Which of course means it's Intro to Intermediate show. I'll be able to do this class next week, and then I'm off (teaching an art history class at night) until the end of June.
Hip flexors are beginning to play; more often and in more places. Bigger Shalabhasana. Easier, larger arch in Dhanurasanas and Bhekasana. I feel the hip flexors begin to pull open as I "surf up" into Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.
It IS all in the camel thunderbolt.
Ustrasana, with some extra breaths in it, can become a mighty hangback! Kapotasana, again, was hands to almost but not quite feet, solo, and then adjusted to a toe grab. This is becoming ordinary, which I'm very excited about, because you know how long and hard I've fought with that pose. Ordinariness has not been one of the qualities I've been able to summon with that one. So that rules.
Eka Pada was some tighter, but I'm abandoning all prep: jump in, take it back, sit for five (to work the stretch). Fold for five. Press up, leg horizontal, for five (again, to develop the stretch).
Dwi Pada remains evasive. This is fine.
The Tittibhasana sequence has been absolute fire of late, a thing of beauty. But as it and the backbends have developed, it's become much harder to just kick up and hold the balance in Pincha Mayurasana. I forward rolled out of it tonight, which I think I've done probably four times in the past TWO YEARS. That's damn uncommon!
So be it; things change and develop and fade and are wonderful.
Teacher had me and the other guy try to heft a seated lotus up ONTO our arms, sort of Karanda push-ups, rather than Karanda lower-downs. Now we all know that's crazy, because when you LAND Karanda, you land it HIGH on the arms, not LOW, or else you're sitting on your butt. We tried it anyway, and I was able to heft it off the floor, up onto both elbows, but not far, and not to my chest. The quads BURN as the knees push toward each other--this was amusing. Hey Intermediate, are you ALL about the quads or what? Funny stuff.
Five wheels, three dropbacks. Hanging back is starting to really happen right at the hips, and the hip flexors are giving me this broad, front-body-wide yellow light cracking sensation, which is positively magnificent.
My March dropbacks were largely sensory in the low back, the scrunching. Now it's front body, a cracking open, a big brilliant sort of earthquake there. It is coming.
I must declare, as Susan elsewhere pointed out, agreement with "the system" on this one. Dropbacks, then Kapo. Makes it easier. Teaches what's needed.
8 comments:
Lifting a lotus up onto your arms - isn't that one of the Kukuttasanas in Third Series?
Patrick you are so busted, and your teacher will never teach again, THIRD SERIES!!!! tut tut.
Worked for me the other way around though, Kapo then dropback. Ustrasana still the best way to prepare for coming up for my money. I agree though that Ustrasana is key, everything seems to happen there. You want a deeper kapo, then look at Ustrasana, you want to come up without straining your back Ustrasana...you want to scratch that nasty little itch behind your pinky toe....Ustrasana.
I was so happy that I was getting Dwi pada then someone commented 'Left leg first'. that was the comment, no Hi how you doing, nice mat , by the way.....LEFT LEG FIRST!
nice thing about my dwi pada at the moment is that I'm getting to engage a very deep jalandhara bandha : ) very very deep.
The Rocket WAS fun huh, shhhhh
Aha, I see that I was unclear!
It is, in fact, one of the Kukkus, if the arms are straight. I should have specified: we were put in Pincha position, forearms flat, and then basically we put the lotus knees at the elbows and tried to pull it up.
This is probably a brilliant strength builder, but my understanding is that a lowered Karanda won't work if it's to the elbows, and so this is not, technically, a Karanda prep.
For what it's worth, I have in the past hauled a lotus up my straight arms (ahem, silence infidel!).
Yes to all things Ustrasana, and my good fortune with Dwi Pada is that left leg is easier than right.
I wasn't tut tutting Patrick. And given that we have known each other for a while, I don't think he expects a hi from me before I mention something. My comment was written either very early in the morning or quite late at night - at both those times of the day I'm tired and don't elaborate much on what I write.
Oh V, I was tut tutting Patrickand giving him a hard time, not suggesting you were. And I was talking about someone who didn't say hi when commenting on my blog for the first time. Something i was amused about.
Indeed--V knows she can drop comments here straight up, and G, I do look forward to your hassling me now and then.
Onward!
HI Patrick… hope you don’t mind, but by the powers of google and some downtime at school, I came across your blog.
How exciting… getting into touch with the subtle aspects (vs. the gross body) of intermediate. I still never know what’s going to happen in pincha… will it stick, or not? After all the super intense backbends, followed by the super intense forward bends that proceed pincha and karanda, my nervous system is always rebelling, so while pincha is usually friendly outside of the intermediate sequence, it’s an interesting bitch of a challenge here, that nerve cleasing! It’s funny how opening into new poses present new obstacles in others.
We should talk more yoga in person… after this crazy week , of course.
Hey Danielle,
Welcome! Isn't it funny how that happens? I was at a workshop last summer, about which I did a ton of blogging, and sure enough, was found by a few people there as well.
Yes, the wonders of Intermediate. Back, back, and back, and then forward, forward, and forward, and then hey, balance upside down! Marvelous.
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