Thursday, January 11, 2007
maha challenge, day fourteen
Good class tonight. I felt really connected and strong. Tonight was all about moving through the core and finding the proper alignment. It was good to focus on the most basic elements of the practice.
Tonight was another first for me - a headstand without any outside help. The wall doesn't count. I got up and stayed up on my own. And now that I've been guided through it, I feel comfortable practicing at home. Before I always had this fear that I would break my neck and they'd find my body weeks later, half-eaten by Leif.
After class I had to go to Target. For a legit reason, I swear! Saturday is the birthday of one of my staff members, and I wanted to get her a little something nice. I'm still working on making a good impression. I found myself just calmly winding my way around the store, feeling a deep sense of contentment and none of the usual need to rush that I feel when I'm overstimulated by the bargains and styles that Target has to offer.
When I got home and reflected on that, I realized my calm (and my better-than-usual posture) probably has a lot to do with those headstands I was doing during class. One of the benefits of Sirsasana is that it's supposed to allow you to look at the world from a different angle. Makes sense.
I don't have a whole lot of free wall space, but I may make a point of including this in my daily routine.
One other really fulfilling experience from this class came when we were working on a balancing asana and were asked to pair up with a neighbor. My neighbor was an older woman, probably in her 70's or 80's, and not in the best shape but certainly ahead of the curve compared to many women her age. It was great to work with her and share the pose with her. Our instructions were to support the arm of our partner as she brought it forward, leading her body into a forward bend as her other hand held her other foot close to the hip. I guess my partner couldn't hear the instructions very well, so I ended up talking her through the process of hugging into her core, finding her alignment, finding her balance, and coming into the pose. When she got into the pose on her stronger standing leg, it was a beautiful sight to behold. And I was there with her for the whole thing.
And my parents say they couldn't do it!
Tonight was another first for me - a headstand without any outside help. The wall doesn't count. I got up and stayed up on my own. And now that I've been guided through it, I feel comfortable practicing at home. Before I always had this fear that I would break my neck and they'd find my body weeks later, half-eaten by Leif.
After class I had to go to Target. For a legit reason, I swear! Saturday is the birthday of one of my staff members, and I wanted to get her a little something nice. I'm still working on making a good impression. I found myself just calmly winding my way around the store, feeling a deep sense of contentment and none of the usual need to rush that I feel when I'm overstimulated by the bargains and styles that Target has to offer.
When I got home and reflected on that, I realized my calm (and my better-than-usual posture) probably has a lot to do with those headstands I was doing during class. One of the benefits of Sirsasana is that it's supposed to allow you to look at the world from a different angle. Makes sense.
I don't have a whole lot of free wall space, but I may make a point of including this in my daily routine.
One other really fulfilling experience from this class came when we were working on a balancing asana and were asked to pair up with a neighbor. My neighbor was an older woman, probably in her 70's or 80's, and not in the best shape but certainly ahead of the curve compared to many women her age. It was great to work with her and share the pose with her. Our instructions were to support the arm of our partner as she brought it forward, leading her body into a forward bend as her other hand held her other foot close to the hip. I guess my partner couldn't hear the instructions very well, so I ended up talking her through the process of hugging into her core, finding her alignment, finding her balance, and coming into the pose. When she got into the pose on her stronger standing leg, it was a beautiful sight to behold. And I was there with her for the whole thing.
And my parents say they couldn't do it!
Labels: balance, beauty, gift giving, personal, yoga
