Got nothin’ profound today. Taught my class. It went well. Got more yoga on the plate for a little later.
What amazes me today is how much I can still miss friends I haven’t seen in months/years. And, unfortunately, am unlikely to see for many more.
You are not forgotten; you are still in my heart.
And my email, though not as often as I’d like. 
Quiet day on the yoga front. Bit knackered (love British-isms & am in fact legitimately entitled to Brit citizenship but that’s a story for another time) so went with just an hour of VEERRRRYYYY mellow home practice. Lots of lolling around on the mat, eyes closed, in supine supported stretchiness.
There’s a slightly complicated emotional storyline tied up with this restorative practice.
Being tired naturally kinda correlates with being relatively quiet & lower energy. No shocker, pretty normal. However, sometimes, I think friends & family find me easier to deal with when I’m tired. Sometimes I think I’m a better yoga teacher when I’m a bit tired because it slows me down. Other times, particularly social situations, I wonder if I’m just not very likable when tired/less gregarious. I don’t know which state or place along the spectrum I prefer… too far a swing either direction & even I find myself difficult to deal with.
The ups & downs of simply being human can feel like you’re being hijacked by fatigue or ebulliance or anger or joy or whatever emotional/mental state shows up. Sometimes this combines with an underlying insecurity that X person prefers one or the other manifestation of Self.
It’s a daily ongoing turning of the jewel, light shining through facets of personality — but we have a nap, or snack, or laugh, or time just passes & the mood changes. Om Mani Padme Hum. Whatever facet was dominant shifts but – The jewel is still in the lotus. I yam what I yam whether up, down, sideways, perky or tired.
And now, back to watching meaningless TV with Beloved Husband. The act of togetherness is meaningful even if the shows are not. 
It’s funny — only taught 7 classes this week (not counting the ones I attended as a student) & I’m all thrilled to have reached the successful conclusion. Today was the 2 hour Core Vinyasa (lots of inner/outer leg work leading to Astavakara & Scissors) then a Beginning Forrest class with much wall work.
Once upon a time, when I really needed the extra cash, I was teaching up to 6 classes in a day. By the end of such a day, I’d have been happy to lead classes through poses in a “watch me & follow along” way, but was completely lost on enunciating such simple concepts as right/left, up/down, hand/foot, forward/back. The mental component was exhausted while the body could still quite happily go along — muscle memory trumps articulate cueing any day of the week.
Happy to have fulfilled the subbing needs at home-studio. Happy to be home with Beloved Husband & kitties. Happy just in general.
First: I love the New York Times more than is good for me. There must be a support group out there somewhere. I love that it uses multisyllabic words almost as much & as unapologetically as British newspapers. I love that it runs a range of articles. I love that it has shameless Science, Health & Arts sections.
Actual point: stumbled on an interesting article today on the lack of support for increased flexibility as an aid to prevent injury & improve overall athletic performace.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/phys-ed-how-necessary-is-stretching/
For the yoga folks, does this matter?
And what does it mean for encouraging non-yoga converts to do yoga as “cross-training”?
Lots of thoughts on this. And amusement in the stereotypical reference to yogis as people who put their feet behind the head. The range of yogis is so much broader than that.
On a persnickety level: disagree with the standardized use of the “stretch & reach” test as a measure of hamstring flexibility. Yes, I know it’s a supposed gold standard at fitness clubs everywhere. It’s still crap. Sitting down & reaching forward over straight legs to try & touch one’s toes says alot more about tightness in the back & length of one’s arms than pure hamstring flexibility. I like reclined (lying on the back) hamstring stretches to isolate the measure of flexibilty in the hamstring cuz it controls all other variables — the back is held straight by the floor & a strap equalizes arm length diversity.
Do find intriguing the relationship found between moderate flexibility (as opposed to hyper-flexible or super-tight, both associated with more injuries) as correlated with improved running. Also have to agree that there are born-bendy peeps & non-bendy peeps & those of us in the latter category really do have to invest time & time & time & did I mention time? in order to improve actual flexibilty vs. tolerance of stretch sensation. (There are days when I wonder what I’d trade to be naturally hyper-bendy.
Overall, however, I have to say that the stretching issue itself is not the primary reason one does yoga. Yes, overtime, flexibilty improves. BUT: so does body awareness, strength, coordination. At the same time, mental health improves.
See: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/phys-ed-why-exercise-makes-you-less-anxious/
And, really, standing on one’s head is such a damn good party trick.
Practice today was 90 minutes with Ame Wren subbing the Hip Hop Yoga class at Back Bay. Taught a super-mellow Forrest class 12-1:30. It was a “restorative” class, which means something a little different in Forrest than for some other styles. Lots of abs, inversions, standing poses & a long shoulderstand at the end. Between the two classes, shabu-shabu out with Beloved Husband & grocery shopping, there went the day!!!
Thankful today for a studio-home to go enjoy a 2 hour morning workshop led by Ame Wren.
All before dining on Top of the Hub — thankful for gourmet TDay luncheon served 52 stories up with a panoramic view of Boston!
Thankful for Beloved Husband, friends, family, furbabies.
Thankful for the chance to experience this gorgeous world.
Thankful for the body & mind that carry me through.
For a little extra inspiration today, check out this article on neuroplasticity & transformation from the NY Times. A fellow yogi at Back Bay directed me to it… tells of how a dancer/choreographer helped a man with cerebral palsy to remap his neurological pathways & rediscover his body. Amazing.
NY Times: Learning His Body, Learning to Dance
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/arts/dance/25palsy.html?_r=1&em
Today went well. Details perhaps another time. Tired now! Beloved Husband & I went to a French Bistro in Back Bay called Bouchee after the excitement of the day & I am SOOOO ready for bed. Sleepy yogi.
Here’s the tripartite lesson plan from today. It’s semi-indicative of what went down. Remember, this was for a Forrest then a Core then a Vinyasa class… there was some improvising especially with injury modifications.
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Sometimes, that’s not a good thing to be. Like, when doing yoga. Then, a Rubber Band House might be more useful.
When I start practice, my back is made of bricks. Or armor. Or steel plate. I can’t move it, really, or get breath in there. It feels like my breath is beating up against a… brick wall. Then thing begin to warm up, and move. Literally, sometimes — can feel the facets of the lumbar vertebra unsticking & even hear it. Chunk chunk! Ahhhh.
Healing happens. It just takes time.
Again & again, day after day, rebuilding & unwinding with side bends, twists, sequencing the spine & down in bridge, back tractioning, rolling. By the end of practice, the back is perhaps not rubber band land, but at least pliable. Melted bricks?
Prepped today for tomorrow’s trifecta of classes. Will be doing a similar class plan for each, working hip opening, core awakening & the theme of nourishing oneself. Plan to post the tripartite lesson plan tomorrow, if it works out well!
