At my very beginner yoga class (I usually do the more advanced versions of poses, much to the chargrin of the less bendy ladies), we did eagle pose the other evening. I can do the legs. I can stay balanced. But eagle arms elude me. My shoulders are fairly open. I can open my heart and stretch my back. But my arms refuse to move in a way that would allow them to do eagle arms. I just watched a "curvy" yoga tutorial hoping for some help. No luck. I'm not curvy, maybe I'm just too wide through the shoulders? After all, not many linebackers are standing on the sideline doing eagle pose before the big game. And I kind of have linebacker shoulders. And muscular arms. I am going to keep practising, because it seriously ticks me off that I can't do a pose. And even though I'm working on it, I am competetive. Mostly with myself, and this will just not do.
Garuda = the mythic "king of the birds," the vehicle of Vishnu. The word is usually rendered into English as "eagle," though according to one dictionary the name literally means "devourer," because Garuda was originally identified with the "all-consuming fire of the sun’s rays."
Step by Step
Stand in Tadasana. Bend your knees slightly, lift your left foot up and, balancing on your right foot, cross your left thigh over the right. Point your left toes toward the floor, press the foot back, and then hook the top of the foot behind the lower right calf. Balance on the right foot.
Stretch your arms straight forward, parallel to the floor, and spread your scapulas wide across the back of your torso. Cross the arms in front of your torso so that the right arm is above the left, then bend your elbows. Snug the right elbow into the crook of the left, and raise the forearms perpendicular to the floor. The backs of your hands should be facing each other.
Press the right hand to the right and the left hand to the left, so that the palms are now facing each other. The thumb of the right hand should pass in front of the little finger of the left. Now press the palms together (as much as is possible for you), lift your elbows up, and stretch the fingers toward the ceiling.
Stay for 15 to 30 seconds, then unwind the legs and arms and stand in Tadasana again. Repeat for the same length of time with the arms and legs reversed.
A little tutorial I swiped from Yoga Journal.com Thanks Yoga Journal. Just in case you really wanted to know what the heck Eagle was. It's actually Garudasana. Just in case you needed to know the Sanskrit name.
Anyhow.....other than my disturbing inability to master garudasana, yoga was great. And running has been pretty darned good too! I timed my 5k on Wednesday, and I've shaved 3 minutes off of my race time. Yay me! Last night I had a tweaky knee, so I chose to walk the 5k and take Chase the wonderdog. Which is a nice segue...
I am a lucky lady. My dog defends house and home from all kinds of intruders. Including skunks. Yes, as is typical for a skunk spraying, Chase got sprayed last night. I have a serious snootful of skunk. I can't smell anything else. And after I sent Rick to the store for some peroxide, I made a homemade skunk-smell removal thingy and was bathing the poor doggy on the deck, in the dark and cold. The good news is that the dog doesn't seem to smell skunky. The bad news is that the house smells like skunk, and I'm going to a meeting at the board office today. And I'm not convinced that I don't smell like skunk. Nice. At this rate I'll make director! I have candles burning, windows open (and it is NOT warm out at 6:45 a.m., let me tell you!), and I keep smelling myself to see if it's me. But to be honest, I think I'm going to get sick from inflammation in my sinuses from snorting up so much strong smell last night. You see, scent allergies apply to skunk scent too. Good times!
There it is in a nutshell. I can't do eagle arms and I smell like a skunk. Today is going to be a great day!
Actually, I am blessed, it will be a great day, all sarcasm aside. My dog was trying to defend her home and people. Slightly misguided, but you know. She is a dog, and instincts rule in that situation. I may not have eagle arms, but I do have muscles and no batwing going on. I'll take no eagle and no batwing in a heartbeat, if it meant eagle arms meant batwing, old lady arms.
Hope this lovely Friday beginning our Thanksgiving weekend treats everyone well. Much sunshine and light.
(gah-rue-DAHS-anna)
Garuda = the mythic "king of the birds," the vehicle of Vishnu. The word is usually rendered into English as "eagle," though according to one dictionary the name literally means "devourer," because Garuda was originally identified with the "all-consuming fire of the sun’s rays."
Step by Step
Stand in Tadasana. Bend your knees slightly, lift your left foot up and, balancing on your right foot, cross your left thigh over the right. Point your left toes toward the floor, press the foot back, and then hook the top of the foot behind the lower right calf. Balance on the right foot.
Stretch your arms straight forward, parallel to the floor, and spread your scapulas wide across the back of your torso. Cross the arms in front of your torso so that the right arm is above the left, then bend your elbows. Snug the right elbow into the crook of the left, and raise the forearms perpendicular to the floor. The backs of your hands should be facing each other.
Press the right hand to the right and the left hand to the left, so that the palms are now facing each other. The thumb of the right hand should pass in front of the little finger of the left. Now press the palms together (as much as is possible for you), lift your elbows up, and stretch the fingers toward the ceiling.
Stay for 15 to 30 seconds, then unwind the legs and arms and stand in Tadasana again. Repeat for the same length of time with the arms and legs reversed.
A little tutorial I swiped from Yoga Journal.com Thanks Yoga Journal. Just in case you really wanted to know what the heck Eagle was. It's actually Garudasana. Just in case you needed to know the Sanskrit name.
Anyhow.....other than my disturbing inability to master garudasana, yoga was great. And running has been pretty darned good too! I timed my 5k on Wednesday, and I've shaved 3 minutes off of my race time. Yay me! Last night I had a tweaky knee, so I chose to walk the 5k and take Chase the wonderdog. Which is a nice segue...
I am a lucky lady. My dog defends house and home from all kinds of intruders. Including skunks. Yes, as is typical for a skunk spraying, Chase got sprayed last night. I have a serious snootful of skunk. I can't smell anything else. And after I sent Rick to the store for some peroxide, I made a homemade skunk-smell removal thingy and was bathing the poor doggy on the deck, in the dark and cold. The good news is that the dog doesn't seem to smell skunky. The bad news is that the house smells like skunk, and I'm going to a meeting at the board office today. And I'm not convinced that I don't smell like skunk. Nice. At this rate I'll make director! I have candles burning, windows open (and it is NOT warm out at 6:45 a.m., let me tell you!), and I keep smelling myself to see if it's me. But to be honest, I think I'm going to get sick from inflammation in my sinuses from snorting up so much strong smell last night. You see, scent allergies apply to skunk scent too. Good times!
There it is in a nutshell. I can't do eagle arms and I smell like a skunk. Today is going to be a great day!
Actually, I am blessed, it will be a great day, all sarcasm aside. My dog was trying to defend her home and people. Slightly misguided, but you know. She is a dog, and instincts rule in that situation. I may not have eagle arms, but I do have muscles and no batwing going on. I'll take no eagle and no batwing in a heartbeat, if it meant eagle arms meant batwing, old lady arms.
Hope this lovely Friday beginning our Thanksgiving weekend treats everyone well. Much sunshine and light.
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