Sintra - Teachers Immersion, Week 3
June 30 - July 6
This week FLEW BY. I have been slacking on blogging. Mainly because I’ve been keeping busy during the day with either gym, laundry or wedding planning!
My Mysore practice has finally caught up to me. I am sore and feeling it physically and emotionally.
The Black Lotus sequence I have been practicing is much more intense than my regular intermediate series practice. There are a number of arm balances (tripod headstand + arm balances, 3 more forearm stand variations) added to my practice and while in the beginning, it was tough and I lost a lot of my energy halfway through my practice… I am feeling stronger and the arm balances are more achievable. I am taking less breaks in between poses to catch my breath. BUT my shoulder flexibility has changed over the last two weeks… to the point where I am not understanding tick tocks anymore! I can’t get my shoulders into a deep extended position anymore.
I went for a major massage session on Friday and I’m hoping a day of rest will do the trick in relieving my shoulders. I have been practicing my usual intermediate series on Sundays and having fun with Black Lotus throughout the week.
Sundays are a way for me to check in, how is the body feeling, how are the hips and shoulders etc… I am hoping Kapotasana isn’t going to be horrifying… Despite all the shoulder rotation, flip grip postures in the Black Lotus sequence, Kapotasana is still not an easy posture for me.
As well as, there are 2 hollowback postures in the Black Lotus sequence. I believe I have been practicing it incorrectly and have been dumping in my low back. This has affected my lower back and leg behind the head postures. It’s easy to do a hollowback with knees bent, or one knee bent and the other leg extended but as soon as both legs are weighing me down, holy heck! It is terrifying.
In our alignment class, Ty explained the hollowback in a way that I could understand, and that was finding the position you’d normally be if you were to fall over into forearm wheel, Dwipada Viparita Dandasana. I’m not afraid to fall over but I also need to find the comfort zone of hanging out BEFORE falling over.
In our Alignment/Adjustment class, we learned how to assist in Backbends and Inversions (MY FAV). I learned a lot and also found better adaptations to how I already assist. I can’t wait to come back and teach!
