I have got to pay better attention. I think I was the only one at Mysore this morning who didn’t know that we were on a later schedule because of the holiday, so I was so confused when people were coming in after I got there at 7:20 am. (Frankly, too, I was late for how long I thought I needed to practice if I were going to be done by 8:00 am!) Anyway, it’s a good thing because I didn’t finish my practice until 8:10 or 8:15!
As usual, Sun Salutation B was a total chore. I have to keep reminding myself, “I didn’t come here to be lazy!” I lost count, but figured that as usual, the repetition of B during which I started to sweat must be the fourth. I had no clues that this would be a spectacular practice for me!
Everything was just going as it should – the usual attempts to flex and achieve the poses – but during the wide angles, I started to feel some improvements on earlier practices. During A, I was able to put my palms flat on the ground and push myself deeper into the pose. (Usually I can get my fingers on the ground and maybe even start to lay my fingers flat, but this was easily my fingers and whole palms.) During C, Instructor B came over to push my torso forward and my arms up and over my head. (Still, I had trouble reaching my toes completely for D.)
It was when I got to the seated forward bends that another significant improvement showed through. Instructor B saw that I’d caught strong hold of the sides of my foot (which I normally am barely able to do, if at all). He came up, muttering happily, “It’s time for more poses; it’s time to go deeper!” He pushed forward on my back, allowing me suddenly to get an even better grip on my feet, which I took and could hold. It was the farthest I’d ever gotten into that pose, and it felt good, like I was doing it right, and not at all “far.”
For the second day in a row, I felt very strong during the vinyasas. I think a lot has to do with the contrast between my arm strength in those first guided Ashtanga classes I was coming back to yoga and my arm strength three weeks into Mysore. Did you get your tickets to the gun show?
I told Instructor B that I was going on vacation for a week – (I plan to practice while I’m away, but I’m not certain that I’ll be able to post daily) – and asked if I should add on two poses today. He said yes and gave me both janu sirsusana B and C. I was enjoying the commentary and explanations on both of them. For B, he was trying to explain where my heel should go (but I already knew it was supposed to go under the perineum). He said, “We don’t like to talk about this, but it goes between your genitals.” Through the force of maturity or yoga, I don’t know, but I did not laugh. Then for C, I put my feet in place and felt like I was going to break a toe off with my weight. I didn’t say anything though, and he said, “If you feel like your toes are breaking, you’re doing it right.” Oh good! I’m doing it right!
I wrapped up, and got a few parting words of advice during Utpluthee (Name of Which I Know But Am Not Sure How to Pronounce) to bring my arms forward a bit and lift my knees, which then immediately engaged my core about 100% more than it was before. Instructor B said, “Weight forward, knees up, engage that core – that’s all I ask.” I said, “Is that it?” (You know, as I literally trembled in my skin from the effort. I should have been breathing, not working on my not-so-pithy comebacks.) And finally, savasana, and I did feel the benefits of my practice throughout my body. What a great practice to end on before a vacation – it’s real motivation to keep going even while I’m away.
