I went to my first vinyasa class in many moons on Thursday evening. The lovely Sarah is back. The class is at the home studio of Joey and Ellen who own Soaring Heart Wellness in Shelburne. It is AMAZING! They live in a circular home (that I first saw about 15 years ago, and yes, I covet it). I didn't know that's where they lived until I got there. Anyhow, I digress. The studio is an amazing space, heated by woodstove. I actually made a Bikram joke when I got there, it was HOT. But hot is fantastic for creaky, middle-aged muscles. As Sarah said, a gift. Suffice it to say that I was immediately in detox mode, and drank water and peed constantly yesterday (that's alot of info. Sorry.)
Practice was wonderful. I was brought back into my yoga groove, so to speak. As we flowed (it is vinyasa!) through asana, I could feel my body waking up in a way that it has been missing. Some imbalances were readily apparent to me, some were only discovered yesterday as I found some muscles that were clearly challenged the evening before. And this morning the vinyasa hangover continues--hello triceps, nice (?!) to feel you again. Oh, hello left hamstring, right hip flexor, sorry for the "argument". Please relax and take it a little easy today.
So while I've enjoyed my Hatha practice with Willowcreek Yoga, and it's kept me fairly limber, I am a vinyasa yogini. For reals. I thank Hatha for allowing me to move back into vinyasa, with a certain amount of success. I was very happy to find that I haven't lost much flexibility. I can still do a foward fold with kubera mudra (which is likely not spelled correctly, Sanskrit in not my first language. Or second for that matter.) I can still grasp my feet in a seated forward fold. King pigeon and sleeping pigeon are still accessible (although a little tighter). Twists are accessible and will only get better.
Yes, I still have vinyasa hangover, but it's the best kind of hangover. I will drink lots of water with lemon today, rest my twingy hamstring and hip flexor, and do a long run tomorrow. Tomorrow's run should be better, looser hip joints, lengthened hamstrings will make it flow. Thank you vinyasa.
And something else I discovered as a truth for me? I love class. I don't do so well with home practice. And although I am introspective by nature, I much prefer that introspection while within a group of like-minded people. Weird. I was genuinely happy to see everyone. It was a combination of people from Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from the last few series of classes. I knew everyone, except one newcomer. And I realized that although yoga is the only place we see each other, we are a community.
Enjoy this chilly Saturday. The snow will likely melt, and it may well be our last Ontario Saturday before the real onset of winter.
Namaste.
Practice was wonderful. I was brought back into my yoga groove, so to speak. As we flowed (it is vinyasa!) through asana, I could feel my body waking up in a way that it has been missing. Some imbalances were readily apparent to me, some were only discovered yesterday as I found some muscles that were clearly challenged the evening before. And this morning the vinyasa hangover continues--hello triceps, nice (?!) to feel you again. Oh, hello left hamstring, right hip flexor, sorry for the "argument". Please relax and take it a little easy today.
So while I've enjoyed my Hatha practice with Willowcreek Yoga, and it's kept me fairly limber, I am a vinyasa yogini. For reals. I thank Hatha for allowing me to move back into vinyasa, with a certain amount of success. I was very happy to find that I haven't lost much flexibility. I can still do a foward fold with kubera mudra (which is likely not spelled correctly, Sanskrit in not my first language. Or second for that matter.) I can still grasp my feet in a seated forward fold. King pigeon and sleeping pigeon are still accessible (although a little tighter). Twists are accessible and will only get better.
Yes, I still have vinyasa hangover, but it's the best kind of hangover. I will drink lots of water with lemon today, rest my twingy hamstring and hip flexor, and do a long run tomorrow. Tomorrow's run should be better, looser hip joints, lengthened hamstrings will make it flow. Thank you vinyasa.
And something else I discovered as a truth for me? I love class. I don't do so well with home practice. And although I am introspective by nature, I much prefer that introspection while within a group of like-minded people. Weird. I was genuinely happy to see everyone. It was a combination of people from Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from the last few series of classes. I knew everyone, except one newcomer. And I realized that although yoga is the only place we see each other, we are a community.
Enjoy this chilly Saturday. The snow will likely melt, and it may well be our last Ontario Saturday before the real onset of winter.
Namaste.
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