Nodding Off

Last night in yoga class, there were a few positions that were very challenging for me. For instance, I still don't have a good feeling for upward facing dog. My body doesn't seem to want to bend backward while I'm facing upward. Here's another good one:

Sit on the floor with your legs under you (like a lot of kids do at the dinner table and have to be then scolded to sit on their tush with their legs in front of them). Then widen your knees to around the same distance as if you were sitting cross legged (or, as the kids say nowadays, pretzel legs to be politically correct as opposed to "Indian style" when I was a kid). As you spread your knees, keep each foot under its leg and keep the toe pointed. Now, put your tush down and sit on the floor, with your knees and legs to the side...did I mention that your spine is still supposed to be perpendicular to the floor?

If this is the first time you're attempting this (as it was for me last night) it's going to hurt like a mother. My feet were cramping and I couldn't quite get the butt to the floor at first, so I used a rolled up blanket for a crutch. Eventually the muscles stopped screaming. Rolling forward and extending the arms to the floor is called the Frog (you can understand why if you picture a frog jumping forward). If it sounds like a killer, compare it to what you were doing previously and you'll realize that it really is a relaxation.

At the end of each session, Helen allows us to "fall out" and relax on our backs and speaks to us in her usual dulcet tones. Now, mind you, this is the same tone of voice she uses throughout the entire class, which is not always congruent with her words, e.g. "if you don't feel a groin pull, you're not extending enough" and "if your right knee feels like it's going to explode, you've gone a bit too far." But we do get our just reward. Last night we were allowed to let our arms flop out on the mat with hands spread out, and feet were allowed to flop to the side, and the monologue reminded us to concentrate on our rhythmic breathing, slowly filling our lungs and torsos with air, pushing out from our abdomens to exhale.

Well, it finally happened, during the third session: I actually dozed off during this cool down period. At some point I realized, groggily, that the others were on their feet and stretching. Helen said this was a good thing because I'd successfully released all my tension. Yeah baby. Work hard, play hard.