Day 9--With a Little Help From My Friends

Because of an unexpected visit from out-of-town relatives, I didn't make it to morning class or the early afternoon class. I had to rush to get to 6:30 PM class. I am feeling achy in my ligaments and tendons, and I decided to focus on breath and not push too hard in deep stretches, as well as working on bringing more grace and ease to the postures.

It turned out to be a really fun class. The teacher had some amazing advice for alignment and corrections for a few students. I think that I can really improve my standing bow pulling pose because of her comments to another student. Like a lot of people, I do one side of this posture better than the other. I couldn't figure out why it was so hard to keep my right foot directly above my head. With the left foot, it just stays in line without any special effort. Teacher suggested not trying to kick as high unless the hips were down lower. I'm not sure that I am saying this in a way that makes sense, but with her demonstration of the pose, it totally made sense. Next time I notice the foot drifting off center, I want to move my focus to hip alignment instead of trying to yank my foot and leg into place by force (and then wonder why my tendons and ligaments feel sore).

The best part of class, though, was full locust. We were a little crowded together, and Sharon was postitioned so that her extended arm crossed at my ankles. When we lifted up into full locust, we bumped each other, glanced at each other in the mirror, and then she put her arm uner my ankles and lifted my legs up, way up, higher than I'd ever gotten them on my own. I was surprised, and let out a little exclamation, "oh!" We both started giggling. It was just fun! I really have to struggle to get my legs higher in that pose, and the temporary boost--a light push, no strain--made me aware of what a fuller expression of this asana would feel like. It made me happy. Yoga makes me happy. The challenge is already working its magic and teaching me things and changing my practice. I can't wait to see what it'll be like as the challenge progresses!