Getting the Kinks Out!
Lower back was a tad stiff from all the back arching from the day before but it loosened nicely and it wasn’t a problem. I also noticed my right hip has “sticky spots” in its range of motion. Curious, I had left knee surgery over ten years ago having learned I had been born with an extra bone at the end of my left femur or thighbone. One day as I was jogging, the knob of the anomaly broke off and floated in and out of my knee joint until I had the surgery. Maybe the years of slightly favoring the left knee have made my right hip a bit overloaded and worn. In massage therapy, I have learned how interconnected the body is. If one weight-bearing joint is affected, you often can follow a diagonal path up from the spot where client feels soreness. Nothing like having your own body speak to you to have empathy for others!
Set A Positive Course
My mantra or intention for today’s class was “self care.” I cleared my mind and these words came. It felt good to acknowledge I was doing this for me! Having a clear intention, word or phrase at the start of each class is so helpful. It gives everything direction and sets an open tone. If you’re going to do yoga or anything for that matter, you might as well be “all in.”
Making My Poses My Own
My poses today were more relaxed; I did not take postures to my endpoints. Rather, I backed off and adjusted as I got into them, making fine tuned changes helped me ease into the flow of poses that Vinyasa yoga is all about. It also allowed my breath to be a bigger part of my experience. Petra says, “Let the breath be your guide.” When I was young, we used to say certain words over and over until they sounded very funny. When you practice yoga over and over, it transforms and changes. It’s like your eyes adjusting to the dark. What was invisible at first slowly comes into focus. So much is there in the patience of stillness.
Any worthwhile relationship requires trust. Yoga is no different. You must trust your teacher and the yoga itself. Yoga is 4,000 years old! It is ideal to let go of your self-conscious self; and lose your mind so-to-speak. The flow from one pose to another generates heat and momentum, like walking and its rhythmic motions can be a form of meditation. I use the ujii breath to help me focus and relax. This breathing involves air going in and out your nose and making a guttural, ocean sound from the back of your throat upon exhalation. The sound plus the act itself combine to induce a state of relaxation. It is paradoxical that while yoga is physically demanding, there is a relaxed state underneath the movements that gets stronger the more you practice.
Doing this ten days in a row will give me wonderful contrast between what I think will be and what IS. I am surrendering to all the distractions and simply showing up each day with an open mind and heart. (www.innerstrength-yoga.com)
