Friends, I am only two classes away from completing my 60-day challenge! It's amazing to be so close to the end! A lot has happened in my practice this week, including an out-of-this-world class with Joseph Encinia, the reigning men's Texas and U.S. asana champion. Let's start there.
Joseph is such an inspiring guy. He has overcome so many health issues, including rheumatoid arthritis and a heart attack at 13. To see him today, you'd never know he'd ever been plagued with any illness. He radiates a gorgeous calming energy and the entire time was beaming with a brilliant smile. That kind of energy is definitely something to aspire to, and I hope I can conquer my negativity and embrace the good vibes, so to speak.
His demonstration was sick, in the best way possible. The sheer amount of strength in his body is intimidating, as is his flexibility. In particular, there was one move (I don't exactly know the names for the postures, so bear with me) where he did a handstand on the very tips of his fingers and then dropped down with his body parallel to the floor, still balancing on his hands. I was quite literally slack-jawed watching him. It was incredible.
The class he taught was hands-down the best one I've ever taken. He's an amazing teacher and if you have the opportunity to take one of his classes, DO IT. He'll push your practice farther than you ever thought possible. After the class, I had soreness in places I don't usually - notably, in my abdomen and especially in my butt. He gave me a couple really fantastic corrections - a tap on the hip, a pull on my feet, a "open up your chest!" - that helped me to achieve success in poses that usually plague me.
The standing series was MUCH faster paced than usual, though I'm not entirely sure how that's possible since class seemingly took the same amount of time as normal. It was so fast and Joseph's dialogue was so driving that my heart was almost leaping out of my chest. I tried as hard as I could to push through it, but I had a couple times where I really had to take a knee and focus on my breathing. At one point, Joseph had to remind me it was okay to take a break if I needed it. I just really wanted to push as hard as I could! Sometimes, it's hard to know what your body can't do vs. what your mind is trying to talk you out of.
After class, I felt pretty amazing, if totally exhausted. Joseph was really friendly and open to talking afterward, so I naturally stopped by to say thank you. He was just as cool one-on-one as he was leading the class. The best part of our interaction was that he and one of the studio owners said I should go to teacher training! Joseph said "I feel the force in this one!" --- meaning, ME. Teacher training is something I've definitely thought about, but I've got to figure out the money + time away from home. It'd be possible to do it with my job, I'd just have to bust ass for a couple months to get ahead 9 weeks. We'll see, but it's definitely a thought on my radar for sure.
I can't believe I've almost finished the challenge. It has done wonders for my determination, for sure.
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