Today was a great class because I was pushed. I arrived at the studio a little later than I have been and when I walked in to lay down my mat, there was no room in the first row. I set my mat down in the second row where I can still see myself but I can't really look into my own eyes. This always makes the class different for me. I tend to see my whole body better, but for poses where I count on the intensity of my gaze to hold me in the posture, I have to rely on something else. Today the something else was Abby.
Abby is a great teacher. She always sounds excited to be sharing the dialogue with the class, {I can't imagine her ever "phoning it in."} and she was watching us like a hawk. She corrected me in Awkward and in Pada Hastasana all of a sudden she zeroed in on me and said, "Heather! Pull harder! Bring your body even further down." Now, almost no one ever corrects me on that pose. It's one that I can pull my body into pretty easily after a few classes and my forehead is usually pretty far down onto my shins. But from halfway across the room, she could tell that there was more in me than I was giving and she asked me for it.
I managed to hang onto both sets of triangle even though my hips were getting wobbly and I practically fell out at the end. I wasn't sure I could stand and so I sat down for the first set of Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee. That lasted all of about 5 seconds. "Come on Heather. You're doing this posture." And you know what? I did. Both sets.
After that, I just gave it everything I had. Who am I to set limits on myself if Abby believes in me? If she is going to push me to do better {and she's watching a lot of people in that class}, how can I not push myself?
So often, just showing up for class is half the battle. What then, is the other half? It is one thing to "get through" a class and something entirely different to "practice" yoga. It is not required of me that I do the postures perfectly. It is required of me that I try my hardest and not just in the positions that I struggle in, but also in the ones that I think are simple, or the ones that follow the hard ones. In short, I should give it my all through the entire class. You get what you give and I received so much today.
Thank you Abby!
Go Back and Look Again
8 years ago
1 comment:
Hmm. I agree there may be an ideological difference between "getting through" and "practicing." But it's all about the unfolding in the right direction. You're there, you're doing most of the postures, you're trying to stay present. Sometimes our "all" is impossible due to what we're going through. Just getting there is yoga. As long as you try, you're practicing. Just my take on it :-)
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