Today's class was another good one. I felt really strong and solid. I had some fantastic improvements in some of my most hated postures - half moon, standing head to knee, locust, & head to knee with stretching.
A quick note before I get into the bulk of today's work: The reigning men's U.S. yoga champion, Joseph Encinia got his start at Bikram Yoga Dallas and will be coming to teach a class on Friday, September 24 at 6:30 pm with a demonstration. Then later that weekend, he'll compete to defend his title! You should definitely swing by if you've been reading this and thinking about checking out a class. Joseph is an inspirational character - he had a heart attack at a young age, along with a slew of other health problems, and rose above it to become a truly fantastic yogi. I can't wait to see his postures in person!
So, in looking at Joseph's website, I was struck by his backbend in half moon pose. I think for the first time, it dawned on me what that pose is supposed to look like, and what exactly pushing your hips forward while keeping your weight on your heels entails. It helped my posture SO MUCH today in class! Instead of feeling like my back was stiff and unbending, pushing my hips forward allowed me to relax and bend my spine more than ever before. It really kind of surprised me, to be honest!
I grabbed my left leg in standing head to knee for the first time without releasing my ten-finger grip! Again, it was rather surprising to me. I dropped it almost immediately, but I had hand-to-foot contact with the proper grip! A step in the right direction. I also managed to lock my left knee out completely on the other side while holding my foot. I kept it solid for a few counts before I had to drop. This is a marked improvement from where this posture began for me, when I couldn't even balance on one foot.
Locust is probably my least favorite pose, to be honest. I really feel my extra bulk in this one, and I can kind of float around on my stomach at times, throwing off my hip alignment. But today, I got my elbows really close together and was able to use my arms to push up my legs. I could feel my lower spine curling up. It didn't exactly feel pleasant, but my arms exploded in tingling after I released, so it was really worth it.
Notably, my sit-up is improving and I actually felt the energy you're supposed to feel after performing one. This helped me in head to knee with stretching quite a bit. In the stretching part, I really pushed my elbows towards the floor and got so much closer than I ever have before. Now I need to think a lot more about stretching from the lower spine and getting my head to my feet.
A good day overall! Tomorrow is day 45 - 3/4 done with the challenge. I can definitely say that my mind, body, and spirit have improved drastically since undertaking this challenge and I'm excited to see where I end up at the end of the 60 days!
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