Power Yoga III – 3/25/10

Power Yoga III
3/25/2010
Hemenway Gym, Harvard University
55 minutes
12 peeps

Power Yoga III – Return of the Crow

Power Yoga III
3/4/2010
Hemenway, Harvard University
55 minutes
10 peeps

child’s pose
downward facing dog
down dog to plank
vinyasa
tadasana
intention setting
3 Sun As
3 Sun Bs

three-legged dog
flip dog/hip opener
vastistasana

crescent lunge twist
warrior II
side-angle
half bind/full bind

warrior II
reverse triangle
triangle
half moon
standing leg split
vinyasa back to down dog
walk hands to back of mat and sit down into malasana
crow/tripod

high plank for 5 count
low plank for 5 count
2 locust
1 bow
mats to wall for bridge
wheel with blocks at wall
supta baddha konasana
happy baby
reclined pigeon
inversion
spinal twist
savasana

This group always intrigues me — the class is billed as a Power Yoga III, and yet atleast half the group is beginner.  Perhaps it’s the rule follower in me that says if something is billed as “advanced” and you’ve never done it before, then maybe you should try something else.  But then again, that’s probably why all these kids got into Harvard ::wink::.

It’s a fanstastic challenge for a teacher, though!  Making sure everyone is getting the most out of their practice be it their first or hundred and first is my goal in every class (besides getting my lefts and rights straight.)

Yoga School – Day 13

image from http://carrieannwiedemann.com

Upside down and looking like pretzels, that’s what today was all about.  A was with us ALL day (poor guy!) working with inversions and arm balances in the morning and then coordinating the teaching and assisting in the afternoon.  The workshop this morning went a long way to dispelling my terror over inversions.  Shoulder stand is all fine and good, but handstand, headstand, etc… scare the beejeezes out of me.  The fear of inversions comes from a long-held, deep-rooted fear that my body is not strong enough to support itself.  I just ::know:: that if I try it, I’ll break my own neck because I’m too weak to do things like that. As we neared the point in the morning when we would break into smaller groups to teach and spot each other, I could feel the panic rising.  This was not going to be good.

When we finally broke into small groups, with the gentle and generous help of a fellow student, (and many other encouraging words from fellow students,) I slowly made my way up into tripod, the beginning post for tripod headstand. Thankfully I had someone holding my hips and low back to keep me in position, else I don’t think I would have even made it that far.  And I definitely didn’t breathe.  But I made it for a little bit!  It wasn’t quite so terrifying, though I still have a long way to go in trusting my own body’s strength and ability to go upside down.  It’s definitely a goal – to someday come up, unsupported into a headstand.  I’ve conquered wheel and crow: headstand is next!

Arm balances were amazing!  Crow and sidecrow rocked my world and I loved learning some of the others.  I packed my camera this morning, too, and got some fun shots of fellow yogis trying out these new poses.  Some of the balances were really challenging, but it was so inspiring to look around the room and see where people were suceeding.  What a talented, strong and flexible bunch we all are!  I am so proud of my fellow students and their ability to get into and hold these poses.

The late morning, afternoon and evening was all teaching, with the full flow broken up into four sections, with a new teacher for each section.  Each section also had two assistants.  I got to assist twice today and it was awesome!  Got some great feedback and learned a lot about how and when to touch people.  For the most part, everyone who assisted did a great job.  The downward dog assists are still a little awkward for me since it’s usually my thighs that get pulled back and up and not my hips, but perhaps I have weird hips or they’re hard to find.  ::shrug::  Either way, I love being adjusted and got a happy little thrill every time someone adjusted me.  It’s like when you can already do something pretty well, like ride a bike, and then someone comes along and shows you how to race down a mountainside on our bike.  That’s what adjustments feels like.  In my regular practice I’m riding a bike at a fairly good pace, but then with the adjustments, the extra opening, the encouragement  and support, suddenly I’m in the Tour de France.

With the exception of a lame-ass elbow injury which hindered my evening practice, I would categorize today as one of the best days ever.  Acknowledging a fear, taking steps to overcome it, learning something new and further connecting with my classmates in a fun and energetic atmosphere made today one for the books.

Time to drift off into Yoga Land (thanks N for the awesome phrase!)

If you’re wondering how I feel about tomorrow being the last day, well, I’m taking it like Scarlet O’Hara:  “I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

Namaste!