Mysore style with Sarai

When I knew I was going to visit my sister, I looked for a Mysore class. Jason Crandell was teaching a workshop the weekend I arrived in London, but we had plans to go to Amsterdam so I had to pass that. Then I saw the 20 pounds for 3 mysore classes at the yoga center. And the teacher is Sarai Harvey Smith.

I've read about her when I was checking out the Ashtanga instructors. I also knew she assisted Hamish from the Ashtanga Yoga Center London and that her credentials were awesome. I decided the pulling factors of the center with the price and location and the teacher were enough to make me sign up.

The first day I was nervous. Walked into the heated room and saw a few people already in the midst of their practice. Sarai was there, small and unassuming. I had to calm and center myself before I started my practice.

She corrected my feet placement whenever I moved from Downward Dog to Upward. I knew I had a problem with that but I didn't think it would be an issue. She corrected me by firmly adjusting my heels so they were straight instead of splaying out. It took a while of awareness while doing the poses to assert the correct placement. My lower back definitely feels the brunt.

She also corrected me on Bhujapindasana - right foot over left.

She encouraged me to jump through. Her techniques were: to spread my arms apart a little so my legs can go through, then looking ahead and when I lift up my hips (knees to my hips) I had to move forward so my shoulders go either directly above or over my wrists and then sliding my butt through. she asked me to do it again which scared me. She told me the problem was because my arms were not straight - strength in the arms. I didn't manage so she asked me to try it again. This time she asked me to lift my butt up and scoot through. It happened... just a little. I was thrilled!

She helped me in Supta Kurmasana. Lifted my feet up behind my neck. It felt sublime.

She gave me tips on Dolphin pose: to scoot my legs closer to my palms, and engage and lift my butt up high in the air to activate my core and shoulders, and to use instead the headstand hand arrangement, pressing the wrists straight down.

She helped me with the bow pose - to flare out my palms and look forward to lengthen my neck.

She said my thumbs should not be on the floor in prasarita padatosana D.

And that my knees should be straight.

Mysore style with Liz

Friday: went to a class with liz.

had the opportunity to attend her workshop before, and she was a humble, gentle and great teacher with tips on modifications. she remembered me, asked whether she's seen me before.

Her changes/adjustments: bow pose - to drop my butt or relax them so my thighs are doing the work.

she also encouraged me to do shoulderstand and plough pose everyday a little bit to introduce them into my practice instead of completely chucking it out. one day I might be able to do all the finishing asanas fully. Not that it matters.

Tuesday Yin

Last night was good satisfying practice.

I knew in my mind that I wanted to work on releasing my hips even more, been obsessed with the Firelog pose everytime I sit down. Could not even figure out where in my hips is the tightness that I can't bring my knees down. So my focus for last night was hip sequence I got from Yoga Journal.

I warmed up with 5 Surya Namaskara A and B and 1-2 standing poses. Then I went in:

High Lunge

Low Lunge

Warrior 2

Half Moon Pose - I added this myself, just because you know how much I love this pose.

Lizard pose with back knee off

Half Lord of the Fishes

Gomukhasana

Firelog Pose - I added this myself too

Half Pigeon or Low Pigeon: this one was very intense and good.

Baddha Konasana

and finally Frog Pose - this was good too.

I relished the downward dog in between. And then I worked on my back:

Sphinx

Baby Cobra

Cobra

Locust

Flying Locust

Modified Bow

Camel against the wall.

Then I used the blocks to provide that stretch in my upper back.

Love the workout. I ended it with the Puppy Pose which gives a nice stretch for my arms and then a nice Savasana.

Monday Musing

Last night was sort of a scheduled automatic practice. Nothing special about it, I got into it automatically, relishing each breath, being aware of my body, where it twinges where it pulls. My greatest glory is the strength felt in Bhujapidasana, my nemesis. Lost focus doing Garbha Pindasana, lost count. I'm a bit more flexible in the forward split...

Lately I find myself going over few asanas that I love. I happen to try to do Firelog Pose often as possible. It is just mindblowing how incredibly stiff my groin and outer hips are. My legs are not even stacked... instead they're like a half lattice pattern forming. I cannot wait for the day when it actually is stretched.

I also feel like I need to incorporate back my running into the mix. I miss doing yoga with a very warm body... and legs.

Saturday Normal

Saturday was a normal hatha class with friends. We did Half Moon Pose, Dog pike and finished it with a flourish of Bakasana. It was good, especially when I could do it perfectly. I felt bad that I let ego took over.

Monday was supposed to be a mysore style class with the group at the hotel near where I work, but was too tired last night to even comprehend having to wake up early and pack.

Will try to go either tomorrow or Wednesday.

Friday Surprise

What usually becomes a normal Intro class to me, was turned into a whole fascinating overview of the handstand instead. My teacher cheerily suggested that since there were only 2 of her regular students in class, she would change this to arm balancing poses instead. We worked on the prep to Birds of Paradise and Half Moon - which really worked me and as you all know is my absolute favorite... because I couldn't do it. I realized that I love most of the poses that I cannot do.

Then we worked on the handstand. To be honest nothing about the handstand attracted me. It's a pose I see often and most people who don't do yoga seemed one way or another to me, to be able to do it. Only once in yoga that I fully understand the complexity and the challenges of this pose. My teacher suggested that I do handstand in lieu of headstand, which I only listened to halfheartedly.

We warmed up by doing splits against the wall. Which realllly only highlight the fact that I am STIFF and not as flexible as I was when I was younger. But my splits were decent, as confirmed by my teacher. Next it was the Crazy Dog. It was pretty easy for me to do Crazy Dog because I have sort of practiced it before a few times at home, so the sensations came easy and did not scare me. Therefore, when she asked me to straighten my leg up I did it easily, and she asked me to lift both legs up, engage my abs, and then .... a handstand. I did it. For a split second I did it and then I fell, came crashing down, sloppily, on my arms, shoulders, everywhere.

The next variation she asked us to do was facing the wall, and kicking up a storm to the wall. That didn't happen. For some reason I felt that this was even more dangerous and scary than the Crazy Dog because I do not have a feel of my legs as they are transitioning from floor to wall. That is scary. I think the way I approach inversion is by having a sense of being upside down, hanging out there, getting a feel of it, and then only would I feel brave and secure enough to attempt.

So you can guess that the second variation did not happen. Also I was too stiff to be able to kick gracefully. I did a handstand using the Crazy Dog this time, and did not fall.

Love this practice... love my teacher.

Favorite Asanas

My favorite asanas:

Half Moon Pose: I love it because it challenges your balance really well. There is no other pose I think that challenges me greatly. I could feel the work it does to my standing/balancing leg and I like the fact that I am getting better with it. I feel that it is a good exercise for the mind and body as I balance better when I focus on my breathing.

Bakasana: Because I work hard for it, that's why. Still working on to holding up to ten breaths. Right now only manage to do 5... although not all the time. The angle still feels foreign to me, some days I get it some days I don't. Most of the times I only manage to stay a few seconds. Great way to build up a sweat. I love it when the pose just clicks, like when you upper back rounds and your bandha's engaged...

Puppy Pose: It really stretches and opens up my shoulders. The first few times I did it my shoulder hurts but now I just feel a nice intense stretch. I love it when my nipples hit the floor, that's when I know the stretch is deep.

Lizard Pose: Great hip opener. No other explanation on why I love this pose. Great to hang and lengthen my neck too.

Camel against the wall: Working slowly to get this backbend.

Firelog Pose: My favorite, although just been introduced to it last week. Will work on this a little bit more. My knees are too stiff!

Wednesday usuals

As usual, LED Primary was good. I tried to focus on my breathing but did not somehow get to concentrate much. Bhujapidasa was ok, not worse, but could be better. At one point I could feel the jump back happening, but did not deliver to the end. I could feel the result of working on the Lolasana though. This time my Garbha Pidasana was better, but still forgot to count how many times I rolled. My Upavistha Konasana has improved. My backbend has improved!

I did Chakrasana, but still too scared to do Setu Bandhasana. Wheel still hurts... can't wait till it becomes easier.

Yin class was good. We did lots of hip opening poses, of which I did the night before. The teacher said it's too work on the spleen and stomach meridian. We did Lizards pose, low pigeon - or sleeping swan pose. And a variation of bent legs and lay back all the way. Feels good.

Now I'm in need of a gooood back - upper back - massage.

Tuesday Hip openers

Tuesday Yoga was fun. But I wish I had worked up the sequence before, saves time and effort of looking at the books mid pose.

I did the Surya Namaskara A and B (5 and 3 respectively), and all the standing positions in Primary. I like this idea of still working on Primary without actually working on Primary, if you get what I mean. A nice prep for my maybe future 6-days a week practice.

Then I started with bits and pieces from home practice:

downward dog (5 br)

triangle, dd

bound side angle, dd

locust, dd

half moon

king dancer

downward dog

then working on hip release:

crescent lunge,

lizards pose,

rock the baby,

thread the needle (hip version)

pigeon pose

angie's yoga pose, where the shins are on top of each other and I lean forward. that feels good.

Working on alignment next, basic twists and roll up and happy baby.

Then backbend prep:

sphinx

baby cobra

full cobra

locust

flying locust

camel against the wall

then upper back arch on a chair.

It was then I started to feel realllly dizzy. I feel like puking.

Savasana. Nevertheless, it was good work.

Strong Monday

Monday felt lethargic.

I contemplated whether to practice or not. Thinking of the Lolasanas and the jump backs and the Surya Namaskaras. I lolled around with my husband watching the television, all the while looking at the clock, knowing that if I'd started just now I'd be halfway done by now.

I started at 8, not too late, not too early either (of course, I would like to practice in the morning but...) While doing Surya B I told myself to do just 3 rounds of that but I could not afford to have halfway warmed up leg muscles. God only knows how tight my inner thighs are. This time my downward dog and chaturanggas were harder - I kept my awareness on them to see how I progressed. Sometimes I faltered and my Upward dog became just a push up. My elbows splayed to the sides sometimes. Still not strong enough.

Inner left knee still has remnants of the pain, but after some rotation (inner? external?) it dissipated. I found out that I enjoy putting my head down in Prasarita Padottasanas, eventhough my legs have to be seriously wide when I do them. Despite Utthita Hasta Padanghustasana being my least favorite asana to do my legs are stronger because of them everyday. My Ardha Baddha Padmottasana felt VERY stable, surprisingly. I was very pleased. It's hardly ever I feel secured and rooted to the ground with one leg in lotus!

My Bhujapidasana was more grounded, thanks to the arm strength. My Garbha Pindasana was rooky, my rolling not so high as before, more haphazard. Perhaps it reflects my state of mind? Urdvha Dhanurasana still hurts, but I managed. I was sad that I could never do Urdvha Padmasana ever... but I let it go. Practiced the Dolphin and headstand variations. Tolasana, of course, was amazing.

It was a good practice. Can't wait to do simple yoga tonight. On the menu: Camel, Half Moon, Side Plank, Lolasana.

Estatic Practice

How do I start:

Thursday: Did not do any yoga. Body felt lethargic, I was down with the flu and cough, and just needed a rest.

Friday: Felt reallly sluggish, but dragged myself to Intro class. I think I took it easy that class, did not really push myself in all the poses. I did practice though on the new jump back style the teacher taught us, some sort of hooking one leg on your upper arm and swivel your legs back thing. It feels easier than the traditional jump back though. I'm really excited about

backbends. The teacher focused mostly on backbends especially the variation where you sort of slide your body back into a bend against a wall. I'm slowly working on that so I could feel an improvement, even in milicm. I could do my UrdvhaDhanurasana longer - 5 breaths 3 times even though it's painfully long but I managed to hold. So I could see an improvement in my backbend.

The best part came in my second class - some sort of an advanced class with arms balancing and inversions. That class is crazy! We were required to do double and triple chaturanggas for each sun salutations. And each sun salutations have their own variations - we did Camatkarasana (Wild Thing) which is one f my favorites, probably because I came across a translation to its name: "the ecstatic unfolding of the enraptured heart." Isn't that wonderful? I fell in love with the pose immediately, nevermind if I knew how to do that. But I was adamant to nail it, or at least half of it. And I did. Didn't manage to drop to a Wheel, but needless to say I fully embraced the meaning of the pose: I was estatic! Oher cool poses: Birds of Paradise, and Reverse Birds of Paradise. They were cool. Challenging, but great nevertheless.

One thing that I learned on that day other than that advanced class wasn't to 'intimidating' was the alignment - or misalignment - of my palms on the mat. No wonder my palms were not flat... my index finger sometimes isn't pointintg straight forward, in fact I realized that due to my spreading my palms out wide the index fingers sort of point towards each other insteadof straight forward. I spent most of the class staring down to my mat in amazement.

Saturday: Refresher yoga with our favorite yoga teacher. We did Side Plank which I nailed and also some sort of a hip opener, which I failed. I'm going to work on these poses to open more of my hip and adductor.

Wednesday Mayhem

Skipped yoga on Tuesday. Body felt too tired to even move. was glad for the rest and fully enjoyed it. Felt guilty maybe for a bit, the morning after, but was comforted with the thought of having a full practice and a yin yoga later on.

Wednesday practice was good. It went okay, for most times I was able to focus on my breathing, counting out the discomfort. I am happy that I remember most of the poses, thanks to regular practice. Nothing was especially harder or a struggle, and bhujapidasana felt ok. I struggled a little bit on Utthita Eka Padasana of course, they were so hard that day I do not know why. Finishing was always Viparita Karani.

Yin was crazyy! It was a mixture of gentle pull and relaxing. I almost fell asleep in most poses until drool was coming out from the corner of my mouth! Aptly so, as we were mostly doing relaxing sequences.

Normal yoga today. Yay!

Monday Full

I do not know what to make of this practice that wasn't said before. It was good, although for a brief moment I felt too lazy to finish. I literally felt that this is it - I'm done with ashtanga - I'm tired of suffering from injuries and being scared to suffer more coming injuries. I felt it in the forward bends, in my inner right knee. I've read about it, but there's nothing you could do except to ease off the posture. The stiffness of my hamstring just right below my butt. Feel it there too. My rotator cuff, as always, the elusive heartbreaker. sometimes there, sometimes not, but for sure, will always be there.

Was more aware on the palms. Made sure they were at least fairly flat. It was hard work, suffered doing the push up, and it was harder than ever, to be consciously aware of pressing my palms flat at the same time lifting up. I tell myself all this work is for a good bhujapidasana.

I have also let go of my attachment to the finishing sequence. As I evolve along the ashtanga practice, my priorities on it changed. I was into mastering jumpback, now not so, into mastering headstand, will never be so, then now I'm all into the after effect of doing ashtanga... like running does to me.

3 days of practice

Thursday: Light and easy yoga

I did a sequence of home practice, doing locust, warrior three, half moon pose and a slew of easy backbends to open up my upper back. I've also started on light breathing exercises. This excites me because I love how grounded and calm I feel after each breathing exercises.

Friday: Intro classAnother good class, this time I feel more relaxed, but was worked hard.

We went through the customary poses, but skipped janus up till mary D. Did navasana, then skipped up till Upavistha Konasana. Of course I failed the calf landing vinyasa but that's hardly my worries. I was happy I could keep to my breathing and enjoy the poses. We did the wheel pose and also Wheel prep against the wall, and I found myself getting a *tad* better in backbends. I'm happy with the progress although the whole process still kills me everytime. I also find that I miss working out in the morning. There's nothing better than having a huge endorphin rush earlier on to make your whole day feels a little bit better.

Body awareness today: noticed that my palms are not completely flat whenever I do Chaturangga. In fact, they kind of lean heavily towards the outer palms leaving the innermost side (the pad where the thumb and index finger meets) sort of gaping. This is bad for my wrists. Doing this further and further will hurt my wrists as it's not the proper alignment. I am working on putting awareness on that region everytime I do chaturanga from now on.

Sunday: Woke up to do a full primary but towards the end of standing postures I do not feel good. Not exhausted or tired... just a does-not-feel-good kind of feeling. I realized that it's my third day of menstruation, and I definitely did not feel any stronger to continue. I ended my practice with a super chill Savasana.

Looking forward to a Monday full.