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.