10,000 Vinyasas

That’s Vladimir in the foreground, walking over to make sure I don’t fall…

I had the most wonderful day, in terms of proficiency, at acro-yoga last Friday. I’m still floating on the clouds of accomplishment (yes, I know that isn’t the point, but still, it feels nice, for a while) that came with just about everything I tried to do. My dropbacks into backbend were excellent, my standups were improving, and my handstands were strong and controlled. When your teacher, who is normally sparse with compliments and effusiveness, gives you a look of surprise and amazement and remarks on your achievements afterwards, that really means a lot. Not all days are like this; far from it, and the ironic thing is, I’m still nursing a rotator cuff problem in my right shoulder. It was so severe last Monday that I almost didn’t practice. Acro is cancelled for this week, so it will be a good time to rest take it easy, and do a little more cardio and other counter exercises to yoga.

Teaching notes: my Sunday class has grown quite a bit, slowly and gradually, over the last few months. It now averages, I’d guess, about 20 people or more. Very interesting to watch it grow; I do recall the trepidation I had when I took it over last year. Seems that my mind was, let’s say, not accurate in its perceptions. I”m also considering starting to ramp it up a little in terms of difficulty, since I have a core group who has been quite regular in attendance and their abilities are improving.

Long have I watched in amazement as people went from standing into backbend, never imagining in my wildest dreams that I’d ever be able to overcome the fear and actually do it myself. Well, the other day I was teaching and I actually did it on my own! Wow! It’s been quite some time since I had the sudden jump up in ability resulting in the attainment of the pose (of course, I know that there, in fact, was nothing “sudden” about it…it’s something I’ve been working on pretty continuously in acro for quite awhile), and it really feels great to be able to do it at least once. Now the challenge is to do it again, and become proficient. Once again, must give thanks for the expertise of my teachers; in this case, Vladimir.

Thanks also this week are due to Jen at Lululemon, who signed me up for their product research and development team (sounds more impressive than it is…but you do get a 15% discount for evaluating their clothes).

(update) The first one was followed by several today, and a feeling of confidence. Now, THAT is an accomplishment! Also, would like to mention that I was able to stand up from the same backbend at least a couple of times without help. Very nice. Once again, I am grateful to Vladimir for his ability to get me to this point.

I am still glowing from the other day…held my handstand longer than ever before! I am well aware, however, of how strange this must seem to those who don’t practice yoga in general, and advanced inversions in particular. It’s so encouraging, though, to continue to make progress, and of course, the practice itself is quite intense, addicting even. As a bonus, I’m learning more about adjusting people and helping them practice backbends and stretches. Once again, I feel lucky to be allowed to participate in this, since I notice that many people who are at least as accomplished as I am are not invited to take part. It is a rare thing, to be sure, and one that will probably not come again once it’s over, so I am motivated to get as much of it as I can while it lasts. (Writing these words makes me think that I should put off my teacher training for awhile…hmmmm). Well, thanks again to Ana, and of course Vladimir for his most effective teaching, and Barbara and Alejandro for their inspirational practice (I learn as much from watching them as I do from participating).

Well, we mourn the loss of our teacher, who is moving back to the East Coast in a couple of months. However, we hope to be taking some more teacher training to extend our knowledge and experience, while deepening our practice. (My use of the second person probably reflects the amount of wine I’ve consumed…look for first person in the next post). Really appreciating the mental and physical satisfaction of teaching at this moment. Our acro-yoga practice is continuing and reflects more progress, although the rate seems to be slowing, but the physical challenge remains.

Well, this month has been very bad, in terms of misfortune to myself and the people that we know. However, we realize in these situations that yoga serves as a lifeline to those afflicted with stress and life changing events. Many thanks to all my friends, who also made things easier, oftentimes merely by just their presence. I’ve been keeping up with Acro-Yoga as best I can, and I am again impressed with the amazing physical workout it offers, as well as the calming influence afterwards. I’ve also deepened my yoga practice (my physical abilities have improved somewhat, see Acro, above) but the meditative aspects of yoga have been revealing themselves to me more lately. My latest ambition is to take Tim Miller’s Ashtanga teacher training in July in Encinitas, CA. I will be taking his workshop here in March, and I expect to make a decision shortly after. Here’s hoping for a much better, wiser, happier, and more prosperous new year!

My knee has been deemed safe to practice, although it still hurts when I take it to lotus, and my right rotator cuff injury, which I haven’t mentioned until now, has started healing with the help of daily exercises, and I’ve continued to enjoy my acro-yoga practice. My progress so far: my handstand has gotten slightly better, my kickovers from backbend have gotten much better, and I’ve started practicing scorpion from headstand. Nice…the practice is intense and demanding, which is what I normally like in my exercise. I subbed quite a few classes last week, and really enjoyed that. My teaching has gotten much better, at least in my own eyes. I have a number of people who come to my classes with regularity, which is quite nice, but it’s also fun to teach to people who aren’t familiar with your own style. And that’s the news thats fit to print…

Well, here’s something I though would never happen...I appeared on a local television show and did some yoga. Considering that I’m coming up on my third anniversary of practicing yoga, this is something that really made me stop and think. How did I get here? I think that, and this is kinda funny because the rest of my life has always been so planned, so cautious, so little to do with my feelings and instincts, yoga has taken me in a direction I never thought possible, and the interesting thing is, I’m not in control of it at all. I just do whatever feels right, and things like Wednesday just kinda happen.

Practice notes: attended Ken’s Eight Limbs in Eight Hours (awesome title!) workshop on Sunday, which included the full primary series. I had forgotten how rigorous and thorough this practice is, since it’s been a few months since I did it, and oh did my knee hurt afterwards. Guess I’m not ready quite yet. Have been attending Acro-Yoga (yeah, like you couldn’t tell) and really still enjoying the physical challenge of it, as well as the warmth and closeness of the people involved (they are very very supportive, which is so nice when you’re doing extreme physical activities). Hats off to my friends!