Last night's class was another great one. I had very good control of my breath which really helped to propel me through towards the end of class. Instead of allowing myself to be overwhelmed by the heat, I just tried to breathe through it. I had a hyper level of focus and it really helped me get the most out of class.
I also had a very bizarre connection with the instructor in this class. I simply knew when he was speaking to me. He didn't have to say my name for me to be aware he was directing his energy at me. I don't really know how to explain it, except it was the closest sense I've gotten to a guru/student relationship so far in this practice. I felt like he was a radio transmitting energy to my frequency (a concept I just learned about in Paramahansa Yogananda's "Autobiography of a Yogi"). He'd give me a correction without saying my name, I'd make the correction, and as soon as I did, he'd give positive vocal feedback that I instinctively knew was directed at me. It was a very strange and wonderful synergy.
I'm experiencing a lot of change in standing head to knee. I am consistently kicking my right leg towards the mirror now. The instructor yesterday told me to really force my toes back towards my face once my leg is kicked out and this was very valuable advice. I felt the stretch like crazy on the underside of my leg. I'm still working on being able to grab my left foot and hold it with my knee locked, but the fact that I'm close to it is fantastic. Progress!
I had one of the best standing bows I've ever had! My lightning-bolt focus really served me in this posture. I was able to hold the first set on the left side for almost the entire minute! During this posture, I especially noticed the aforementioned synergy with my instructor. It felt beautiful.
Triangle continues to be a big challenge and I feel like sometimes my momentum hits a brick wall as soon as I set up for it. My body is definitely strengthening a lot now that I'm consistently able to attempt the posture, but it's certainly one of the hardest asanas for me. I have a very hard time with my balance. I'm working on keeping my hips down and my chest lifted. I tend to topple over once I look up towards the ceiling, so I'll be working very hard on focus over the next few classes.
Floor bow is really becoming something special for me. Correcting my hip alignment makes me able to work very deeply into my spine and it feels amazing. I love this posture, even though it's very difficult. Spinal compression is one of my favorite feelings these days.
Rabbit pose is getting better, too. I'm working on lifting my hips off my heels to really get into that spinal stretch. I have a hard time with this posture, since my chest/belly bulk can tend to choke me from time to time. I also tend to get overheated in this posture. I am going to work on keeping my breathing as regular as possible in this posture to see if that helps. I'm figuring it probably will.
In head to knee with stretching, I also experienced the teacher synergy. I was able to lock my knee, lift my heel off the ground, keep my opposite knee on the ground, tighten my stomach, get my head to my knee, and roll in to the opposite side. It was really intense and beyond awesome.
All in all, yesterday's class was a humdinger. I love when I put together a good string of classes where I feel change happening in my body. I'm expecting to have another fantastic one this afternoon. I will work as hard as humanly possible! YEAH!
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