a good class

blackboard in Wild Lotus yoga shala in New Orleans

Day 26/30 of the yoga challenge! I have been to so many yoga classes this past month. It got me thinking...what makes a good (or not so good) yoga class?

I took my first yoga classes as a pre-teen with my bff on Greenwich Avenue in a heated room. After that, I cannot say I was hooked. But, sometime in college I began regularly practicing my MTV power yoga dvd. Over the years i've taken classes once in while, but definitely not regularly. I think it's been the cost of classes that stops me. But, the Life Yoga 30 day challenge only cost me $99 for all the yoga I could do in 30 days, so I gained a lot of experience in classes!

Sometimes a yoga class...just is not great. So i've put together a list of great things every yoga class should strive for:
- good atmosphere: I like the room to either smell good or like nothing. But definitely not bad. Also, I think that people should not be chatting as the class starts. I like a nice quiet serene atmosphere. Temperature is part of this as it's not fun to be shivering in savasana but i'm also not a 115f yoga class type person.
- OMs: It's important to me that every class begin and end with an AUUUMMMMM. please.
- themes: I love when teachers present us with a theme or story at the beginning of class. It's like a little teaching. At one place I study at there are yoga sutra readings!
- adjustments: Having a teacher adjust you is one of the great benefits of going to class. A home practice may lead you to incorrect or harmful alignment, but once you are in class the teacher is there to gently push you into the proper alignment.
- room to move: i hate a cramped yoga class where the person in front of you moves into 3-legged dog and kicks you in the face.
- music. i don't like silence. i don't care if it's yogi chanting, quiet ocean noises, or rock music. But i do like when it fits the class and flows instead of feeling random.
- a challenge: i want to feel pushed to try new things. or at least given the opportunity to try new things.
- length: an hour is great for a quick practice and people definitely need those classes but i prefer classes that are an hour and a half long because it gives you time for every aspect of the class.
- and finally, acceptance. no pressure. I find that the teachers who gently suggest that i try something new or who cheer me on instead of making me feel pressured are the ones who get me to challenge myself and leave feeling good about it.

I'm hoping to continue taking classes even after the challenge is done...which is in 4 days!

day 24/30

It is Day 24/30 of the Yoga Challenge.

I have completed 23 days of classes so far and tonight will be 24 with Alexis' 8pm candlelight flow. Just a few more days until Sunday when I can say that I successfully completed 30 days of yoga. I'm glad it's ending on Sunday because that is my 2 class day where I first take a vinyasa flow and then follow it up with a relax deeply/restorative class. I always feel ready for the week after those classes and since my job is ending on Friday I need to be ready to tackle whatever might happen next week.

So much has happened since day 1.

I began the process, you might remember, with a pulled rib muscle. It was one of the most annoying injuries as it made sharp pain shoot through my side in almost any asana. Eventually though, that faded away. These past two weeks I have had to deal with my bursitis in both hips and my shoulder blade. The hip pain is annoying, but honestly I'm pretty used to it by now. The back pain, however, feels like I'm being stabbed in the lungs every time I breath in. Throughout my day I can usually ignore it, but in yoga class when we focus on our breath it screams out for attention.

Injuries and pain aside, I am so ready to delve deeper in my fourth week. Each week it seems that something new has come up for me to explore. Something to think about, to meditate on. Last week, one of my teachers said that for her a challenge is to pull back and take it easy when her body is telling her to. That has always been one of my problems in yoga. When a teacher suggests that advanced students try an arm bind, I do an arm bind, regardless of how tired my arms are. Since the end of the first week every one of my muscles has been tight and achy. Without a rest it seems that I'm pushing them to their limits. The other day in an arm balance my arm shook uncontrollably and I was sure I was going to fall. Luckily, when the teacher said that in class the other day, I realized it has been true for me too. Therefore, throughout the 30 day yoga challenge I've tried to listen to my body and allow it to rest in downward facing dog or child's pose when I felt I needed to.

Child's pose (balasana) is the ultimate resting pose. While downward facing dog (adho mukha svanasana) is eventually a resting pose for people who practice often, child's is one that anyone can get into and feel comfortable right away.  All there is to do is to sit back on your heels, feet touching, separate the knees, and lower your torso down to the space in-between the knees. Arms may be stretched our in front of you or pulled back alongside the body with palms facing upward.

In my restoratives class with the lights off and candles lit we often stay in child's pose with a pillow or bolster under our torso for ten minutes.

balasana, arms back

balasana, with supportive pillows

Another great asana is to flip the pose. Put the bolster behind you, underneath your back, and leave the legs out, soles of the feet touching each other. That's probably my favorite. 

Try it!

wrangling down time

Wow, where does the time go?

Well lately it is going to work and yoga...and not much else. Work is 8-5 and i've been told that does not mean open the door at 8 and walk out at 5. Rather, it means be working by 8 and work up until 5 and then do things like shutting down the computer, taking out the trash (oh yes, did I mention I do the cleaning where I work?), and putting files away after 5. But, I am not here to get on a long work rant. Maybe another day. I'm actually still not sure, even as I write this, what I want this post to be about.

Maybe it's about time management. Like I said, I work at least 8-5 every day. I also (if you recall. if not, see my last post) have been doing the 30 day yoga challenge. Today is day #12 and I have taken a class every single day without fail. It's strange how easy it is to put on my lululemon's and drive over there. (okay one Sunday after a bloody mary was a little difficult...). Maybe it's because I made a commitment. I find that I now don't think of it as a lot of yoga. Whenever I get on my mat I think, "it's been a while since I've been here" which is funny since it's probably been 24 hours.

It definitely is taking up a lot of time but what did I really do with that time before? Yah, I'm not sure either. Make groceries? Vacuum? Those things can be fit in at other times, and even neglected a little.

But I do have a guilty feeling. I'm doing this wonderful thing just for myself and some part of me feels wrong for giving this to myself. Why is it that women often feel that they cannot do nice things for themselves but should be doing everything for everyone else? I've got to make a note to keep some balance in that realm.

Back to time management, Ben and I had been looking forward to this fun med school event for a long time. But when the time came to get ready to leave on Saturday night, we both decided that we just wanted to spend some time at home alone rather than go out and probably spend more time talking to our friends. To balance this out we met up today with friends at my favorite lunch spot in all of New Orleans (i'll post all about this place next!) today. It seems that by not going out on Saturday and by spending what could have been a boring lunch break alone with others today I got the best of all situations! And I managed my time well because now I saw Ben and friends at lunch, I worked my whole day, and now while Ben is studying I will go to yoga! :)

Sometimes, things work out well.

Other times, chocolate caramel crunch cake will make it better when it doesn't.

From Ye Olde College Inn

Day 1- shoulderstand

Day 1/30 of the Yoga Challenge.

Well, it’s begun. LifeYoga had a get together in the studio yesterday where we had snacks (Bee Sweet cupcakes!) and met the other people who will be going through the challenge together. They also made us these cute little journals so we can keep track of whatever observations we make throughout the journey. Awesome idea.

I chose to start my challenge with a flow class later that day. It was a packed class and the room heated up quickly. My headache from earlier in the day melted away. My body remembered what it has done so many times before. It felt like coming home. It felt blissful. But, that’s all I want to say about that. 

Today is the second day so I am off to a class I’ve taken before- restorative yoga- that holds relaxing comforting poses longer and is a perfect end to a weekend. Yesterday’s class plus some bowling last night really agitated my pulled muscle, but I’m thinking that today’s restorative poses won’t bother it too badly.

While doing this challenge I thought it would be interesting to do a once-in-a-while post of some thoughts about a particular asana. Sharing some easily accessible yoga postures with everyone sounds like a lovely idea. So, today will be shoulderstand, or salamba sarvangasana.

yes, my butt is sticking out awkwardly...

Shoulderstand has always be a pose that brings me back to my childhood. I don’t know why, but my sister and I used to do this all of the time when we were lazing about at home growing up. Didn’t you? Shoulderstand helps you defy gravity, reverse aging, gain a new perspective, lets your blood flow in a different direction once in a while, and let’s you explore balance and areas of tension. Lately my shoulderstand is lazy and not exactly straight. But, in class the teacher suggested we play around with it putting the soles of our feet together or even lowering our knees to our foreheads. What an idea! With your knees pressing on your forehead your sinuses get some relief and it's like a mini massage! There are so many benefits of going to a class with a professional teacher (including staying safe) including learning new fun ways to alter a posture that you may have been doing your whole life!

play with it- or move into plow!

this looks strange but it's wonderful, try it!

*Because none of these photos shows how to properly hold shoulderstand and I gave no directions at all, I suggest that if you're interested in trying out salamba sarvangasana you take a look at yogajournal.com and search for the pose. There you'll find hints about how to get in and out of the pose, etc.