Where Did All of My Practice Go? February 21, 2008

And where did all of my posting go?  I must admit I’ve put more energy into my other blog in the past week.  This is the time of year that my mind wraps around basketball and I’ve had more to say over there than over here.  But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been practicing!  Sort of.

I’ve been on antibiotics for a week now and I’m finally starting to feel normal in the head again.  I can bend over without feeling like my head will explode or like I’m drowning.  So I’ve been spending time here and there throughout the day in uttanasana.  Ahhh.  When you’ve gone weeks without a forward fold, your body rejoices to finally find that position again.

These ‘biotics have helped my work, too.  I’m a professional voice over talent.  I have clients that rely on my voice to be consistent and when I’ve got a head cold I leave them hanging.  If I leave them hanging then I feel guilty.  And if I can’t work I can’t make money so then I feel the pressure of no paycheck.  So guilt + no paycheck = stressed yogi mummy.  Enough of that already!!

So my goal to end out this week is to find peace and flow on and off the mat.  I can do it!

My Sinuses Aren’t In My Hips February 13, 2008

So I’ve been having a hard time doing a daily practice because of this head cold/sinus infection/pressure inducer/filling rattler.  And it was really getting me down.  Then I realized MY SINUSES AREN’T IN MY HIPS.  Go figure!  So this opens up a whole new practice idea…hip flexors, baby.  Yes, those hip flexors and the groin.  Stretch those hip flexors and you’ll help the back.  Don’t believe me?  Google it.  I did after I wrote that and this is what I got.

I taught two classes tonight.  I love all of my classes but this particular intermediate class just steps up.  They want to push themselves within their limits and they do it.  I had them doing hip openers, groin openers, chest and shoulder openers then, in the end, offered up the backbend.   I was definitely inspired by this post over at WoYoPracMo.

It’s not easy getting into a backbend if you’ve not done one for years.  Or years and years.  And these students just stepped up and tried.  Not all of them, mind you, because I’ve drilled into their heads that they have to honor their bodies and they SHOULD NOT go beyond the limits of their bodies ever.  And I’m proud of those students, too, the ones who know their limits.  I assisted a few, having them hold my ankles so they can push up.  And they had a sense of accomplishment!  The energy that flows in a room like that is amazing.  Just amazing.

So, back to my own practice.  I worked through my hip flexors tonight as well and loved every minute of it.  I was able to keep my head up and, therefore, the pressure from increasing, and was able to breathe and make it work.  I got in the workout I needed and was able to help others deepen their practice.  I am determined to remember this feeling of peace and share it with those around me.  Namaste.