I have spent a bit of time this morning searching my brain for 'n' words. I finally had to pick up a book and start scanning it until I found words beginning with 'n'! This is a good one; as in you can't get from 10 to 8 without 9, so it is 'necessary'.
When I mentioned this word game to my Gentle class, it was met with rolling eyes. (These students have been through and seen enough to not mince words; they call a dumb idea, a dumb idea -- no punches pulled.) Perhaps it is silly -- however, it is giving me fodder (def. food) for this blog. And, these mornings, it's jump-starting my writing.
I must admit, I am learning as I do it. Words that normally wouldn't appear in my vocabulary are showing up. So, there's a positive element to this method of 'counting-up' to my big b'day.
My YogaHour class was small, but enlightening -- for them and me. We worked with the word 'gratitude' (of course - it's nearing Thanksgiving, after all), each pose an offering to someone or something they are grateful to have in their lives. Strong, stable poses abound in the room - wow! We did a few rounds of modified vasisthasana. Two things happened that - for them - made their poses stronger.
First, eyes of the elbow initially were rotated inward on the supporting arm; change that -- worked without weight initially to get the feel of turning the eye of the elbow in an outward direction, so that it moves almost in the same direction as the head. Now take it into action -- Whoa! Much stronger, much more stable, shoulder blades more integrated. Best part? They FELT it! (Caveat
Second, we talked about the role the hands play in this pose -- the upper hand extending, reaching up; the supporting hand doing just that - providing support. Result? Lots of wrist massages going on in the room. Try this, I suggested -- when you place your hands on the floor press the fingertips and knuckles down, create space in the center the palm and palm side of the wrist. Voila! What did they feel? Wrists stronger, felt less vulnerable.
In both cases, the fact that they noticed and could verbalize what was going on was awe-inspiring to me. More proof, that alignment is not something to be "poo-poo'ed" or dismissed as to much detail for a yoga practice. Proof that when we align, magic happens -- our poses are stronger, there is less discomfort and - as a result - less reason to avoid doing some of these poses ('my wrists are weak', 'my arms aren't strong enough', etc., etc., etc.).
Friday = Gentle Yoga, again. Smaller group, usually, on Fridays. Then practice, study and clean up the studio a bit.
Enjoy your day,
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