This week's multimedia selection is Audio Archives of Tara Brach's Dharma talks at the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW) here in Washington, DC. Each week there is a 40-60 minute talk about practicing Buddhism in the modern world, and then Tara leads the group in a 20-25 minute meditation. I've listened to several of these talks, and they are outstanding, insightful pieces of devotional thought. I come from a Protestant church tradition, my father was a pastor and I have heard a few sermons in my day. But Tara is not preaching. She has an intimate tone of voice that draws you into the narrative. It's almost as if she is talking to you over the breakfast table, even though she is addressing hundreds of people. Her cadence and timber prepare you for the formal meditation that follows.
Tara Brach is the founder and senior teacher at IMCW. She wrote Radical Acceptance — Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha (Bantam Dell, 2003). I read the book a few months ago, and had been meaning to put up some comments about it. The book is a dialogue between her practice as a psychotherapist and the wisdom that comes from Buddhist Dharma. Although her patients' life stories provide many opportunities for insight into the human condition, she also draws on her own experiences. I found a lot of useful ways of looking at life's dramas and tragedies. The "radical acceptance" that Brach is talking about is the act of freeing ourselves from the self-inflicted pain of feeling that there is something wrong with us (rather than use the "royal we," I should probably speak in the first person). This is more simply said that done, which is why Brach needs a whole book to just scratch the surface. This issue is one of my own personal traumas -- a deep sense of inadequacy, lack of self-worth and self-esteem, all of which poison my experience. I find myself being pulled back to re-read sections and chapters to review key points to her calm grasp of what it means to be human and how to get beyond the trap of human suffering to live life to its fullest potential.
So you can listen to audio files or read the book, either way you'll appreciate the reassuring message of hope.
Labels: meditation, reading, videos
Today's Wall Street Journal published Yoga Bears: It's No Stretch to Say Traders Are Taking Deep Breaths on the front page. The article explains how financiers, traders and hedge fund managers are seeking refuge in yoga:
Yoga, of course, has been growing in popularity for years in the West. The magazine Yoga Journal estimates that about 15.8 million people in the U.S., or 7% of adults, now practice it. Today, studios and private teachers in New York and London report increasing demand from financiers. Allianz SE's Pacific Investment Management Co., D.E. Shaw & Co. and Karsch Capital are among the companies playing host to yoga classes.
Of course, the article is sprinkled with dollars figures about assets and total yearly sales, as appropriate for a business publication, but it does provide a glimpse of how one slice of the market is reconsidering yoga. Apparently, some clients find it hard to chant aum, but every yogi modifies the practice to his/her own needs and skills. In effect, these heavy payers are subsidizing yoga as a viable option in the US market.
Leslie Kaminoff at e-Sutra spotted the article first, so a tip of the hat to him.
Labels: life style, news
I've been taking some class of Forest Yoga from Christine Peterson at Thrive Yoga. So I was bouncing around my usual surfing points and came across an audio interview with Ana Forest herself at Yoga Peeps. I listened and was impressed by her life story and attitude towards yoga (I was already impressed by her yoga performances). She is exploring the depth of yoga by bringing the optics from her Native American heritage and her own physical handicaps:
"What I've been found, no matter what age we are, we can build healthy muscle tissue or we can rot. And the choice is always ours. And I'm not into rot."
Forest Yoga classes are intense and physically demanding, focused on physical core strength and body integrity. They hurt, but I know that they target areas that I need to strengthen to get to the next level. I find it a nice counterbalance to vinyasa classes that emphasize ease of movement, balance and flexibility. There are not many instructors that are certified to teach Forest Yoga, so probably the easy way to incorporate some of her techniques is to her DVD Strength & Spirit at her website. If you want to read articles and interviews, she has an exhaustive selection.
Labels: life style, practice, teachers
For the past week, I have been concentrating on getting priority tasks done at home. They had been piling up since I got back from Spain, and I really needed to focus on them. I had to force myself over and through some mental obstacles. That's why I have not been posting here, even though I have more to say about the Rumbaugh workshop.
It's now undeniable that I have a gimpy knee. It has been bothering me for the past week, with no improvement, so it will be hanging around for months to come. I don't even know when it happened. There was no sharp pain from injury, no sign of tearing a ligament. I just woke up after the Rumbaugh workshop and had a pain in my right knee. Now, it is a steady problem and I walk with a limp, with stiffness and tenderness above the kneecap. I don't see or feel any swelling. The right side is my least flexible. It's frustrating because I had not been trying to force myself in Lotus or anything crazy. I have a sneaking suspicion that my condition is due to a realignment of my leg muscles (quads and hamstrings), which resulted in new cartilage in my knee being rubbed and it's caused inflammation. This is probably connected with my overpronation, poor mechanics and excessive sitting.
This injury means that I will not be running or jogging for some time. I will try to get my aerobic exercise at the gym on an elliptical trainer or stationary bike. I have kept up with my yoga, getting in two sessions of Forest Yoga at Thrive. The injury does not affect me in most vinyasas, and I am careful in any pose that stresses the knee.
Dr. Dean Ornish says your genes are not your fate and in a short 3 minute excerpt of his presentation shows how you can influence your genes and your ability to fight off disease and aging:
Dr Ornish also explained the impact on America's killer diet, as well as it impact on chronic diseases like heart disease and obesity. Dr. Ornish did research that showed that changes in life style were effective in dealing with these diseases, perhaps even more than medication or surgery. His TED bio page and links to other presentations. He founded the Preventive Medicine Research Institute (PMRI) and has published several books about his research. He was talking about yoga and meditation as health boosts back in the late 80s before it gained a foothold in the American mainstream.
I did not go into the workshop with Desiree Rumbaugh with any special expectations, aside from that of knowing that an excellent instructor would be guiding the process and a group of yogis would energize the environment. I saw the occasion as a mid-term evaluation about how my practice has been maturing since my last workshop. I wanted to see how the work invested on the mat has paid off. So I pick up where I left off yesterday.
Thrive Yoga's Dave Bowen gets a taste of Desiree's adjustment of wheel pose.
Fourth Finding: The day after the workshop was over, I felt really fatigued, my whole body burnt out. I pampered myself and did not try to do any yoga or exercise except for my walks to and from the Metro, a couple of miles. I felt sore as if I'd really gone through an extreme physical ordeal. I was especially sore and stiff in my hips and shoulders, thighs and arms. Curiously, my knees hurts when I walked, as if I might be a risk of tweaking a tendon. Throughout the weekend, I had been probing my edges and it was natural that my body should feel the strain. At my age (two months short of 59), the energy reserves are shallower, the recovery capacity is slower and the need for healing is more pronounced. But it took me a while to realize that this sensation is really a kind of muscle memory of all the poses that I did and the new edges established. I stop, focus in on my aches and pains, and sense what muscles involved, and then I feel myself drawn into alignment and something lights up inside me.
Desiree stands back in awe, watching Christine Peterson
(you can tell she's a Forest Yoga buff because she uses gloves)
settle into Diving Osprey pose.
Fifth Finding: yoga is an experimental, experiential science. It is a sophisticated universe of knowledge about the body, mind, spirit, energy and their complex interrelation, which has been accumulated, filtered, refined, and aged over millenia. But the application of this knowledge system on the body and mind is left to the individual practitioner. Desiree said that you can tell when a yogi is advanced because they take their time getting into poses. It almost looks as if they were practicing in slow motion. That's because they are observing and parsing all the information coming back from the far reaches of their limbs with scientific rigor: how do the muscles feel, have they reached their edge, is there a risk in pushing beyond the edge, do I feel at ease, can I dwell in stillness in the pose, how can I get out of this knot, what emotions and energies are released by this pose, what am I revealing about my mind or spirit in this vulnerable pose and so on. A beginner will zip through the vinyasa, and in and out of poses, as if he/she is sprinting to a finish line. The intermediate yogis are the ones who get themselves injured, Desiree pointed out, because they are pushing recklessly beyond what is physically safe and worth the risk for the practice. She admitted that she was guilty of this excess in her early years, and her current skills at practicing advanced poses and assisting others to learn yoga were acquired through painful mistakes and the need to heal and avert them in the future. She got really amped up when people started asking questions or giving insights that showed that they were paying attention to the details. The workshop drew a pretty experienced crowd of yogis, but we went over the details of the poses as if we were all beginners.
Thrive Yoga's Lisa Johnson turns inward in Eight-Angle pose (Astavakrasana).
Sixth Finding: Anusara yoga practitioners have their opening invocation "Om namah shivaya gurave..." that starts each session, and then there's the mantra that they repeat for every pose: "Shins press towards the mid-line, thighs spiral in and back, the sit bones widen, the tail bone tucks into the space made by the blossoming of the hips..." The Universal Principles of Alignment are the guidelines that John Friend laid down to unify all the yoga practices and poses across multiple lineages and traditions. Desiree repeated the instructions over and over again, and then came back to them, again and again. But I never found this repetitious or boring. Even though the instructions are similar, each pose opens a different gateway into the body. And since your body is changing in the process, each time you approach a pose, the experience is going to be unique. You can be practicing mountain pose or a complicated arm balance, and the same attitude and approach apply.
The reward of sweat
Seventh Finding: at any time during the workshop, I'd look up and see yogis and yoginis, teachers and students doing their stuff, and all of them were bumping into what seemed to be their own bodies'limits. Desiree would come up and apply pressure with a hand or knee on a specific area and show that it was merely a false floor, that there was space beyond that faux boundary. Desiree was asked about the ideas of some yoga teachers, like Paul Grilley, who make a point of highlighting the anatomical limits that exist in all people, and may be quite different, the conclusion being that you should not ask students to go beyond their physical limits. Desiree said, however, that Anusara celebrates freedom of yoga (as opposed to anatomical limits) and that each individual should assume ownership of his or her own body and take it as far as they can.
Labels: blessing, core, hips, milestone, shoulders, workshop
Desiree Rumbaugh
Anusara Yoga teacher
I wanted to sketch out some ideas about the Desiree Rumbaugh workshop at Thrive Yoga this weekend. You would think that 13 hours of yoga spread over three days would generate a lot of grist for the mill, but there's been little opportunity to clarify my mind. Friday night after the first two-hour session, I was involved in family affairs (my mother-in-law arrived from New York City and daughter spent the night on her way to Philadelphia for the weekend.) until late.
Last night, I went straight home and ate anything to give me some quick energy. I thought about doing something useful, but I was too tired to write anything about the workshop. In the end, I went to bed. The next morning, I dragged myself out of bed, served myself a bagel and a cup of coffee and made it to the studio by 8:45. I wondered if I had made the right decision: my hips, thighs and calves were all stiff and felt like dead weight. I felt flat and a bit burned out. But once the yoga started moving my limbs, my energy got better. By the end of the last session (Yoga Therapy), all I could think of was to get more fuel into my system.
Kathy Donnelly, Desiree Rumbaugh, Suzie Hurley and Susan Bowen welcomeall the Anusara aficianados to the first night of the workshop.
First finding: all-day yoga workshops make it hard to get adequate meals. I did not want to overeat at breakfast and lunch for fear that it would interfere with the yoga. But all the energy consumed during the sessions means that a late dinner just makes you want to go to bed. If I had taken just one session a day, it would not have made much of a difference, but double sessions are grueling.
Second finding: Anusara yoga has a strong foothold in the DC area. Desiree drew workshop participants from as far away as New York, Pennsylvania and even California, but many current Anusara teachers from the DC area (and their students) renewed their relationship with Desiree. Lots of hugs and kisses before and after each class: Willow Street Yoga, the Yoga Center of Columbia , Inner Reaches Yoga, and probably a few others, were all present. Friday night and Saturday morning, not another mat could have fit into the expanded room (maybe 70 in all). The other sessions still had slots available, but there were a lot of new faces. That's pretty good, considering that the workshop fell in the middle of summer. Thrive's owner, Susan Bowen, says that Desiree will be back soon.
Desiree demonstrated how to get deeply into cobra pose.
Third Finding: Desiree Rumbaugh is an exceptional teacher, and it's easy to see why she's gained such a great reputation. She has a knack for driving home the Anusara message of proper alignment, joyful attitude and balanced action in asana after asana, spotting the necessary adjustments to more fully manifest the pose in her students, and enthusiastic narrative that intertwines her own self-discovery and healing through yoga and the principles of Anusara philosophy. She's really able to break pose down into pieces that can easily be digested and enacted. And it's the details that make the difference in the asana.
These "findings" are the low hanging fruit that I can easily pick before going to bed. More considered remarks will come later, with at least one good night of sleep and a day without yoga under my belt. Plus, I've got photographs of the sessions.
I ran into Abby Murphy at Thrive Yoga on July 4, and she popped up at the Desiree Rumbaugh workshop in several of the sessions this weekend so I need to mention her seva initiative. As stated on her blog, she is working in the DC area to rally support for the Cambodian Children's Fund. It's part of a broader effort by the Off the Mat Foundation, created by the yoga instructor Seane Corn, Hala Kouri, and the singer Suzanne Sterling in Silver Spring. On Sunday, October 12, she will be leading a yogathon at Willow Street Yoga. I am sure she'd appreciate all the support possible from other yoga studios and practitioners.
I have to confess that I am growing fond of reading the Visions of Cody weblog. I come back several times a week, not just to read the current blog entry (two a week), but also to go back into his archive. He also brings out a weekly podcast that is a ironic commentary on the yoga scene and human foibles under the intense light of practicing Ashtanga yoga, as well as a sampling of his love of music. He's frequently poking fun at himself, but can equally turn it on others. Because he's light-hearted and ironic, he's a welcome relief from my own deadpan seriousness. Maybe, I enjoy him because he's a late comer to yoga and has a beard, like me. And then Cody drops an insight bomb:
" The challenge for us hatha yogis is to apply the faith in action that we readily demonstrate on the mat each and every morning into all aspect of our lives." Five O'Clock Angel
The multiple-paragraph entry has several passages that I wanted to quote, but I had to single one out. This past week I've been thinking much the same thing. I show up for my classes, sometimes with resistance because they'll push me to my edge and beyond, but at the end of class, I don't feel fatigue (comes closer to bed time). I come out purified, shining, glowing with an energy that I did not know was there. And in small gestures, I try to apply the lessons from the mat to the rest of my life. My physical practice keeps me honest and true when what passes for my persona can take me off in misguided directions.
In other words, I encourage you to check him out.
Labels: inspire, philosophy
Dan Rather reports on "Mind Science" for HDNet. He draws on the partnership between the Dalai Lama and the Life Mind Institute, as well the recent book by Sharon Begley that I've already written about here and here. Rather does a good job of pulling together the most salient research findings and presenting them clearly and succinctly. He can seem a bit full of himself at times, but that's what being on TV five nights a week in prime time does to you. If you can't bring yourself to read, Begley's book, then this is a viewer-friendly route.
This is a long feature, 51 minutes, and you are going to need high speed connection. If that's too much, go directly to the online site where it's broken into shorter segments.
Labels: brain_science, videos
PranaJournal.com reader Kelly Sonora tipped me off to an article on yoga, NursingDegree.net >> 77 Surprising Health Benefits of Yoga, that also contains links to other online resources:
Over the past several years, yoga has experienced an upsurge in popularity in the western world. While many associate yoga with new age mysticism or the latest fad at the gym, yoga is actually an ancient practice that connects the mind, body, and spirit through body poses, controlled breathing, and meditation. The practice of yoga has many health benefits associated with it, so read below to discover 77 benefits to be gained.
Of course, if you'd like something more substantial, you can always get Tim McCall's new book, Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing
I had not commented about this last week, but I had an interesting experience during a session with Susan Bowen at Thrive Yoga. She made us do much of the practice with our eyes closed. It made some poses a bit precarious for me because I am challenged in terms of balance, and need my visual drishti. But I could get through most of my vinyasas without any trouble. However, when I was seated in Easy Pose with my eyes closed, I became conscious of my heart beat, and was surprised at how clearly it was coming through. It was not because my heart rate was up from aerobic exercise, throbbing at my temples. What I noticed most was that each subtle beat was like a ripple that expanded from my chest and washed over my torso and out through my limbs. It was almost as if I could feel the blood flowing from my chest throughout the circulatory system. Instead of focusing on my breath, I focused on my pulse.
This coming weekend, Desiree Rumbaugh will be giving five workshops at Thrive Yoga. I hear that there are still vacancies available, though the Friday evening class looks like it's close to filling up. I will be attending all of the sessions, taking pictures as often as feasible, and sucking up the energy. Thrive Yoga is basically shutting down for the weekend to hold this workshop so it's practically Desiree or nothing. I will try to blog my practice, but I don't know what kind of time and motivation will be left over from the sessions.
Continuing with Donavan Wilson's comments on yoga classes in the DC area, he recounts three recent experiences: in a well-established studio, in a small studio operating out of loaned facilities (typical of how many studios get started), and in a store.
"Support Your Center: A Workshop on Core Strength" with Sheree Mullen, March 2008
This was my first class at Willow Street Yoga Center and it lived up to its reputation. Ms. Mullen offered an unorthodox and fun workshop that focused on postures that target the core. Sheree's approach was to try postures in a different way. A few participants fell on the floor in an effort to keep up. No one was injured. The participants ranged from beginner (one male student's first yoga class) to advanced students. Students encouraged Mullen to offer a second workshop in the future.
Gerri Smith, Calm Unity Yoga, December 2007.
Geri Smith manages Calm Unity Yoga, which offers classes a few days in the week. The "studio" is a carriage house located next to the Art Barns in the Kentlands, Gaithersburg. Calm Unity offers blankets, blocks, straps and mats for individuals. I participated in Hatha class (Saturday from 11:30 to 12:45). It was small (6 or 7 people), which provided an opportunity for the instructor to give students more one-on-one guidance. The class challenged me and it was a rewarding experience.
Lululemon Athletica in Bethesda, June 29, 2008
I went to a Sunday class at the Bethesda Lululemon Athletic, a high-end store that sells Yoga-inspired athletic apparel. It provides a free Yoga class that starts at 6. Laura Greene, who teaches at the Sacred Space Yoga in Rockville, is a wonderful instructor with a thick English accent. I enjoyed the class SO MUCH. Each week Lululemon will provide a different instructor. Lululemon's staff wants to provide a class every day! I hope they succeed.
I took my first Forrest Yoga class at Thrive Yoga with Christine Peterson this morning. I could tell that the routine has different priorities than your run-of-the-mill vinyasa class. We started out with core work, then moved on to inversions with emphasis on shoulders -- the rest of the class was gravy. Since this was the first Forrest Yoga class for most people, Christine had to do a lot of explaining and demoing so that we were all on the same page. Christine used a term that I had never heard before: "gravity surfing." This refers to transitions from one pose to another, say, Downward Facing Dog pose to Crow pose. It requires muscle strength, but you're using gravity to pull you into a pose. I don't believe that I did any surfing this morning.
This was the only class offered at Thrive on July 4 so it drew all the people who could not miss yoga, even on a holiday. We opened up both classrooms (sliding doors) to make room for everyone. A few new faces were there, as well.
While I've sensed that my hips have loosened up, I now realize that this more relaxed hold may apply more broadly because I could feel that my shoulders were opening up -- and also feeling more fatigued from the exertion. Christine had us soften our necks in a lot of poses, for instance, Triangle pose. Instead of looking up towards the raised arm, you allow your neck to relax and hang. As an over-striver, I instinctively lead with my head in a lot of poses. This Forrest Yoga technique will help me break that habit.
NY Times Kripalu, a New Age Retreat, Makes Hard Choices in Finding the Courses With the Most Appeal looks at the business end of running a life style center:
But behind the scenes in a crowded second-floor suite at Kripalu's sprawling lakefront campus here in the Berkshires, things are a tad less restful. Beneath a long expanse of whiteboard and corkboard plastered with thousands of color-coded sheets and dots laying out each day's offerings from 2007 through the end of next year, phones ring ceaselessly. Gaps between projected and actual attendance are tracked like stock prices, and self-proclaimed visionaries and healers are subjected to the scrutiny of veteran vetters.
My daughter, Stephanie, went to Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed her stay. It was both nurturing and intellectually challenging. If anything, she was overwhelmed by all the offerings that were available. It's really a great opportunity to get unplugged and into a different realm. For Kripalu, this approach is a big change from its era as ashram and HQ for a guru. When your staff is no longer working for room, board and guidance to nirvana, then you've got to be ready to fight for survival in the consumer market. It's the same with yoga studios, which are competing with fitness centers and spas, martial arts and tai chi, with the price of gasoline biting into discretionary spending. Do you put a $100-140 into your monthly unlimited yoga pass or in the tank?
Labels: life style, news, Stephanie
Since I am allowing other people to have a voice on the blog today, I am also going to link to Video on TED.com: Raul Midon plays "Everybody" and "Peace on Earth", a songwriter, musician, and singer with a soulful voice for his complex, stirring lyrics.
You can watch a second video, "All the Answers" and "Tembererana". His personal website and MySpace.
Donavan Wilson and I have been exchanging e-mails for a while, ever since we both attended a master Ashtanga class at Thrive Yoga and did not introduce ourselves to each other. He has sent me his comments on taking yoga classes at Bally's Total Fitness, two locations, four teachers. Since gyms are where many people get their start with yoga, I thought it would be helpful to include his remarks here. In fact, he's so positive about the experience, I'm tempted to try them out. So this is the first experiment with an outside contributor on this blog (not counting the comments that crop up once in a while).
Bally's Total Fitness, Gaithersburg, Maryland Sherry Rubin and Mireille "Mimi" Lafontant
Mimi: Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm
Mimi's offers a very demanding Yoga class. This class combines elements of Pilates, Power Yoga and Hatha Yoga. She begins each class by asking each participant, "What would you like to work on your body today?" She adjusts the class accordingly to the needs of her students. Mimi's emphasis on core training is consistent from week to week. She pushes her students to there limit, by holding postures very long time. However, with each posture Mimi offers options and modifications for beginner, intermediate and advanced students. Mimi's passion for pushing her students and developing their strength is very clear. You will work up a sweat in this class.
Sherry: Wednesday and Friday at 9:30 and Sunday at 10:00 (all morning)
Ms. Rubin has four years of teaching experience. Sherry's teaching style is a blend of different styles of Hatha Yoga. Rubin injects humor and pleasant outlook into her classes. Unlike Mimi, Rubin does not push her students as hard.She offers modifications depending on the experience of each student. Also, Sherry is very good at correcting students regarding their form. This reviewer can tell that Ms. Rubin has spent years in a Yoga Studio as practitioner. Rubin often demonstrates new postures before students attempt them. Rubin is very user friendly and outgoing instructor.
Bally's Total Fitness, Wheaton, Maryland Peter Gibbon and Diane Brown
Peter: Saturdays at 11:45-12:45
An instructor and Co-Director of the Peaceful Path Yoga Studio in Silver Spring, Maryland, Gibbon has a background in Kripalu Yoga and has 500 hours of certification as an instructor. Gibbon's Saturday Yoga class at Bally Total Fitness at Wheaton is a mixed-level approach. Gibbon covers the traditional postures (Warrior I, Triangle and Plank). Gibbon is walking across the aerobic room to check the form and posture of each student. Also, Gibbon is in front of his class demonstrating proper form. For individuals looking for traditional mixed-level class in a gym setting, I highly recommend Gibbon. Throughout the course of the class, Gibbon injects his brand of humor with a very thick New England-Massachusetts accent.
Diane: Thursdays at 7:30
This review can not capture or describe Ms. Brown's joy for teaching and life. Brown incorporates both Yoga and Pilates into her class. Brown is often wearing a smile and talking up a storm to distract students, in her efforts to push them. Brown's energy and enthusiasm is contagious. She does not push as hard as some instructors. What Brown lacks in pushing, she makes up in an interesting blend of Yoga postures and Pilates moves.
Back at Thrive Yoga for a vinyasa flow 2 class with Christine Peterson. She has been assisting Ana Forrest, the widely respected West Coast yoga teacher, which says a lot about Christine's capabilities. (If you've never seen Ana Forest's peformance at Yoga Journal Conference in Boston in 2006, you owe it to yourself to see how far yoga can take you). As far as I know, this was her first class at Thrive, and there were more than a dozen students so the word had definitely gotten out.
In a few words, Christine gives a mean class (and this was a vinyasa class, not Forest Yoga): I took a small hand towel to mop up my sweat; I should have taken a beach towel. Aside from some work on inversions, which was really more prep work, there was nothing really beyond a 2-level class. But she hit a couple of areas in which I am really weak and tight, and then doubled back and hit them again. Shoulders, especially in Dolphin pose and other preps for getting into Feathered Peacock Pose (Pincha Mayurasana). Core, core, core. This blog entry isn't long enough to mention all the poses and sequences that hit my core muscles.
Christine will be giving a 1.5/2 hour class on Friday, July 4 and then have several classes on a regular basis (when she's not assisting Ana Forest on tour). I will make a point of picking them up as often as I can.Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. My experience Monday with more open hips did not turn out to be a fluke. Today, I came very close to getting into Double Pigeon pose (Agnistambhasana). I didn't want to push it too hard because of the stress the pose puts on the knees, but I was closer than I ever dreamed I would be mid-way through my fourth year of yoga. I also went more deeply into One-Legged King Pigeon pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana). It's as if I stopped clenching my muscles and that loosening of tension allowed my hips to open up.
On Monday evening, I went to a vinyasa 2 class at Thrive Yoga to make up for missing my normal Sunday class. I was met with a teacher substitution: Mary Lou McNamara was replacing Lisa Johnson because of vacation travel. Both followed the Anusara style so there was an underlying continuity between the two. I was breezing through the class without really being tested to my edge when we moved into the seated practice and I was hit by an unexpected breakthrough: Mary Lou asked us to get into Lord of the Fishes pose (Ardha Matsyendrasana). Almost without thinking, I slipped into the pose, which requires me to fold one leg under as a kind of base and the other leg is placed over it, with the foot on the ground -- it requires that both sit bones be on the ground. In the recent past, this kind of contortion was beyond my reach: one hip would be torqued up in the air and I would be completely out of balance. I'd have to extend the bottom leg out before me or put a lot of blankets under one hip. Well, this time, both my sit bones were firmly planted on the mat and my spin could sit squarely over my hips, allowing a smooth even twist when completing the pose. We quickly moved on to other poses, and I could not fully appreciate what had happened.
Let me say that I have not made Lord of the Fishes pose as one of my goals, like full or half Lotus pose. I only practiced it whenever it rarely came up in class, unlike say half pigeon pose that almost always gets thrown into the mix. I recognized Lord of the Fishes as another manifestation of my tight hips, and some day I would move beyond this corporal legacy of sitting in chairs and slumping over keyboards.
Ironically, since coming back from vacation, I have been grousing about how hard it has been to regain my stamina in jogging. My legs seemed dead weight and fatigued. Well, part of this muscular fatigue is probably because the connective tissues between my legs and hips are having to move in new and different ways, while tolerating a lot more range of motion in my hips. As I've said here before, I often feel as if I am teaching myself to run all over again.
