"Three Day-itis"

At the end of the session today, Marlene spoke about a phenomenon that has in the past years of Yoga In the City been referred to a "three-day-itis." You're right in the middle of a five day intensive, and participants are often tired by the third consecutive day of the 1 hour pranayama followed by 2 hours of asana. A bit worn out, losing focus.

Today's class was tiring but also exhilarating. It was partly the sequencing, which included several variations of headstand followed by several different takes on arm balancing followed by shoulder stand. I left feeling totally energized and stopped off for a delicious vegan lunch at Kale, careful not to check my Blackberry messages - at least not quite yet.

When I arrived at work, all hell had broken loose. It was definitely a challenging afternoon, but I was able to take it all in stride. I felt extremely centred, almost like I was in the eye of a hurricane and able to influence whether it picked up speed.  Must have been the endorphin rush. Too bad I can't spend 3 hours practising this way every morning.

Here is the asana sequence for future reference, from what I can remember: utanasana (forward bend) with ropes and then unsupported; adho mukha svanasana (down dog) with ropes and then unsupported; sirsasana (headstand) supported version of choice and then followed by unsupported; three different versions of arm balancing against the wall and then in the centre of the room with partner support; setu bandha sarvangasana (bridge pose); sarvangasana (shoulderstand) one with partner support, one supported, a new version of supported (using two 3-fold blankets as a 'v' shape to support the neck; followed by supported savasana.

illustration credit