No fear.

mary — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:48:34 +0000

In almost every class I’ve taught lately, I’ve asked the question, “What would you like to work on today?” Inevitably, hips and lower back work are requested, which admittedly are a constant source of collected stress. But what about those poses that we…hate. Fear. Shy away from. “Those” poses were always the ones that miraculously made me have an instant urge to go the bathroom. Yep, that was me, sneaking out of class for a few minutes, which ironically was about the same amount of time the rest of the class spent in “that” pose.

But why the need to escape? Fear of what? Let’s look more closely:

Fear of embarrassment. I can’t do it. My body doesn’t move that way. I’ll look ridiculous. I’ll fall over or down. I’m afraid I’ll pass gas (Yes, I said it. You know that you’ve been afraid of that one! There’s even a pose referred to as “wind relieving pose.” In a public class? No thank you!).

Good ol’ competitiveness. I won’t be able to perform the pose like that person over there. I used to be able to do this when I was in better shape/younger/more flexible/insert here, but now I can’t.

Fear of pain or injury. I broke my ankle a while back and I don’t want to balance on it because I don’t know if it will hold me. I can’t go upside down! I might fall or my arms aren’t that strong.

These are all very, very valid feelings. And they are important. These all keep us from putting ourselves at risk of injury, make us feel in control, and allow us to skirt what we may see as failure.

But what if we could succeed?

What if, by faith, we take a chance and taste the sri? Taste the abundance, the joy, the grace and beauty of falling back into the Divine and being caught by it? Open to something bigger than ourselves by allowing our yoga to emerge from deep inside?

Here are some ways I will dance with sri this week:

Lean way back in side plank pose (vashistasana).
Give in to a piece of dark chocolate. Savor.
Smile at someone, as a gift.
Skip like a goofball with my four-year-old. In public.
Grab my husband’s cute booty without giving a flip about whether or not it seems appropriate. And then let him grab mine, even though it’s not nearly as firm as his.
Practice handstand – one foot further away from the wall.

How will you dance?

Intermediate Class. April 14th.

mary — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:58:04 +0000

Check out http://hillarysyogapractice.wordpress.com/, Podcast #59, for the full practice and thumbnails of poses. In our class, we did the following:

Sukhasana
Table
Down Dog
Straight Leg Lunge with twist
Vinyasa (Plank, Chatarunga, Cobra)
Crescent with right foot forward, press clasped hands to ceiling with palms facing up
Vinyasa
Crescent with left foot forward, hands clasped behind the back
One legged Down Dog
Forward Bend
L-Pose at the wall
Uttanasana
L-Pose at the wall, lift one leg at a time
Uttanasana
Down Dog
Tree w/ cactus arms, left leg standing
Warrior III, right foot back, press into wall
Vinyasa
Warrior III, right foot forward
Tree w/ cactus arms, right leg standing
Handstand at the wall, butt to wall, scoop tailbone
Handstand with tree legs, each side
Child’s pose
Bharadvajasana (seated twist), each side
Supported Bridge
Knees to chest
Savasana

Peace to you!

Yoga Girl Mary » handstand

No fear.

Intermediate Class. April 14th.