Catch Up

I'm behind on almost two weeks worth of workouts!

After my last post about my second swim lesson, I headed South for a few days of vacation. I packed my running gear, intending to at least run around the French Quarter or maybe find a yoga class to drop in on. I should have known better. They only came in handy on my last day when my hangover demanded clean, comfy clothes for the flight home.

Last Tuesday, March 5th, I took the day off of work. This allowed me to go to the 5:30 Aerial Silks class, where I worked on cleaning up my Angel Drop. I felt significantly improved by the end of class. (Although drops are still just not my favorite thing.)

Immediately after Silks class, I headed to my last scheduled Ashtanga class. I was so super sweaty by the end. (Yoga is one and half hours, so added to my one hour of silks, I was beat.)

Wednesday night I had tickets to see a band I like, so no physical exertion that day.

Thursday was Aerial Flow. First Thursday of the months means a new routine! I only saw half of it, but I already love it. I took a video of the instructor demonstrating and watched it a couple of times throughout the week to keep it fresh in my head. Unfortunately, I missed going last night because I am sick.

Saturday at noon I went to a drop-in class of Ashtanga Modified Primary. (This was how we were to complete our 10th class of the series.) This class was still accessible, but definitely went more in depth than my beginner's classes. There were hand stands and head stands in addition to the shoulder stand. But I really liked the mixed levels and the instructor was able to offer other modifications to make a pose work. There was also several more vinyasa movements in the series, so I got very sweaty.

I went directly from yoga to the gym to get in some swimming practice. There are three lanes at the pool and only one was being used. I committed myself to a half an hour. As soon as I got in, the other person got out and no one else entered the area until right before my half hour was up. I didn't feel like I was improving much, but I'm sure that it did actually help.

Sunday I slept in and then went to the gym for more swimming in the afternoon. All three lanes were in use when I arrived, so I decided to do something else and keep checking back until a lane was free. Unfortunately, I had forgotten my phone and headphones at home since I had expected to only be in the water. I just ran on a treadmill for about 10 minutes, which was boring with nothing to listen to or watch, and checked on the pool again. A lane was free, so I changed into my suit and grabbed it while it was open. I spent another half hour there and definitely could feel improvement. Not great, but I can feel the progress.

Monday night was Aerial Silks class. I practiced the dreaded Star Drop, gaining an awful burn in the crease of my thigh and pelvis. I also practiced a few of the harder moves from the Flow routine.

Throughout the days of my return from vacation I had started to feel more and more tired. I wondered if I was not resting enough since I had been out doing something every night since I got back. Tuesday I was sick and I suspect it's onset is what was really making me so fatigued. I took gym clothes with me in the morning so that I could stop at the gym after work, but I could tell I was sick in the afternoon and decided to rest. I cancelled my Wednesday swim lesson and haven't done anything since.

I am starting to feel better, so pending my snot inventory tomorrow morning, I am hoping to go to a spinning class and spend another half hour swimming (with a plan to repeat again on Sunday with a possible addition of a yoga class). I'm eager to dive into my triathlon training in earnest.

Ashtanga Yoga - Week 8

Ashtanga this week didn't add anything new, but we did run through everything. This ran us over about 15 minutes. My standing poses felt all over the place. Some of them felt really improved, while others felt worse than ever before.

My shoulder stand definitely felt improved. I was able to get my feet way over my head.

It is interesting that I have always thought of yoga in terms of stretching out, but Ashtanga is so much more about flow that I get a completely different benefit. If I'm sore from Aerial the day before, Ashtanga doesn't help it.

I think that next week is the last week on the schedule... but it was supposed to be a ten week series. Hopefully there is one more week after this.

I also officially joined the gym today, so I will be there as soon as I get back from vacation.

Ashtanga Yoga - Week 7

Tuesday was week 7 of Ashtanga class. We added in sitting postures this week, after our sun salutations and standing postures. This comes at the perfect time: shortly after the standing poses that require balancing on one leg.

Many of these sitting postures felt much like the kind of stretching that I do after running.

Source

We did also do some additional work going back to chaturanga, into the Warrior poses, and back to sitting as well, but I didn't see those positions shown in any easily accessible diagrams.

I enjoyed moving through these poses. The more we learn of the primary series, the more I see how comprehensive it really is.

We also worked on the shoulder stand again this week. I got into it much easier this time. (I have practiced a few times at home throughout the week.)

I'm heading to New Orleans next weekend and have been looking around for either an aerial or yoga studio near my hotel. So far, no aerial studios at all (although there is a burlesque troupe that does aerial in their performances, so they must be learning somewhere....) and a few yoga options, but none so far that I have seen that are specifically offering Ashtanga classes. Still looking, though.

Ashtanga - Week 6

We didn't add much to our practice this week. We moved through five of each Sun Salutation, using Chaturanga and Up Dog, which made the room intensely warm. Luckily, only about half of the class was in attendance. I don't even want to imagine how it would have felt it all 30 people had been there.

I was a little grouchy going into class because I had been feeling bloated for days and had just had a sad conversation with a friend. One of the student teachers adjusted my hips on our very first Downward Facing Dog and I was very unhappy about it. She left me alone for about an hour afterward. Then strangely enough, the student teacher that usually drives me nuts was very helpful without being overbearing this week. I'm still working on trying to not be defensive about instruction. I feel like it's pretty stupid to get angry about yoga. My annoyance comes from insecurity. I'm trying to learn and do my best, but once I get anything more than a quick adjustment, I feel like I'm being watched, which puts me on edge and makes me question every move that I make. That said, I felt less bothered by it this week.

After our Sun Salutations, we went through all of the standing poses, which feel much more comfortable now. The new poses that we did were sitting positions, which often felt like the best stretches. 

We finished by trying to do the shoulder stand as we did last week, but this time without starting against a wall. It's essentially the same as one of the warm ups I've done for aerial silks, but I just couldn't seem to get any momentum to move upwards from the position that we were in. (In the warm up move, hands were above the head. In yoga, they were flat from shoulder to elbow along the floor.) Both student teachers were trying to give me direction and I just go overwhelmed and decided to try again later. But they did have me laughing through it, which was appreciated. They really are very sweet. 

Ashtanga - Week 5

My yoga series is half over. I kind of can't believe it. We do run through things so much more quickly now. The standing series, which took us about 45 minutes the first time, now takes about 15 minutes. It's great to get the opportunity to do more and progress.

Today was gentle compared to the 9 billion Chaturangas that we did last week. The additions this week were a few sitting and bridge-like poses. We also started a pose that will eventually lead to a shoulder stand. We start on our backs and roll feet onto the wall. (This is a pose in and of itself.) From there, we lower our feet to about knee height and push them off away from the wall while lifting the hips. This moves the weight into the shoulders, which should be kept flat. It felt fine while I was in it, but as soon as I released, my shoulders were angry.

From all of the arabesques that I did in Aerial Arts yesterday, my shoulder blades have hurt since around noon. I tried to use the flamenco grip with my right arm and it did not work and did not do my shoulder and back any favors. This made yoga a bit more difficult, but the stretching probably helped. Except for that modified shoulder stand attempt.

The instructor assistant that has previously gotten on my nerves was in our class again tonight. The instructor also opened class by talking about receiving adjustments from the instructors. He said it was okay to ask not to be touched and no one would take it personally. The assistant of earlier annoyance did approach me a few times. First, she disrupted what I was doing to provide a somewhat lengthy suggestion. I tried to take it in stride. What she told me to do differently was indeed helpful. But I was irritated that she had made me stop my flow to hear her. Then during one of the standing poses, she approached me again and began to adjust an arm that was over my head. I did immediately tell her not to pull on my arm because my shoulders hurt a lot today. She listened and only offered minimal critique after that. It was pointed out that an adjustment doesn't mean you're doing an asana wrong. It's supposed to line you up better. I must also remember ahimsa. =)

Ashtanga - Week 4

Beginner Ashtanga was no cake walk this week. (I can't believe I've waited four days to recap!) Mostly due to the introduction of Chaturanga.

Photo Source

We added Chaturanga and Up Dog into both of the sun salutations. I almost felt like Suryanamaskara A needed a little challenge in there, so I was happy to add Chaturanga. Added to Suyanamaskara B, however, the series of poses starts to feel a little packed. This was a much appreciated addition. After five of each sun salutation, I already felt a little flushed. 

Photo Source

The movement from Chaturanga into Up Dog and then into Down Dog is lovely. It feels like a full-body stretch. This is more the feeling that I expected to get from taking a yoga series of classes. I can definitely see how these movements are core-strengthening. (Up Dog did hurt my feet though since I currently have a really deep bruise on the side and top of my right foot from so many foot locks in aerial silks lately!)

This week we also heard a little more about philosophy, such as ahimsa, which is the practicing of non-violence (verbal and physical). We continued to talk about mula bandha, the root lock, which is found on the pelvic floor. I am thankful that our instructor is kind of silly and can talk about stopping the flow of urine and anal sphincters and finding the place in between in a way that takes the idea seriously but keeps it accessible. (He also dropped an F-bomb in class. I'm a fan.)

While I took this yoga class hoping to gain a better understanding of breathing, flow, flexibility, and strength, I love the philosophy side as well. I've been slowly reading Mindfulness: In Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana in between other reading, and while it's not specific to yoga or Ashtanga, it's very relatable. 

This morning I went through the sun salutations (with Chaturanga and Up Dog) and the standing poses.  I think I'll be making this my pre-breakfast morning routine. 

I borrowed a book from the library to assist with at-home practice. It's called Ashtanga Yoga: The Complete Mind and Body Workout by Juliet Pegrum. (The studio I've been going to recommends this practice manual, which I will probably purchase eventually, but it wasn't at the library.) I referenced it for all of the standing poses this morning. 

Aerial Flow - Week 2

This was actually week 3 of the class, but since I wasn't able to make last week, I'm still counting it as week 2. Luckily, the instructor spoke the truth when she told me at Monday's Aerial Arts class that the rest of the people in Flow didn't get much further into the choreography during the class that I missed.

We moved on from the first section that everyone already had down (single foot lock, cocoon, sail, hip lean, flamenco grip). This had us starting at the middle invert, which is the hardest part in the routine for me so far. I had worked on it a little on Monday and I think that definitely helped. During Aerial Flow, we have two instructors, and I was able to get some great advice from them. I was able to get into a split from the invert for 2 of about 10 tries. However, once in the inverted splits, I was able to move into the J-pose, a sit and a lotus hang (although, admittedly, my lotus hang was mostly on the ground since I hadn't climbed high enough from the start).

Later on in the choreography is the crochet climb. I'd never actually attempted this, so once I finally decided to stop torturing my right foot by keeping it in a single foot lock all through class, I gave it a try. (The downside to the flamenco grip is that I can only do it on one side, so it's impossible to switch feet throughout practice.) I can do the motions of the crochet climb, but I struggled to actually move higher with each climb. It's definitely do-able, though.

The last bit of the routine is the angel drop, which I had been working on in Aerial Arts class the last few weeks. I appreciate our instructor's foresight with that. =) I still need to get more consistent with my ankle wraps from this position, but I feel confident that I will be there soon.

None of the girls who were doing the beginner version were around tonight, which was kind of a bummer. As a spectator, I find it more interesting to watch multiple things happening are opposed to the same thing happening in unison. At least we have a person working on the lyra!

One of the other aerialists asked if I had considered performing. I know that I would like to in the future, but don't feel like I'm ready to train for anything specific yet. It was a great boost of confidence to know someone else even felt like I should consider performing. Maybe in the summer or fall.... She mentioned a specific performance, but it's during a weekend that I'm out of town. I have already been planning to perform during the student showcase in April, which feels like an appropriate first shot.

I'm really looking forward to having all of the moves down to the point where I am confident that I can pull them off every time. Then the real challenge will begin of making it look pretty (and presumably hiding my struggling panic).

(When I got home, I went through some of the Ashtanga poses that I've been learning and my pup was sweet enough to join in!)

Ashtanga - Week 3

This week we went through each of the sun salutations (Suyanamaskara A and B) five times. The first three of each were guided by the instructor and the last two were more on our own.

During both sets, one of the teachers-in-training (one who had not previously been in any of our classes) approached me to make recommendations. However, her explanations were so lengthy that I had to stop my practice entirely to hear her. The second time that she did this I was seriously annoyed and really didn't focus on anything she said.

We went over some of the same asanas as last week and added more postures that are shown in the standing sequence photo below.

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The standing-on-one-leg poses are super hard! I couldn't lift my legs very high and the standing leg was shaky. The there are three positions that involve squeezing the big toe or standing on the hands. I'm still not used to this.... It's not unpleasant, but it's not enjoyable either.

Throughout the practice, our instructor and a few teachers-in-training physically adjusted parts of my body (an arm here, shoulders there). I was completely fine with this, because it wasn't disruptive and did feel much more comfortable and effective. The head instructor would even come by and make suggestions about standing wider or adjusting feet position, but in a way that was quick and helpful.

The same teacher-in-training from earlier came over to give me a giant spiel again during the asanas and I was again very irritated and unable to focus. She mentioned that my back was always hunched. All of her attention really made me feel self conscious and frustrated that I wasn't getting it as well as I thought I was. Assuming that she will be there again next week and going forward, I'm debating on whether I need to adjust my mentality or find a way to politely ask her to leave me alone. Although she did give me a shoulder adjustment during the relaxation closing and it was wonderful. It felt like a massage.

Ashtanga Yoga - Week 2

The second class in the Beginning Ashtanga series was last night. I'm already regretting not taking the time to reflect on it last night when I got home from class.

I was trying to find some visuals to aid in my explanations. I did find some good ones, which I've linked below.

We repeated Suryanamaskara A and B (the sun salutations from last week) several times (each one 5x is the standard) and then learned the Fundamental Asanas shown in the screenshot below. I felt pretty comfortable doings all of these. 

Source + Full Chart

A few other good charts that seem pretty reflective of what we've been doing are here and here. 

We went over a lot of anatomy and physiology type information, but I don't recall learning any of these names. (So either we didn't learn these or my memory is mush.) Nor do I recall them being referred to as Fundamental Asanas. I'm just taking that terminology from the chart.

Then we also approached the last 3 poses of the finishing sequence.

This screenshot is also from Ashtanga Yoga Victoria.

I also felt comfortable with the closing postures. However, looking ahead at these charts, I think things will not be so easy from now on.

In every class, we have 3-4 teachers-in-training to assist. Throughout the class, I was approached by one or another of them a couple of times for pointers. Of course, I understand that they are to help and the little things will make a big difference in how effective each move is, but it was a little startling because they are unintentionally sneaky. I'm going to have to remember to be mindful of them so that I'm not surprised when I feel a touch even though the voice I'm listening to sounds like it's on the other side of the room.

Ashtanga Yoga - Week 1

I've been telling myself for a few years that I should learn yoga. Like, really learn it from a qualified teacher and not just a DVD. I've always felt like I wasn't quite balanced right or breathing correctly when practicing on my own. I decided that it made the most sense to tackle learning real yoga in the winter, when it's too cold and dark to bike or run outside.

I'd been to Yoga on High a few times for classes by donation and free classes. I really liked the atmosphere there and they have a great reputation around the city, so I decided to stick with them and take a series of beginner classes. There are different variations of beginner classes, but it's essentially Hatha or Ashtanga. I'd taken Hatha there before and it was always very relaxing and seemed to be mostly about posing and stretching. I wanted to sign up for the hardest thing available at the total newbie level, so I went with the other option: Ashtanga. If you've heard of vinyasa yoga, this is more like that. More movement and flow. I've heard that you get sweatier in Ashtanga, which I associate with a more physical challenge.

Yesterday was the first session. We went through some basic guidelines and then went through the sun salutations: Suryanamaskara A and Suryanamaskara B. In Ashtanga, practitioners go through five of each of these series. All of the poses felt familiar enough so it was nice to focus more on breathing and transitioning. I really like the idea of learning a practice that is more of a ritual. I survive on trying to plan through chaos, so something more rigid is welcome.

Our class is packed. We have nearly thirty people, one of whom I used to work with at my last job. (Always nice to see an unexpected friendly face.) I'm really looking forward to the next nine Tuesday nights. I feel like this is the right environment to really expand and fine-tune while getting a real understanding of what yoga is all about without being too pop-culture or too metaphysical. (Balance, that pertains to yoga, right?)