Yoga School – Day 12

Photo by Niko R @ Flickr

Today combined energy work with adjustments.  J spent the WHOLE DAY with us (she is totally amazing!) and led us all down some incredible paths.  We spent the morning with energy work.  It is impossible to describe the things that happened in class, but I will share that my “take away” is that once you open your mind, the possibilities are endless.  As my Mom reminded me this evening: “Minds are like parachutes: they only function when open.”

If you’re curious about the energy work, email me.  I’d be happy to share my experience and some of the resources that were given to us.

The afternoon was more work with adjustments, specifically focusing on the adjustee’s energy.  It was great to work with a lot of different people with very different body types and shapes.  I’m on the tall-end of average height for women and it was a struggle to adjust some of the taller men and petite women.  We learned some great moves, though, to help compensate for this.

One awesome exercize that J had us do was to line up in rows on eight, one person on the mat and one person behind them doing the adjusting.  J would call out the poses in the flow and every so often she would say “switch!” at that moment we had to move down the line.  The speed at which she called everything out meant you had to stay focused, present, and attuned to the person you were with.  Sometimes you were only with someone for the space of a “flat back” or a “fold forward”.  I messed up the line at one point as I was adjusting this one woman and I was totally into her energy.  As a result I forgot to switch when the “switch” was called.  Whoops!  Anyways, I really liked this drill and felt that it brought all of the elements of adjusting together into a cohesive whole.

I feel that more than any other weekend, we connected as a unit.  Not because someone gave an amazing teacher experience, or shared a painful story, but that we, as a group, connected in much stronger way.  I feel uplifted and energized by all that we shared energetically and through touch.  I am so lucky to have  met and interacted with 42 amazing, compassionate and corageous people.

Yoga School – Day 11

Spring!

Finally!  We learned modifications and adjustments today! I have been anticipating this for a long time.  One of my favorite things about yoga is being adjusted by the teacher.  It feels great!  I’ve been wanting to give back with that, but had no idea how to do it well or safely.  Today was the day!

JB was back with us, for the last time, and led us all through a modified flow with specific attention paid to wrists, shoulders, knees, hips and lower back.  It was interesting to go through all the modifications and realize just how many I did when I first started to learn yoga. Knee down in cresent lunge, knees down in chaturanga, and shortening my stance in the warriors.  At the time, I didn’t even realize they were modifications — I thought they were the real pose.  LOL!  But that mentality really helped.  It kept me from being overwhelmed and forced me to work at a safe pace until my body built up the strength and flexibility to carry me safely through the flow.

We broke into groups of four and taught each other the flow with adjustments.  After getting over my initial fear of hurting someone or being too forceful, it felt really good to get in there and help someone relax into the pose.  Sutra II,47 in the Yoga Sutras says that

“Yoga pose is mastered
by relaxation of effort,
lessening the tendency
for restless breathing,
and promoting an identification
of oneself as living within
the infinite breath of life.”

Adjusting people to get them more comfortably into the poses resonates with this.  Once you’re comfortably in the pose, you can breath.  In yoga, it’s all about the breath.  Breath is power, energy, life.  It feels good to know that I can help someone achieve this with just  my hands and words.  Feels  a bit like a superhero moment: “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Now it’s time for a shower, a snack, and some meditation.  I recently got Anodea Judith’s Chakra Balancing kit and am excited to try out one of her guided meditations.