It looks like Columbia's best secret is out. Amsa was packed again with eager yogis. Sara had us scoot forward and together to make room and we were good to go. It was a really fun class filled with a lot of energy and shard breath. I was in the back row and could still feel it.
Good: We did head to knee forward bends Janu Sirsasana www.yogajournal.com/poses/476 and I, you know, got my head to my knee. More importantly, I got there not with excessive strain but with slow breathing step by step on my exhales.
Bad: So we did Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend Upavistha Konasana www.yogajournal.com/poses/684 and I did a little better at not getting frustrated by how little I can lean forward but I still need to work on my mental attitude for the poses that "feel" like I should be better at. I don't get grumpy about not being able to do the most advanced variations that look difficult, but I have got a lot of work to do so that I can consistently find a healthy balance of striving but not stressing over the "simple" poses that are currently out of reach.
Yummy: Lots of yummy to choose from. Great adjustments helped me get closer to the essence of some of the poses. Sara does a wonderful job of not just "fixing" the students but reminding them of what the core of a pose is. Sometimes I (and presumably others) focus on the wrong part like straining to get a hand to the ground in extended triangle pose Utthita Trikonasana www.yogajournal.com/poses/494 instead of working on opening up the chest and creating a line straight up from one hand to the other through the shoulders.
In an effort to find more focus I also tried keeping my eyes closed except when looking for instruction or balance purposes. This definitely helped quiet my mind a little and also slowed down my comparisons with others. My breath is certainly not where I want it to be, but I felt some progress this class using the method of thinking "in" when breathing in and "out" when breathing out.
Oh, and I got to meet one of the new(ish) people of Amsa's growing community. Katie is a friend of Kerry's (so you know she must be nice) and a fellow USC alum. She does counseling work and is hoping to work with veterans. It seems like most of the people at Amsa are involved with helping others in some way. I don't think it's a coincidence.
See everybody soon!
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