So I have been trying to get my friend Michael to go to yoga with me for awhile. Michael is also a teacher and has even more stress than me because he teaches Middle School. I certainly still have frustrations and stresses and do not deal with them healthily all the time, but yoga has definitely helped me improve my attitude and patience along with my overall health. I am hopeful that he will be able to use yoga to enjoy some of these benefits too. This class was special not only because I got to take my fiend to his first yoga session, but my wife Amanda had enough free time to get a little yogic pick me up also. So how did it go?
Good: I've been working on Extended Triangle Pose Utthita Trikonasana www.yogajournal.com/poses/494 in my home practice and just love doing it. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have gotten some great adjustments in past classes and know I have a better understanding of Triangle than I have previously. Of course I can always get better, I just feel so good when I do this pose. When Amanda and I went to Japan and had to be on plane for a ridiculous amount of time I was even rocking (not so extended) triangle in the tiny bathroom just to keep limber.
Bad: Ugh. So I used to be pretty flabby. I am certainly not buff or anything, but Yoga has helped me shed a fair amount of that and also cut my cholesterol in half. Pretty much every class has a few poses that create some heat or even get you sweating. However, because of my schedule this semester it is hard for me to get to the classes that really turn it up a notch for burning calories. I have a Gold's Gym membership that I am stuck with until the contract expires (I panicked when I had a disturbing doctor's visit). So I try to go fairly often to get value out of the money they are getting from me but I am always afraid I will step on a syringe or get clotheslined if I don't wipe the equipment down right. Seriously, I have been yelled at by large employees there and it was pretty scary. Anyways, excuses, excuses I have a little pot belly right now and it makes a lot of the poses much harder than they have to be. I am going to have to turn up the home practice and drop this cannonball I am lugging around. Just because I like cow pose doesn't mean I need to have my own udder.
Yummy: I'm loving this basics class. I feel like my plank pose www.yogajournal.com/poses/470 got better with our review of this staple. Just putting my mind in my place where I can get back to the openness of a beginner is great. I also just wanted to say thanks to both Kimberly and Helen (a fellow student and newly minted yoga instructor) for making Michael feel welcome and ensuring that his first class was a friendly and supportive one. The community at Amsa is truly special.
Real quick before I go, thanks everyone who has had kind words about this blog. I couldn't do it without all the support and kindness people are sharing with me. A lot of people are also worried about me catching up (in a sweet helpful way). I know yoga can and does happen in our homes as well, but I am trying to reach 365 classes with a live instructor (I'm not counting DVDs or classes taught by Zombies). The community aspect and learning from and with others feels like the core of yoga to me. I certainly am spending a lot of time on introspection, but without connecting and growing with the journeys of those around me it would be too cold and lonely a trip to take. Thanks everyone for sharing your journey!
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