There's a quote from our Yoga anatomy book that resonates deeply with me and that I think sheds a whole new light on the practice of yoga as well as the practice of life.
"The moment you're born, your confronted by two forces that were not present in utero: breath and gravity. The practice of yoga can be seen as a way of consciously exploring the relationship between breath and posture, so it's clear that yoga can help us deal with this fundamental challenge."
Sometimes, we take life for granted. We take it for granted that we can walk and breath and forget that there was a time when we were first developming when we couldn't do either. It's ironic that we have to re-learn how to succumb to gravity in our asanas when there was a time when we couldn't do anything BUT succumb to it. We even have to learn how to breath because oxygen is no longer supplied to us through the umbilical chord. We have to learn how to sustain the weight of our own head and eventually learn how to maneuver a spine that develops both primary and secondary curves. All of this is so amazing! yoga helps us come to grips with all of these taken-for-granted human phenomena that we have become to accustomed to. Yoga brings our awareness to them and helps us consciously perform essential functions correctly!
Sam taught us how to do the Sun Salutations today and did some more Bikram Yoga with Katite. A good rule of thumb I learned from both of them was if it feels good, do it. If it doesn't back off. The Sun Salutations are so simple, yet so profound. Latetly, I've been starting each morning off with them. What more can you ask for? Great morning stretches and a clean, clear mind to start the day! I've also incorporated Katite's bridges into my daily routine. Her bridge pushups are killers, but I love every one of them! Today I discovered that my shoulders are less flexible than I thought. I'd only been stretching them in one direction, but Katite made us twist our arms around and grab the inside of our feet - a variation of bow pose. There are so many tension points that can be discovered through yoga and each one is different for every student. Knowing your body -when it needs to relax and when it has the capacity to be strong - is extremely important. Another cool tip from Sam: bend your arms and rotate your entire hand towards the back of the room in order to close your shoulders! This is great for people who have trouble relaxing their shoulders (like me)!
I am so blessed to be inspired by so many fountains of knowledge. Meg is so humble and so teeming with medical information. I can tell she really loves what she does and that makes me love what she is teaching me!
I want to absorb everything that's being given to me in this program like a sponge!
In love,
Leila.
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