Monday, March 12, 2007

Yoga Recap

Last week was a good yoga practice week. It started slow doing nothing Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday I went down to my hOMe space in midtown and took the Mixer class which I mentioned in the entry of 1,000 Chaturangas. Did I mentioned I ended up with serious rug burn on my right elbow? Yup, thanks to the long sleeve shirt I decided to wear that day. When yoga couture goes bad! I've been keeping it clean and covered ever since but it hasn't stopped me from practicing.

Thursday I did sneak out of work during lunch and took a 60 minute lunchtime Quickie class. The class was a little more vigorous than I was expecting in the middle of the day. The instructor, John, did show a good warmup for Bakasana involving transitioning back and forward between Uttanasana and squatting. It felt good but by the time I got back to work I felt like someone just beat me to a pulp. Walking back to my job felt like I was walking uphill in snow.

Friday was an Open class at Jivamukti and after a year since going to the studio, I was reminded very quickly why Jivamukti Yoga is sooooooooooooo invigorating. The chanting is beautiful once you settle yourself into and get into the flow of the sanskrit. Everyone should experience Kirtan or call & response chanting at least once, other than just saying Om (not that saying Om is a bad thing). The sequence was fast and sweat-inducing but wonderful and juicy at the same time. I loved every breath of it.

The rest of the weekend I just rested and let the soreness go away. These three classes back to back really took some out me but it will only make me stronger.

3 comments:

Mary said...

Love reading about your practice!

I am enjoying the chanting too but still a little too shy to participate. I have only just started chanting OM with the class and it's even more powerful now. I found some of the chants on Deva Premal's "The Essence" so I'll try these when practicing at home.

Regina said...

I haven't found any studios here where I live in FL that practice chanting but then again, that's not a big surprise...
Like HB said, I am a little shy as well and I mainly do my Om's at home!
And, oh, I hate rug burns- sorry about that!

Veronica TM said...

wow, you have a strong and diverse practice, marilyn! i love to read about your experiences with yoga.
your are right, everyone should experience kirtan at least once.