Nov 21 - 25: Patience!

I have gone to yoga class for the last 5 days, just have felt too lazy to blog about it afterwards.

I am learning a lot about patience, and the lessons keep coming in many different forms. For example:

On Saturday, I had one of my best ever Standing Bows. I thought "Omigod! I might hold it for the first time ever, and it will be on my birthday! How awesome is that?" And then I fell out. Must have patience when there are good things on the horizon!

On Sunday I had a crappy class, and just kept beating myself up over it, making the class worse and worse. Need patience through the rough times.

On Monday, I was having a really strong, fabulous class. Until Fixed Firm. Coming out of the second set, I pulled a muscle in my chest, I think my deltoid. I tried each of the rest of the postures, but the only one I could do was Rabbit. For the rest, getting my arms into position was too painful, and I had to lay out. I couldn't get my hands over my head for the sit-up, either. I was so mad! I was having an awesome class, and then I had to skip postures, and it wasn't due to laziness or fatigue, just muscle pain. I told Claire after class what had happened, and she said, "See, Jennifer, this class is about learning patience." And then I told her that it was fine, because after final savasana, I massaged the muscle until it felt about 90% better, and then did all of the postures that I missed, getting into the set-ups very carefully. She just laughed at me and said I am too much of a Type A. But again, patience!

So within 3 classes, I was presented with lessons in patience when things are going well, when they're not going well, and when things are outside of my control. I feel like I am a *much* more patient person now than I was when I first started practicing Bikram yoga, but I think the hardest kind of patience to learn is patience with yourself.

Nov 20, 9:15: Awesome class!

Today was an yoga amazing class. Wonderful. I've had lots of good, strong classes lately, but this was one of the awesome ones - where after it's over, you know you worked hard, you're proud of your hard work, you're dripping sweat, and just feel great. Nothing special or out of the ordinary happened, didn't reach any new milestones, just had an awesome class. I haven't had one like this in awhile.

One small thing that was different - I practiced on the other side of the room. For the first few months at this studio, I moved around a lot. When I was still working, I only had about 10 minutes between arriving at the studio and class starting, so I usually walked in and didn't have much choice as to where I put my mat. For the last month or so, I have been consistently practicing on the left side of the room, in abut 1 of 3 spots quite close to each other. I also end up with the same people practicing near me. Today I walked in, and the left side was full - I didn't stress about it, just took advantage of having first choice on the right side of the room. I had different people practicing around me than usual. Maybe it was their energy, maybe just a fresh perspective, maybe it had nothing to do with the side of the room at all - but I had a great class.

Tomorrow's my birthday, and I can think of nothing better than starting it with my regular Bikram yoga class!

Nov 17, Noon: Adductors!

Yesterday's yoga class was a good one. I didn't skip any postures, worked hard, had fun. I think the teacher was off a bit, losing his voice at one point, and correcting himself in the dialogue often, but it wasn't until the end of class that I realized he was off - as those things were happening, they just went in and straight out of my mind. I also felt like we held some of the standing series postures for not long enough, but we did a 1 minute Fixed Firm and a 1 minute Camel to make up for it. I stayed in both the whole time.

The best part of class yesterday was the chat I had with another teacher, Claire, after class. As I was putting on my shoes to leave, we started chatted, and I think it was about 20 minutes before I left. I really miss that from my old studio - yoga talk. In that studio, there was a waiting room area with benches right outside of the hot room, so after class, many of us would plop down for a few minutes to catch our breath before heading into the change room, and people would always end up chatting. In this studio, the hot room is upstairs, and the lobby is downstairs, so everyone just files out of the hot room into the changerooms, and there isn't as much interaction between students and with the teachers.

What Claire and I were talking about is various types of knee pain and the leg muscles. She has been having knee pain since she started practicing Advanced. I have had some pain in the tendon/ligament (I don't actually know which - need to look at an anatomy book) on the outside of my right knee. I know what it is from - I am often rolling my weight out on the outside of my foot on the one-legged postures. However, I have a hard time rolling it back to centre. I need to use the muscles on the inside of my thigh more (adductors? I get adductors and abductors mixed up). But, those muscles are weaker than my quads and the outside ones (abductors?), and I have a hard time just finding them when I need to use them. Claire suggested that I take some classes off, but I don't really think that will help. I might get some relief for that tendon, but I also won't be doing anything to build that muscle, either. When I am in the standing series and the couple other postures where this hurts, I really concentrate on the inside of my thighs, and try to work on strengthening them. The knee pain will only go away once I build that strength.

Claire also suggested that I do some exercises at home to build that muscle, then. I said, "Oh, like that evil machine at the gym where you squeeze that thing together with your thighs?" (I don't actually go to the gym, but I have been in one before. ;) ) She said yes - and that I could do the same thing at home with a yoga block or something similar. Brilliant! I don't have a yoga block, but I tried this last night with a rolled up yoga mat, and it totally works. I am excited to have this extra bit of knowledge and to use it, and to hopefully see improvement more quickly.

No yoga class for me today - I have an appointment this morning and one this evening, and they are both right in between when I would be able to get to class. Could've done the 6 am, but I figure after 13 days in a row, I can take one day off. I am thinking about doing another double on Monday, too.

Nov 16, 9:15: Tree Stand

I had a good yoga class again today. It's amazing what the heat does for our muscles. I often hear teachers say to people after their first class to come back the next day, even if they are sore, because the heat will make their sore muscles feel better. I'm sure most people don't believe it, and if they're sore, they wait a few days to come back.

Today I was feeling a bit sore in my lower back. I always do a bit of stretching before class, and I could feel some pain there, right away. I had to do all 4 parts of Half Moon quite gently, ease into each posture, because I was so tender. But after Half Moon, I didn't notice my lower back hurting throughout the rest of the class, even in Camel. The heat really does warm the muscles up well.

I was chatting with Lisa, who taught class, about Tree Stand afterwards. I think this is a posture that many people are able to just hang out in. One of the teachers from my old studio, Anastasia, would even sometimes say during this posture, "Don't hang out like a pinecone here. It's an active posture." But I have more or less always hung out here. I look into the mirror to make sure my hips and shoulders are in one line, I stretch up, I push my hips forward, I contract my glutes, and I roll my bent-leg hip down and out. But, I was able to do set all of those things up within the first 2 seconds of the posture, and it didn't take too much effort to maintain them.

I recently realized that I wasn't really locking my knee in Tree Stand. My leg was straight and I put a bit of thought into lifting the kneecap at the beginning of the posture, but then I would stop paying attention and my quad would relax. So now, I am spending all of this posture thinking about my standing-leg quads, and keeping them tight. And do you know what? Tree Stand is difficult for me now! My weight will start to roll to the outside of the foot, and it is hard to get it back when I am standing on one leg and my other leg is at such an angle. I even occasionally fall out of Tree Stand now, and that seems just silly to me. I still have work to do to build strength in my quads, though, so I just keep working on keeping my knee locked and thigh tight, and then I can get back to my hips, shoulders, etc.

This is one of the reasons I love this yoga - there is always more to learn, no matter how many times you've practiced any posture. No matter how much you improve in a posture, there is always a new aspect of it to open up.

Nov 14, 15, 10:00 am: A bad and a good class.

Yesterday's yoga class was awful. You know it's bad when you are putting on your shoes to leave the studio after class, and the teacher says to you "Jennifer, is everything okay?"

It's all about the mind. Yesterday was my 9th day in a row, and my body is starting to feel it. In Half Moon, my shoulders, arms, and upper back were sore, and my legs, and when I really started to push my hip out, I could feel my obliques were sore, too. My obliques are *never* sore, so I know I have been pushing myself lately. Having my whole body hurt in Half Moon is not a good way to start class. My toes going numb in Awkward, right afterwards, was too much. I was frustrated and angry, and could not get my focus or relaxation on track. I skipped one set of 4 different postures - awful.

Today was much better, though. In fact, it was a really strong class for me. I didn't miss any postures, and even though I was absolutely dripping, I wasn't really noticing the heat at all.

Ooh, and something quite wonderful has been happening for me in Standing Separate Leg Stretching pose. I have been able to touch my forehead to the floor for quite some time, and I can keep my knees locked, and my feet are fairly close to my mat. However, I only feel this posture in my hamstrings - until recently. In the last couple weeks, I am starting to feel the stretch in my hips/glutes. Heavenly! I don't always get that feeling, but I think I can achieve it by rolling forward more and kind of changing the angle of my pull/shoulders. This is a great feeling!

Looking forward to another great yoga class tomorrow.

Nov 13, 9:15: A few observations on yoga etiquette

Another class with Lisa today. I like her pacing and had a strong class today.

I had a few observations on yoga etiquette today, both good and bad. I try to be as respectful of others and the space as I can be, though I know I am not perfect. Also, I think in general that this studio is a bit lax re: etiquette as compared to my last one. For example, talking is allowed in the hot room before class (though not during or after), and latecomers are permitted, and will often walk across the room during postures. People will also walk across the room (not stand by the door) if they leave and then come back in during a posture. People also bring purses, extra clothes, etc. in with them to the room sometimes, and prop them up in front of the mirror, which is likely to block another person's view.

However, these were the few things I noticed during today's class. One bad, one good, one a question about me. Two young guys (early 20s, I think) came into class together, and were talking quite loudly (which is permitted, though usually people are quieter). The set their mats down in the middle of the room. Then, they got up and moved closer to the door, in the second row, behind where I was set up. One of them set up his mat *directly* behind mine. I consider this to be poor etiquette - since I was there first, he should set up his mat in a place where he can see himself. Instead, I ended up moving my mat when class started, as I didn't want to block him.

But, just seconds after this happened, I saw a lovely example of good etiquette. Our visiting teacher left to go to the bathrooom just before class started, and came back in as we were finishing our first breath in pranayama. I loved this - she opened the door, took one step in the room, then put her toes and heels together and joined in. When the first set was done, she scurried over to her mat. This is basic good etiquette in the yoga room - making sure not to provide distractions for the people around you. (The worst I have seen of this type is someone getting up and walking out of the room while we were in camel - as if that's not a lot distracting!)

Finally, an example of my own that I wasn't sure about. I lost the feeling in my toes again today during Awkward. I lost it during first set, Awkward 2. Now, when this happens, what I *really* want to do is sit down and wiggle each of my toes with my hands, but obviously that would be distracting for others, especially during the warmup. I don't feel comfortable going into Awkward 3 with no feeling in my toes, plus I am afraid that the feeling will worsen and affect the rest of my standing series, which would lead to more distractions for those around me if I fall out more, need to sit out, etc. So, I stood in place on my mat, arms still outstretched, and wiggled my toes on the floor. When everyone else was so low to the floor, I felt like I must have been a distraction, standing straight up; but, I wasn't sure what a better alternative would have been for me. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Those are my observations on yoga etiquette today. I think that the general sense we all need to follow is to be respectful of other in the room, and try not to provide distractions. However, I think there is also a lot of gray area within that rule.

Nov 12, Noon: Water!

Today's yoga class was brought to you by . . . not water. I left my filled water bottle at home on the kitchen counter.

This is not the first time I've completed a Bikram yoga class without water. I have left my water at home about five times over the last three months. Thinking about it today, though, I found another reason to see how far I've come. (I'm more than 250 classes and still no Standing Bow, so lately I am obsessed with finding other areas where I have made progress.)

When I first started practicing, I don't think I drank an obscene amount of water. I see people in the yoga room with two water bottles, one of them frozen. I started out with a plastic bottle that was probably 800 mL, and at the end of class, it was 1/2 - 3/4 full (but quickly emptied then).

As I became more interested in and committed to my practice, I started reading Bikram yoga forums and blogs online. Water is a subject that comes up often. I learned that Mary Jarvis' students aren't allowed to bring water into class at all. I read that water was just a distraction, our body just searching for something cold, our mind needing something to focus on other than the yoga, our breath.

I became committed to letting go of the distraction. I knew that's what the water was for me - a mini-escape from the heat, the yoga, meeting my own eyes in the mirror. I started out by promising myself I wouldn't drink water during the floor series except at Fixed Firm. (I quickly realized my stomach appreciated the lack of slooshing water in Camel.) Once I was able to make it through the floor series with only the one break, I endeavored to do the same in the standing series, with the exception of party time. I also allowed myself to take a sip before the first savasana. It didn't take very long to train myself into 3 breaks only. Before I knew it, I was only drinking at the first savasana, without even making that a goal.

The first time I left my water at home, I faced a dilemma. I was new to this studio, and I honestly hadn't noticed whether they sold water bottles in the lobby. (At my previous studio, they only sell metal water bottles, and there is a tall faucet of filtered water in the lobby.) I could go downstairs to check if there was water, or I could go through class without drinking at all, which is only one less sip than what I usually have, anyway. I chose to try water-less. Of course, it wasn't so bad at all! The only time that I found it difficult was about five minutes after class: I was parched then. Since then, whenever I forget my water bottle, I just roll my eyes at myself, and head into class.

Today was the same as that first day with no water. Parched after class, but just fine during it. I don't find that I actually get thirsty during class, but my mouth does feel dry after Pranayama.

If you haven't tried water-less before, or if you drink often during class, try cutting the water down or out. It definitely improves focus, and allows you to concentrate on why you are really there - the yoga. You can drink water any other time, for 22.5 hours each day!

Nov 11, 10:00

Glorious yoga class today - I was strong and focused. You know when you are so into the moment, into the dialogue, that the class feels like it goes by in about 15 minutes? One of those. Yoga bliss. It was really hot in there, too - I just had the right mindset to not even notice it.

My toes went numb in Awkward again today. I skipped the second set of Awkward 3 as I was only at strong pins and needles, not complete numbness. I knew if I went into A3, I would have numbness, and it would make the rest of the standing series very difficult. Felt like a better idea to miss that one posture, than to have no balance and discomfort for the next several postures. Part of me was tempted to go into A3 and deal with the numbness though - maybe it is something I need to do to work through it?

I have found some new strength in cobra lately, and it is letting me get into my low back more. I always think about keeping my legs and glutes really tight here. I think what I was doing in the past, though, was getting them tight, and then relaxing them as I lifted my chest, and then re-tightening. The result was often shaking legs. I am now concentrating on keeping them tight as I come up, and then it is easier to keep them tight, and there's no shaking. Then, I can concentrate more on lifting my chest more, dropping the shoulders, and bringing the elbows down and in closer. Love it!

We also had a funny moment at the end of class. Aidan said, during final savasana: "Since it is Remembrance Day, I have a quote about peace to share with you." He then went silent. I thought he was unfolding a piece of paper with the quote written on it. Then, he said, "Nope, I forgot it. It has completely left my mind." We all laughed. "Yep, completely forgotten. Sorry about that." More laughing. What a nice feeling to laugh in yoga class!

Nov 10, 9:15

Janet was teaching today, and I asked her to tell me when I was in the chair. At my studio, the pictures of NFL player Tony Parrish are up in the lobby. Janet took me over to look at Parrish in awkard so we could talk about the correct form (she says his is pretty much 100% correct). Here's the picture if you'd like to check it out: http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/81364036/Sports-Illustrated

It was funny to hear to dialogue interrupted by "Jennifer, you are in the chair," but good to have that reinforcement. The chair is WAY lower than I thought it was - much closer to Awkard 3 than I had though. It was also REALLY difficult for me to maintain. But, I got down there, then lifted my heels without coming out of the chair, and held it until my legs were shaking, and then more, and more, and then a quick drop out right before "change." Triangle set-up was difficult today, as I think I used up most of my leg strength in Awkward. However, I know that consistently doing the things in class that are difficult more quickly makes them easy/easier. My personal Awkward 2 challenge is on. :)

Nov 9, 9:15

Another good, strong, class. I feel like I am finally getting past my emotional/mental block about switching studios.

I tried Janet's suggestion today for Awkward 2 - just going down and getting into the chair, and then worrying about getting up higher on my toes once I'm there. Totally didn't work the first set: I got down fairly low, but as I was bringing my heels up, my hips came up, too. Second set, I concentrated on *staying* down. This was better, but I think I need a teacher to tell me when I am in the chair. I think I may have gone down too low. I will ask the teacher tomorrow to watch that for me and tell me when/where to stop.

I have also figured out the arm thing with Spine Twist that I was experimenting with last week. I don't think that it was setting up the arms in the reverse order that was moving the stretch for me. I think putting my back arm down into the floor first just caused me to lift my chest more. I have now figured out where to twist from whether my arm is there or not. I think that in the past, when we lift in Spine Twist, I was lifting out of my head - kind of like there was a string coming out of the top of my head, and someone was standing next to me, pulling it straight up. Now, I am finding that if the lift is a bit more in my chest, I actually feel a stretch in my back.

My studio is doing a 5-classes-in-1-day challenge in about a month. Aidan, one of the teachers, is convinced I am going to do it. When students have been asking about it, he says "I am going to do it. Jennifer is, too." His message seems to be getting through though - I am considering it. I almost dread the fact that I would have to start the day with a 6:15 am class more than actually doing 5 in a row! I want to do another Monday double between now and then though, since I have only done a double once before. We shall see.

Nov 7 & 8, 10:00 am

One post for two days of practice.

Yesterday was a really interesting class for me. In Awkward 2, my toes started to go numb. You know when you wake up and your arm is asleep, and it is SO asleep that you can't move it and need to pick it up with the other arm to do so? That is how asleep my toes were. Awkward 3 finished the job, making all 10 toes completely numb - I couldn't feel them at all by the time it was time to change postures. I had to lean forward a lot and rock back on my heels to come up. I did the second set of Awkward 1, reasoning that my weight is on my heels and I don't need my toes anyway. Awkward 2 and 3, second set, I stood still on my mat and wiggled my toes around.

My balancing series is my worst part of the class, as I fall out of pretty much everything, though occasionally hold Balancing Stick. My toes were still numb, though I was regaining a bit of feeling, through all of the standing series. It is *extremely* hard to balance when you can't feel your toes. My toes were still tingling a bit while we did the floor series, though I didn't notice very much as they aren't really relevant in any of the postures here. After lying in final savasana for a few minutes, I grabbed each of my toes one at a time, wiggling them and pushing them back and forth. The feeling was back in all but 3, all in my left foot. I chatted with the teacher after I'd showered and changed, and by then, I all my toes were fine.

I've told this story on the yoga forums before, so this may sound familiar - between the ages of 14 and 21, I wore high heels every day. I then started getting pain shooting up the centres of my feet, and started wearing flats. I now (27 years old) only wear heels when I go to weddings - just haven't been able to find a pair of flats that are dressy enough. When I wear heels now, I lose feeling in 3 of my toes (the same three that were numb during final savasana), and it takes about 3 days for all of the numbness to go away.

So what was going on in my feet? Is it related to the problems I have when I wear high heels? I talked to the teacher yesterday after class, and she didn't have much advice for me, and told me to talk to our studio's owner. I talked to her after class today, and she didn't have much to offer, anyway. Her best guess is just changes in circulation, or possibly a pinched nerve in my foot somewhere. The visiting teacher was in the lobby as well when we discussed this, and she said she used to have numbness in her big toe, and it turned out to be due to the shoes she was wearing. She said she was able to press down on a part of her foot where the shoes were tight (when she wasn't wearing the shoes), and could cause the numbness. I may play around with this idea, too, but I think it is the "on the toes" action that causes the numbness. In either case, I hope yesterday's numbness is the beginning of working through an old injury, and I am happy that the feeling was gone within 2 hours, rather than the 3 days I have experienced from wearing high-heeled shoes.

Coming out of the discussion with Janet, the owner, today was some good advice (I hope!) for me for Awkward 2, though. My Awkward 1 and 3 are both pretty strong. Awkward 2, I am not even close to getting into the chair. Janet recommended that I concentrate more on just getting down, and then raise my heels/go up on my toes more. She says not to think about the toes at all until I am sitting in the chair, rather than trying to do both at once. I'll try that tomorrow and hopefully make some good progress!

Nov 6, 9:15

I missed class yesterday - some bad things were happening in my stomach for the first couple hours after I got up, and I didn't think I'd be able to make it through class. Got lots of rest and am feeling better today.

Claire taught today's class. The room is getting to be quite full for the 9:15s now; I guess that's a consequence of the colder weather. I had a strong class again, and didn't skip any postures - I think I am getting out of that habit, which is excellent.

I've read in a couple different blogs and forum posts lately ppl commenting on pushing the hips forward in the setup of triangle. I wondered if that could be the cause of the pain in my right knee on the second side of triangle, and concentrated on that today. I really thought about pushing the hips forward and squeezing my glutes going into the posture. No knee pain, though it could've also been due to a good set-up with the heel alignment. Will try again tomorrow.

I also changed my focus during the second part of Awkward today. For most of the standing series, my point of focus is my belly button (except for the poses where it needs to be my knee, and in Standing Bow, it is my forehead). My Awkward 1 and 3 are both quite strong, but 2 is very difficult for me. My legs start shaking when I am probably only 1/3 of the way down. Ida always says that if something isn't working for you, to change something and see if that works better. I have experimented a lot in this one - working on getting down further, then trying to get my heels up more and less focus on getting down, glutes relaxed or not, etc. However, today I decided to make eye contact in the mirror instead of watching my belly button (where I can also see my legs/knees). I think I got down further, and I was definitely higher on my toes. Maybe being less aware of what my legs are doing gives me less opportunity to stress about it, and then I can just move forward. Will keep trying this out for the next few classes, too.

Nov 4, 9:15

Twice within a week, I had a new (to me) teacher. Today another regular that I recognize from practice was standing on the podium instead. I wonder how many more of these are hiding out in my studio.

I enjoyed his class. I was able to really zone out during the standing series, and I had a strong practice that went by quickly. His dialogue is very much that - just the dialogue. No extra tips, nothing changed around, just the dialogue. (Funny how I couldn't recite the dialogue myself, but I know it when I hear it!) The only things that I noticed were missing from the dialogue were the parts that I think of as the "silly parts" - Japanese ham sandwich, no dingle-dangle, and a few others. I actually quite like those parts of the dialogue because they make me smile, and make beginners laugh, but I understand why some teachers choose to leave them out, too.

DancingJ's post tonight is about how moving one part of the body can have an effect somewhere else on the body that isn't immediately physically connected. She found that moving her shoulder forward had an effect on the angle of her foot. I had a similar correction today after class.

I was staying to practice Standing Head to Knee and Standing Bow, as usual, and Janet (teacher) had been practicing, and was on her way out the door. She passed behind me, and pointed at my hip. Of course I fell out, and then we whispered about it. She told me to drop the hip of my kicking leg down more in Standing Head to Knee. This is actually an alignment thing that I noticed a couple months ago (saw my hips on a diagonal line in the mirror and thought "hmm, I bet those are supposed to be level) and have been trying to work on anyway. So I asked Janet "But HOW do I bring it down." She said "Just think about dropping it." I tried again, and it was still too high, but when I thought about kicking forward more - boom! My hip came down level. Apparently, in order to lower my hip, I need to kick forward more, not just magically drop the hip down. Funny, I think that is in the dialogue - kick forward more. The answers are always there, even when you aren't looking for them!

Nov 3, Noon

Today's class was with Janet, who I think has been sick for a couple weeks as I haven't had a class with her in awhile. She is the butt-kicker of the studio - works us hard and keeps the room really hot. She kept talking about how we had a really juicy room today and to take advantage of it and push into the postures, but I was having an okay time with the heat.

I have been taking the time to center myself before class starts and set my intention, and to smile more often. I've definitely been more focused and less resistant in class.

I think I have mentioned earlier that I have been having some stress/pain on the outside of my right knee. I know it is from not rolling my weight far enough to the inside of my foot, or not keeping it there when I do. I am working on it in pretty much every single standing posture. I have also been having a non-Balancing Stick for about 5 months now (how is it possible it has been that long!?) since I received a correction that I needed to look forward more. I have been falling out of this one at least once, often twice, and not unusually three times each class. I have been trying to really focus on the floor, and keep my gaze strong and with intent, to keep balanced. Today, I found myself concentrating on the quads of my standing leg - and then I had a really solid leg, and I held all four parts of the pose! It's funny how just changing your focus can completely change a posture. Looking forward to trying this one again tomorrow.

I tried to replicate the set-up for Spine Twist that we used yesterday. On the first side, I still felt this one in my hips. One the second side, I felt it in my back again. Will keep playing with it! I really enjoy the feeling in my back when I get it.

Nov 2, 9:15

I skipped class yesterday. I went to a Halloween party on Saturday night in the next town over and didn't get home until 3 in the morning, at which time I needed to cook some food, so I didn't get to bed until 4 am. Four hours of sleep wasn't going to cut it for me, and my studio doesn't have any afternoon classes on Sunday.

In today's class, we had a guest teacher from New Zealand. We've had quite a few guest teachers lately, and I have to say that I like classes where the teacher has an accent. I have really good focus. She had nice pacing as well - overall, a great class for me, and I feel like my sugar hangover is now completely gone!

She also set up Spine Twist differently than I'm used to, and for the first time ever, I felt something in my back in this one! I usually feel Spine Twist in my hip flexors. (I talked to Ida about this once, and she said that it does act as a hip opener for some ppl based on anatomy, and this was fine.)

This is the order I am used to:

Right knee bent on floor; left leg over top; right arm up and over, grabbing the right knee; left arm on floor behind with palm at base of spine, pressing floor; stretch up; grab inner thigh with left arm; stretch again; twist backwards. (Keep stretching and twisting after that.)

This is the order we did today:

Right knee bent on floor; left leg over top; left arm on floor behind with palm at base of spine, pressing floor; right arm up and over, grabbing the right knee; stretch up; stretch again; twist backwards; grab inner thigh with left arm. (Keep stretching and twisting after that.)

The two differences: dealing with the arm that goes to the base of the spine before the one that goes up and over the bent leg. And, grabbing the inner thigh after twisting has already started, instead of before.

I can't believe these two small changes made such a difference in the pose for me. This makes me wish there were two sets of Spine Twist so that I could try each way, back to back. I will try to do the new way for the next few classes, though, anyway, and see if the results are consistent.