Glorious Sweaty Led Class

Practice was glorious today and also quite sweaty despite the room not being very heated. There's something about a led class that really get my tapas burning. I also didn't feel sick and nauseated in class at all today and I wonder if this gives new credibility to the second series/kapotasana anxiety theory. Hrmmm.

Because I was so sweaty a hand bind came easily in supta kurmasana but that was only after I was told to not close my throat as I breathed in kurmasana. If it's not one thing it's another I tell you. I didn't do any back bending today because my lower back was having none of it. I substituted full urdhva dhanurasana for bridge pose.

Am looking forward to Saturday's Iyengar class followed by my weekly castor oil bath. 

Asana Report

On Sunday, despite waking up early, well before my alarm sounded, I managed to make it to the shala 30 minutes later than usual. This was­n’t a big deal because the Sunday timeslot has been re-extended to 3 hours instead of 2. However, when I walked into the room it was already pretty crowded and there wasn’t a space for me in the front row where I normally like to practice. This meant that I was relegated to the back row which was like a free pass for my monkey mind to have a field day. I struggled extensively to get into the groove of my practice and at one point even mentioned to one of the assistants that I was suffering from a bad case of the citta vrittis.

By the time I got to the marichasynas my mind started to settle a little and surprisingly I was able to bind my hands in supta kurmasana all on my own. It was a momentous occasion that's only been one year in the making. Between you and me, I gave up on the idea of ever being able to bind that pose on my own and surprisingly, it wasn't until I recommitted to binding on my own did it happen. In addition to my supta kurmasana bind I was able to hold myself up in kukutasana for the full breath count. Not necessarily a first but it is a pose that I still struggle with from time to time but yesterday was the first time that I felt like it was really coming along. I finished my practice dropping back and standing up three times using my trusty blankets. I didn't try any without the blankets because of stiffness in my back.

Yesterday I had another good practice and the supta kurmasana bind apparently wasn't a fluke. Getting my legs really high up on my sweaty shoulders seems to help tremendously. Remove one of those ingredients and it's a no go. I tend to practice in shorts for this reason because it cuts back on the friction and allows me to extend my legs straighter and higher up than if I were wearing tights. And once again kukutasana was executed for the full breath count. Another pose that I've been making progress with in the past couple of weeks has been uphavista konasana. When I asked one of the assistants what the key was to this pose he told me to pretend like I had Barbie legs and try to externally rotate my thighs somehow that visual has really helped me as I work that pose. The following day I asked JB as well about my lack of progress after he assisted me in getting my head to the floor. His response to me was "have you ever gotten your head to the floor before" and of course my response was "no". To which he replied "well, then that's progress. Each day going forward you will touch your head to the floor." And thus far that has been the case. Practice was wrapped up with two sets of 3 drop backs. Three using blankets and three to the floor. I then did assisted drop backs with JB where he walked my hands to within centimeters of my heels.

Today's practice wasn't as exciting as Sunday and yesterday's. The shala was cooler than usual which made it difficult for me to find my groove. Also the energy in the room was quite low. JB came over to assist me in supta kurmasana and I kind of got "scolded" for not breathing correctly. It was well deserved because I reached a point where I was determined to bind my hands by hook or by crook regardless of the lack of friction reducing sweat. I got nice pashasana assist and bhekasana assists. It was the first time that JB assisted me in bhekasana that my feet didn't slip out from my hands. He then assisted me in dhanurasana in which he lifted my legs so high off the ground I felt like I was going to take flight. He did it again after parsvo dhanurasana when my thighs felt like the consistency of jelly. When it came to back bending I decided to give drop backs a try without the blankets and I managed to land safely on my hands. Standing up today was a bit more challenging because I didn't have the warm up from using the blankets.

I'm happy to see that I'm still making progress with my primary series poses even though it felt like I had reached a plateau and actually gave up on expecting additional progress in certain poses.

A Recap

This week was my first six day week in perhaps a month. Nothin much new with my practice this week except for wrist binding in marichasyna d. Surprisingly I got a lot of love from JB yesterday and when he adjusted me in baddha konasana a he placed his thighs on top on mine and then sat on me and stayed there for the b variation. After it was all said and done he commented on how much better that pose is getting for me. That was a dreaded pose and adjustment for me that usually made me want to cry and required several breaths to recover from. At the end of yesterday's class he asked me what pose I am currently stopping at and I suspect a new pose may be coming to me soon but then again who knows.

Today was led primary and I practiced during the later time slot with most of JB's assistants whom I refer to as the yogi all stars because they all have a pretty advanced practice. I'm talking 3rd and 4th series advanced. The vibe in the room was so different than the early morning class. I guess by 8:30 people have had a chance to actually wake up. I even felt unusually limber and flexible for a Friday practice and I knew things were off to a good start when I felt myself floating back into chuturanga during my second surya namaskar a. However, by my second one I was dripping in sweat, literally. Kurmasana was nice today as I've been focused on really getting my legs up close to my shoulders before even lowering down into the pose. I'm happy that it no longer feels like my elbows will snap when I practice that pose. JB then came over and helped me bind my hands and cross my feet. The past two days he's been doing something a little different as he adjust my legs in that pose. Instead of just crossing the left foot over the right in front of my head, he lifted up my left leg first and sort of shimmied it over my shoulder and slightly behind my head before crossing the right foot over.
Overall is was a really good practice and I'm a little disappointed that tomorrow's a rest day as I would love to try to do it all again. Guess it will have to wait until Sunday.

Some other interesting things are afoot but I want to wait until things are more certain before I go mentioning it here.

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Friday's Led Primary

Yesterday was a led primary class. I feel like I haven't done a led class in ages with moon days, ladies holidays and random skip days it's been at least three weeks. It's been even longer practicing with JB since he's been on vacation.

I took the earlier led class but sooner regretted that choice because I had decided to take the day off from work which would have allowed me to take the later class. It also would have allowed me to practice alongside assistant A one more time prior to her cross country move. But the earlier class was just fine. JB wasn't very generous with assists but I managed to wrist bind on both sides of marichyasana D with no problem. The key to the wrist bind for me is a little lower back sweat to help the arm glide more smoothly across my back and to give me the extra length that I need. A little sweat goes a long way in helping me get more deeply into certain poses. I'm still a ways off from a wrist bind or even a finger bind in supta kurmasana but as long as I continue to focus on wrist binds in the marichyasana a-d it should come along.

The only adjustment I received was a nice lengthening and straightening in
sarvangasana. It's such a gentle adjustment but it really changes the feel of the entire pose. Shirshasana also felt great as well. Sometimes I struggle with getting my head positioned correctly so the pose doesn't always feel as light and effortless as it should.


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Slowly slowly

Tuesday's practice was very good. So good that I was even able to incorporate some jump backs into the routine and I felt strong pretty strong doing them putting more weight into the arms. I didn't attempt to bind in marichyasana d for fear of grave results. JB came over to offer an assist but I had to shake my head and decline the offer. I also had to take it easy in the last 3-4 poses of primary because rolling up from a reclined position was still a little painful. I was positively vibrating after yesterday's class and my colleagues even commented on my pre-coffee chipper mood.

Today's practice went similarly well and I'm feeling even less pain than the previous days. Today I have a feeling of lingering muscle soreness as opposed to a stabbing pain. Jump backs and jump throughs were back on the menu but I backed off as soon as I felt any odd sensations on the right side. I bound for the first time in almost 2 weeks in marichyasana d it wasn't very easy but there was no pain. I'd say that's the litmus test for this injury.

I got a soft adjustment in kurmasana to push my head and shoulders closer to the floor. In supta kurmasana JB wrangled my hands together and got me into a pretty firm bind but unfortunately there was no crossing of the feet so I didn't get to feel like a tightly packed burrito. However, to exit the pose I managed a fairly elegant jump back from bakasana into chatarunga. The key for me for this transition is to really have the arms high up on the legs and when that happens almost anything is possible.

The last several poses were still a little painful and challenging but more manageable than yesterday. Work continues on my hang backs however the ground doesn't feel like it's getting any closer and my knees seem too stubborn to bend. Perhaps I'll write them a letter. Assisted back bending with JB was fantastic as I was actually able to see my heels in the pose for the first time. At first I thought they were JBs heels but then I realized that I was seeing four sets of feet and one of them was brown so they had to be mine! I used my new Manduka Equa towel and I think that may have had something to do with it because my hands were much less slippery than usual. I'll write a full review on the towel in the next couple of days.

Progress Report

Last week was a tough week on the mat. I should have taken a few days off due to LH but I was too determined to practice. The end result were a few terrible practices and a battle with my ego. It never bothered me before but last week I got insanely jealous when I noticed a few shalamates cross their feet behind their head in supta kurmasana. As a result I found myself questioning my progress over the past six months or so. Thankfully my hormones reverted back to normal and I was able to resume my normal practice without my ego or jealously getting the best of me.

This week I've been consistently binding on both sides of marichyasana d and I've been doing the fancy exit in marichyasana a about 70% of the time. The latter really depends on how cooperative my left hip is feeling. I've also been binding fairly consistently in kurmasana with assistance of course. Two weeks ago if someone told me that would be the case I would have laughed hysterically. On Monday I did kurmasana and attempted to move into supta kurmasana because an assist never came. As I started to wiggle my feet JB came over and had me do the pose again from the beginning. I may have grimaced internally, perhaps externally as well as I proceeded to put myself into the pose. To my surprise JB was able to cross my feet in front of me for the first time! Later in the day when I told one of the assistants of my breakthrough she said to me "I've been wanting to do that to you for some time now." I thought her response was priceless.

On Wednesday I practiced a few hang backs for the first time in a few days and I definitely felt that the bend was getting a little deeper and ever so much closer to the floor. As I came up from the first attempt JB was there watching me and I got an approving nod from him. He had me try it again with his assistance and he pretty much had me go all the way down to the ground before he stepped in to spot me. I was forced to take a leap of faith and it didn't feel terrible. Unassisted drop backs are coming, I can feel it, hauling myself back up however is a completely different story.

The last holdout in my practice is kukkutasana. It's the only pose that I simply can't do. It's baffling because I can lift my body weight in other poses without a problem. I can't have it all I suppose.

Practice Away from Home

As I'm out in LA this weekend visiting family I practiced at YogaWorks in Santa Monica with Jodi Blumstein. It was my first time practicing at a foreign shala and I must say that I pretty attached to my shala and my teacher. One of the things that got me through today's practice was the fact that my regular teacher is off teaching a workshop this weekend and therefor I'm not really missing much back home.

I arrived fairly early for the practice and there were only two other people practicing in the room when I arrived. The room was a blistering 65 degrees Fahrenheit!! Needless to say my hamstrings protested most of the way through the suryas. I did five of each to really give myself a chance to get warmed up but I omitted most of the jumping back to chaturanga because the mat I was practicing on was very thin. Jodi arrived just as I was finishing the standing postures and I took a moment to introduce myself. She asked me where I was from and where I practiced and after I told her she was able to guess who my teacher was. After I confirmed that her guess was correct a huge smile came over her face. Apparently she practiced with him back in India 9 years ago, I assume they were fond memories because her expression was priceless.

The room warmed up slightly and overall practice was nice, my body was aching and yearning for it since I hadn't practiced since Thursday morning and I spent 6 hours on a flight out here. I was assisted in marichasyna d and supta kurmasana,no binding unfortunately in the latter. I did however, manage to lift myself up out of the pose with both control and grace and jump back to chaturanga (I think my teacher and one of the  regular assistants would be proud).

Jodi seemed like a sweet and caring teacher but she was also pretty chatty which is something that I'm not used to in the shala. Tomorrow I'm in for a new adventure as I'll be practicing with yet another new teacher Maria Villella.

I had initially planned to practice at Ashtanga Yoga Los Angeles today with James Butkevich but as I was searching for the address to put into my GPS it came up as permanently closed on my iPhone map. I tried calling the studio but the number came us as disconnected.

YogaWorks - Santa Monica Montana
1426 Montana Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 393-5150

Ashtanga and Fear

One thing I'm beginning to realize about Ashtanga yoga is that it really forces you to face your fears. Generally speaking I'm not a very fearful person however, if you throw in the odds of me potentially falling on my face then my fear levels are bound to rise proportionately.

How does this apply to my practice? Let's take for example the prasarita poses in the standing series. Prasarita padottanasana A, head to floor is no problem at all I have my hands on the floor to keep me safe and grounded. Prasaritas B through D, head to floor? No way, no how not without an assist. The funny thing about it is that on good days I can get my head millimeters from the floor but the slight shifting of the weight forward to bringing all the way down is enough to throw me into a full on panic attack. I fear that I'll shift too far forward and end up doing a forward roll onto my neighbor's mat, something that I'm sure he/she wouldn't appreciate.

Then we have my exit out of supta kurmasana, or should I say my pathetic approximation of the pose would be a much more accurate description. It goes something like this, lift up to straight arms, check; move one leg back at a time onto the forearms, check; balance check; look forward, lean slightly forward at catvari out of the pose, fail. There's always this moment of hesitation when my mind says "you want me to do what?" and that's when I bail and gently place my feet on my mat and continue on with my practice. One of the great assistants in the class once said to me "you almost have it, from there all you have to do is breathe". As sincere as she was with her words all I could do at the time was laugh at her advice because my practice still has a long way to go before I can just breathe my way into and out of difficult poses.

I am humbled daily, yet I continue to practice with the hopes that one day maybe I'll be able to face my fears by just breathing.