-out, which is ironic since I am spending so much time going to yoga classes. It’s 8pm and I am at my second class and I am so sleepy. The class is completely packed and I am pretty sure I am just going to lie on the mat in shavasana. Oh no, a girl just came and put her mat so close I can’t extend my arms to the side in shavasana. I try to get comfortable but I feel totally crunched. I am noticing my attachment to space. I have a passing thought about India...
read more21 Day Yoga Challenge: Day 6
Nov 03, 13
Today was the 6th day of my 21 days of yoga and my 5th class at Moksha Yoga. It was a class that was mostly done on the mat. I was super excited to get there and to lie on my mat and breathe. It just felt so good to get there after missing yesterday. There was more work in this class that required me to sit on my knees for an extended period of time. It is interesting trying to find a position that isn’t going to hurt. I was able to to some of it. I am getting stronger and am noticing muscles I haven’t noticed before in a long time. A friend was watching the boys for me and I felt so grateful for her being able to take them while I went to the class. I really had to allow myself not to rush at the end. I love lying there for a long time just breathing. Is yoga addictive? I am really loving it and can’t wait to go back tomorrow. Day 6 was a great...
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