I can't do that

The other day during Yoga class I could not help but to notice a young woman who was in front of me. I had not seen her before in our class. After a few poses, it was clear to me that she was very accomplished in her Yoga skills. The most dramatic pose was one in which she placed her leg behind her head. I could not help thinking that no matter how much I practiced, I would never be able to do that. At the end of class I complimented her on her extraordinary abilities. After that I spent a lot of time thinking about what I might be able to do with more intense practice. I have found that I practice Yoga in waves. I might do a lot of Yoga for several weeks or months, and then I might slow down for any number of reasons. After one of these periods of less Yoga activity, I have found that it takes several sessions to get back to where I might have been. That is sort of where I am now.

I don't think that I want to be able to place my foot behind my head, nor do a head stand for my inversion. Nor do I think that I will ever do a full Vee pose with my legs going out at 180 degrees as do most of the instructors (and the person who I described above.) I do think that I derive a lot of positiveness with what I can do. I am constantly trying to stretch just a little more during certain poses. I guess this goes with the idea of trying to improve my abilities. What I really want is to have a sense of satisfaction and internal pease at the conclusion of each session regardless of who is in front of, behind, or next to me.

Listening to Robert Thurman

Yesterday I was listening to Robert Thurman on hayhouseradio.com. Here are some gems that fell from his lips:
Nirvana is blownawayness.
Selflessness is the creative side of you that does not give in to the self that has internalized fear and despair; it is the door to the heart.
Wisdom is the doorway to compassion.
Be open. Be willing to be surprised.
In the Burmese meditation tradition, you offer loving kindness to yourself, and then work your way out to extend loving compassion to your friends, relatives, neutral people, difficult people, and to all beings. You breathe in and breathe out as you focus on this loving compassion exercise--may all beings be safe; may all beings be happy.

Plow pose

Several days ago I found that I could not bend to the extent that I normally do during plow pose. This is easy for me to measure because when I am doing this position, my feet will touch the floor. Pushing harder only caused pain, and I am not sure of how much pain one should create in order to get the most out of a Yoga session. So my feet did not touch while doing this pose. Several days later, I found that my body was at ease during the entire session. The positions were relaxing and I found myself going into them with ease, confidence and strength. The inversion was shoulder stand which was followed by plow pose. My feet easily touched the floor with little or no pain. I guess that all of the leafs that I raked up during the interval between these two classes made me more flexible or maybe just more tolerant to pain.

ardha chandrasana

In Friday's yoga class as well as in today's, I felt very comfortable doing ardha chandrasana (half-moon). Ah, as my right leg planted itself firmly, my left leg went up easily, my left hip turned outward slightly, my left hand went straight up. I felt more like a bird in flight than a half moon suspended in the sky.
I felt light. I could have stood like that for ages. It felt so comfortable.
Women, it is great pose to do especially if your period is delayed. After all, our cycles are governed by the moon!

What time is it?

It is 11:36 AM on Friday November 5. About an hour ago I returned from a most refreshing Yoga class led by Linda. The first thing that I did after getting into my house was to put on my watch. Next I set the microwave to 39 seconds to heat the milk for my coffee latte. I then phoned friends to make dinner plans. We will meet at 5:45 tonight. It can't be 5:30 because that is too early for them, and I have to feed the dogs at 5:15 and then let them out. So 5:30 is a good......

I now make it a standard practice to remove my watch when I practice Yoga. Time is something that I am constantly aware of with just a few exceptions. Yoga class is one of those exceptions. Yoga is when I can be with myself, and time is something that I do not want to be aware of nor measure during my practice. Most of the time I look at my watch to see not what time it is, but rather to know one of two things: how long it will be until something that I am doing will end, or how much time do I have until the next thing that I have to do. One of the great things about Yoga is that I can be in the moment of the class without thinking about the million and one other things going on in my life. Doing this is not always easy, and it does take a lot of practice. In our age of multi-tasking, and constantly being aware of the time, I feel that the time spent away from the awareness of the time is most valuable.
It is now 11: 50