Over my head
Reading the responses to my last post, I can see that I am in way over my head here when it comes to assisted backbends. Make that all backbends. I am amazed and awed by Vanessa's tick tocking, and even more amazed and awed that it seems to be something that she has been doing for quite some time, without any drama or discussion, at least none that I remember on her blog. The last time I could tock (flip the legs back over the head from a backbend to go back to standing, via a handstand), I think I was about 17 years old. I suppose it is possible that I will someday tock again. I can already tick (go from a handstand to a backbend), although I can't stand up once I'm in a backbend, at least not with any grace.
Laksmi, Tova, Linda - it's all greek to me, three of this, three of that. For the most part, I have no idea what ya'all are talking about. Today, I couldn't practice downtown due to a bunch of annoying pre-move things going on uptown, so after I taught a class at Yoga Sutra, I ended up practicing with Erika, the Yin side of the Hildebrandt equation. Noneventful practice other than veeeeeeeerrrrrrrryyyyy low energy, and other than the fact that her assisted dropbacks consist of three hands-to-floor, unless you've done that part yourself, which I did (see - I can tock!), followed by arms-crossed-head-to-floor-for-five-breaths, followed by four half-way-downs, followed by hands down for five breaths.
When she came over to me for dropbacks, I was like, "Um, can you tell me how you do this? I've only done it with Greg and Guy and they each do it differently." Why am I the only person who has to ask this question? And for that matter, why am I the only person who seems confused by every teacher's Supta Kurmasana adjustment, other than Sir's? While I like the adjustments I've gotten from Greg and from Erika's assistant today, my favorite is the adjustment Guy gives because he totally doesn't expect (or want) me to do ANYTHING other than lie there.
See, you can take the Jewish girl out of the bedroom, but you can't take the bedroom out of the Jewish girl. Or something like that.
YC
3 comments:
Hi YC!
Well, down here in Oz I've been taught dropping back a number of ways... But what V wrote is closest to what I do now, and what Dena Kinsberg teaches:
3 x urdhva d from the floor, then stand up
3-5 x drop-back stand up
3 X drop-back to urdhva D and then flip over to downdog (I can only do this with some help)
3 x handstand drop down to urdhva D and stand straight up
3 x tick-tocks
vrickrasana (sp? - scorpion)
THEN - chakra bandasana, which is the crossed-arms drop to head, then 4 x halfway, then on the fifth hands down (floor or ankles).
BUT, when i was learning to drop back with Eileen Hall, she had me do 3 x assisted drop-backs, then 3 x assisted handstand-to-urdvha d, then chakra bandasana.
I too have to ask what they do when i visit other studios - there is always some variation in what teachers want you to do...
Sally
Your writing seems to imply subtly that you doubt that I do them, because I didn't write or make any drama about it. Wouldn't it be better to ask directly?
The fact is, I don't do tic-tocs. I said that the sequence was as I explained, but in my shala we don't do the tic-tocs.
Vanessa - I emailed you.
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