New yoga session begins

Thank heavens. Sore and tired this morning, but managed to make it to yoga class before it actually started, and rolled out my mat right in the front. Funny how everyone lines up along the back wall first, spacing themselves far apart and then gradually filling in, just the way they fill up seats on a bus, everyone maintaining largest possible bubble of personal space. So under the teacher's nose, which you might think the most desirable location, is last filled. But I don't seem to need much correction, I've been at it a while and must be doing things right.

Since it was the beginning of a new session and it's been a whole month since the last meeting, Susi said she assumed everyone would be stiff, but as you know bob I am the jock of the class who actually practices outside of class. Gasp. Making everyone else look bad? I'll try not to bring it up, even in response to the person who talks all the time. I don't know what everyone else's issues are, but this is Continuing Yoga for Chronic Pain and Fibromyalgia, so everyone has pain issues, but it's the advanced class (Continuing), so we don't just lie on the floor relaxing so much like in the Beginning class.

First we did lying on the floor centering, and then stretching, with arms overhead, still a problem for me. Then we went to the Table pose, with attention to alignment and weight distribution, and some Tiger rolling, which I was very feeble at today. Then the Songbird (stretching hand forward and opposite leg back, balancing) which we hadn't done in quite some time, a little wobbly. Then a big set of Thread the Needle, to both sides, which I was also not feeling too vigorous about.

I think then we went to the Downward Dog, which of course is the one I do rather frequently, not every day by any means, but it is as they say energizing. Also aligns my shoulders well. It was about then that my feet weren't cold any more. Then the Child's Pose, kneeling back on the heels, with an added stretch of the arms to each side, hands walking just a bit to one side and then the other. Then a Crocodile Pose (face down, with hands supporting forehead) and that leads naturally to the Boat, first lifting head and arms by sides, with attention to alignment and extension of spine, then lifting legs just a bit as well. There may have been another Child's pose after that too. She was really piling them on today.

Then we stood up and did the Warrior 2 pose, just the leg position and posture, not leaning back too much. Keeping weight on both legs, bending front leg, in time with breathing, knee lined up over ankle tracking over toes, and the rear leg turned out from the hip with glutes and hamstrings active, rear foot not turned out too much for us, but at like a 45-degree angle. (This is a pose that has a lot of variations.)

The Chair Pose is actually quite like a squat, only not so deep. It might be interesting to compare them. Susi made us some handouts with cool diagrams (chakras all lined up and radiating) and detailed description.

Then we lay down and did some very extensive hamstring stretches, with the belts. Not only holding each leg straight up, as far as possible, with the belt around ball of the foot for resistance and support I think, but then taking the belt in one hand and then the other to stretch (still straight) down to one side and then the other, for abductor and adductor work, I forget which is which though. I can get down prety far on each side, although my tailbone makes interesting crackling noises. We spent quite a while on this. Then some relaxing Knee-down Twists, and it was time for our fifteen-minute Corpse Pose, with guided relaxation and maybe a little nap.

After class I went right out to the car and wrote down everything I could remember. Then although I didn't have any grocery shopping, I went by Hilldale on the way home anyway for a bit of mallwalking, as it is still below twenty degrees and I was not up for much.

I hadn't been really planning on that, though, so I was wearing my leather slides, which don't have much of a heel but are the most girl type shoe I still own, very easy to get in and out of for class. Also after a couple times around the mall, they were feeling kind of tight, so I took them off. (DON'T PANIC! DON'T TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES! I was thinking of the Firesign Theatre's I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus. Good times. I still like that mall, even if the art fairs went away for me so catastrophically.) It's a very clean mall, and I was wearing my big wool socks anyway. It was early in the day and a weekday, so it wasn't crowded, and everyone politely refrained from staring at me walking around on the cement surface (carpet is pretty thin) in my stocking feet. Crazy lady. My feet didn't feel any better or worse than usual, although it's more in the arches that is bothering me now. So I made five times around in all, which is two miles, in 35 minutes.