teach me how to use the love that people say you make

yoga training #9
So this training actually took place weeks and weeks ago and i'm slightly backed up, so i will attempt to take some blogging-metamucil and become slightly more regular with my updates...

hm. i just realized i make a lot of poop analogies. that's weird, right? one of my co-workers once told me that eventually, all conversations make their way back to boobs or poop and im starting to believe that.

anyway, our ninth training session was all about alignment and arm balances, which had me totally twitterpated. if i had to pick one thing that i would like for you to remember about me, it's that i am a huge fan of arm balances. also, i like fro yo. and puppies. oh, and the scratchy sound that old vinyl records make when you play them for the first time in years... but seriously- arm balances are such an amazing combination of strength, flexibility, and stability. maybe it's that feeling of victory once you nail an arm balance and hold it- i just get so excited! does that make me a yoga geek? i hope so...

we practiced our alignment for the first half of training and my teacher stressed the importance of using the 'knives edge' of our foot when in warrior 2 and other similar poses. for example, if you are in w2 with your left knee bent, your right leg should be straight out to the right side, hips open, foot pointing in the same direction as your hips, and you should be pushing off of the outside edge of the right foot. it actually takes a lot of the pressure off of your knees and helps with balance...

after alignments, we moved our mats up against the wall and practiced tri-pod, basasana (crow), headstand, shoulder stand and shoulder stand with blocks. it was glorious. and now im determined to do all of these sans wall... a good tip for attempting any of these inversions is to put a yoga block between your upper thighs and squeeze. this action helps you focus on your core muscles and isometrically pulls them together, which allows you to 'float' upside-down with ease.

and forget the fact that arm balances make you look super cool- they are good for you, too! my teacher explained how inversions have been proven to help depression, which makes a lot of sense- any time i am able to squeeze a downward dog into my day, i always feel much better afterwards.

after training, i was so pumped that i started attempting going into scorpion from several different positions and found that it was easiest for me if i came up backwards from bridge. i even held it for 4 whole seconds before i kicked joey in the face and fell on my rump. so worth it!

so the moral of this story is, find a crazy pose, make it your goal and go out there and nail it!

p.s.- remember on my last post when i eluded to a super special trip im planning? well, it looks like my mama and i will be heading to wanderlust this year in good ol' vermont!! so unbelievably pumped- 3 days of yoga and music in one of the crunchiest, loveliest states... more to come about that soon! *sigh