The Practice

I've been to several yoga classes now and I'm really liking it.  Still not so much of an aerobic workout, though I get a good chance to use my strength as well as trying to improve balance and flexibility.

It feels so good!  I am getting micro-corrections into my stance, and I'm trying to incorporate what I'm learning more into how I stand and sit all the time.  I don't know if that is what others do, but I find myself standing still waiting for the elevator, and I plant my feet with the second toes pointed straight ahead, I dig the balls of my feet into the earth, I rotate my inner thighs back, I grow my tailbone straight down, scoop my pelvis, curve the mid part of my chest forward while pulling my shoulder blades back and together, suddenly I'm rooted to the center of the earth and feeling both powerful and thankful.  I suspect the untrained eye detects absolutely no change in me at all, it feels so subtle and yet profound what I am doing.

I think this is really good for my back problems, the specific posture I'm practicing. It's taking pressure off the vertebrae that squeeze my sciatic nerve, and I feel better for it. I don't know if this is what I'm supposed to be doing - incorporating portions of the positions into my everyday movements - but I'm enjoying it. The teacher has not really talked about doing that, only about maybe practicing certain positions and transitions in a set-aside time and place. But this is what I'm doing with what I learned.

The other part of what we are doing involves positions requiring strength and balance. I'm also stretching a whole lot, trying to get my incredibly tight hamstrings so I can straighten my legs when bent in the middle. I love the way the stretches feel, especially afterwards.

I'm going to sign up for another set of sessions for after my vacation.