Week 4-Ariana

My body was tired today, lethargic and heavy. I had to coax it to get it to move. While in Warrior 2 I experimented in order to get a feeling of buoyancy. I made small movements as if I was springing or bouncing up and down gently- as if on a trampoline. The leg muscles released as a result of this. It was fun. Then I stayed in the pose for a few breaths and realized that I wanted to let go of the intensity I was creating in the pose. So I purposely let the body "melt." I spent some time making the form of the pose and when I had established the form, I melted into it. That is what it felt like. I did not collapse I let go of tension. I was playing with the difference between effort and tension.

I enjoyed the tadasanas between all of the standing poses.
Each one felt lighter than the previous.

My neck and shoulders took center stage in Triangle and Side Angle. My bottom shoulder rolls forward and up towards my ear. I adjust that frequently and roll the shoulder away from my ear. But I lose some of the twist in the torso when I do. So I played with that dynamic today. I also felt a lot of over effort in my neck today in these poses. I felt relief from that when I moved the head back slightly.

In Revolved Triangle Iyengar's instruction to rotate the trunk along with the back leg was helpful. I felt more stable and had an easier time bringing the front hip back. I also agree with Jenny that stretching the shoulders and shoulder blades away from each other also helps to get into the pose.

Shoulderstand was hard for me today so I did not stay very long in the pose. My elbows were splaying out making it difficult for me to lift up. I kept feeling the urge to adjust my head and neck while in the pose. Knowing this is not the thing to do I came down instead. Halasana eluded me today too. I was surprised because I really enjoyed it last week. I did the pose the same way- supported with my feet on a chair. Doing the poses the same way on different days reveals how the body changes daily. This time I did the sequence at night. Last week I did it in the afternoon.

My neck is still feeling tense.