The Yoga Ambassador

Got quizzed by a few regulars in a yoga class including one who said I don't think I've seen you before.

They like to introduce themselves, Sharon said as she walked by me. I totally didn't mind. I love decorum and I hope that I'm still practicing yoga as a senior; I will walk around and be an ambassador as well.

Sharon told us that it was a gentle yoga class and we wouldn't be doing the likes of downward facing dog. No problem, Sharon, I knew what I was getting myself into and I definitely was not going to bemoan the absence of down...dog.

Sharon wasn't totally honest, though, because we did wall dog -- a modification of downward facing dog using the yoga wall and a bar. A dog is a dog is a dog.

Haven't taken Sharon's class in ages but I still love it when she says And breathe...don't hold your breath because when she's says it, I'm usually holding said breath.

At some point during savasana, the teacher wants you to wiggle your toes or make circles with your wrists and to bring your awareness back to the present and there's always part of me that's screaming and shaking my head on the inside. No, no, no -- I don't want to come back to the present.

As I rested on my side, I started thinking about the problem with yoga and massage -- I never want to leave those rooms.

As yogis put on coats, a woman said I could go for a massage right now.

Stop it!, I said. Just stop it....

So Fresh, So Calm

I told Patti that I had planned on going to Zumba followed by yoga but I had run out of steam. Instead, I took a really warm, salt bath then headed to yoga.

Your evening sounds wonderful Patti wrote.

It was wonderful I wrote back. I sometimes forget to ruminate on the roses.

Madonna was in a saucy mood -- asking us to do a wicked boat pose from the wall. She would, though, turn around and give us a luxurious counter stretch.

I absolutely adore downward facing dog from the wall. As Madonna said, the wall makes you feel DFD in a whole different way.

At the end of class, I was touched by Gail who made sure that another yogi was comfortable during savasana. Do you need a bolster. Do you need a blanket? Do you need...? 

As I sat at my desk today, I noticed my posture and there was marked improvement. There must have also been marked improvement in my mood because one of my coworkers told me that I am always so calm...

Wall-Play

A Few of My Favorite Things

Wall yoga or yoga at the wall is the perfect post-kettlebell Rx. I stretched my back, arms and sidewalls in unimaginable ways and, if the hips are the engine for kettlebell swings, I also did necessary, engine maintenance.

As we did pigeon, Madonna told me that I looked beautiful. I must have thrown her a look because she asked Don't you feel beautiful tonight? Then she directed my gaze toward my classmates and asked me if they looked beautiful. I told her that Yes, they looked gorgeous... You guys crack me up, she said...

I was stunned when Madonna prompted us to prepare for savasana. I could not believe that it was the end of class but almost 90 minutes had gone by.

After we rolled up our mats and put our shoes back on Gail, a classmate, said I could play on the wall for another hour.

See You Next Lifetime?

As I watched the snow blow by at 30 miles per hour, I wondered if yoga class would be canceled. I checked my email and the website before heading out and it was kind of funny when I saw a bicyclist go by. Surely, if he could bicycle in cold and windy conditions, practicing yoga in a studio was possible.

Three people found their way to class and Madonna brought out more accessories than ever before… With a belt attached to plate three and a keeper on the end of my belt, Madonna guided me into a backbend but when she asked me to raise my arms, I was like You want me to do what? which made Gail crack up…I got my knees to the wall and leaned back and I didn't crash to the floor…I hope that one day I’ll get over my fear of being upside down.

I’m pretty sure that the world is not going to end tomorrow and I’d be miffed if it did end on Friday but I’m glad that I got in one more om in case anything goes down. 

Beacon and The Swing

Beacon in the Night

After kettlebell class last night, my body’s report was immediate: tweaked quads, calves, glutes and shoulders. I took my ruined body to yoga and the class was everything that I needed plus more.

We had all kinds of goodies: bolsters, straps and blocks.

Who needs a pelvic swing? Madonna wanted to know as she pulled more accessories out of the closet.

I felt like a vertical snow angel as we had our arms in crossed straps while opening our shoulders.

While in the pelvic swing, Madonna told me to grab onto her ankle and she walked my left hand toward the right side of my body. Voilà, spinal twist. We even stretched our biceps while in the yoga straps.

And what was it about having a strap around my left hip and having my right leg upright and suspended from a strap on the yoga wall that made me sleepy and content?

I also did a back-bend from the swing with assistance from Madonna. 

After the most amazing savasana, we sang om once. The woman across from me, well, her om was like a world traveler. It went up and down, back and forth, around the room then came back home. Amazing class. My apologies to the people at Target who were subjected to my post-yoga singing...

There Is Nothing On Your Mat

Downward facing dog is a pose that I have trouble getting comfortable with. My hamstrings are tight and my feet never reach the floor even if I walk them in and I feel like DFD also agitates my triceps.


Of course Sharon, my teacher tonight, had us do one of her favorite sequences: downward facing dog to plank back to DFD to plank. For fun, she had us assume DFD again then we shifted the left foot over to the right and went into side plank then to DFD then to side plank.

Is it getting hot or is it just me? One of my classmates wanted to know and we all laughed.

There’s no need for hot yoga; you have your internal combustion, Sharon said.

Yeah, Sharon killed us softly...

At the beginning of class, she usually asks if anyone has requests. Someone wanted to work on spinal rejuvenation so Sharon brought out the yoga wall toys.

We did downward facing dog by getting into a pelvic swing, walking our hands out, placing our feet on the wall and getting on our toes. Once we walked our hands out, Sharon wanted us to get on our forearms and let our heads rest. That was the most amazing downward facing dog that I’ve ever experienced and my back felt properly stretched.

During savasana, Sharon was like there is nothing on your mat. No stresses. No worries. Nothing that is not beneficial to you. She also told us that our mat was a safe space. She said other meaningful stuff but I kind of got lost in my breathing and my internal cheerleading of Talk that talk Sharon...

Three Eggs to the Back

Went to Yoga Wall class which I missed last week because of the trek to Arkansas. It was just enough time away for me to get nervous and make myself ponder how I get myself into such things as practicing yoga on a wall.

I'm glad that you came back one my classmates said when she spotted me; thought that was quite sweet and welcoming.

Of course, the class was fine. The instructor, Sharon, is super nice and very good and the woman next to me on the wall is a giggler. Just the person that I don't need next to me or maybe I did need her today.

I had planned to go to a boxing class immediately after yoga. I had even packed pineapple Chobani yogurt and a Honeycrisp apple to nosh on in between but my chest, hips et al. had been seriously opened up. I hung upside down, to the side and got an amazing stretch by placing one foot on the wall while holding a strap and pulling in the other direction. Sharon joked, as we were getting a serious twist on, for us to make a wish. We also did the revolved triangle pose (Parivrtta Trikonasana) and I wonder which position made my glutes sore.

Even the start of class was a bit intense. We started by placing three eggs at our back for a kind of mini backbend. So, yeah, I returned home.

After savasana, I'm usually hard-pressed to wiggle my fingers and toes so I'm not sure what made me think that I would survive a boot camp-like boxing class afterwards. Again, Sharon agreed to be watchmanwoman during savasana which was fine by me. When she started talking about how if thoughts about xyz enter your mind, I thought she was going to say stop them but she said that opposite -- a strategy that has, surprisesurprise, been working for me...

The Yoga Wall class will be on hiatus since one of the teachers has to have surgery. I'm going to miss it but I'm sure that I'll find another activity to fill the void.

On another note, it baffles me that I cannot do a shoulder stand. Guess I'll add that to the list of things that I'm in pursuit of. Along the same lines, I was at the park practicing pull-ups and progress is being made. It felt good to hoist myself upwards...

The Rose-Colored Speedo and the Yoga Wall

I had a dream that I stepped into a wild, overcrowded yoga room. I kept moving and, magically, there was a door that opened up into a body of water. When I walked back into the yoga room, I had on my favorite rose-colored Speedo suit and I kept moving through the crowded room...

I spotted a yoga studio as I did my usual eyeballing of Groupon Now and I was instantly intrigued by Yoga Wall but would I be able to do it?

I intended to go last Saturday but couldn't drag myself out of bed. Well, I could have managed but sleepiness + apprehension = burrowing.

I asked Patti if we could rendezvous for our Saturday climbing later so that I could attend the yoga class. The time change was cool with her since she's fallen head over wheels for bicycling and was able to get her a.m. bicycling groove on.

I just put myself on automatic before fear set in and headed out to Yoga Wall class.

It was a small group which I'm always grateful for when I'm delving into a new experience -- fewer witnesses to a potentially embarrassing situation.

What to say about Yoga Wall? Downward Facing Dog felt so much better. Spinal rejuvenation was, well, rejuvenating. Warrior Two is pretty cool with the assistance of straps. And Superwoman? When Sharon asked me to lift my arms, I was like It's not going to happen. I felt pretty awkward elevated and with my feet on the wall and raising my arms was going to significantly add to the awkwardness but everyone else was pretty confident that it was going to happen. Sharon walked over to assist me and, yes, I was able to achieve the Superwoman pose while in the pelvic swing. Thanks to my classmates for the supportive applause.

I also did my first inversion on the wall -- the one at 00:40 in the video below.

During Savasana,* Sharon guided and said something like If you hear the wind on the roof yaddayaddayadda, just ignore it. I'll watch over you.

Confession: I am a sucker for sentiments like that because I tend to be hypervigilant and it's nice to let go while someone else is the watchman.

When we were in the pelvic swing, chest open and head back, Sharon talked about how most people feel really vulnerable with their chest open because we're programmed to protect our chest area because that's where our heart is at etc. etc. but if you open your chest, you also open yourself up to myriad possibilities.

So, yeah, Yoga Wall was amazing. And I'm not going to mention that Sharon gave me a foot massage that didn't tickle.

My classmates were like: You made it through your first Yoga Wall now let's see if you come back. They have no clue about the addictive nature of my personality.




*I'm really enjoying being brought out of Savasana by the ringing of a bell.


Do you have a preference for how Savasana ends?