10,000 Vinyasas

Because of sweaty conditions, this morning in Lisa Long’s Mysore practice I got myself into Garbha Pindasana today without help. Couldn’t do much with it but roll backwards a few times, but still…my right knee is still preventing me from taking the full Marichyasana D, but I’m ok with that. I can usually take the full Padmasana in the correct order (right before left), but some of the other poses (Janusirsana C comes to mind) are still limited. I am looking forward to studying with Manju Jois, a teacher my original teacher referenced many times.  Further progress is also noted in acro-yoga, where my kickovers without help are more consistent.  Hoping to take more of Mike Matthews in the near future.  An odd event:  my attendance at Mysore the other day resulted in my being given a number of Second Series poses.  I have to wonder about that;  I don’t feel that I’ve  “mastered” Primary Series, although I grant that I can do a passable version of most of the poses.  So, what really is the standard for moving on, I wonder?

I think the shoulder is completely healed, a combination of rehabilitation (Airrosti) and me being careful in practice.  At any rate, we did 3 kickovers in a row at acro today without issue, and I believe it’s time to move on.  Anticipating tomorrow’s practice with hope and enthusiasm. A death in the family this week caused me to miss some practice, and I was especially glad to get back to it; it feels like your body truly needs this and suffers when it is not available. Teaching notes:  I am starting my fourth weekly class tomorrow, and intend for it to be a more vinyasa-style class, in the vein of what my original teacher used to teach.  I continue to sub a different class at least once a week, which keeps things fresh and at the same time makes me appreciate my “regulars.”  One of the unanticipated pleasures of teaching is watching people make progress.  I imagine some of them may not even notice the slow but steady progress, but when you look at the group as a whole and compare them to the students in a subbed class, the difference is noticeable.

Well, I was kind of joking a few posts ago about the “sweatiest practice ever,” but I think yesterday’s return to my Saturday led Primary Series really was, in fact, if not the sweatiest, then certainly up in the top three. Also noted that this practice was done on perhaps the hottest day of the year here. At any rate, brought one of my students along to help him experience a different teacher and environment; he acquitted himself well.  My shoulder has almost completely healed, and I did not aggravate it yesterday by jumping back (I am doing this with more awareness now, so I think we can continue without fear of further injury). I had missed the led Primary class quite a bit, and despite some normal difficulties, got through it with a sense of serenity and peacefulness.  Looking forward to getting back into more practice, although I may have to attend to my “other” job more than usual this week. In other news, I have picked up a new class at the gym on Saturday mornings, and am scheduled to sub for a teacher at the gymnastics center not far from the house.  Acro has been going well, also (pictures to be posted).

I have noticed, probably without thinking much about it, that I have recently developed a weakness in my left shoulder, manifesting itself in pain when jumping back into chaturanga.  When we resumed acro-yoga this week, I was doing a kickover when I felt a searing pain in the front of the shoulder.  I immediately attended to it, and was actually able to do a regular practice of handstands, but the pain has really prevented me from doing my usual yoga practice, and in some of the classes I’ve taught this week, I most obviously cannot jump back in the normal manner. I discovered today that one of the issues was my left hand coming slightly off the floor when jumping back, and consciously planting that hand eliminated the pain. Further healing seems necessary, though, and I have decided to forgo my usual led Primary Series tomorrow and Mysore practice on Sunday.  I can do some of my personal practice without straining the shoulder, and my teaching job at the gym enables me to take some rehabilitation without cost, so I have an appointment Monday for some of that. It’s a little discouraging, but I do have a history of using injuries in a positive way, to develop other skills or parts of my body. For acro specifically, we are working on extending my handstands by quite a bit, and that is developing my endurance.  I am also emphasizing more of my splits, which are already almost developed, but need a little extra attention.  It was kind of upsetting to have to teach in pain this morning after I strained the shoulder again (couldn’t help demonstrating something I shouldn’t), but I do think acro-yoga does slightly help the injury, since the alignment is fixed and the shoulder is worked in that position. Sorry to be so self-centered in this post, but I think it’s valuable to record some of my responses to adversity in addition to the positive ones (which, by the way, outnumber the negative exponentially).