Yoga Slacker

By bopyt on 2008/07/31

I’ve missed two weeks of yoga class. Last week I was out of town. Pretty good excuse.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

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The Hardest Pose

By bopyt on 2008/07/17

This morning during my yoga practice, it came time to do the bridge post. Oh! How I can’t do a bridge pose! I was tempted to just skip it. It’s just too hard. I can only lift my hips inches off the floor. It sometimes feels impossible. My back doesn’t seem to do backbends. Not voluntarily, and certainly not against gravity.When I do this pose in class, Beth always trys to adjust me by putting me more up on the tops of my shoulders and bending me and expanding me at the upper chest. My body doesn’t understand this….

So, I try the bridge. I lay on my back, raise my knees, and plant my feet as close to my butt as possible. I place my hands along my side with my hands coming close to touching my feet. I raise my hips up a little and try to scooch myself up on to my shoulders. I stay up only for a moment and then lower my hips back down. Now, my hands are closer to my feet. My chest is more expanded. I rest for a moment here and then raise my hips again and move myself a bit more onto my shoulders. This is mere fractions of a shift! Then try to lift those hips another millimeter! Every little bit counts!!

I’ll work on this pose for just a few minutes. They are looooonnnnggg minutes. When I’m done, I rest. I feel accomplished. I moved my hips!

The hardest poses are likely the ones that are most important to do. Even if you only do them assisted, for just a few moments, or just by millimeters. Doing them is what is important.

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I am a beginner

By bopyt on 2008/07/10

I am a beginner.  I always have been and always will be.
 
I have been a beginning yoga student since 1975.
 
I have taken beginning yoga classes many times.  Occasionally I take a "Beginner Plus" or even "Intermediate" class, but usually go back to the beginner level courses eventually.
 
I enjoy being a beginner.
 
I like doing my yoga from a beginner's perspective. 
 
Iyengar tradition encourages my beginner's tendancies… being conscious and aware of every little action.
 
For me, doing yoga is not about getting "better" or graduating to higher levels.  For me, yoga is in the doing. Yes, my downward-facing-dog is likely straighter now than five years ago. But that's not the point. The point is just doing downward-facing-dog over and over and over again. For as long as I can stand it (which still isn't all that long).  
 
I have occasional breakthroughs.  Like recently, when I learned that my raised knee in Tree pose shouldn't really be at a 90-degree angle from the straight leg… it should be more like 45 degrees. It is SO much easier to balance that way!  The beginners mind encourages me to learn… I never "assume" that I know how to do the asanas in class.
 
My current beginner class challenges me each week. It has the mark of a good yoga class …. That is, when shivasana comes around I am ready for it!  We do nearly the same poses each week… downward hero, dog, triangle, warrier, a twist and an inversion. Each time it's a little differnt. One week focusing on the shoulders, next on the hips, then the knees and feet.  We learn the subtle nuances of each pose and perfect them within a beginners ability.
 
When, and if, I become a yoga instructor, I will be a teacher of beginners… for beginners from beginners of beginning!
 
Cheers,
b

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Yoga Teachers

By bopyt on 2008/04/12

I am very guru phobic.  This stems from an experience in my teens that I don't want to get in to here…maybe later…  but suffice it to say that when I am drawn to a teacher I put myself on notice to be careful and watch out.  I don't ever take what a teacher says without a bit of analysis as to "if this works for me" and "how can I use this on my own". I don't want to be tied to a teacher, nor be disappointed when they turn out to be human, and have some flaw. I choose to have a peer realtionship with my teachers, rather than guru-disciple. I am uncomfortable being the disciple. It implies subordination, surrendor, and submission. I'm not going to go there. 
 
I have had many yoga teachers over the years. Some better than others. Some that were techincally good but that I just did not connect with for some reason. There are some I would never go to again because they seemed arrogant, or sloppy, or the were unconscious of their students' needs.
 
But I really like my current teachers. I value them and what they can teach. I respect them most highly. 
 
For my current yoga teacher at Austin Yoga School, Beth, I have developed a real willingness to do (or try to do) nearly anything they ask of me. Through this, my yoga practice has grown and my body, mind, and spirit are strengthened. I have respect for Beth, and can accept her as a peer in that she is of a similar age as me, she is not a "beauty queen" and neither am I, and so forth. She just happens to be more practiced at yoga, has has much to teach me. I also like her style of teaching and her sense of humor. It does not feel like guru-discilple, but professional instruction and a sharing of a practice. I really appreciate that.
 
 

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Supta Boddhi Konasana

By bopyt on 2008/03/26

Supta Boddhi Konasa
Supported Bound Angle Pose
 
This one just looks like it is easy.
 
Setup a bolster or a couple of folded blankets crosswise on your mat. Have a block or another blanket handy if you feel your head needs support.   
 
Sit with your feet pressed soles together, legs akimbo (love that word!). If your knees don't go to the ground, that's OK. You might want additional blankets under your knees to support them.  There should be a gentle stretch there.  Now, use a strap around the feet and pull them closer to your groin. Yes, pull them as close as you can with out too much force.
 
Now, lie back across the support.  There should be gentle bend in your back. If it's too much bend, use the support for your head or turn the support parallel to your back. Arms out at 45 degree angle, palms up. Breath,  Relax. Relax more on the out breaths to fully disengage in the pose.
 
Enjoy.
-b

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Viparita Karani

By bopyt on 2008/03/26

The pose of the week is Viparita Karani.  This is one of my favorite yoga asanas.  It is relaxing, restorative and fun to get into!
 
Select a nice wall.  It should have no picture hanging above, be approximately three times your width, fairly smooth, and have either carpet or a soft pad beneath it. Have with you a blanket to use as a small pillow for your head.
 
Sit next to the wall, parallel to the wall…with the wall firmly next to your side. Simultaneously, lay back and swing your legs up on to the wall.  Try to keep contact with the wall.  In the pose, you will be laying with your back and head on the floor, your buttocks firmly in the corner between the floor and the wall, and your legs straight up the wall.  Pull a simple folded blanket under your head up to your shoulders to support your neck and head. Spread your arms at 45-degree angle. Slip your shoulders under slightly and open your chest. Rest in this pose for 5 or 10 minutes. Try it. You'll like it.
 
A variation of the pose uses props to support your lower back and provide more opening of the chest.  In class, we used two blankets, with a bolster on top of that, positioned about 6 inches from the wall.  Your buttocks kind of wedges into the space and your lower back drapes over the support.  Again, using a blanket for the head and neck.  This give an even better rest to the back. I love it.
 
This website has a nice picture of the pose: http://www.eldr.com/article/fitness/yoga-solutions-healthy-aging
 
Yoga Journal has a nice page showing the pose with supports. (http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/690) and tells us the name Viparita Karani (vip-par-ee-tah car-AHN-ee) means:
viparita = turned around, reversed, inverted; karani = doing, making, action.
 
Don't let the lack of props stop you.  Put your legs up the wall today.
 
Cheers,
-b
 
 

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My Yoga Goals

By bopyt on 2008/03/20

Hi Beth,
You asked us for our goals for the 8-week beginner series.  Here's mine:
 
1. To be able to raise my arm above my head, extending it fully, keeping it straight with that little elbow thing that you like :)
2. To re-dedicate to my yoga practice.  I definately let myself back slide while recovering from the surgery (it was a good excuse… but just an excuse)
3. To begin to learn and remember some of the sanskrit terms: supta (supported!) baddha (bound!) konansana (angle pose!)
4. Stretch goal: to be able to do the pose with hands clasping behind my back…  not sure when this one is going to happen.
 
Thanks so much,
-Barbara

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Fwd: Restarting My Yoga Life

By bopyt on 2008/03/20

 Last night was the first night of Beth's 8-week beginner yoga series. I am starting again! After four months off, it felt good to feel my body. My shoulder has a little stiffness still.  I can't fully raise my right arm above my head, with straight arms slightly behind my ears like Beth likes. It is close, but not where it was last fall.  Also the warrior poses that she likes so much…  I can only hold my arm out straight for so long…
 
Sitting on a bolster with legs crossed, Beth instructs us to place our hands beside us and lift and open our chests. Then, without losing the openness, place your hands on your thights.  Now close your eyes and become aware of where the edges of your feet touch the floor. Become aware of the alignment of your torso, find the balance from your head to your sits bones. From the front to the back. From side to side. Balanced and centered.  Relax your shoulders down and away from your ears. Raise your hands to prayer position and feel the pressure of your thumbs against your sternum. The hands are together, but relaxed. Firmly touching, but not tense. Look over at your right shoulder. Can it move back and down a little further? And still be relaxed?  Now check your left shoulder. Can it move just a little further back and down? Keep it relaxed. Turn your head forward again, and then look down at your hands. Look at your entire body beneath you. Feel your self, here and now. From the sides of your feet, to your hands, to your torso. You are here in this body, in the present.
 
Now let's work on standing in tadasana…
 
I dedicate this practice to My Yoga Life.
 
Cheers,
-B

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