Marlene!

Four months ago I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to take another class with Marlene when she suffered her stroke. Now she's back to teaching online and has made a strong recovery. Yoga was a part of the healing journey. In the classes I have heard her say, when she couldn't do asana, she could still focus on her breath. Inspiring. 

In January I took her asana classes and in February I have been enjoying the pranayama class. Guided practice is recorded and I go back to it at least a couple of times throughout the week until the next class. It is scheduled Wednesdays at noon - such a perfect time, smack in the middle of the week.

I emailed Marlene with some questions and she suggested we set aside a phone call. So good to hear her voice! I asked her to please write a book about what she was doing and learning on her recovery from the stroke, but she said she's too busy with the other two books she has on the go - one about the 100 days of practice that was published on the Yoga Centre Toronto site during the lockdown.

I have so come to appreciate that the yoga poses can be modified not just to your level of practice, but how you are feeling on the day. So my question to Marlene was about the challenge of knowing how far to push yourself. I don't want to consistently under-do, nor do I want to overdo. How do you find that balance in the moment? There are no easy answers as she says that is also her biggest challenge these days.

She asked how much time I was spending in front of the computer, certain that one of the contributing factors of her stroke was the time she had spent hunched in front of the keyboard. It's true that working from home I'm not taking as many breaks from being in front of the screen, whether it is typing away or being seated for Zoom meetings. It really is such an unnatural posture, and not good for long uninterrupted periods.

In addition to taking a break from sitting at least once an hour, Marlene recommended Vipirita Karani a couple of times throughout the day; leaving the bolster set up for ease of practice and as a reminder. The pose is an antidote for tired and achy legs and the time out a good opportunity to take 20 breaths.