Gee, Think.

Our June 9th I returned to my ashtanga practice.  I went back to the studio where my wife has been going with great commitment for the past year.  It was a sentimental moment as I thought back on all the good memories we had of going to classes together while my train was approaching the station.  Yoga presents a lot of challenges, and for me, brought some of my mind patterns to the fore front.  It was not just a physical challenge, but an opportunity for introspection and growth.

I was sore for the whole week following June 9th.  I will likely be sore for the week after tonight, which is only my second class in my return to Ashtanga.  However it will soon pass, and I believe I will find myself stronger, more flexible, and less sore after getting back into it.

For the uninitiated I would like to say that yoga is like baskin robins.  There’s 32 flavors or more.  Some styles are slow, others are fast, some hold positions longer, some focus on movement, other on stillness.  There’s a great variety, so dont be surprised when someone tells you that their yoga class was challenging or exhausting.  I find ashtanga to be a very challenging workout.  I usually leave drenched in sweat, even in the cold winter months.

During my time away from ashtanga, I focused more on Hung Ga.  Hung Ga has many aspects, and its root is horse stance.  There is a strong emphasis on building the foundation, which is most notably horse stance.  I have no great experience in this martial art, but I can say that my legs are much stronger than they used to be.  I have found this training to have really improved some aspects of my yoga practice.  I felt myself sinking further  into Warrior 1 and other postures that focused on bending the knee to support nearly the full body weight.  Some of my training brothers may cringe to hear it, but I find that the two methods of training, though they are very different, compliment each other nicely.  Today I had a landmark realization in my vinyasas.  I realized that I could nearly swing my body between my arms from sitting by clenching my abdomen as if i was being kicked in the stomach.   That sudden contraction while lifting my body with my arms would cause my legs to swing backward.  I felt more momentum in this vinyasa transition that ever before, and it felt good.  I could really see it developing into real yoga someday.  Another bit of fun was finally being able to transiton from insect (or firefly) into crow. I never understood how this was humanly possible, until I watched my wife do it  next to me tonight.  I thought I would give it a try, and though my feet touched the floor a bit as I moved them from front to back, I was able to do it!  Twice!  I was never able to do this before tonight, so I’m quite pleased.  It’s so encouraging to be able to understand new transitions and movements.