Thursday, October 2, 2008

Whatever you can do.....

Mostly in the morning, my joints feel like they have rusted shut, my tendons feel like they will snap like over stretched taffy, and my hamstrings especially are very inflexible.  So I really don't have any expectations for morning yoga.  Staying awake is my new objective.  

Today, I was especially tight and sore, but I got through most of the poses, not prettily, but I got through at least one set of most.  And when I couldn't do the pose, I decided to watch those around me to see what I could learn.  I was lucky enough to be right next to Robert, my new buddy from Amsterdam.  Robert has been a yoga competition winner, and has a beautiful balance of strength and flexibility.  He is thin, with beautifully defined muscles and at various times while watching him I was reminded of a graceful bird, a butterfly emerging from its case, and a Japanese ham sandwich -- no gaps anywhere!   My observations helped me to learn how to improve my grip in rabbit pose and others simply inspired me to learn to stretch more.

Then behind me was Jodi - she stayed with us at the youth hostel before training began.  She's from SoCal, but lives in Kentucky and is a coach for a university there.  She reminds of my college buddy Janet in both her structure and her personality.  She just does the work and doesn't necessarily do it easily, she just doesn't seem to be bothered by it.  I'm not explaining that well, but there's not a lot of drama for her.  And I like that.  At one point I turned around and she just nodded her head and mouthed, "C'mon, you can do it" and I believed her!!!  Then later I saw her tap the towel of the guy next to her and she coached him into doing more.  She will be a terrific yoga instructor and I would love to take her class!!

OK, got to practice dialogue.  I'm not learning as quickly as I'd like, more on that later.

Happy Birthday Shout Out to Selina in Antioch, Judi in Africa, and Sunny and Erin who are both here!!    

Love to all.  

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

you said in yesterdays blog that they wanted you to reduce your water intake. Why? won't that lead to dehydration in those conditions. Please explain. Are people adjusting to the heat and extreme lengths of the sessions? Is everybody still participating or have some quit. Just questions your writing bring to mind. Robyn