Not having internet at home is a curse...here are the latest:
Day 8 – 1/7/16
The timer is on…Gershwin’s “The Lady Said Yes”, is playing…
Nothing much to report except that my Pigeon, again, did not have the hips on the ground…I wonder what it was about the other day…maybe…the lady pains… I am also (still) very close to having the splits on both sides. It seems so odd to me. I’m not even trying to do the splits, but…I think my body remembers how to do them, and just hasn’t had those tendons and muscles worked in that way in a long time, so…they’re just re-adjusting quickly…I’m not a physical/kinesthetic expert, but that’s what it seems like…
I thought I would look at one of the positions that has the most poses and variations in this series: “Reclining Spinal Twist” or Jathara Parivartanasana.
The quote on this card is “I am deeply calm and present.” This is a very “calming” pose in any of its variations for me. I have never really struggled with this pose. My shoulders always seem to be on the ground and the hips seem to stay parallel. It’s not a struggle and it’s just a very nice sequence. I cut the dynamic variation with straight legs after the second day because I don’t think it was good on my “degenerative back disorder”; the bottom vertebraes felt very “pinched” the next day, so…I thought it best to cut that part out. I think it’s fine because this position already has 5 variations; which is plenty.
The benefits of “Reclining Spinal Twist”/Jathara Parivartanasana are that is calms the mind and nervous system, relieves headaches, and cleanses the digestive and elimination system. This I would believe. My stomach felt less full after this sequence. Maybe this is a good sequence in the winter when one can’t just “walk off” dinner (because it’s too cold).
This pose is also in the section of the yoga book with the Anahata/Heart Chakra poses. In this love/acceptance sequence the Anahata/Heart Chakra has the most poses. So…I think it merits a moment of reflection. It is Chakra 4 and THE YOGA HANDBOOK says, “ Anahata (heart chakra). Color: green. Element: air. Endocrine system: thymus gland. Vital organs: heart and lungs. General functions: cardiovascular circulation and respiration. Related to compassion and passion.” (60)
“Spinal twists are particularly effective for aligning the spinal vertebrae, twisting the spinal column all the way down to the lumbar region. They give a gentle massage to the internal organs of the abdominal area, allowing a fresh blood supply to nourish the area. They also open the chest area, encouraging fuller breathing, particularly into the rib cage.” (99)
“’Jathara” translates as “abdomen” and “Parivritti” means “turning around,” so Jathara Parivartanasana is a posture that “turns around” the abdominal area and gives a twist to the spine.” (100)
Well, I guess my abdomen and my heart gets “turned around” a lot in this practice, which, again, I think is a good metaphor for marriage because sometimes when you feel someone else’s pain, you feel it in your “gut”, and your own feelings “turn around” because suddenly your feelings take second tier because you want your lover’s pain to subside…
And, now, I hear Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” coming into my head, and, for that reason, I need to stop…in addition to the fact that it’s past 15 minutes…
Day 9 – 1/8/16
Timer on…
Today the final meditation really got to me…for some reason I thought it was a good idea to imagine my mother’s hear and my father’s fire and what images that conjured in my brain…and it really brought me to a complicated place…and brought me to tears because it’s difficult to meditate on the fact that your father may or may not have a temper (the fire) or that fire can make one imagine passion and whether or not my father was able to pursue all his passions…and then to imagine my mother’s heart and (maybe) what disappointments lay there… Then I decided to think about my future mother-in-law and father-in-law and their heart and fire, respectively, and, I think, all of that was a bad idea to meditate on because it just made me worry and get sad that people have passions/feelings/disappointments…ugh! Marriage is hard…when you meditate on the choices partners make and their possible compromises and whether or not those compromises create grudges…or not…confusing…not a good way to end a practice…I should have just breathed and “let things go”, but mediation, when it’s working for me, brings up so many images that are strong, and feelings that are equally strong…
I (also) had an amazing Hanumanasana (the splits/Dancing Monkey). I imagined that the “leap of faith” I was on was one big leap on a map of the United States that allowed me to (almost) have a “Wrinkle In Time” and be next to my fiancé. This image work while in the pose allowed it to deepen.
A newer pose in this sequence to me is the Crab (Kulirana). It’s not that this pose has never been done in my yoga practice or in elementary school crab races, but…it’s new as something that I would even consider doing daily. I’m not sure if it is doing anything, but I do notice that I have extra skin at the back of my neck that makes this pose somewhat uncomfortable. The saying on the card says that, “I celebrate my strength and confidence,” however, I don’t feel like this is a particularly “hard” pose for me. I don’t get tired in it…it’s almost like a rest pose for me after the “balance poses,” but I’m thinking I might do the variation with one leg in the air to give it some more dynamism, and then I’ll see if that helps me “celebrate” my strength and confidence. I mean, I guess, if the pose is easy for me and is a “rest” pose then maybe I’m celebrating after the fact, but…I kind of want to celebrate the pose, as though it is the one that deserves celebrating.
I guess that’s about all for today…
Day 10 – 1/9/16
Timer on…
I was very tired today after teaching for 8.5 hours straight at a Theater Festival at the Villa Roma in Jeffersonville, NY. I taught 3 sections (1.5 hours each) of Dialects and had 4 hours of a college fair, where I was trying to drum up future students for my brand new program…I don’t like talking that much, in the first place, so talking for that much was definitely exhausting…and my voice has had no work for about 4 weeks because there has been no school, so…I’m not sure my voice was in shape for that much teaching…oh well…too late, now. I type this, mostly, because I didn’t really want to do the practice today. I really wanted to take a nap and watch TV on my phone, but…I said to myself, “No phone or nap until this is done…” And, I did it.
I thought I would talk about one of my favorite poses today. It has been one of my favorites since I started doing yoga at age 19: it’s the Triangle Pose. I initially liked this pose at 19 because I’m a big They Might Be Giants fan, and their song “Triangle Man” always comes into my head when doing the pose, and brings about happy feelings. I also like the idea that Triangle Man always wins the fight, and I feel very strong and centered in this pose. For this Love/Acceptance 38 Days I am doing three triangle poses: The regular one that everyone knows, the “Extended” Triangle, and the Revolving Triangle. The little quote on the card says, “I easily draw on the power within me.” I wouldn’t say this is a “hard” pose for me; I am in the full position with my hand flat on the ground in the first two variations and almost there in the Revolving variation. However, just because I somewhat do this pose with ease, it doesn’t mean that I don’t think that I’m powerful within it. I love all of the triangles that the body makes in this pose and I love all of the energy that flows from the feet to the fingertips. It does feel “powerful” and thus I feel “powerful.”
The supposed benefits of this pose are:
From THE YOGA HANDBOOK by Noa Belling: “The word “utthita” means “extended” or “stretched” and “trikona” means “triangle,” and this posture crates a few triangles with the body and legs. Trikonasana mainly serves to train awareness of body alignment, as it is one of the few postures that allows the body to bend sideways.” (119)
Also, from THE YOGA HANDBOOK by Noa Belling: “Parivritta” means “to reverse” or “revolve” and “Trikona” means a triangle. This posture is an extension of Utthita Trikkonasana, taking it into the spinal twist. Trikonasana must be well practiced before attempting Parivritta Trikonasana. This posture yields greatest benefits when practiced directly after Trikonasana and should always be preceded by Trikonasana.” (121) *Good thing I’m doing that…
Well…the timer says it’s time…
Day 11 – 1/10/16
The timer is on…
Funnel of Love by Sqürl is on (feature Madeline Follin) is playing from the film THE ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE…
I’m not sure what to write about today…I’m very tired…I did the practice late last night after teaching all day: 8.5 hours, and woke up this morning to teach again and finish my on-line class grading… I came home and was beat… I took a nap, but a really loud thunderstorm woke me up… I decided to watch that Netflix documentary series: HOW TO MAKE A MURDERER (or something like that…I’m not good with names). Anyway, the practice was a bit clouded by my feelings about that show and the justice system, in general… I mean, I don’t know, much about anything, but I’ve taught in the prison system and I know firsthand that there is an inequity between people who are poor and people who have had every opportunity given to them. I couldn’t help but remember the time my father went to see Beckett’s WAITING FOR GODOT that I directed at Washington State Penitentiary, and how he was unusually quiet after the experience. I asked him if he liked the show, and he just said, “All those boys looked like Troy…” [My older brother…] It had never occurred to me before that my father ever reflected that strongly on my brother’s criminal juvenile record, and how scared my father must have been several times in my brother’s young life that he would end up there. It’s true…my brother is one of the sweetest people alive, but…he had some unlucky experiences with the law, when he was younger, and we were not a family that could have ever afforded saving him, if something like Steven Avery [the guy in the Netflix show] had ever happened to him. It had never occurred to me before that my father felt that hopeless before.
So…during my practice I was reflecting on the love that a parent feels towards their child and the devotion one must feel at all times for their children. I sometimes wondered what my parents’ marriage would have been like, if children had never come into play…did we get in the way? Would they still be married? At the precipice of marriage and the fact that I can’t have children, I have to wonder if love is enough? At this time I do, but…the world is a complicated place that truly twists justice sometimes, and it definitely doesn’t look at the lower classes in the brightest light. If Jesus said that the meek shall inherit the Earth, whom was he meaning? The poor, the disabled, the quiet, the unheard? And…if that’s true, it certainly gets my goad watching show like the one I was watching and realizing that people who purport to have “God” on their side, are not speaking for the meek, all of the time… They should really teach or go to the prison system. They’ll be in for a surprise…
That’s all for today…
Note to self: I probably shouldn’t watch things that upset me before doing yoga…
Day 8 – 1/7/16
The timer is on…Gershwin’s “The Lady Said Yes”, is playing…
Nothing much to report except that my Pigeon, again, did not have the hips on the ground…I wonder what it was about the other day…maybe…the lady pains… I am also (still) very close to having the splits on both sides. It seems so odd to me. I’m not even trying to do the splits, but…I think my body remembers how to do them, and just hasn’t had those tendons and muscles worked in that way in a long time, so…they’re just re-adjusting quickly…I’m not a physical/kinesthetic expert, but that’s what it seems like…
I thought I would look at one of the positions that has the most poses and variations in this series: “Reclining Spinal Twist” or Jathara Parivartanasana.
The quote on this card is “I am deeply calm and present.” This is a very “calming” pose in any of its variations for me. I have never really struggled with this pose. My shoulders always seem to be on the ground and the hips seem to stay parallel. It’s not a struggle and it’s just a very nice sequence. I cut the dynamic variation with straight legs after the second day because I don’t think it was good on my “degenerative back disorder”; the bottom vertebraes felt very “pinched” the next day, so…I thought it best to cut that part out. I think it’s fine because this position already has 5 variations; which is plenty.
The benefits of “Reclining Spinal Twist”/Jathara Parivartanasana are that is calms the mind and nervous system, relieves headaches, and cleanses the digestive and elimination system. This I would believe. My stomach felt less full after this sequence. Maybe this is a good sequence in the winter when one can’t just “walk off” dinner (because it’s too cold).
This pose is also in the section of the yoga book with the Anahata/Heart Chakra poses. In this love/acceptance sequence the Anahata/Heart Chakra has the most poses. So…I think it merits a moment of reflection. It is Chakra 4 and THE YOGA HANDBOOK says, “ Anahata (heart chakra). Color: green. Element: air. Endocrine system: thymus gland. Vital organs: heart and lungs. General functions: cardiovascular circulation and respiration. Related to compassion and passion.” (60)
“Spinal twists are particularly effective for aligning the spinal vertebrae, twisting the spinal column all the way down to the lumbar region. They give a gentle massage to the internal organs of the abdominal area, allowing a fresh blood supply to nourish the area. They also open the chest area, encouraging fuller breathing, particularly into the rib cage.” (99)
“’Jathara” translates as “abdomen” and “Parivritti” means “turning around,” so Jathara Parivartanasana is a posture that “turns around” the abdominal area and gives a twist to the spine.” (100)
Well, I guess my abdomen and my heart gets “turned around” a lot in this practice, which, again, I think is a good metaphor for marriage because sometimes when you feel someone else’s pain, you feel it in your “gut”, and your own feelings “turn around” because suddenly your feelings take second tier because you want your lover’s pain to subside…
And, now, I hear Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” coming into my head, and, for that reason, I need to stop…in addition to the fact that it’s past 15 minutes…
Day 9 – 1/8/16
Timer on…
Today the final meditation really got to me…for some reason I thought it was a good idea to imagine my mother’s hear and my father’s fire and what images that conjured in my brain…and it really brought me to a complicated place…and brought me to tears because it’s difficult to meditate on the fact that your father may or may not have a temper (the fire) or that fire can make one imagine passion and whether or not my father was able to pursue all his passions…and then to imagine my mother’s heart and (maybe) what disappointments lay there… Then I decided to think about my future mother-in-law and father-in-law and their heart and fire, respectively, and, I think, all of that was a bad idea to meditate on because it just made me worry and get sad that people have passions/feelings/disappointments…ugh! Marriage is hard…when you meditate on the choices partners make and their possible compromises and whether or not those compromises create grudges…or not…confusing…not a good way to end a practice…I should have just breathed and “let things go”, but mediation, when it’s working for me, brings up so many images that are strong, and feelings that are equally strong…
I (also) had an amazing Hanumanasana (the splits/Dancing Monkey). I imagined that the “leap of faith” I was on was one big leap on a map of the United States that allowed me to (almost) have a “Wrinkle In Time” and be next to my fiancé. This image work while in the pose allowed it to deepen.
A newer pose in this sequence to me is the Crab (Kulirana). It’s not that this pose has never been done in my yoga practice or in elementary school crab races, but…it’s new as something that I would even consider doing daily. I’m not sure if it is doing anything, but I do notice that I have extra skin at the back of my neck that makes this pose somewhat uncomfortable. The saying on the card says that, “I celebrate my strength and confidence,” however, I don’t feel like this is a particularly “hard” pose for me. I don’t get tired in it…it’s almost like a rest pose for me after the “balance poses,” but I’m thinking I might do the variation with one leg in the air to give it some more dynamism, and then I’ll see if that helps me “celebrate” my strength and confidence. I mean, I guess, if the pose is easy for me and is a “rest” pose then maybe I’m celebrating after the fact, but…I kind of want to celebrate the pose, as though it is the one that deserves celebrating.
I guess that’s about all for today…
Day 10 – 1/9/16
Timer on…
I was very tired today after teaching for 8.5 hours straight at a Theater Festival at the Villa Roma in Jeffersonville, NY. I taught 3 sections (1.5 hours each) of Dialects and had 4 hours of a college fair, where I was trying to drum up future students for my brand new program…I don’t like talking that much, in the first place, so talking for that much was definitely exhausting…and my voice has had no work for about 4 weeks because there has been no school, so…I’m not sure my voice was in shape for that much teaching…oh well…too late, now. I type this, mostly, because I didn’t really want to do the practice today. I really wanted to take a nap and watch TV on my phone, but…I said to myself, “No phone or nap until this is done…” And, I did it.
I thought I would talk about one of my favorite poses today. It has been one of my favorites since I started doing yoga at age 19: it’s the Triangle Pose. I initially liked this pose at 19 because I’m a big They Might Be Giants fan, and their song “Triangle Man” always comes into my head when doing the pose, and brings about happy feelings. I also like the idea that Triangle Man always wins the fight, and I feel very strong and centered in this pose. For this Love/Acceptance 38 Days I am doing three triangle poses: The regular one that everyone knows, the “Extended” Triangle, and the Revolving Triangle. The little quote on the card says, “I easily draw on the power within me.” I wouldn’t say this is a “hard” pose for me; I am in the full position with my hand flat on the ground in the first two variations and almost there in the Revolving variation. However, just because I somewhat do this pose with ease, it doesn’t mean that I don’t think that I’m powerful within it. I love all of the triangles that the body makes in this pose and I love all of the energy that flows from the feet to the fingertips. It does feel “powerful” and thus I feel “powerful.”
The supposed benefits of this pose are:
- Improves flexibility of the torso
- Strengthens the feet, ankles, knees, and legs, particularly, the thigh muscles
- Elongates the spine
- Opens the hip area
- Increases endurance and stamina
From THE YOGA HANDBOOK by Noa Belling: “The word “utthita” means “extended” or “stretched” and “trikona” means “triangle,” and this posture crates a few triangles with the body and legs. Trikonasana mainly serves to train awareness of body alignment, as it is one of the few postures that allows the body to bend sideways.” (119)
Also, from THE YOGA HANDBOOK by Noa Belling: “Parivritta” means “to reverse” or “revolve” and “Trikona” means a triangle. This posture is an extension of Utthita Trikkonasana, taking it into the spinal twist. Trikonasana must be well practiced before attempting Parivritta Trikonasana. This posture yields greatest benefits when practiced directly after Trikonasana and should always be preceded by Trikonasana.” (121) *Good thing I’m doing that…
Well…the timer says it’s time…
Day 11 – 1/10/16
The timer is on…
Funnel of Love by Sqürl is on (feature Madeline Follin) is playing from the film THE ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE…
I’m not sure what to write about today…I’m very tired…I did the practice late last night after teaching all day: 8.5 hours, and woke up this morning to teach again and finish my on-line class grading… I came home and was beat… I took a nap, but a really loud thunderstorm woke me up… I decided to watch that Netflix documentary series: HOW TO MAKE A MURDERER (or something like that…I’m not good with names). Anyway, the practice was a bit clouded by my feelings about that show and the justice system, in general… I mean, I don’t know, much about anything, but I’ve taught in the prison system and I know firsthand that there is an inequity between people who are poor and people who have had every opportunity given to them. I couldn’t help but remember the time my father went to see Beckett’s WAITING FOR GODOT that I directed at Washington State Penitentiary, and how he was unusually quiet after the experience. I asked him if he liked the show, and he just said, “All those boys looked like Troy…” [My older brother…] It had never occurred to me before that my father ever reflected that strongly on my brother’s criminal juvenile record, and how scared my father must have been several times in my brother’s young life that he would end up there. It’s true…my brother is one of the sweetest people alive, but…he had some unlucky experiences with the law, when he was younger, and we were not a family that could have ever afforded saving him, if something like Steven Avery [the guy in the Netflix show] had ever happened to him. It had never occurred to me before that my father felt that hopeless before.
So…during my practice I was reflecting on the love that a parent feels towards their child and the devotion one must feel at all times for their children. I sometimes wondered what my parents’ marriage would have been like, if children had never come into play…did we get in the way? Would they still be married? At the precipice of marriage and the fact that I can’t have children, I have to wonder if love is enough? At this time I do, but…the world is a complicated place that truly twists justice sometimes, and it definitely doesn’t look at the lower classes in the brightest light. If Jesus said that the meek shall inherit the Earth, whom was he meaning? The poor, the disabled, the quiet, the unheard? And…if that’s true, it certainly gets my goad watching show like the one I was watching and realizing that people who purport to have “God” on their side, are not speaking for the meek, all of the time… They should really teach or go to the prison system. They’ll be in for a surprise…
That’s all for today…
Note to self: I probably shouldn’t watch things that upset me before doing yoga…
RSS Feed