Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Taking my sweet time....

Fixed my technorati issue - don't know how that happened, not gonna worry about it, other than i am pretty sure that at some point, i was asked by technorati to give them my blogger password, which seems weird, but whatever, in any event, i just changed my password - and now I can focus on the nice morning that I had today.

I am enjoying my new routine, getting up in the wee hours, walking Lou the Beagle, making a nice, hot breakfast for the kids (scramled eggs, toast and strawberries today), getting them to school by 8:30, heading up to the East 84th Street Deli for a large black Hawaiian Hazelnut cuppa (it is such incredibly awesome coffee that I go five blocks out of my way to this random corner deli in order to indulge) and then heading to Shala X. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, I have the luxury of taking the bus because there is a late Mysore class, in case I miss an earlier one. So, I get to read the paper, look at my calendar, make a phone call or two. On Mondays and Fridays, it will have to be me and my gas-swilling (15 mpg!!!! oy!!) SUV.

Ran into a friend and fellow yoga teacher, who I used to see all the time whenever I was at Shala X. I'll refer to her as the Student, as she is currently working on her doctoral degree. She and I chatted for a few enjoyable minutes, and then Teacher asked us to come inside. I was embarassed because I didn't realize that Shala X was following an hourly class-time format now. So, the Student and I got started 10 minutes into the session, and it was kind of cool, because we were both started at almost exactly the same time. She actually started about one Surya A ahead of me, but she must take longer breaths because I soon found that we were in the same poses at the same times.

That is, until we got to Janu Sirsasana. Without even knowing it, I was starting to slow down. I thought that my days of dawdling my way through the poses leading up to the Mari's were over. But apparently, there is still some proscrastination going on, purely by reflex. It is completely unintentional. You see, I really ENJOY Mari A and B now. And I am excited about C because it truly is HAPPENING.

Teacher gave me a wonderful assist in Mari A - bringing my elbows in close, making sure that my wrapping hand was gripping my (incredibly sweaty) wrist. I did B on my own. I feel a bit off balance in B - I want to get my forehead to the floor right at the midline, but I feel myself leaning over to my lotus side. But it still is a good pose for me now. Teacher let me take on C by myself for a bit, and I guess he saw that my fingers were touching behind my back, so for the first time EVER, I got a very simple assist to bring my hands to touch, and the rest of the adjustment was about twisting my torso deeper. And deeper. And deeper. I felt like I was going to spin all the way around, a la Linda Blair in the Exorcist. When he let go, I held it for another five breaths.

And then I wasn't sure what to do. Was I supposed to go on to where I used to practice to? Or was I supposed to consider this to be my stopping point. Yep. The latter. And that is SOOOOOOO SOOOOOO good for me because this way, I am going to really learn Mari C, without getting distracted by all of the poses that come after. I am going to learn Mari C once and for all!!!

Hence, I am enjoying taking my sweet time.....

Another benefit - I have more time in which to savor the finishing poses. No more rushing through. I am LOVING sitting in padmasana (lotus), so the more time I have for that, the happier I am right now.

After class, I helped cut some fresh flowers for a mala that Late Session Teacher was planning on making and presenting to Ganesh. That was kind of nice. It did turn out that the flowers were kind of half dead from the inside out, so it didn't seem like such a great offering to Ganesh afterall.

Since I feel good physically and I am loving, loving, loving my practice, I upped my "class card" to the full monty: 6 days a week.

Yoga Chick-itsa!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

There really is no "starting time" at Shala X. I don't know why they don't just write 6:30-10 or whatever the time is, instead of breaking it down into hourly or half hour spots. Makes no sense. The point is, you show up and you go in and practice. You don't have to wait for the "starting time."

Anonymous said...

Curious - why did you chose this shala when you had written before that your favored practices were elsewhere? There is NO chance of keeping Shala X's anonymity...any detail you give - the flower mala, for example - is a dead give-away for anyone who knows that Teacher X always makes them...

Yoga Chickie said...

I didn't think there was supposed to be a "starting time" either, but Teacher told me, "Class started at 9:30", and I guess he would know! Also, a different teacher is "on" for each hourly session. Hence, Teacher was there at 9:30. At 10:30, Teacher was gone, and Teacher X was there in Teacher's place.

This seems to be a new way of doing things there, at least for me.

Why did I chose Shala X? An instinct. My favorite practices had been Elsewhere, and Elsewhere is the place I always planned to practice. I even convinced a friend to join me at Elsewhere. She plans to start there soon. But when it came down to it, the place I felt drawn to was Shala X. And I have learned that going with my instincts, even if I can't logically explain it, yields the sweetest results.

I am not particularly trying to protect Shala X's anonymity, by the way. I am simply trying not to fan the flames of the "where to practice" debate that was cropping up here during the summer. Somehow, not referring to shalas by name feels like it will help to accomplish that "under the radar" thing.

May I ask...do you practice at Shala X? Have I seen you there?

Lauren

Anonymous said...

Hey Lauren,
How's the puppy today? My dog was small too but he was a pretty good eater. Did you try some different foods? Maybe her tummy's upset?

Yea for practice! I can't wait till I move so I can have a 6 day a week shala practice!
Susan

Anonymous said...

thank you soooooooo much for writing with a little more anonymity regarding where you practice and the people there by nicknames.

Yoga Chickie said...

Blogging is a learning experience. I am a novice blogger...just learning as I go....

Lauren

Yoga Chickie said...

Yes, Susan...it is a great feeling to commit like that! I am psyched!

Yoga Chickie said...

Oh my...sounds like my kids. They are SO picky. Brian is a "vegetarian, except for hamburgers". Both my kids are really thin, and to this day, I still have to prepare a "buffet" to get them to eat even one thing. Looks like Lou the Beagle is going to fit right in.

Vet said I had to force her to eat tonight. Not looking forward to that....

Lauren

Anonymous said...

YC,

Great news about 6 months check up.

So has The Husband had a fit about the new expensive 6 month schedule? Better get used to your old jeans.

Try giving Lu some childen soup with matzoh balls and mushed up chicken followed by apple sauce.

Nervous Hilaria

Yoga Chickie said...

Nervous Hilaria?

The vet said for now to give baby food to Lu - only chicken, no variety. No carbs, no fruit or veggies, no eggs. The vet also told me to force her to eat, if she wouldnt eat on her own - using a medicine syringe. And it did come down to that, unfortunately. The good news is that she ate a whole jar of the baby food, an ounce of Nutra-Cal, and perked right up.

I hope the eating problems go away soon...this is not easy.

Lauren

Anonymous said...

"May I ask...do you practice at Shala X? Have I seen you there?"

Yes and No. You have to get there before 8 to see me...

Copyright 2005-2007 Lauren Cahn, all rights reserved. Photos appearing on this blog may be subject to third party copyright ownership. You are free to link to this blog and portions hereof, but the use of any direct content requires the prior written consent of the author.

About Me

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Northern Westchester, New York, United States
I live by a duck pond. I used to live by the East River. I don't work. I used to work a lot. Now, not so much. I used to teach a lot of yoga. Now not so much. I still practice a lot of yoga though. A LOT. I love my kids, being outdoors, taking photos, reading magazines, writing and stirring the pot. Enjoy responsibly.

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