THE LITTLE THINGS

I've been working with a woman for 3 sessions now; she's a bit older, suffered a major injury, and now is trying to move back into her life. Our goal -- strengthen her legs and other bodily functions; my goal -- have her move to and from the floor with more ease and confidence. There, I've said it -- there are two sets of objectives in our teaching: ours and mine. How about for you?

Before I met with her yesterday, I planned my Gentle Yoga class. Thanks to Eric S., I've been telling students in that class about the aspects of Laksmi and trying to apply these aspects to our yoga (and life). I was gone on Wednesday, so had a couple to catch up on. Worked with Vira and Vijaya Laksmi.

Vijaya means something like a 'slice of victory' (break it down to jaya=celebrate and vi=increment). We celebrate all the victories of life, big and small. I notice that in my practice; that I am able to incrementally enjoy a pose(?). For example, padangusthasana -- certainly a dvesha pose for me (meaning I avoid it). But, when asked to do the pose, I love the feeling of being able to bring in the leg-to-be-extended, hold the foot, and then hug that leg to midline as I inner spiral both legs and prepare for the as-yet-elusive full extension. I even remember the first time I felt that hug; such celebration (or vijaya) I felt inside. Kind of like, 'wow, I didn't know I could hold that leg in like that, my inner thigh muscles are really getting strong'. That's what I mean by 'vijaya'. I'll be happy when I can fully extend the leg, but - right now - the little victory keeps me happy and doing the pose, a pose I very much disliked.

Back to the topic at hand. Our first session, knowing what I did at that time, was a 'get to know you session'. I went prepared with a list of 8 movements that I planned for her; we moved briefly through each and, when we finished, I asked her to do 2-3 each day and mix them up.

The second session, similar movements - but, I had noticed that her breath needed work. Work? Yes, and many of you can relate because you have students who breathe shallowly and/or irregularly. So, my client and I worked on the breath -- I tried having her place her hand on her belly to feel her breath, that didn't seem to do the trick. She suggested hand on heart and that worked better. We did a few more leg movements, etc., got down and up from the floor. I left.

Session 3, yesterday: I am seeing greater awareness of the breath. Her idea worked, it seems to connect her with her breath. Vijaya! And, for the 3rd time, she moved down to and back up from the floor -- she doesn't like it, but she is doing it -- so important to know you can do it. And, something I read recently is that when older people find themselves on the floor, either by falling, slipping, or sliding out of a chair for example, the first thing to go haywire is their breath and then panic/fear can set in, compounding the negative impact of the situation.

She is happy about the breath, feels a sense of accomplishment just knowing that she's breathing with more awareness. I am happy that, grumbling all the way, she is moving to and from the floor.

Then, it was on to Gentle Yoga. Among the group were 4 new students, 3 of whom had physical stuff (bad knees, old ankle injury). One little victory here: they all are aware of the impact these have on their ability to move.

Today:

• Class or practice with Adam B.
• Weekend time with husband

Enjoy your Saturday and weekend,