I spent the day running around on medical errands that had a kind of deadline hanging over them: the impending snow storm that will lock us in our homes for another 24-36 hours. Take my wife for a chiropractic evaluation, pick up prescriptions from the drug store, take my dad for blood tests, pick up x-rays of my wife's back before the doctor's office closed at 4:30, fight the traffic out of DC even though there should not have been a rush hour because there was no Federal employees working today. There were a couple of other odds and ends thrown in the mix too.

And to top it off, there was no class at Thrive Yoga this evening. I know that snow flacks were falling by 5:30 and traffic was wicked so who could blame Susan Bowen for canceling classes for most of today and all tomorrow. After all, schools are closed for the rest of the week. Sure, I could have gone for a yoga class in the morning, but that would have made my day even more stressed out. I needed the yoga to unwind, not complicate my schedule on a day when I could not be sure how long it would take me to get from one end of town to the other.

Lucky for me, I took a yoga class at 6:00 pm last night. Susan combined the vinyasa and prenatal classes. You'd think that would be an odd mix, but it worked out just fine. As Susan said on my Facebook Wall: "Labor will be much more challenging than a yoga class -- so why not practice at a level that helps prepare the body, mind and breath for Labor." In other words, maybe the vinyasa class was stepping up to the ladies' level. In any case, I was rewarded with a nice practice. In Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend (Upavistha Konasana), it occurred to me that the pose was about knowing which muscles to release instead of which muscles to contract. It also means releasing the muscles, and keeping them released over an extended period of time. Because I am so tight in the lower back and core (I basically can't fold over; I'm practically upright), the time available in class to release and re-release is not going to make much of a difference. I need to practice it at home and actually play with accessing muscles and letting go.

Labels: class, family

I took advantage of the unscheduled leave option and early dismissal at my job due to the looming snow storm (my employer, an international organization, follows the lead from the Federal Government) to get in one more session of yoga at Thrive before being trapped in my house for the weekend. Between fitting in a couple of hours of work and getting some time on the mat, I'll take the yoga this time. Next week, probably, I'll have to give priority to work.

Stephanie gave another hot vinyasa session at 9:30 and it was about the same as last night. The only difference was that my muscles were showing signs of fatigue. I had not had enough time to recover from the exertion of the night before. The room was full so there was plenty of energy to carry us along so it was not hard to let the sequencing take me through the process. I just had to take a break once in a while to allow my breathing to catch up. I noticed that I was able to get into lizard pose (Utthan Pristhasana) much deeper than I had in the past, a sign that my hips are opening up. I can get both forearms down to the mat without having to compensate.

After class, I ran around making grocery purchases to get us through a long weekend, checking on my parents, filling up the gas tank and other errands. In the evening, the snow started to pile up and I did two rounds of shoveling sidewalks, parking space, and our back patio (our dogs need access to some free space to relieve themselves). By the time this snow storm is over, I will wear out the shovel.

Labels: class

I made it to Thrive Yoga tonight and got in a hot vinyasa class before the region is shut down by a huge snow storm heading our way. I suspect that any yoga I fit in over the next four days will be in my own study or living room. We'll see how long it takes everyone to dig out. Despite the sweat dripping from head to toe, I repeated to myself, "Don't work so hard, Mike, grace and ease." It seemed to soothe my mind and body as we went through the sequences of postures -- until the instructor, Stephanie Rosenblatt, led us into abdominal work, and then I just caved in after a couple of sets of bicycle crunches.

These winter storm are becoming a real pain in the butt. It shuts down studios for 2-3 days so that means there's a hole in my routine, and shoveling snow does not make up for it. Home practice starts to look like a necessity. Where have I heard that before?

Labels: class

Yesterday I broke a personal rule about my yoga practice. I talked myself out of going to yoga on Monday evening because I was tired, had things to do at home and did not feel all that gung-ho about doing yoga. I thought I would be able to grab my Tuesday night class, as usual. I had even talked my wife into taking the class with me. Well, another snow storm moved into the DC area and Thrive Yoga canceled the evening class as a precaution because of the bad weather. To make it an even bigger downer, both evenings at home got sidetracked and I did not get to be as productive as I wanted.

I have this personal rule for a reason: I grab classes when I can, as early in the week as possible. All kinds of circumstances crop up to interfere with my yoga practice and there are only a specific number of classes at Thrive Yoga that are available to me, unless I don't go to work. For all I know, I'll have an urgent task at work or the Metro will be delayed and I'll miss the Thursday class.

Of course, the skillful response to this predicament would be to have a complete daily home practice that would satisfy my yoga needs. Instead, I'll be lucky to get in 20 minutes of meditation before going to bed.

My second rule of yoga practice is that I get up the next day and try to do the best that I can.

Labels: class

Over the past seven days, taking advantage of vacation time from work, I've tried to balance my yoga practice with daily trips to the gym to get in aerobic exercise so that I can increase my stamina and to burn off some of the pounds gained over the Holidays. I've included 30 minutes of stationary bicycle and another 30 minutes of either jogging/walking or elliptical trainer. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue this routine through the weekend. Next week, I am probably going to have to cut back the gym time to 30 minutes because I'll be back at work and unable to spend so much time on conditioning. The other objective is to get back into jogging and running, which I dropped after my knee injury. Running really helped my hips.

I've also tried to combine vinyasa with hatha, yin and restorative yoga, trying to cultivate more relaxing undertows in yoga to counteract the muscle activation in the flow. I wanted to acquire awareness and suppleness as well as muscle strength. In the past I've tended to harden around a partial flexibility in certain poses so that I could not deepen the postures. I don't know if I've succeeded. Last night, Susan Bowen led a hot vinyasa flow class at Thrive Yoga that really tested my physical edge. I had to stop repeatedly to catch my breath and my mat had puddles of sweat. I don't think she aimed to have an exceptionally difficult session, but the sequencing hit me where I feel the most vulnerability now, in the hips where I seem to be accessing a different combination of muscles.

At my age, the drop off in conditioning is unexpectedly sharp. For most of the last quarter of 2009, I could only grab practice sessions a few times a week, with no routine, and I even lost entire weeks because of family matters or travel. I do not have a home practice that can maintain a kind of physical and flexible foundation. Now I am paying the price. It's not something you can reverse in a week or two. I had been hoping to use my vacation time but weather and family matters kept me getting into a routine until this week. I also can't discount that my conditioning may also be a result of the lack of physical exercise following my knee injury, convalescence and recovery two years ago. It's only been a year since I really got back to yoga, and I've been treating myself gingerly over that time.

I have to find a way to create a full home practice, with active, yin and nidra yoga, as well as pranayama and meditation, while not being anal-obsessive about the whole routine. Understanding this need and taking action is probably what differentiates a beginner from an intermediate practitioner. It's not being able to achieve a certain level of difficulty in postures; that can depend just on hereditary traits or athleticism.

Labels: class, conditioning, running

I took at morning vinyasa flow class with Susan Bowen at Thrive Yoga. It was my first physically demanding class in a week (if not more), and I really felt the lack of conditioning and ease. It seemed that I was fighting against myself the whole session, and I had to remind myself constantly to let the yoga do the work. I could tell that I was physically fatigued having done a lot of aerobic exercises the day before: 30 minutes of stationary bike and then another 30 minutes of jogging/walking, on top of Saturday's workout. After class, I could tell that I need recovery time so I did not go on to the gym for more aerobic work.

Yesterday, I took in Marylou McNamara's Hatha yoga class, which is strong on alignment, but does not make me break into a sweat, also at Thrive Yoga. That's not to say that the class did not have its challenges. I winced while holding Warrior II for what seemed like an eternity. Marylou focused a lot on opening up the shoulders, and I ended up doing a couple of strong wheel (upward facing bow or Urdhva Dhanurasana ) pose, which she complimented.

After class, I chatted with Marylou because she likes to put funny names to yoga poses adapted to other environments ("church yoga, bed yoga") and I had a pseudo-posture that helped me locate the muscles between my shoulder blades. I call it "Proud Indian Chieftain." I have this image in my head, probably from some drawing I saw in my childhood because I can't find anything like it on the Web, of an Indian warrior standing with his arms crossed over his chest, his head raised high. What's striking is how high the arms are positioned over his chest, almost as if he's posing by puffing up his rib cage. But really, his arms are pulled back fully into the shoulder joints, and the the rhomboids fully engaged so that the shoulders are broad and pulled back. What would be the Western antithesis in this pose? the folded arms would be resting on the lower rib cage because the shoulders are slumping forward. This is a posture acquired from slumping over keyboards.

Labels: alignment, class, shoulders

I made it to hot vinyasa yoga in the morning at Thrive Yoga. I threw out four full trash bags of junk that I had been hoarding for years. I went to see my father in Holy Cross Hospital and spent a couple of hours chatting with him, no interruptions; he was admitted for observation this morning because he woke up with chest pains and numbness in his arms. At 88, the doctors wanted to be sure that there were no other complications.

Labels: class, family

Yesterday I took a vinyasa flow 2/3 class with Dana Cohen and today a Hatha yoga class with Marylou McNamara, both at Thrive Yoga. At the first class, I learned that I had lost conditioning and had to let the practice come to me, rather than trying to catch up with the sequencing; at the second, that the body quickly slips back into its old habits, and forgets to engage the right muscles for holding poses, especially in my core. Muscle memory has cultural roots: we Westerners spend too long sitting in chairs drooping our shoulders and arms over keyboards. Holding Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II) requires activating the manipura chakra (the energetic core that lies near the solar plexus, according to the yogic knowledge system). That's why yoga can sometimes seems so frustrating, even pointless, because a beginner is fighting against deeply ingrained muscular habits that are being constantly reinforced by our daily routines or absence of activity.

But each time I come back to the mat after a pause -- of a few days or months -- it's a fresh opportunity to become a beginner and start learning from a slightly different perspective than in the past. So I don't kick myself for having relapsed or lost ground; it's just a different spot in space and time that makes the process all the most enlivening and challenging.

It is also a conscious process in which what I learn about myself is even more important that the postures or the techniques. Sometimes, I can express that shifting awareness in this blog; other times, I just have to let it express itself silently in my practice.

Labels: class, core

Labels: class, news

I made it to my fourth Thrive Yoga class in as many days, thanks to working only a half-day for the first four days of the week (I like to feel that I'm essential to the operations of my employer so I have to wean them gradually off my services before taking off for the Holidays). I have not been trying to push my limits, just show up each afternoon and approach the practice simply, humbly and calmly. I don't want to make more complicate than it has to be. And I'm still feeling the ache in my hips from all the openers that I was doing in yesterday's Yin yoga class and today's vinyasa flow session. I am tired, too, even though these were "easy" classes.

When I am consistent in my practice, I see many kinds of dividends. It makes me want to establish something minimal each morning to serve as a systematic foundation.

Labels: class

I am looking forward to my yoga over the next month. I have extended use-it-or lose-it vacation time between now and the end of the year so I will not be restricted to the availability of yoga in the evening at Thrive. I can pick my classes throughout the day (at least, when I am not being called into the office to finish off last-minute essential work). Although Christmas and New Years wipe out two days, and other days have reduced schedules, I can still fit in a session, almost every day.

What's been frustrating is that since the Brian Kest workshop, I have not had an opportunity to build up momentum in my practice. My brother's funeral, a week-long business trip and the weeks preparing for it, my daughter's move back home and upheaval in the household, working late, family matters, Christmas parties and receptions at work, the Metro Red Line making it unpredictable as to when I'll get home, have all contorted my yoga routine into fits and starts. At most, I manage to get in three sessions a week, not enough to allow me to get into a rhythm.

I have not been disciplined enough to have a home practice. At most, I fit in some meditation, perhaps, some pranayama. It's those days away from class when my body backslides: any extra range of movement is shrunken by disuse, any skill at swinging into handstand does not set into the muscle memory. A home practice does not have to be elaborate. I could work one theme, say, hamstrings, and focus on that for a week. I know I have areas that need systematic work over time to show a breakthrough -- the back, shoulders, hips.

Another intention is to keep it simple. I've been steering myself to exclusively vinyasa 2-3 classes, except for Susan Bowen's Saturday morning class. I usually take Marylou McNamara's Hatha yoga classes. Lisa Johnson's classes are along the same line. I've taken Dana Cohen's vinyasa flow all levels on Tuesday, and she has fairly accessible style that does not demand master skill levels. I also took her yin yoga workshop and it required a lot of discipline and mental stamina.

So What's my point? I am trying to keep my practice simple. I don't want to overreach or impose my A-type yoga personality and sets goals and targets that may keep me striving for excellence, but not be aware of what other rewards yoga can give me. I keep telling myself: relax and don't work so hard; it's the ease and grace of the practice that will carry me the farthest.

Oh yeah! And Desirée Rumbaugh is coming back to Thrive Yoga on January 15-17 for a weekend workshop: The Heart Stimulus Plan (four sessions of 2-2.5 hours). The last time I took her workshop, I really muscled my way through many new poses -- and tore the meniscus in my right knee. So I want to be ready this time, with healthy knees, a body that shifted into a gear appropriate (building on conditioning, strength, strong fundamentals, all guided by mindfulness) for the workshop, and the right attitude. So I have four weeks to prepare myself for the challenge, and much better chances of accomplishing than with the Kest workshop due to personal issues.

Labels: class, studios, teachers, workshop

I got in two classes at Thrive Yoga this week: a vinyasa flow with Lisa Johnson and a hatha class with Marylou McNamara. Neither made me work up much of a sweat, but that was not why I was taking them. I was seeking to get back in the groove with my yoga practice after a two-week gap in classes: I did not want to overreach and aggravate one of my injuries or get a new one.

I have a heel spur that flares up when I am savasana. I think that some fatty tissue has moved out of the way in my heel or just worn down with age, and a little bony protrusion sticks out. When I let my legs relax, I put pressure on the bone spur. It does not make for a very restful restoration phase in my practice. It was really bad last week because I wore running shoes on the flight to Miami and it really irritated the heel. It took me two days of soaking it in ice, massaging and stretching it to walk without a limp. I can also feel how the heel injury affects the rest of my body and my way of walking.

I've also had some issues with my core, especially between my rib cage and hips. At my last class before my trip, I had something like back spasms, and afterwards a sore back. I don't know if this is due to not being able to activate the correct muscles or some other issue. It has not been an issue for the past week or so, but I am anxious about it resurfacing.

On a more positive note, I realize that restarting practice after a short layoff is a good time to work on form and alignment because my muscle are looser and willing to take new directions and angles.

In any case, both classes went well. I enjoyed just being in the now of the poses and flows. I trust both instructors and feel challenged by their lead.

Labels: class, core, injury, spine

For the first time since the Kest workshop two weeks ago, I took a Vinyasa 2/3 with Susan Bowen at Thrive Yoga. I got my butt kicked. I had taken one Hatha yoga class on Sunday and another on Tuesday, along with some aerobic work at the fitness room in the hotel during my brother's funeral. That frequency and intensity of class was not going to maintain my aerobic conditioning unless I combined it with some running or work in the gym on the stationary bike or elliptical trainer. But even that is not going to allow me to keep up with Susan's class. She did a Brian Kest routine on us -- she went through a long sequence on one side of the body that worked deeper and deeper into the hips. I was lost half way through. Then, she had us do the other side, just as deeply. I could not sustain Warrior III at the end of the sequence.

I really enjoy my Hatha yoga classes, and I get really deep into them, as I see them as a kind of remedial yoga practice that allows me to relearn my poses, focusing on alignment and ease. Thrive Yoga has teachers who can really open the way into poses. It may be the strong Anusara influence. I am trying to gain access to my hips, my psoas, my shoulders and rhomboids, areas that were densely tensed muscles or fibers that I could not even feel, much less activate. If we're wizzing by the asanas without a chance to settle in, that defeats my intention. I've seen some "yogis" pick up their mats and leave if the practice does not have enough pace, lots of vinyasas and challenging poses.

I love my Hatha yoga classes, but that's not going to substitute the more physically challenging classes that I can get on the weekends, and Thursday evenings. It wouldn't hurt if I could fit in more home practice as well, but that's another story.

On the good side, I must say that I have been fairly consistent sitting in meditation for 15-20 minutes in the evening, and grabbing shorter sessions during the day. I am constantly amazed by the rush, a refreshing rinse of my mindset, that I get by just taking a few moment of mindfulness; I say to myself, "Boy, I needed that".

Labels: class, conditioning, meditation

I find it hard to start blogging again by touching on either the Brian Kest workshop (last weekend) and my brother's funeral (Friday). The first's too expansive while the later's overwhelming and painful. It's easier to start with something simple: this is how I felt today on the yoga mat.

I had my first class in a week. It was a Hatha yoga class with Lisa Johnson at Thrive Yoga (Marylou McNamara, the normal instructor, was probably celebrating the Celtic New Year). I wanted to ease back into my practice slowly and gently. The biggest surprise was being able to get into extended side angle pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana) with a bind for the first time since the August 2008 workshop with Desiree Rumbaugh and my knee injury. For some reason, I had been unable to grasp my hands behind my back and around my front leg, probably due to tightness in my shoulders as well as how deeply I could fold into my forward leg. I had purposely been holding back from trying to muscle my way into the pose. This time, I just eased into the pose without giving it a second thought.

The other surprise was a couple of bouts of dizziness when I came out of intense side stretch pose (Parsvottanasana). Normally, I am not prone to dizziness, but this time a sudden rush of blood hit me like a wave. I had to drop to child's pose to be on the safe side.

Finally, when I came out of yoga class, I noticed that I was really hungry and thirsty. My irregular eating during my trip had probably depleted a lot of energy stores. Instead of going to the gym to get in some aerobic training, I simply headed home to fix a smoothie.

Labels: class, practice

As mentioned last week, I've been trying to get back into a rhythm of practicing and running so that I could step up my condition and deepen my yoga. But something seems to be working against this intention, starting with the four days in a row of cold rain and drizzle that removed any desire to fit a short run in the evening.

On Friday, I wanted to catch a late-afternoon yoga session at Thrive, but my wife picked me up from work (after her doctor's appointment) and we got slowed down by DC traffic and did not get home until late. But I did end up going to the gym to fit into 30 minutes on the stationary bike and another 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer. On Saturday, I was eager to get to my yoga 2/3 class because I expected it to really test my edge. When I walked out into the rain, I was confronted with a flat tire. I tried to fix it, but the lug nuts were on too tight for me to loosen up with the puny tire iron that comes with my car. I called for roadside assistance, which arrived 90 minutes after my call. So much for my Saturday yoga. I was dragging the rest of the day from the aftereffects of my gym workout and sleep deficit.

Today, I made to the morning hatha yoga class at Thrive, but the usual instructor, Marylou McNamara, had mistakenly thought that this weekend was the Brian Kest workshop (it's next weekend) and her class had been canceled. Susan Bowen had to improvise by combining her Fundamentals class with the hatha yoga class. Susan tried to keep it simple for the beginners (hip openers was the topic of the class) while still provide challenge for the more experienced students.

I've decided that I have to take the approach of accepting whatever comes my way: if there's a suitable yoga class available on workday evenings at Thrive, I should take it because I never know if something will come up later in the week to prevent me from attending my preferred classes. Getting on the mat is more important than calibrating the level of intensity or sophistication of the instructor. Even after my "easy" class, my muscles feel sore and my joints stiff. When I'm accessing deeper layers or combinations of muscles for long holds, I am still getting something out of the practice, even if I'm not breezing through a couple dozen vinyasas or Sun Salutations.

By the way, the Smith clan celebrated my mom's 90th birthday today so there really was a milestone this weekend.

Labels: class, milestone, teachers

At Thrive Yoga, Dana Cohen was substituting for Susan, the studio owner, so I got a double dose of Dana's hybrid style, vinyasa flow 2/3 on Saturday and vinyasa flow all levels today. I don't think I could really tag Dana with a specific yoga brand (Iyengar, Ashtanga or Anusara). Or maybe she draws on multiple sources, both from yoga and beyond (Thai massage, for instance). Both classes were about the same intensity, but today's pace was a bit slower since we were working on opening up hamstrings and hips. The constant in both classes was that Dana reserved a good 15 minutes to savasana/meditation at the end. Of all my teachers, she is the most reliable for fitting in that cool down phase.

Labels: class, meditation, teachers

Three days straight without going to a yoga class when I had promised myself that I would not allow myself to back out of practice. At least, I got one evening of practice in at home. There's a small window of opportunity at Thrive Yoga in the evening. I get off work between 5:30 and 6:30, and need a full hour to get home. Classes start at 7:15 or 7:30 so I have to make a point of leaving closer to 5:30 than 6:00. I then can't have any delays on the Metro, and my wife has to pick me up on time. Otherwise, I can't change my clothes and drive to the studio in time for class.

Of course, I could always back my kit and go straight to the studio from the station. I would have to decide that in the morning, and carry my stuff with me.

I have not been back to Flow Yoga Center since my knee injury. That's used to be a lock each Tuesday or Wednesday. My daughter, Stephanie, and I have fallen out of the habit of taking classes together. She has gone back to college at the University of Maryland to finish off the last 16 credits for her BA and that ties up her evenings. Back in the old days, I would walk over to Flow in 30 minutes and start class at 6:30. Fewer chances of happenstance impeding my practice. I do miss my exposure to a different class of yogi/yogini, and the smiling face of Debra Perlson-Mishalove, who was recently blessed with a baby. The absence of a downtown practice also means that I don't shell out money of classes in a time of tightening budgets.

Labels: class, practice

I took Susan Bowen's 2/3 vinyasa class at Thrive Yoga and had to "cry uncle" about two thirds of the way through the class. I was running out of juice, breath and focus as I paid the physical price for skipping yoga practice for a full five days (see yesterday's post). There is no suspension of asana practice: you're either practicing regularly or losing out.

Labels: class, practice

Because of a variety of issues, I did not go to any evening yoga classes. Nor did I do any make-up practice at home. Today, I ended up with really tight shoulders, which seem cramped and tied up in knots, as if all the tension and stress of the week had been stored up in their fibers and cartilage. You'd think that after five years of yoga, I would know better by now. I can't skip more than three days of practice without it affecting me physically and mentally. I start paying a price, even though I am taking away some time to devote to other priorities.

Labels: class, practice

Labels: class, conditioning, news

Labels: class, injury, knee

I took in two classes at Thrive Yoga this weekend, Vinyasa Flow I with Lisa Johnson and Hatha Yoga with Marylou McNamara. Both instructors pay close attention to the details of alignment. Marylou led us through a series of poses that really helped my psoas. I've been looking for poses and routines that will help me open my hips, but won't put pressure on my knees. A lot of poses, like One-Legged King Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana), jeopardize the stability of the knees. I want to start using the safe poses in my home practice.

I fit some core strength routines into my Sunday afternoon because level one classes rarely put a strong emphasis on building up physical strength and stamina.

Labels: class, health, injury, knee

I went to my fourth class on Tuesday evening at Thrive, with Pierre again. I kept trying to throttle back on my practice, to keep from overreaching and getting ahead of my recovery. For the first time, I did some jump-backs and jump-forwards in my vinyasa, but only after warmly up thoroughly. I did notice a touch of stiffness and discomfort in my injured knee. I have to be careful when getting into kneeling positions, like hero's pose (Virasana) and even child's pose (Balasana) because my body weight rests heavily on my knees.

Pierre will not be back at Thrive for a while. His nomadic journey will bring him back to the DC area in February. He's helped me feel more at ease with my injury and inviting me accept the healing process as a renewed exploration of my body: "With the breath, everything you do can be yoga."

Labels: class, injury, knee

I had a vinyasa flow 1 session at Thrive Yoga early this morning, this time with Lisa Johnson. I almost talked myself out of going because I finished the week exhausted and was sore in my shoulders and upper arms. But my wife wanted to go to yoga and threatened to go alone so I could not let her show more discipline than me so I threw on my clothes, threw together my kit, brewed a quick pot of coffee and jumped in the car.

The class was less physically demanding than my previous two sessions; at least it felt that way and did not have to take any breaks. I know that I have to keep the mindset of a beginner, to approach my practice without any preconceived ideas about what I should be doing. In a way, it's an opportunity to relearn my yoga poses and vinyasas, and perhaps even overcoming some of the tightness in key areas of my body (shoulders, spin, hips).

I found that my right (injured and surgically repaired) knee seemed to track better than my left one. When doing a balancing pose, I felt more stable, with less propensity to shift out of equilibrium. The tendency may be due to overcompensation for the past three months in which I've nursed my right knee while relied on my left knee for support.

I also noticed that my shoulders seemed to have loosened up since my injury. When I'm laying in savasana at the end of class, my palms turn upwards more naturally. In the past, my arms tended to turn palms down when lying on my back. This pattern was probably created by years of pounding a keyboard, with my shoulders rotated forward. I actually worked on loosening up my shoulders during the break by combining a few simple stretches with my pranayama routine.

Labels: class, injury, knee, shoulders

I went to Thrive again this evening, after giving myself 48 hours to recover from my first yoga session in four months. Tonight's class was with Elizabeth Pope, a new teacher for me, who joined the studio after I hurt my knee. She's been exposed to a range of teachers, from Kasthaub Desikachar to Ana Forrest. It was a good solid class for all levels so I modified most of the poses to concentrate on my knees. Where I really felt it was in my shoulder and upper arms: all the chararungas in the vinyasas were punishing me for wimping out during my convalescence and not maintaining my core strength. Elizabeth confirmed this conclusion by making us do multiple sets of abdominal exercises that left me barely able to lift my head and neck off the ground. I sweated profusely and had to take child's pose on several occasions because my conditioning has lagged far more than it should have, especially in the last few weeks when I was struggling with resistance to going to the gym and the studio.

Labels: balance, class, conditioning, core, injury, teachers

I was finally able to fit in a yoga class at Thrive with Pierre Couvillion this evening. My first class since mid-August and almost two months after my knee operations. I forced myself to go by packing my kit and rolling up my mat this morning before I left for work and giving my wife instructions to take it to the studio when she went to her class in the afternoon. I knew I had to put some kind of imperative in the formula because I was building up all kinds of resistance to the yoga class and even going to the gym, even though I can feel the adverse effects that their absence is having on my body and temperament.

Pierre led a pretty straight forward class that was good for me because it was am all-levels class that emphasized grounding in the basics of good form and breath. I did not do anything crazy — no jump-backs or jump-throughs, no wheels or advanced inversions. I just wanted to feel easy and comfortable in my asanas, and focus on my knees to make sure that they were solid and fully engaged. Pierre led us through some fundamental variations in standing poses that reinforced the tracking of the leg muscles. I think the factor that had deteriorated the most during the break was balance.

In preparation for the class, I had a session of acupuncture in the morning that was supposed to help break up some of the scar tissue in my knee.

Labels: class, injury, knee, practice

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.

Labels: class, practice, studios

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.

Labels: class, dc_yoga, workshop

Labels: class, core, shoulders, spine

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.

Labels: class, dc_yoga, studios, teachers

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.

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.

Labels: class, core, hips, shoulders, teachers

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.

Labels: class, hips, milestone, teachers

Teresa and I outside the El Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain on our vacation earlier this month.

I took in a Vinyasa Flow 2 class at Thrive Yoga with Lisa Johnson teaching this evening. Although it was a demanding class, I felt really comfortable within my body and the parameters of the class. Lisa is a really thorough Anusara teacher who goes out of her way to explain and demo what she's asking of us. Sometimes, she showed us herself; other times, she had one of the students follow her instructions and she adjusted. We did a lot of prep work for handstands and other inversions, especially getting the arms, shoulders and torso correctly aligned. Lots of work against the wall. Because I have tight shoulders with extremely limited range of movement in some directions, I appreciated the opportunity to explore my edge. Even though I worked up a sweat, the class did not push me aerobically, which was fine with me after yesterday.

So I walked out my the class without any of yesterday's complaints. I'm glad that I did not skip my yoga class because I was afraid of repeating the experience. And now, I'm pushing my bedtime back so that I can jot down these ideas before the trail goes stale.

Labels: class, shoulders

In my previous blog entry, I said that I was "back in stride." I take that back. Yesterday, I went running at midday and barely got through an abbreviated 2.5 mile route on the Mall. Admittedly, the sun was strong and the temperature was several notches above what I've been running in. I was drained by the time I got back. In the evening, I had a commitment to take in a vinyasa one class with my daughter at Flow Yoga Center. Once again, I was really fatigued by the class. I got home, ate a quick, light dinner and then went to bed and slept for eight hours.

I have done this "running and yoga in the same day" thing before and been fine, just what would be expected in terms of physical fatigue. I've even had to calm myself down after a double sesison because my yoga practice frequently restored my energy levels and made me more alert.

I do have an inflamed throat that may be a sign of another sinus infection, which would explain some of the fatigue since the infection would drag on my energy levels. Just confirms that I need to listen to my body and follow its signals.

Labels: class, conditioning, running, Stephanie

Proof that I was actually in Spain (Segovia in this case), not at a meditation retreat in Nepal. My wife can take credit for this photograph.

This weekend I went to Susan Bowen's vinyasa class on Saturday and Sunday. I also put in an hour on the elliptical trainer and the treadmill at the gym so I feel that I have gotten back up to speed on my yoga and conditioning after my vacation break. It may be a while before I am up to full strength because I still feel the fatigue in my shoulders from lots of planks, Four-Limbed Staff Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana), and Upward-Facing Dogs (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana). On Saturday, it was a student's birthday so Susan made us do 40 vinyasas to honor her.

This 10-day process to get back into my exercise routine drives home a simple lesson: the mature adult's body takes a long time to adapt to more rigorous and skilled endeavors. I started running nine months ago, but seriously only less than six months ago. I should lower my own expectations about what I can achieve, both in the short and the long term. Instead of thinking about having lost training time due to my break, I should look at the two weeks as an opportunity for my body to relax and chill out. Although I can run three miles, it does not mean that I need to do it, especially given the wear and tear on my muscles after years of inactivity. I need to incorporate ample recovery time so that I don't stress my body too much. Hints of shins splits are a clear warning in that respect. It's not like I'm on a training schedule for a half-marathon (or any competition, for that matter).

I think it's been providential that I got into yoga before running. My gradual learning of yoga allowed me to ramp up the physical demands on my body gradually while enhancing my body awareness. Yoga's emphasis on breathing gives me a value instrument for measuring exertion while jogging. I've been using the ChiRunning technique of Danny Dyer to give me a training method in keeping with my yoga approach. I've actually had to teach my legs and core how to run, and that's included some minor pain as muscle groups have found new uses.

Labels: breathing, class, conditioning, photos, running

No running yesterday because I took pity on my legs after jogging two days in a row. Instead, I went to Flow Yoga Center to take a vinyasa class with Stephanie, our first class together in over a month. I'm glad that Steph picked a level-one class because my shoulders and biceps were sore from the previous evening's class. The nice thing about level-one classes is that they make you concentrate on the basics -- form, breathing, ease.

Today, I ran with a work colleague who kept up the pace and made me call for mercy two-thirds of the way through. But I put in my time, just as I show up on the mat.

I am sorry to be boring people with whining about how hard it is to get back into the swing of yoga practice and running. It just makes me feel my age and the risk of atrophy. I will try to shift into more engaging subject matter.

Labels: class, running, Stephanie

I ran again today at midday, committed to getting my stamina and wind back. I took the full three-mile route on the Mall at an easy pace, but my legs felt like tree trunks, wooden, heavy and unforgiving. I wish I had kept up a more rigorous exercise regime during my vacation, but that's asking a lot. Considering how much time I spent on my feet and walking, I'm surprised that my legs seemed so out of shape.

I finally got my first yoga class in more than three weeks, going to Thrive for a Level 2 class with Dana Cohen. She gives a very athletic class, with sensitive, deep adjustments. It was Dana's last class for a while: she's going on what she calls her "summer tour," and will be missed. When I walked out of the studio, I noticed that my body core and legs felt completely different, unrestrained and balanced. That must be one of the things that yoga does for my body, I said to myself.

Labels: class, running

Today, I did not do my usual Sunday routine of meditation and vinyasa at Thrive Yoga in the morning. I took a special master Ashtanga class that Devon Roe offers, usually on a monthly basis at Thrive (next time is in August or September). Devon studied with Beryl Bender Birch and teaches in several yoga shops in the DC area, mainly in Virginia. It's two hours and focuses on the primary series. There were only four students in the class so it was a chance to focus on the asanas and get hands on corrections.

I have taken a few Ashtanga classes or workshops in the past so it was not completely foreign to me. For that matter, the whole vinyasa trend is strongly influenced by Ashtanga. I was surprised that I could handle the class physically, that I did not have to fall down in child's pose in order to recover my breath, recoup my strength and steel my will (except for one brief time in downdog, but that does not count). After the whole thing was over, I did not spent two hours collapsed on my couch at home because I have developed stamina, thanks to my running and practice. In other words, I did not feel intimidated by the difficulty of poses, I just knew that some of them were beyond my reach.

If it were a strict Ashtanga class, I would never have gotten beyond the first pose that requires anything approaching half-lotus: hips and hamstrings are still too tight to allow me to fold. Then, there are still issues with behind the back binds because of stiff shoulders and my inability to rotate my should joints more than a few degrees. The other major flaw is core strength, especially in the lower abs: I still don't have enough strength to lift my legs off the ground when seated in staff pose, for instance, or when sitting cross legged.

My biggest surprise was that when I was in shoulder stand and plow poses, I was able to breathe smoothly. In the past, my stomach (and probably other organs, like liver, kidneys and intestines) pressed down on my diaphragm and made me feel as if I was suffocating. I suspect that I've gotten rid of some belly (omentum) fat. That changes lifts a burden off me in the inversion phase of my yoga practice because I don't have to fight off the panic feeling of suffocation and can concentrate on balance and breath.

Labels: class, conditioning, core, hips, practice, shoulders

This morning I had my third yoga class in three days so I've been able to get my body back to homeostasis after a week without a class. Susan Bowen at Thrive Yoga led a hot yoga class, which was packed with people because it was Presidents' Day and more students than normal for a Monday morning put their mats close together to work up a nice sweat. It was a purifying experience because I had already had Saturday and Sunday classes to get my body back into the swing; I was able to get into my poses deeply and with ease so I could concentrate on making micro-adjustments to my posture. I came out of class feeling that I rid myself of a lot of debris and could receive the day to the fullest.

Labels: class

Following up on an entry a few days ago, I went to Thrive Yoga three days in a row — my usual weekend classes and a hot yoga class on Monday morning. Each day opened up a different view on my body as I played with the boundaries of my practice. Moving into handstand in the middle of the room, without a wall to serve as a back-stop going into and out of a headstand from crow pose; dealing with the new balance requirements in tree pose of placing my foot on my thigh, rather than on my calf; noticing that when I'm in an inversion, like plow or shoulderstand, my stomach no longer suffocates my breath by pressing down on my diaphragm. These small nuances in my practice are the blessings that come each class and keep my routine from getting monotonous.

Labels: blessing, class

I've begun to notice changes in my body during my yoga practice. For instance, last night when I was in Warrior II, I was able to move my shoulder blades closer together and further apart independent from my pose. My arms felt lighter and more free. A month ago, my shoulders and scapula seemed to be one solid block of bone and muscle -- roughly the equivalent of a clinched fist. I've commented here before, about getting really fatigued in Warrior II because I seemed to be fighting against myself as well as gravity.

There are other small changes that I've discovered. To prevent myself from trying too hard, I used props as supports (a block under my hand in Half Moon, for instance) so that I did not go too far. I've tried to remove those artificial benchmarks and explore where my body takes me know. I've been surprised. Last night, I skipped the block in Half Moon and accepted the balance with my hand to the floor.

Labels: balance, class, practice

I had a great inversion workshop Jordan Bloom at Thrive Yoga today. Jordan is a gifted Anusara instructor who's based in the DC area, but travels around the world. I can tell why he is such a popular teacher. He spent a lot of time dealing with the basic truths of alignment, building gradually so that when it came time to "invert," it was relatively easy to take the plunge. For me the key was working on my shoulders. One of the first pose that he had us do was a deep lunge with arms stretched above the head. Jordan then had us repeated take our shoulders further back and then reach the arms higher and toward the back. Each time, I got a little deeper back bend. But then, Jordan came behind me and gently pulled my shoulders back even further. It was not a forced pressure, more like the touch used in breaking an egg shell. I could feel the knot of muscle between my shoulder blades dissolve. Once I knew where to focus my efforts, I was able to work on bringing my shoulders back in other poses, like downward-facing dog. The three-hours of the class went flying by.

Another adjustment that Jordan made was for me to widen the placement of my hands on the mat in poses like downward and updward dog, chataranga and other prone poses. He said that the middle of my hand should be even with the outside of my shoulder. That put the little finger of my hand of the edge of the mat and my ring finger running parallel to the edge. They don't make yoga mats wide enough for many men. This adjustment also helped me broaden my shoulders.

Jordan will be coming back to thrive for a three-day workshop in February next year.

Labels: class, practice, shoulders

I took my first Jivamukti class at Flow Yoga. The teacher was Jill Abelson, who happens to be featured in the December issue of Yoga Journal. There are only two certified Jivamukti teachers in the DC area, and they both call Flow Yoga their home studio. The 300-hour residential teacher training program is demanding and requires big bucks and tons of commitment.

For those who are familiar with this style of yoga, Jivamukti flows from a New York City yoga studio run by Sharon Gannon and David Life. Despite being on the trendy edge of urban chic, Gannon and Life are respected innovators in American yoga. It draws a lot on Hindu spiritual practices to expand yoga beyond being just physical exercise.

The class was fast-paced and I sweated up a storm, in part due to the fact that the class was packed. Jill kept things interesting and challenging. Aside from more chanting and pranayama than in most classes, I was not able to put my finger on what makes the Jivamukti style so distinctive. Of course, one class just gives you a short taste of the approach so I should probably hold off on any judgments.

Labels: class, dc_yoga

I went to Thrive Yoga at 8:00 am today to take the meditation and pranayama session before Susan Bower's Sunday morning class of yoga. Several friends had told what a great prep, putting them in a mellow state before they started their practice on the mat. I have to confess that it was a real change of pace for me. This time around, the pranayama practice was designed to slow down and calm the mind. I've been more accustomed to an energized pranayama practice. We used bolsters with added blankets under our backs, and the position threw me off. It took me a while to realize that the accentuated curvature of my spin was shortening my breath. Finally, we sat for about 20 minutes. Susan's voice guided us through the process. I am used to silence during my meditation. So, all in all, I was outside my comfort zone.

I had been promising myself to take this Sunday meditation class since it started up about a month ago. But I am not an early bird by nature and Sunday mornings have their rituals that are hard to break. Despite my quibbling about the session and it being my first time, I will definitely go again. It really did help prepare me for a more mindful yoga practice: it usually takes me 20-30 minutes to shake off what I call the "debris of life" (all the to-do lists, internal dialog and white noise that go on in my head) and surrender to my practice; this time around, I eased into almost immediately. Should I have expected anything less?

Labels: class, meditation

The Thrive Yoga website has undergone an incremental revamping to make it a better resource. The biggest change is that Susan Bowen has decided to start blogging. Her opening salvos have been riffs on the Yogi Sutras of Patanjali. That's a pretty tall order, to turn those sometimes cryptic, frequently insightful refrains into meaningful nuggets for modern-day yogis. She says that other Thrive teachers will be chipping in with blog entries. The blog will also be open to comments, so hopefully it will become a sounding board for the community. There are not many studios that have blogs so this initiative is breaking new ground. Kudos to Susan for being open. Elsewhere on the site, feedback from Thrive students tell how yoga has changed their lives.

Labels: class, reading, yoga_resource

Labels: class, news

New York Times Yoga Is More Than Just Showing Up, but That Does Help. This article is about the approach of some yoga studios having challenges for their clients, like 21 or 30 consecutive days of classes. It's not clear whether the author's concern is the business practice (can the studio pick up new students or make a profit with this marketing technique?) or yoga practice (does a daily practice increase the benefits?). The reporter seems to be dumping multiple issues into a single article. Remember this article came in the Fashion & Style section of the Times.

As a way of creating loyal regulars out of monthly drop-ins, studio owners recently have pushed the self-serving idea that yoga is not to be done lightly, casually or sporadically. They have stopped short of telling erratic classgoers to give it up, but their message is loud and clear: committing to a regular practice is the only way to progress in life and on the mat.

At Thrive Yoga, another 40 Days to a Personal Revolution in the style of the Baron Baptiste school of power vinyasa yoga will be offered starting this month (September 24–November 2). This is a six week program in which you have three class sessions at the studio and the other three can be at home, plus daily meditation (two sessions each), journaling, nutrition and some group talk. This is the second time it's being offered in Rockville. For me, it just comes at the wrong time, since I will be out of town twice during the period.

Flow Yoga frequently has 30-days challenges. Both of these studios do not pitch these packages to newcomers. They are meant for studio regulars who want to push their practice up a level or two.

For the sake of a personal practice, it's far more important to have a home practice because it requires far more discipline and dedication. Of course, taking in a class or two a week is better than nothing, but it's going to be hard to make progress. There is also the issue whether just yoga is enough to keep you physically fit (cardio and strength).

Labels: class, news, practice, yoga

I've had a couple of class sessions this week in which I've been testing some of my understanding about my edge. I've prided myself recently in considering myself a Level-II practitioner, but to be perfectly honest there are parts of my practice that are Level I and others that are even less, as I've mentioned here before. I can "double-dip" (do a full push-up during my Sun Salutation vinyasa) and keep one-leg up in my Chaturanga Dandasana and think I'm going great. But at the same time, my balance poses have barely progressed since I started yoga. Some of these obstacles in my practice are deeply rooted in my musculature. My arm "strength" may actually hide a deeper problem in my shoulders' flexibility.

Because of this uneven quality, I've have a hard time focusing on my edge because it shifts constantly as I move through different poses. By nature, an edge is dynamic and fluid any ways so I am doubly challenged. I can be breezing along and then hit a rough patch, like riding a bike and suddenly hitting deep mud on the path). In some cases, I am actually fighting against my own muscles. I want to power my way through through the resistance. No wonder I expend a lot of energy and end up being really tired. "Ease and grace" would not describe my practice when I am trapped in this kind of negative flow.

As I've stated before, I sense that I have to slow myself down to avoid overrunning my edge, focus inwardly to center my awareness on what is happening now, and be really faithful to the pacing of my breath. It means practicing truthfulness fearlessly, rather than operating under false assumptions about what my yoga and my life should be like.

I did a Flow II class with Angela Cerkevich at Flow Yoga. I tried to slow down intentionally and focus inwardly on what was happening inside me. It was disconcerting because I found myself frequently out of sync with the class. I lost track of my breathing and even time itself because the class seemed to flash by quickly.

Wednesday evening, I took in a vinyasa flow all-levels class with Lisa Johnson at Thrive Yoga. She was video recording the class as part of her requirements for Anusara certification so she was zeroing in on good, solid form in alignment and getting the basics right. It made for a really slowly-paced class, which was what I wanted anyways. I think I did a good job of matching my breath with the class and did not get ahead of my breath. One thing that Lisa mentioned really struck a nerve with me: fear cause psoas muscles to tighten (shorten) up; a good way to counterbalance is to hollow the lower abdomen to allow more room for the psoas to lengthen above the hips.

Labels: class, edge, practice

I took a two-hour workshop at Thrive Yoga today with Susan Bowen: "Are You Edgy?" Good question in more than one way. The premise was that any practitioner needs to find how deeply she can move physically, mentally spiritually into the flow. The "Edge" has become an almost mystical state of hatha yoga in which awareness, breath and body seems to meld into nirvana.

As I mentioned a few days ago, I tend to be utilitarian about my practice. I want to become stronger and more flexible physically, and move with grace and ease through my vinyasa. I wield my practice as a "cure" for my depression. I point towards self-realization of my full potential as a creative force. So my practice is always "out there," probing the boundaries.

So I need to find the balance between the soaring for achievement and the grounding of self-acceptance and peace. Where is the line on my mat between those two dimensions.

We were about a dozen students. These were not necessarily the most accomplished yogis at the studio. Most were mature adults who were coming to terms with the physical demands of yoga, the limits of their bodies and the aspiration to maximize the benefits of the practice. Susan led an initial discussion to find out how we perceive the "edge" and how we thought we could get there. Then we did 20 minutes of intense pranayama, which was very useful in taking me out of the normal frame of reference for practice. We then did a vinyasa practice that emphasized holding the asanas for a long, long time — downward facing dog held until my biceps, tricepts and hamstrings quiver. Sun salutations as a slow progression of endurance. We then did some long restorative poses. Finally, we ended with meditation.

Did I find my edge? I noticed that I have a tendency to overrun my edge. My breathing rhythm becomes accelerated and I just try to push through the need for more air in my lungs. I don't pull back or drop into child's pose to regain my breath. I frequently ascribed this breathing pace to my condition as a guy in his late 50s who is carrying 10-20 pounds more than his ideal and has not been doing enough cardio and aerobic exercising. But now I think it's more complicated than the mere physically. I am not paying attention to my edge.

I also noticed that my practice is uneven — my chatarunga is strong, but ask me to balance on one leg and I fall over. Because there is so much divergence in my practice, it is easy to lose track. Not only to I tend to get into a hyper mode, but when I go through a less than optimal segment of my practice, I start to think I have to catch up.

Labels: class, edge, practice

Today I surprised myself when we were practicing inversions at Thrive Yoga. We were doing supported headstand (Salamba Sirsasana), which has always been problematic for me because when resting on my forearms, my shoulders tended to tense up and make it extremely difficult to sustain my torso and legs above me. I usually used the garden-variety headstand with my hands on the ground and using my elbows as a platform for lifting my legs up. Whenever the class was practicing an inversion, I would opt for a less demanding modification to work on strength in my shoulders.

Today, as we prepped by practicing dolphin pose, I notice that when I raised a leg it came up higher than I had perceived before. I took a couple of trial jumps and I knew that I was close to getting up all the way. I switched to the wall and tried the supported headstand with my forearms for support. I was able to easily bring both legs smoothly over my head -- without really kicking up, which is really a cheat because you have little or no control over the movement. It's like throwing mud against the wall. This time, I noticed that my weight was firmly over my arms and no much pressure was coming down on my neck and head. It would be a simple move to lift up to Feathered Peacock Pose (Pincha Mayurasana). I am still a long way from having the balance and core strength to do without the wall, but I passed another threshold.

The moral of this story is that if you do the prep work enough, you will eventually reach a point when you're within reach of the full pose you're aiming for.

Labels: class

I am months away from being 58 years old and the 60-years-old milestone is just around the corner ("Do not go gentle into that good night..."). My generation may have been pioneers in introducing yoga and other Eastern disciplines in the States, but I don't see a lot of them out on the mat. What lessons have I learned from yoga and fitness in general? None of the following is earth-shattering, but I just want to list them.

1. A senior body is on a steady downward slope of entropy. Having a practice may slow the decline or, more hopefully, reverse it. Taking a week off can be a real setback to keeping fit. You need to do something everyday.
2. Muscle strength is acquired more slowly than during early adulthood, and recovery from exertion takes longer. For me, that works out to taking two days of vigorous yoga and taking a day off for more restorative or yang yoga.
3. Flexibility can be changed over months of work, not days or week. My sense is that it's much harder to change fascia than muscle tissue.
4. Balance seems to be the slowest factor to come around. I still feel that I need a wall nearby, just in case.
5. The natural weight gain that comes with age is really hard to get rid of. My extra 15-plus pounds really weighs me down through a 90 minute practice, and even gets in the way of certain poses.
6. My metabolism seems to function at a different level than younger practitioners. My breathing rhythm seems to be a lot faster than the pace given by instructors, too, especially once we've built up some heat. This may be due to pre-existing diminished lung capacity (I was a smoker for too long): I am still surprised by nuanced improvements from pranayama.
7. The key qualities that I need to cultivate are awareness and acceptance -- awareness because I need to perceive and know where I am and how far I can go, and acceptance because that's the starting point for change and emotional release.
8. Use it or lose it. Given these conditions, anyone should always have a fitness practice and never abandon it in the first place.

But in the end, yoga is yoga. Even if I cannot transform myself in the equivalent of Ana Forrest or Dave Williams, it will still reward me in other ways that have nothing to do with my body.

Labels: blessing, class, life style, practice

I did my Sunday morning session at Thrive Yoga with Jan pushing the crew hard. This was my first class since Wednesday so I was wary that I would feel the effect of lax practice. But she actually started us off at a leisurely pace and gradually led us into a well-faced class. I had to back off some poses because they were beyond my reach (mainly due to tight hips and shoulders and lack of core strength).

I'd like to write something profound about the class, something insightful about my practice or a pose. But I just made it to class, rolled out my mat, followed the instructions and did the best I could. Sometimes, that's all I can expect from yoga. Sure, there's a lot of truth and wisdom that can flow like the breath, but today was not one of those days.

Labels: class

Let me count the ways:

1. I can put my arms behind my back and reach it as far as my opposite hip and even get as far as touching my thigh. I can clasp my hands together and press my arms together, getting a good stretch in the shoulders and opening my chest and collarbone.
2. In extended side angle pose I can get into the bind, which consists of slipping my arm under my thigh and reaching up for my other arm coming behind my back, which is why point one is so important.
3. My heels touch the ground in downward facing dog, but only when I shorten the stance a little. If I move my hands further forward, my heels rise up a little.
4. In the jump forward in the transition from downward facing dog to standing forward bend, I don't land in a semi-crouched position, but with my legs almost fully extended.

None of this happened overnight. I noticed some of these changes months ago, but the accumulation of evidence shows that no consistent practice stays static. The body responds to stimulation, to challenge.

Labels: blessing, class, practice

That's a rhetorical question. Last night I took in a yoga 2 class at Flow Yoga and it was sheer torture for most of the session. Angela, the normal instructor, was out for the week, and her place was taken by Jennifer Rene, another Flow teacher who also leads Pilates classes as well as yoga. Her cheery disposition lured us into the easy flow of the practice and then she ambushed us with a hellish combinations of high lunges into Warrior III into splits and then poses that I've forgotten the names of because I was lost in a cloud of trembling muscles, panting breath, and even dizziness. The most aching vinyasas came in repetitions of four on each side, but who was counting. I sobbed quietly as I folded over in half pigeon. The episode was like a big billboard alongside of the highway to self-realization and enlightenment: "You are not there yet."

And at the end, in all the numbness that comes over the body and the mind, there is the satisfaction of having endured, having persevered and found comfort in savasana.

And I keep telling myself that I don't want to go back to yoga 1 classes because they can be potentially so unfulfilling physically.

Labels: class

I've come to the conclusion that two days in a row of yoga flow 2 classes or equivalent is just about all that my body can take. Even though today is a holiday and I could have taken in a morning class without complication, I needed to allow my body to recover. Yesterday, I could tell that I had less reserves of strength. I could not get into crow and hold it (all the sweating did not help either because it made my knees slip off my elbows.), meaning my core strength was depleted.

I will probably still fit in some yoga today, working on my core and problem areas, doing my pranayama and meditation. I find that doing some pranayama goes a long way for picking up my energy levels. It's nice that I have something to fall back on.

Labels: class, practice

I took a break from blogging these past few days because I needed to catch my prosaic breath and I was just physically exhausted. On Monday and Tuesday, I took two Level-2 vinyasa classes at Flow Yoga with my daughter, Stephanie. I felt pretty good after the first class, but the second one really made me notice that my body had not completely recovered from the previous class — the strength was just not there, especially in my core, thighs and shoulders. By the time I got home last night, I just wanted to eat a light dinner and then go to bed. I got a full eight-hours of really deep sleep, which is unusual for me.

But I notice that throughout these intense sessions, there was a subtle shift in my body's conditioning. In most practices in the past, there would be a moment when I'd say "What am I doing here? Why am I putting myself through this torture?" These past few sessions, I was waiting for that threshold to be reached. I may not have the flexibility or strength to get into a particular pose or through a transition, but I never let that bring me out of my focus. There were poses when I was in way over my head, but I just explored the approach and space into those poses. It's intriguing that a milestone so intangible could seem so significant to me.

So tonight, I am taking it easy. Doing some pranayama, meditation and core strength conditioning. And I'm getting to blog a bit.

Labels: blessing, class

This evening, I took in a class at Thrive Yoga with Marina. I usually don't go to this class because there's not enough time to make the commute home, change clothes and go to the studio. The class is at 6:30. This time, I ran out of the office at 5:40, 15-20 minutes before I usually leave, took the Metro to Rockville, had my wife pick me up at the station, changed into my yoga clothes while we were driving to the studio, and got to the class when it was already started. Late by five minutes. Luckily, I found an open spot by the window, which happens to be my preferred location — a wall to grab onto during balancing poses.

Marina leads a very creative class. The asanas and vinyasas are not that exotic, basically, a Flow I-II level, but she modifies and combines them in unique ways, seemingly improvising as she goes along. She's always asking you to play with the pose, make it your own, stretch it farther and breath deeper, without hurting yourself, of course. She frequently asks you to hold poses for what seems like an eternity. I had a hankering for a class that tested my edge, and Marina did just that.

There's a lot of energy at Thrive Yoga. You can feel it in the lobby and the studios. The 40-day Personal Revolution got underway today, and more than 50 people have signed up to participate. They will have to do six classes a week (three in the studio and the rest at home), daily meditation and group discussions. This regime is modeled after the Baron Baptiste yoga crucible method. I bought his book. I don't think I can join the venture because I just have too many other commitments this month.

On Mondays, I usually go to meditation class at Flow Yoga with my daughter Stephanie, but she is working in Las Vegas this week so I decided to do something different.

Labels: class

I've noticed that I can usually hold most asanas individually, but when they are combined into vinyasa sequences, I have problems with the transitions, especially around the hips. For instance, tonight at Thrive Yoga, we were moving up from Reverse Warrior to Warrior II into Half Moon (Ardha Chandrasana), in which I transition into balancing on one leg and a hand on a block. I never seem able to make the same movement twice; I'm wobbling in and out of the pose; I easily lose my balance and fall out of the pose. It's also a completely different feeling working with the left leg forward from the right leg.

(On the other hand, with Sun Salutations A and B, I've done the sequences thousands of times over the past three years so they've become second nature to me.)

I am sure that this problem is related to my "spinal knot" -- the tightness of my hips, spin and shoulders. If muscles are clinched permanently, they are not going to allow for smooth movement.

A tip of the hat to my teacher tonight, Andrea Creel, who says she reads this blog regularly, bless her heart.

Labels: class, practice, yoga