Muy Loco!

Day 20, Class 19

5:30 with Susan

Tuesday was jam packed with fun to-dos, but I placed the highest after-work priority on class and everything else fell into place. I was one of the first to set-up, so I was in my area and had time to relax, but could not completely. I was preoccupied with the fact that I did not bring the right shorts for class. Occasionally, I've tried to come down off of my Nike pedestal to try other brands, but they really do the best job in terms of the dry technology. I had not had good experience with this other pair of shorts, so I knew that it was going to be a long 90 minutes. I was also thinking about the fact that I did not pack or purchase the appropriate clothing for the after work festivities. I finally let all of these apparel distractions go by Awkward Pose.

UTKATASANA- Awkward Pose
Improves overall body strength
Opens pelvis
Strengthens and tones leg muscles
Relieves menstrual cramping
Reduces fat pocket under buttocks
Aligns skeletal system
Good for arthritis conditions
Good for digestion
Relieves joint pain
Relieves sciatica
Improves flexibility in toes and ankles
Exercises liver, intestines, and pancreas

Prior to that, we spent an unusually long time re-arranging the room. There were lots of giggles for about 3 minutes before class started. It was fun and funny and Susan's sarcastic humor made it even funnier. Susan is a great teacher. She gives a tremendous amount of information about anatomy, physiology, the practice and life. She has encouraged me to move forward in postures when I was stuck, lacking the confidence, balance or flexibility to proceed. She has this way of complimenting a student, then offering a gentle correction. It works... sometimes. She'll say, "That's nice, Jada. Now bring your chest up a little higher", then Jada falls out. But it's all good. Today, two weird things happened. First, she complimented my Standing Bow, without correction. As soon as she said, "That's Nice, Jada", I was waiting for it, but I guess that was all she wanted to say. Cool! I actually fell out of the first one, but the rest were pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Second, she actually noticed that any other time she said something to anyone, they fell out. We giggled again, because it was totally true. It was a very weird class.

Down in Left toe-stand, Susan encouraged me to pop up off of my heel, which I had never even attempted before. My balance was great and my eyes were locked, so I said "no", giggled again, then I did it... I can't wait to try it again with more time left in the posture. Speaking of "left", another random practice question is why does the left hand always come up first in Toe Stand? Hmmm...

Maybe Bikram's a southpaw like the President.

Everyone was drinking lots and lots of water in this class, so Susan talked about the importance of hydrating before class to receive the most benefit. I started trying this last year and it really works. I only drink after Eagle, after Toe-Stand and before the last Savasana. I am going to take one of those breaks out today to see how that goes. I would love to not have to drink any at all... one day.

Class on the floor was pretty uneventful, except that I am really feeling my Locust come along. I would love to be able to see it from the side. After class, I helped my Mexican brothers and sisters celebrate Cinco de Mayo at No Mas, Matadors y Sugarhill... OK, Sugar Hill only because it was their last night, but I did have a margarita. Ole'!