Anusara

I love my Astanga practice, but it’s really fun to do something different. This morning, I decided to try a 60 minute Anusara class offered on YogaToday. This novice level class was called ‘Expansive Heart Openers’, and taught by Neesha Zollinger.

This is definitely a beginners class and the pace moved slowly. No sun salutations, just modified vinyasa with Chaturanga and Bujangasana. The flow was simple throughout.

There were two poses that would be challenging to someone brand-new to yoga. Full Vasisthasana (side plank) was taught without modification on the first side, then an alternative was offered for the second side. This didn’t make sense to me. When I teach beginners, I offer the easy mods first, then offer more difficult versions for those who feel ready for them.

There was also a lunge/quad stretch that could be tricky for students with bad knees. However, done correctly, this is an amazing stretch for the iliopsoas, so I quite enjoyed it! It was one of the high points.

The other tidbit that caught my attention was a standing shoulder stretch. It’s hard to describe, but I’ll give it a try:
1) Standing comfortably, put the hands behind the head with the elbows angled out to the sides
2) Press the elbows *forward* while at the same time, pulling the shoulder blades towards the midline.

This has the effect of puffing the chest out while bringing a subtle bend into the upper back. Classic Anusara heart opening stuff, but I was digging it.

What I didn’t like: The instructor’s chatter during this class. She often spoke when the moment called for silence. One of these moments came near the end of the class: She FINALLY shut up, only to start chattering about what ‘students should do when the teacher is silent’ (the answer: 'go within', not that she gave us a chance to do that).

Oh, and her constant, cloying use of the word ‘expansive’ was driving me NUTS. There were three instances of cringe-inducing cliches that had me rolling my eyes. The left/right cueing was off, but that didn't bother me as much as the inconsistency in the way postures were presented. There were a couple instances where a pose was taught so differently between the two sides that it created an imbalance.

Overall impression: Not impressed. At the end of the practice, I didn’t have that warm, post-yoga glow-y feeling. In fact, I didn’t feel like I’d done any yoga at all. This is the second YogaToday class that I’ve tried and have not enjoyed. I’m starting to appreciate the high quality of the YogaDownload classes. Even the worst YogaDownload class is far better than this.

I took a State-of-the-Backbend photo yesterday, after my Primary+5Intermediate practice.

I think I’m starting to see some progress. For comparison purposes, here are two backbend photos. The first is from a month ago:

December 17

February 12

Anusara

This was one of those days that I really should have done my practice first thing in the morning, and I regretted that I didn't.

I slept in this morning. It was so much more fun to laze around talking and drinking coffee (a rare indulgence for me) than hop on the mat. Then I met up at noon with a good friend of mine for Thai food (my former-favourite Thai place has really gone downhill - the Pad Thai was *awful*) and ice cream (Greg's - a bowl full of Mocha! Delicious and SO not CR...).

Unfortunately, due to some personal circumstances, I had a tense afternoon. I was feeling down and very sorry for myself. I completely forgot about practising until late and unrolled my mat reluctantly.

I did a half-hearted Anusara practice and to my surprise, it really did make me feel better. I was in a better frame of mind as I drifted off to sleep shortly after.

Anusara

I'm loving the new set-up of my apartment. I watched an old episode of Law and Order SVU from the bed last night and I could actually *see* the television for a change (it used to live waaaay across the room). And I installed a light over the bed for optimal pre-sleep reading enjoyment.

I *adore* my little window seat. I've always wanted one. Sure it's a bit manufactured, but I can sit and watch the sun rise from this spot in the morning. And I had tea at my tiny kitchen table this morning.

Living in such a tiny space is something I've grown accustomed to and I'm skilled at using the square footage of have in the most efficient possible way. But I've raised the bar this time - my apartment has never been so functional. I guess I'll stay here for another couple years ;-)

I woke this morning determined to do my practice before anything else. I felt dance-y, so I did a half-hour of Journey Dance (moving through my now-larger space with delight), then a half-hour of Anusara. I was soaked in sweat by the time I finished.

I'm finding myself drawn back into Anusara lately, spontaneously doing handstands around the apartment, engaging in more 'voluntary' backbending. ;-) It's interesting how a daily practice allows me to meander down these paths - dance, difference styles of yoga. Some days, it feels like sheer drudgery, but on others, it's like play.

Anusara

This morning, I caught the furniture rearranging bug. I thought it might be neat to move my huge purple-heart-n-cherry hope chest over by the west window to create a window seat/reading nook. But it didn't make sense to do that if the reading nook would be right beside the bed and what about the glare problem I've been dealing with on my computer screen and T.V.? Wouldn't it make sense to move all that stuff to the sides of the room so I could type/watch junk T.V. glare-free.

And so on and so on...

By mid-morning my 250 square foot city apartment was chaos: furniture scattered, wireless router unplugged, phone relocated, art taken down from the walls. Space, as you can imagine, is at a premium when you live in a glorified closet (at university, I stayed in more spacious dorm rooms). Also, I needed to insure the optimal amount of space to do yoga.

I ended up moving the bed to a side of the room it had never before occupied. I relocated the wall unit to position the television at an optimal non-glare angle and my desk is perpendicular to the window to prevent glare on my computer screen. And I have a window seat! And (bonus!) a little meditation nook! And (bonus!) a small dining area off the kitchen. Right now, I'm eating off a T.V. tray but a trip to Ikea for a small table may be in my future.

Imagine, eating off a table like a civilized human being! I feel reincarnated...

In the course of this shuffling, I unearthed more dog-sized dust bunnies than I care to admit. The whole apartment is still floating in a cloud of dust motes as I type, but I washed the floor and did yoga in my new larger-than-ever yoga-space (how did I managed to find more floor in this apartment? how?!).

I'm still rockin' the Routine application on my iPod Touch. This time, I set up an intense half-hour Anusara sequence. It was terrifically fun. :-)

I laid over my bolster for a full minute for launching into Urdhva Dhanurasana. It really does seem to help.

Now I'd better make sure my bed actually folds out and doesn't collide with the desk. Wish me luck!