Astanga

Taking a break from the Primary Series yesterday did me a world of good. I slept well overnight (Thank-you, Claritin) and woke feeling refreshed. No walk today because it was raining, so I headed straight to the mat.

It took me a lot longer for my body to heat up without a walk proceeding the practice. I had to wait until the seated poses to wipe sweat off my brow. Everything felt just wonderful this morning! I was strong and focused.

Ever since the class on Saturday, I've been deeply aware of alignment in my pelvis. At least half of the adjustments I received were correcting pelvic misalignment. So I've been doing some reading and experimenting in my practice - both to correct my own alignment and to give strong verbal cues to my students. Although the adjustments were great, I'm finding that I can't maintain a correct alignment without awareness and the ability to self-adjust.

Here's one visualization I've been using for poses like Virabhadrasana I and Parsvottanasana: Point the belly button towards the pinky toe. Impossible, of course, but the intention seems to bring about the alignment.

In the comments, Michelle asked about Hooping. It's exactly like 'hula hooping' except the hoop used is larger and heavier, which makes it easier to spin. And you can do all kinds of tricks! Right now, I'm learning how to move the hoop from my waist to above my head. Once I master that move, I'm going to start working on this: