STALWART 7 (Seven)

A couple months ago I was both flattered and a bit "bowled over" when one of my teachers told a large group about me -- his words:  that I was both dependable and reliable.  According to Merriam - "stalwart suggests an unshakable dependability".  So, how could I resist using 'stalwart' as my seven adjective. 

In my teaching this past week, it appeared that I was on a mission -- a mission to get students to study their actions and the effect (affect?) of those actions on the feeling in their asana practice. 

For example, yesterday students were interested in working specifically with their shoulders and shoulder blades.  We went to the wall, first for a shoulder stretch, then wall dog.  After the first wall dog - one complained of some discomfort in her upper left arm.  So, we did it again (not because it hurt, but because we wanted to explore it more).  After the second time, no discomfort -- Why? I asked.  She wasn't quite sure, but upon review of what might be different, we concluded it was related to how the arm was rotated the first time thru. 

On Thursday, a similar experience -- slight back pain in ustrasana.  Do it a second time.  No pain -- Why?  A bit more sure of the answer, this student concluded that the inner/outer spiral helped to stabilize the pose through her back. 

I read a while back, in one of Christina's blogs, this quote: 

“Yoga is the state where you are missing nothing.” (Sri Brahmananda Sarasvati)

Certainly, a new student needs to be told and guided; but, as we move further into the practice, this 'missing nothing' makes our practice so much more meaningful - even to the mild to moderate student.  (Referring back to John's categorization of students:  fiery, moderate, mild.)

Enjoy Sunday,