Yoga Mind, Yoga Body - Parsva Bakasana

I think one of the reasons I love yoga is the mystery of it.  Truly, sometimes it doesn't make any sense to me.  There are periods where I practice every day for hours a day, and my body feels as unflexible as a steel pole.  Other times, I don't practice at all for a few days, come back and feel like jello. (Or, as jello-ish as I can be, which is probably closer to frozen-yogurt in consistency.)

A few days ago, in Chrissy's class, we practiced arm balances, culminating in Parsva Bakasana.  Here is Chrissy demonstrating beautifully (Parsva Bakasana is the last pose.)

It's SUCH a gorgeous pose when done correctly - the asymmetry from the front (of the legs to one side) creates a certain symmetry on the side (with the shoulders being level with the knees) that is totally breathtaking to me.

However, when I attempted it, I felt much closer to  

It was just one of those days when I felt like I didn't know my knee from my nose.  I understood the mechanics of the arm balance, but somehow it just wasn't translating into my body.  I left the class feeling a bit miffed, but quite certain that with months and months of diligent abhyasa (practice), I would eventually get the hang of it. (Ah, how challenging it is to detach from a practice when it doesn't go your way!)

However, the next morning, I woke up, and decided on a whim to try it at work.  (Yes, I love my job - I work in a playground. Did I say a playground? Sorry, I meant a gym.)  And voila!  We have lift-off!  Did it look like Chrissy's pose? Not quite.  Was it recognizable as parsva bakasana?  Absolutely.  

It was such a lesson to me in how silly it is to decide a timeline for things that I have no control over.  I truly thought it would take me months to even get off the ground, and there it was, happening the next day.  Also, it was a fabulous experience to just try something without expectation of it actually working, and...guess what! It worked!  If it feels good to you, try it sometime - take something that you "know" you can't do, and do it anyway.  Even if it doesn't happen, you may be closer than you think, and even if not, it's probably a good excuse for a good laugh!

Have a great day, and keep practicing.

P.S. For more information on practicing parsva bakasana from Chrissy's very funny perspective, check out her blog. It involves a golden retriever. Just saying. 

Adventures in Ashtanga - Yoga for the everyday teenage boy?

I'm currently in the last part of my 200 hour teacher training at YogaWorks, led by the majestically wonderful Chrissy Carter and Jenny Aurthur.  I'm sure I'll write a whole entry (or four) devoted to how amazing they are, and how much they have both changed my practice.  Before I started my 200 hour training, I was "teaching yoga" privately to some of my personal training clients. Now, of course, I realize that while I thought I was teaching yoga, it was much closer to, "hey, we're both in the same English class - want me to help you with your homework?" than actually teaching.  With the 200 hour training, I feel vastly more confident and able to offer concrete tools to my students, who thankfully are growing in number rapidly.


Anyways, during yesterday's teacher training, we had an Ashtanga practice, led by Jenny. 

Jenny Aurthur, one of my teachers.  She is, to put it mildly, BADASS.

 Ashtanga yoga, created by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, is a fascinating form of yoga that is meant to be practiced six days a week, in a set series of poses, usually at your own pace (So, not let by a teacher.)  It is vigorous and athletic, originally created for teenage boys to release excess energy.  (For more information on the practice, you can read more here.)  The YogaWorks method is a combination of Ashtanga and Iyengar yoga, so it was a great experience to have a "pure" Ashtanga practice.


This was one of the more difficult practices I have ever attempted.  Ok, let's be honest - it was by FAR the hardest practice I have ever attempted.  Five surya namaskara A's  (and no, mine does not look quite like that), five surya namaskara B's (nor that), followed by more vinyasas (complete with jump forwards and jump backs) than I could shake a stick at.  I could barely get through half the postures, and the other half didn't look quite so elegant, either.  I realized about 20 minutes into it, I had two choices for the practice - laugh or cry.  It would have been very easy to just give up or be miserable or self-criticising, but thanks both to Jenny and Chrissy's humor-filled attitude, and my own growth in the past few months, I treated Ashtanga like a playground of discovery.  The most fascinating part of the practice was, there were quite a few areas that I had previously been struggling with that just came naturally during Ashtanga simply because I didn't have time to think about them.


Anyways, it was really an adventure and an experience I am so grateful for.  In particular, I am so grateful that I chose the YogaWorks method, which makes the most sense for my particular body and spirit - it's thoughtful, alignment based, adventurous, playful and athletic.  The Ashtanga sequence was also a great opportunity to practice vairagya (literally colorlessness, more regularly translated as "non-attachment") and just let the practice be what it was without judgement. Of course, that didn't quite happen, but it was a nice thing to try, anyway.


Have a great day, and keep practicing!


Kat


P.S. To see what it's like to take a class with Jenny (a YogaWorks, non-Ashtangi class, that is!) check this out - it's FABULOUS!