Day 48... Morning Outlaw and Afternoon VInyasa

I say this all the time but I really LOVE my 7 am Monday morning Outlaw class. There is no better way to start the week. This morning we talked about our talents. What talents do we have? What have we done to cultivate them? I mentioned drawing and cooking, although I don't do much of either these days. I guess yoga could also be one since I am working on cultivating that currently. I did take it a little easier this morning, not just because I only got 5 hours of sleep last night but also because I was reminded that I need to take care of my body since I am working it pretty hard. I need to be nice to myself. Not push too hard... when I do that, I get hurt. And then I get cranky because I can't do the things I love. My Handstand and Crow are getting stronger. I also pulled off a decent Side Crow after class. My Wheel felt pretty good too. 

I'm somewhat amazed at the improvement in my flexibility. I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised. I mean, I am working on it at least one hour a day. But to be able to regularly grab my big toes in Standing Forward Bend is pretty awesome considering I used to happy to just barely touch them. And grabbing my feet in Seated Forward Bend is cool too, considering my shins used to feel so far away.

I also took an afternoon Vinyasa class with Jill. I really like her style. We definitely did some different, challenging poses today. I almost got in to Hurdlers Pose and almost did Mermaid on one side. After class, I tried kicking up to Handstand at the wall... Almost made that and one leg is definitely stronger. She prefaced the class with the fact that there would be some challenging poses but that they would be fun. So my intention for class ended up being "Challenge Accepted" and I made a point to challenge myself. Not to push myself too far or anything... just to accept the challenge to try things that maybe I normally wouldn't try. If they felt uncomfortable or I had a hard time breathing, I backed off. Because there was still that acceptance part of my intention. I accepted the challenge to the greatest extent of my ability and comfort. I like that she reminds us to breath. And that she goes through all the different variations of a pose from easiest to hardest. I had a good Final Savasana too. Not as good as last time, but good nonetheless. She made a comment about my dedication to the practice... not just her class but to yoga in general. I appreciated the acknowledgment. It is always nice to be recognized. She makes a point of recognizing people by name in class as well, especially when they are doing well. I like that about her classes. 

I'm planning a Forrest 2 class tomorrow morning and a Nidra class tomorrow night. I'm really interested to see what Forrest is like since one of my friends really really likes it. And Nidra is just needed this week. I'm hoping it will get me super focused. 

Oh look... I actually finished a blog post on the day it happened... Don't get too excited. We'll see how much of this can continue this week. 

Namaste, lovelies.