Taking shapes

This week was a morning yoga intensive, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. five mornings before work. More than once I wondered why I had thought this would be a good idea, especially when I was tired walking up the stairs at the start of the session. The first half hour of the first day was especially long, one eye on the clock and wondering if someone was playing tricks with the minute hand on the other side of the wall.

It got a bit better as the week went on, however, as the week went on the poses also became more vigorous and demanding. By Thursday I promised myself to take off work on Friday, and instead of going into the office, to go home and pour a nice long bubble bath and ease my aching muscles.

I don't remember sanskrit names for all the poses we did, but there were some I haven't done in a long while. What was it called... google mages for "yoga lie on side grab big toe raise leg' showed it is properly called Akarshanasan (I kinda liked that one). Backbend with the crown of my head to the floor and arms and legs raised in Matsyasana (I didn't like that one quite so much). 

One of the highlights of the week for me was heading straight up into pincha mayurasana to the perfect balance point, not needing the wall for support. Another was when I was in uttanasana, and instead of looking at my knees I looked up toward the top of my thighs - it was like suddenly finding the secret door to another three inches. Finding strength in a backbend over a bench to do upside down push-ups, definitely surprised me. On the last day, I even did a full supta konasana straight to the floor, without a bench (this is a big deal for me, as for years I have needed props). What a difference that made when I next did shoulderstand/ salamba sarvangasana. 

It was nice to surprise myself with what I could do when I put my mind to it... or is that when I left the preconceptions in my mind out of the equation? 

To quote some Whitman, "Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes."

Marlene handed out a list of words for us to think about after the first day and then again on the last, so we could reflect on how the different poses spoke to different characteristics. I definitely found multiples within the different asana.

Journey Inward

Mobility

Stability

Strength

Alignment

Assimilation

Integration

Penetration

Consolidation