Friday, August 13, 2010

Week 22 - Ariana

I was supposed to have a meeting this morning, but the person I was meeting forgot about it and then expected me to wait an hour for him to arrive. He did not apologize. This annoyed me. I try to respect other people's time. This irked me especially because of what I could have been doing instead of waiting for this person to show up - this week's sequence. Nonetheless, when I got home
I was determined and relieved to get to my practice. I missed it. I did not get to practice as much as I would have liked while we had guests staying with us. Then my daughter got sick for a few days and of course that took precedence.

When I finally did get to practice the determination paid off. I balanced without the wall in headstand for about 30 seconds. I was proud of that.

While I was reveling in my determined practice my husband came home with beautiful flowers. Then he broke the vase (my favorite) that he was going to put them in. I listened to the jarring sound of broken glass being swept up on the kitchen floor tiles. Pleasant. Non-attachment, right? Vairagya (Sutra 1.15 learning to let go of the many attachments, aversions, fears, and false identities that are clouding the true Self). Man, I had to work on that one. I was pissed. I kept telling myself "be grateful for the flowers!"

Moving on. Recently one of my Iyengar teachers suggested rolling up a towel and placing it under the spine in Shoulderstand in order to lift the spine and C7 up and get more onto the shoulders. I tried it, but didn't get it. I felt more pressure on my C7 and had trouble balancing. I will have to inquire further on that one. Maybe it's just not right with the Shoulderstand variations. I am getting used to these. The weight has to shift in each of them. The spine and body cannot remain completely vertical. Pictures of Mr. Iyengar in these poses confirmed that for me.

In general I find it's all about getting used to these postures. You have to learn how to use your body in different ways than you are accustomed to. You just have to be patient and keep trying (Abhyasa) like babies do when they start to learn to walk.

I continued to prop up the left knee in all of the lotus poses. I surprised myself and was able to do lotus with my right leg over my left. It has been a while since I could do that without feeling something in the knees.

Lolasana is troubling for me. Both my feet don't stay under me when my legs are in Gomukhasana. The top shin goes way out to the side. Lifting up in this did not work. I kept trying and pressing my hands vigorously into the floor but no lift off.

Chakrasana-the first few times I tried it I didn't let myself roll over to one side. I think I have to press into the back of my head and hands at the same time in this one. This pose scares me. I'm afraid I will hurt my neck.

I stayed in poses longer than usual. I noticed when I thought I was ready to move on to the next pose and instead stayed in it for at least 3 more breaths. I realized how important it is to stick around for at least one exhale, especially in the poses that are the most challenging. The release or letting go happens on the exhale. The more you do it the easier it gets.

When I started Siddhasana with Pranayama these words entered my mind- "This is all here for my amusement." When I finished this entered my mind - "There is still so much to learn." I am not sure what it means but I like it.

2 comments:

nobodhi said...

In Chakrasana it helps to push down really strongly through your hands while stretching your feet away from you as if someone was pulling them backwards - those two actions help initiate the rollover as well as the follow through.

ariana said...

thank you for the suggestions! I kept them in my mind the next time I tried it. I think I am getting closer.