Sunday in Santa Barbara…
The physical: Practice was great, the bandhas are actually starting to pull my weight around again after a lengthy sabbatical. I’m not sure where they had gone off to, but they seem to be back. I made the most of it, doing the fancy vinyasas for all of the marichyasanas, padma mayurasana, etc. I got some help in Supta Trivrkrmasana. On the left side (the side that’s been torn and healed and torn and healed) he asked: “Why is this side so much easier?”
“Because it’s broken.” I replied. He laughed.
After Urdhva Muka Paschimottanasana, he pointed out that my forward bends are very deep, but once the hamstring and glutes are isolated like in trivrkrmasana, it’s a different story altogether. “Which makes me think that your lower back is compensating somehow in the forward bends.” (thinking=bad)
I was starting to run out of steam when I got to Kapotasana (probably because of all the fancy vinyasas… see above, paragraph 2), but decided to give it my best shot.
I’ve been thinking about Kapotasana a lot lately (thinking=bad), realizing that while I always feel the pose in my back and legs, I never feel much of a stretch in my shoulders. I’m basically letting my front do all the opening required, and the shoulders just follow along. So I decided to let those shoulders take on some of the opening. Inhale hands overhead, exhale back back back… and at first, the pose was exactly where it always is. I felt the middle of my feet, crawled the hands back to the heels, then pushed back with the shoulders… and then there were the ankles. And lo and behold, when I came up from Kapo B, the usual soreness in the lower and mid back was less acute, although today the shoulders are quite sore.
I took a number of breaths in downdog in between Bakasana A and B. Trying to compose myself for B. You see, I fell on my face once last week. It wasn’t painful or anything, just a slow nose dive to the ground. So there was a little bit of fear holding me back. Bandhas, don’t fail me now, I thought (thinking=bad) as I jumped forward. I stuck it. From somewhere to my left, I heard my instructor: “I saw that, Jenna. Just so you know.”
Laughing is difficult in Bakasana, but not impossible.
I was given Bharadvajasana, which is an interesting nut to crack. So many things to think about (thinking=bad). Press through the palm of the hand, press down through the sit bone, lift through the spine, oh and twist. Twist? Well, kind of. “It’s less of a twist, and more of a shape,” says my instructor. More like a puzzle, I think. (do I need to say it again?)
After practice, a meeting with a future employer, talk of exciting prospects.
Oh, and 5 MORE DAYS UNTIL ENCINITAS!!!
I’m a teensy bit excited.
in the theme of your posting, Bharadvajasana and Ardha Matsyendrasana are bad poses for me. I do okay in them, much less struggle than most of the poses that surround them, so my mind tends to wander ahead: “oh man, i know i’m m not gonna get that second foot back in dwi pada. tim’s gonna see that. crap” or “tittibhasana, no way i’m gonna be able to bind in b. im too heavy”. then i usually follow with, “hell with it, that’s enough, i’ll just close” i agree, thought=bad
Thinking sooooo very bad. Bhardvajasana is a weird pose. Twisting is a byprouduct I think, Think bandhas, Palm, sitbones. Shoulders back and down. neck long. Its taken me about 9 months to get all those at once. And it still don’t look pretty,