Last Saturday I went for 2 classes. The first was a gentle hatha class that incorporates breathing, gentle stretching exercises and tons of intention settings and self affirmations. I was in an upset mode when I arrived; and the teacher's gentle undulating voice and tone and made me feel like the sadness was washing all over me like waves and water. There is nothing I can do but except that this is what is happening in my life. I have to acknowledge this sadness, and think on how I want to deal with this. I need to evaluate why this upsets me so much. The asanas were simple; table, purvottasana, gentle downward dog against the wall. She had me in an assisted handstand. But at the end it was just sitting against the wall and it went for long minutes and I just felt sad, so sad. I felt like crying.
The second class was fun. As usual it was Birds of Paradise and Reverse Birds of Paradise, which I love! Love it as much as Half Moon Pose. I love the balancing aspect of it. I noticed how much better I am at standing and balancing pose, that even when I stumble my foot manages to root my whole self steadily again. The triple chaturanggas dont even hurt at all now, and it feels so easy to do!
I also did eka raja pada kapotasana! my other hand barely managed to grasp my foot but it held... even for a few seconds. You need to have a really warmed up back for this. We started with mermaid's pose. I could do tripod but not the headstand variation.
I woke up today with my whole body aching. My uppder back!! and butt and abs. Ohh the agony... the pleasure.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Happy Baby
I skipped Wednesday practice because I came back home late and had to go to work early. No way out for me.
Last week I was dedicated. And it felt good. This week, I did only Monday and this morning. But this morning's practice was good. A little bit scattered... I noticed my focus and attention weren't really 100% good, at some parts my attention waned, my mind wandered off. It was obvious when I did Garbha Pindasana, the rolls weren't flowing as freely as it often did. My breathing wasn't really ujayyi at certain times. I found myself working through my inner turmoils, letting my mind wander to certain circles of issues I do not allow myself to think about on normal days, normal hours. Right then in the practice they resurfaced. Little things, random things too, popped through my awareness, saying their hellos.
I enjoyed the practice nevertheless. Would have loved to have a longer Urdhva dhanurasana but it was good enough.
I have missed doing classes online! Can't wait to get the connection for it.
My Chaturanga 'shoulder's don't even feel sore AT ALL anymore. It's like, why were they ever hurting again?? I feel like the problems of sore shoulder were in a distant past. I do though, still keep an eye on my lowering of the body just so it doesn't dip any lower than it should. I am also trying to make my shoulders move down and away from the ears when I dip. I do not know whether I do that but sometimes I have sore neck and I wonder maybe I've been hunching them involuntarily.
I am grateful for today's practice.
Last week I was dedicated. And it felt good. This week, I did only Monday and this morning. But this morning's practice was good. A little bit scattered... I noticed my focus and attention weren't really 100% good, at some parts my attention waned, my mind wandered off. It was obvious when I did Garbha Pindasana, the rolls weren't flowing as freely as it often did. My breathing wasn't really ujayyi at certain times. I found myself working through my inner turmoils, letting my mind wander to certain circles of issues I do not allow myself to think about on normal days, normal hours. Right then in the practice they resurfaced. Little things, random things too, popped through my awareness, saying their hellos.
I enjoyed the practice nevertheless. Would have loved to have a longer Urdhva dhanurasana but it was good enough.
I have missed doing classes online! Can't wait to get the connection for it.
My Chaturanga 'shoulder's don't even feel sore AT ALL anymore. It's like, why were they ever hurting again?? I feel like the problems of sore shoulder were in a distant past. I do though, still keep an eye on my lowering of the body just so it doesn't dip any lower than it should. I am also trying to make my shoulders move down and away from the ears when I dip. I do not know whether I do that but sometimes I have sore neck and I wonder maybe I've been hunching them involuntarily.
I am grateful for today's practice.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Pain free Chaturanga
Progress on yoga has been slow, but steady.
Have I mentioned the breakthrough I made based on last Friday's primary practice? I was reading up on the proper chaturanga alignment because my shoulders were killing me and I could sense the rate of degradation they are facing. So with the help of several googled articles and yoga journal's invaluable alignment articles, I learned how to really set my body up for chaturangga. Of course, Im no yoga teacher, therefore might need proper tweaks to make it 'perfect'.
But, the MOST OBVIOUS sign that I am doing chaturanga better is that the front of my shoulders do not hurt anymore! What an amazing discovery. Ever since I started ashtanga yoga the front of my shoulders have been taking the brunt. And it's amazing that I keep abusing it week after week and not really give a damn, or not caring enough to do something about it. I have read that if you activate the right chaturanga muscles, the front of your shoulders shouldn't hurt, while your serratus anterior and all the back muscles would feel it.
Friday I was adamant to work on my chaturanga. And what I realized that all these while, even though I am aware I should NOT do it, I was lowering my shoulders below my elbow, making the angle to be less of 90 degrees as chaturanga envisions us to be. I am suprised when I finally figured it out as I always thought my shoulder don't dip but I still feel it in my shoulders the very next day. But that Friday I was surprised to find out that I have been going down lower than I should be. And for the whole primary series I spent my chaturanga looking either to my right or left shoulder to make sure it is not going down below my elbow.
And the next day - my upper back hurts! Well, good sore, but still. It literally means i've been activating them as I should. There is no soreness on my shoulders, which feels amazing! And it ONLY took me a year to figure this out -___-.
Sunday was spent anchoring my proper chaturanga alignment, sort of imprinting the muscle memory. I admit it is hard work, making me dread the vinyasas a little bit more, but that's the beauty of primary series. I find that suffering or working through difficulties of a pose to get it right makes it so much easier and better. I remember when chaturanga with my knees off were horrible.
Hatha today!
Have I mentioned the breakthrough I made based on last Friday's primary practice? I was reading up on the proper chaturanga alignment because my shoulders were killing me and I could sense the rate of degradation they are facing. So with the help of several googled articles and yoga journal's invaluable alignment articles, I learned how to really set my body up for chaturangga. Of course, Im no yoga teacher, therefore might need proper tweaks to make it 'perfect'.
But, the MOST OBVIOUS sign that I am doing chaturanga better is that the front of my shoulders do not hurt anymore! What an amazing discovery. Ever since I started ashtanga yoga the front of my shoulders have been taking the brunt. And it's amazing that I keep abusing it week after week and not really give a damn, or not caring enough to do something about it. I have read that if you activate the right chaturanga muscles, the front of your shoulders shouldn't hurt, while your serratus anterior and all the back muscles would feel it.
Friday I was adamant to work on my chaturanga. And what I realized that all these while, even though I am aware I should NOT do it, I was lowering my shoulders below my elbow, making the angle to be less of 90 degrees as chaturanga envisions us to be. I am suprised when I finally figured it out as I always thought my shoulder don't dip but I still feel it in my shoulders the very next day. But that Friday I was surprised to find out that I have been going down lower than I should be. And for the whole primary series I spent my chaturanga looking either to my right or left shoulder to make sure it is not going down below my elbow.
And the next day - my upper back hurts! Well, good sore, but still. It literally means i've been activating them as I should. There is no soreness on my shoulders, which feels amazing! And it ONLY took me a year to figure this out -___-.
Sunday was spent anchoring my proper chaturanga alignment, sort of imprinting the muscle memory. I admit it is hard work, making me dread the vinyasas a little bit more, but that's the beauty of primary series. I find that suffering or working through difficulties of a pose to get it right makes it so much easier and better. I remember when chaturanga with my knees off were horrible.
Hatha today!
Thursday, September 13, 2012
neck pain - again
I feel great this morning.
Went for a warm up run of 1.5km, just to heat my body up. And then ASHTANGA!
It was good, except my neck feels weird. Serves me right for overriding my HUMILITY and letting EGO took over. I did unsupported headstands yesterday night and after 4 tries my neck started to take the heat. And right now all I feel is pain and pain going down my left neck and shoulder.
When will I ever learn? I CAN NEVER DO HEADSTANDS anymore. I need to be okay with just pincha and handstands as my inversion.
Anyway, this was a normal, not deeply rooted practice. I guess this is more for routine and habit than feeling.
Went for a warm up run of 1.5km, just to heat my body up. And then ASHTANGA!
It was good, except my neck feels weird. Serves me right for overriding my HUMILITY and letting EGO took over. I did unsupported headstands yesterday night and after 4 tries my neck started to take the heat. And right now all I feel is pain and pain going down my left neck and shoulder.
When will I ever learn? I CAN NEVER DO HEADSTANDS anymore. I need to be okay with just pincha and handstands as my inversion.
Anyway, this was a normal, not deeply rooted practice. I guess this is more for routine and habit than feeling.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Intro to Home Practice
I want to talk about my home practice.
I can't remember why I felt like starting a home practice, but I remember feeling like I must. I've just started ashtanga, and loving it, and then my teacher dropped the news that she's taking a months off to travel. Naturally I was devastated. After ashtanga I've sort of stopped my other exercises - running, swimming and cycling - and they couldn't really compare to the feeling I feel everytime I practice. At that time I was somewhat in between memorizing the poses, still had to refer. In a whim I bought a cheap intro to ashtanga book that I love until NOW to sort of guide me into doing a home practice. The rest is history.
I guess the reason it was easy for me to start - and sustain - the home practice is because I'm really anal about my work outs. I lead a tightly disciplined view in keeping my workout. I used to have a workout schedule and would slot in 'missed' running days or cycling hours. The discipline wasn't really hard for me, in fact, I have to do the opposite to try not to let myself get too attached to the whole 'practice' of the physical yoga. So motivation wasn't really hard.
The next is passion. When I discovered ashtanga, or just yoga in particular, I fell hard. I love how it connects both body, mind and soul, and also it teaches me a lot on alignment, body anatomy, and just how your body works in general. I love how on days when your mind is scattered your balance poses are off. I also love the non-attachment behind yoga. I love the discipline, the humility. It was all so different from the show-off attitude you must have in the sport of triathlons.
The area where I practice is at the space on the second floor where the computer is at. It's a tiny space, with a sofa against the wall, but it was goood enough. For poses like Supta Padanghustasana and its sidekicks I have to scoot left and right to give space to my descending leg. But other than that it was a good place to practice. It's always warm so the humidity gives me a good sweating. The only thing lacking was wall space but I managed to find a tiny area where I could practice my headstands, pincha and handstands in peace.
For props I just bought 3 blocks. I used pillows as bolsters and the computer chair when needed. Straps were pretty easy - towels or belts.
My practice is usually done every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I keep Tuesday and Thursdays for my normal Hatha practice... usually poses I love and would try to master, backbends, mostly restorative stuff. Right now it's a bit mixed up with the schedule but I try not to be to crazy about it.
The best thing about a home practice is that it's my time. My space, my practice. I don't have to care about anyone else or worry. I also do not have the ugly tendency to show off, which I absolutely hate but still get the feeling of anyway. If I had a good practice the pride is all mine and I keep it to myself. It's different when I do a mysore and I get caught up with what the others are doing or feel chuffed that my twist is deeper than others. It is an unsettling feeling.
I also love the fact that I could sometimes practice wearing nothing but my underwear on. :)
That being said, there's also the beautiful thing about mysore style practice. The 6 days I did with the visiting teacher in fact, taught me a LOT. Really changed and improved my practice. I nailed certain poses I never had the guts to try, I learned new stuff, and implemented some tips and tricks to my practice. When she left I was a little bit blue.
Well that was lengthy wasn't it. I guess I always wanted to document the start of my journey into ashtanga but never got the time. Well. glad I had time.
I can't remember why I felt like starting a home practice, but I remember feeling like I must. I've just started ashtanga, and loving it, and then my teacher dropped the news that she's taking a months off to travel. Naturally I was devastated. After ashtanga I've sort of stopped my other exercises - running, swimming and cycling - and they couldn't really compare to the feeling I feel everytime I practice. At that time I was somewhat in between memorizing the poses, still had to refer. In a whim I bought a cheap intro to ashtanga book that I love until NOW to sort of guide me into doing a home practice. The rest is history.
I guess the reason it was easy for me to start - and sustain - the home practice is because I'm really anal about my work outs. I lead a tightly disciplined view in keeping my workout. I used to have a workout schedule and would slot in 'missed' running days or cycling hours. The discipline wasn't really hard for me, in fact, I have to do the opposite to try not to let myself get too attached to the whole 'practice' of the physical yoga. So motivation wasn't really hard.
The next is passion. When I discovered ashtanga, or just yoga in particular, I fell hard. I love how it connects both body, mind and soul, and also it teaches me a lot on alignment, body anatomy, and just how your body works in general. I love how on days when your mind is scattered your balance poses are off. I also love the non-attachment behind yoga. I love the discipline, the humility. It was all so different from the show-off attitude you must have in the sport of triathlons.
The area where I practice is at the space on the second floor where the computer is at. It's a tiny space, with a sofa against the wall, but it was goood enough. For poses like Supta Padanghustasana and its sidekicks I have to scoot left and right to give space to my descending leg. But other than that it was a good place to practice. It's always warm so the humidity gives me a good sweating. The only thing lacking was wall space but I managed to find a tiny area where I could practice my headstands, pincha and handstands in peace.
For props I just bought 3 blocks. I used pillows as bolsters and the computer chair when needed. Straps were pretty easy - towels or belts.
My practice is usually done every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I keep Tuesday and Thursdays for my normal Hatha practice... usually poses I love and would try to master, backbends, mostly restorative stuff. Right now it's a bit mixed up with the schedule but I try not to be to crazy about it.
The best thing about a home practice is that it's my time. My space, my practice. I don't have to care about anyone else or worry. I also do not have the ugly tendency to show off, which I absolutely hate but still get the feeling of anyway. If I had a good practice the pride is all mine and I keep it to myself. It's different when I do a mysore and I get caught up with what the others are doing or feel chuffed that my twist is deeper than others. It is an unsettling feeling.
I also love the fact that I could sometimes practice wearing nothing but my underwear on. :)
That being said, there's also the beautiful thing about mysore style practice. The 6 days I did with the visiting teacher in fact, taught me a LOT. Really changed and improved my practice. I nailed certain poses I never had the guts to try, I learned new stuff, and implemented some tips and tricks to my practice. When she left I was a little bit blue.
Well that was lengthy wasn't it. I guess I always wanted to document the start of my journey into ashtanga but never got the time. Well. glad I had time.
home pracice
I did something I've never done before: pummeled and ploughed my way through an ashtanga practice.
I did it in 60 minutes. Started at 615, and finished at exactly 715... after shavasana.
I just knew it, KNEW it, that I needed the practice. And time was running out, but I was adamant. I want to do a full practice, even with the vinyasa. and the only way I knew how without compromising the integrity of the practice is to do it in a non-stop flowy way, without taking the time to move slowly and enjoying the transition. Oh I still enjoy the whole practice. In fact, the ujjayi breathing was still present, and drishti were 60% there. But it was just so good for my body and mind.
I thought I was pregnant. But I don't know. Hope is still there but it might not be. So without really putting much thought into it I did the full primary even with the unmodified marichyasana series. The practice a few days back I was doing the modified mary series - Mary C and D the opposite way.
It was good, and I enjoyed the practice... tiring but it was because I was pushing it. My bhuja still sucks. Need to get back into the early morning post.
I did it in 60 minutes. Started at 615, and finished at exactly 715... after shavasana.
I just knew it, KNEW it, that I needed the practice. And time was running out, but I was adamant. I want to do a full practice, even with the vinyasa. and the only way I knew how without compromising the integrity of the practice is to do it in a non-stop flowy way, without taking the time to move slowly and enjoying the transition. Oh I still enjoy the whole practice. In fact, the ujjayi breathing was still present, and drishti were 60% there. But it was just so good for my body and mind.
I thought I was pregnant. But I don't know. Hope is still there but it might not be. So without really putting much thought into it I did the full primary even with the unmodified marichyasana series. The practice a few days back I was doing the modified mary series - Mary C and D the opposite way.
It was good, and I enjoyed the practice... tiring but it was because I was pushing it. My bhuja still sucks. Need to get back into the early morning post.
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