Vinyasa

When the alarm went off this morning, I sat up in bed and actually winced. That abdominal thing from the Shala South class yesterday? Yeah, I felt it. I've been feeling it all day. In my side body too. Sidebends = ouch. Bujangasana = ouch. Coming up from a seated position = OUCH. There will definitely be an Epsom salt bath tonight!

Meanwhile, the studio class fun continues: I took another yoga detour today.

Yesterday, I received an email from Teacher V announcing that her studio would be closing for the interim, starting this Thursday. I've been meaning to go to a few classes there over the summer, but I kept getting side tracked. Now I'm just kicking myself! This is very shocking news. She's hunting for another space, though, and I hope she finds one. I really love the atmosphere of this studio - it's one of the few in the city I've gone to with any regularity.

As soon as I got the news, I made firm plans to go to a noon class to visit Teacher V and also to say 'goodbye to the studio.' You see, I get really sentimental about the studio spaces I've practised in. When my 'home studio' (in my neighbourhood) shut down several years ago, I was heartbroken. I often still gaze longingly towards the fourth floor windows where I did my YTT. I sometimes wonder if the people in that space (now an office) feel the energy of the hundreds of yogis who practised there over the years.

This studio is lovely. In the main room, afternoon light streams in through big windows and there are plants everywhere. The mall is directly across the street, along with a huge billboard featuring Celine Dion. It was always a bit disconcerting to look up and find Celine staring me down as I practised. I've been eagerly awaiting the removal of that billboard for years. Now, it appears that Celine has outlasted the studio, which is a sad, sad state of affairs.

Memories: I bought my hollow wood blocks (required for YTT) at this studio in 2003. In 2007, I took a year-long course on Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita with Teacher H. I also attended a few of her asana classes while she still taught there. Last summer, in Teacher H's class, I did a freestanding headstand for the first time in a class (I was doing them regularly at home). I've sampled the occasional Jivamukti class and particularly enjoy Teacher V's classes.

Today, this wasn't my best class with Teacher V, but I suspect she has a lot on her mind and I felt broken. And I wasn't up to full strength, being so incredibly sore from the class at Shala South yesterday. It's cooled down a lot today; the room wasn't warm at all. I barely broke a sweat (and had to move my yoga towel to the side because it wasn't giving me enough traction; needs to be damp for that).

I was delighted with the opportunity to do one last headstand at this studio. I came up with straight legs and stayed for the entire duration (probably about 2 minutes). We did Surya Yantrasana (Sun Dial Pose). She also taught Baddha Ardha Chandrasana (Bound Half Moon Pose) which was good fun. I can sort of do it. It's mostly a mental leap, easier against the wall until you can get your head wrapped around it.

By the way, when did Virabhadrasana III get so horrible? I used to like this pose, probably because no one was asking me to square my hips to the floor. Argh. I noticed that my Ujjayi breath was completely absent from my practice. Usually I'm able to bring it into my practice regardless of what style I'm practising, but not today.

Geez, I hope I can get out of bed tomorrow - I have two classes to teach! Epsom salts...