My schedule this week is all askew. I was going to do Legs & Back tonight, but made dinner plans with a friend tomorrow evening - so I couldn't do yoga then. And there is no 7:30 yoga class on Wednesday, so I needed to get it in at some point this week - so I opted to go tonight, and try to get the Legs & Back workout in tomorrow somehow, sometime. Worst case scenario, I end up having to do Legs & Back on Wednesday morning, and Shoulders & Arms Wednesday evening since I'm not going to work that day. It might affect my performance on the 5 mile turkey day run I plan on doing on Thursday, though.
Anyhow - the past couple weeks I've been finding that I am getting more precise with balancing during the balance series:
Standing Head to Knee - This pose has consistently been on the top of my nemesis list. It looks easy, but holding it for as long as you do in class is really, really hard and exhausting when you get to it in class. Believe me - you may stop reading this and try it out and say 'eh, he's a wimp' - but I can tell you from personal experience that new students in class often kinda laugh and snicker through the first few postures, but after this one they have a look of horror and the biggest 'Hoe-Lee SHIT!!' expression on their face. It's quite amusing :) (hey, I was that person once)
I still can't straighten my horizontal leg all the way, but I'm getting there (the left leg is 95% of the way there!). The thing I liked about it right away is that I always felt like it was engaging the stabilizing muscles in the hips that directly affect the IT band - the gluteus medius. A few weeks ago I feel like I came across a point of balance in my hip where I don't need to hold the leg and hips in place with as much muscular effort - kinda like I figured out how to balance a marble on the tip of my finger. This made the posture significantly easier.
Balancing Stick - This pose has never been much of a killer for me, but it is surprising how much it can make your heart pump. I'm sure when I first started I was more like the guy in the video (awkward and falling over), but that was quickly remedied. Regardless, kinda like that marble analogy from before, I find it easier nowadays.
Standing Bow Pulling Pose - Ok, I can't get my leg nearly as high as the woman in the video - but as you could guess, this is a great posture for increasing quad flexibility (yes, please!). So over time, I've gotten better at it - but the balance is often a tricky thing because you are trying to kick your leg up, keep your torso horizontal and maintain balance all at the same time. Add the fact that this pose causes me to get lightheaded after coming out of it - it makes for a unique challenge. But once again, finding that point in the hip to balance on has made it significantly easier.
So it is definitely nice that I'm finally, after a year of practicing, able to find that point of balance where I don't have to consistently use minor muscle corrections to keep myself balanced - and, ironically enough, I find that when I totally lock the standing knee, it is easier. Go figure - cuz they say to lock the knee every. time.
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