Today's class was at 7:30pm with Peter. It was a hatha class, and the exact opposite of yesterday's high energy kundalini class. He did not play any music, and there were no rigorous movements with fist pumping and cheers. Instead, the feeling was very calm and reflective.
On the yoga teacher scale of spirituality, Peter ranks fairly high. He always has a message to deliver. Tonight the theme was moving closer to god. Near his mat, I noticed that he had placed a tiny figurine of ganesh, and pictures of yoga teacher gurus (I recongized Iyengar as one). He takes his yoga seriously as a devotion.
We started off with cat/cow, and I noticed that my lower belly muscles are a tad tender. Yay! All this yoga is having an impact!
The two best asanas were Triangle and Camel...
Camel is an interesting one for me. It actually took me years to get into the full position, so that I could hold it with confidence. If there is one part of my body that is tight, it's my shoulders and chest. To get into full camel, you kneel on your knees, push your hips forward and your chest back so that you are in a back bend, and you walk your hands down from your lower back to your ankles - and then you hold it, and continue to push your upper body forward. This opens up your heart center, or your heart chakra, wide open, and it can be surprisingly scary. I don't know what it is, perhaps a feeling of instability, but I think it's more a feeling vulnerability. Well, I've moved past that fear some time ago, so I can do camel now, but it always leaves me feeling a tad overwhelmed.
We started off with cat/cow, and I noticed that my lower belly muscles are a tad tender. Yay! All this yoga is having an impact!
The two best asanas were Triangle and Camel...
Triangle is one of my all time favorite poses. I can sink in real deep, and I love the stretch on my hamstrings and outer hip. Mmmm, so good.
Camel is an interesting one for me. It actually took me years to get into the full position, so that I could hold it with confidence. If there is one part of my body that is tight, it's my shoulders and chest. To get into full camel, you kneel on your knees, push your hips forward and your chest back so that you are in a back bend, and you walk your hands down from your lower back to your ankles - and then you hold it, and continue to push your upper body forward. This opens up your heart center, or your heart chakra, wide open, and it can be surprisingly scary. I don't know what it is, perhaps a feeling of instability, but I think it's more a feeling vulnerability. Well, I've moved past that fear some time ago, so I can do camel now, but it always leaves me feeling a tad overwhelmed.
If I were to ask for one thing from this 40 Day Yoga Challenge, it'd be to open up my heart chakra even more.
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