Day 6 (126)-February 6th (Saturday)

Instructor-Stefanie-12pm
Our studio has become pretty popular which can leave someone like me who leaves coming to class pretty much at the last minute in a bit of a predicament as to where to place my mat. I had two choices: the back far left corner which I don't think I ever ventured to or right up front by the instructors block. I thought, hell with it, I'm pretty pumped today, I've got some energy to share-bring on the front!
Aside from the pinched nerve still aching in my shoulder blade, the class was pretty smooth and Stefanie was a sweetheart to give us some fan and door love.
Standing bow: for the past few classes I have noticed my standing bow postures has transformed itself quite a bit since I began arching my back so I can kick my leg higher up. I have also noticed that my right side standing bow (right leg up) has been holding more predominantly than the left, perhaps it has something to do with my hips and body lowering themselves. I am quite excited about my new standing bow revolution, it gets me pumped to see where I can take it the next day, or when I practise at home.

Day 6 (126)-February 6th (Friday)

Instructor-Dale-4pm
I woke up this morning feeling obviously melancholy but an air of positive reinforcement that I will be ok. Life is filled with unexpected surprises but after taking in some wonderful sunshine, attending to errands and following it with yoga for the afternoon I feel better this evening. Dale's class was exactly what I needed with his strong presence, I was able to completely tune myself into Dale's dialogue and humour that made this class fairly strong. I say fairly because as much as you want to distract yourself from emotional turmoil, it's always brewing in the far corner of your mind, waiting to pop out when you least expect it. The room was cooler than usual, the first time I think Dale left the humidifier off and not as many students.
There was some wonderful pieces of advice Dale left us with and I can't seem to remember much of it, damn it! One that comes to mind vaguely is "we come into this room and we have already given ourselves a great gift, the gifts of patience, faith, acceptance,willpower, and determination". Dale is exceptional for such words of encouragement while he is clapping thunderously and making us sweat vigorously lol.

Day 5 (125)-February 5th (Thursday)-Missed

Love is like a puzzle. When your in love all the pieces fit but when your heart gets broken it takes awhile to get everything back together



If only relationships could be like yoga and you could get a fresh start everyday to work on the things that challenge you. Unfortunately, I am not going to get another chance and It is clear I was not as loved as I thought.



Days like today cannot be healed, they can only be covered up temporarily and as the tears flow and part of my heart drops to the ground I still see your smile in my mind, the way it lit up my world.



Maybe in another life we will get things right but in this one we have to say goodbye.

Day 3 (123)-February 3rd (Wednesday)

Instructor- Candice-4pm
Ahhhh....back to my original guru..she knows I love her lol! I have a quote I think would be considered a theme for this class "concentrating on poses clears the mind, while focusing on breath helps the body shift out of fight-or-flight mode". Standing series gives me utter contentment and focus but the minute I shift to the floor series panic dwells..why is that? The great corpse pose, savasana, dead body, however you want to call it I get this hamster wheel spinning in my head and I feel the room getting smaller as if I'm trapped, such panic and frustration..for what? The sweet irony of savasana is this: when I am supposed to be at my most relaxed I feel the most tense and I believe this to be true: this is when the real yoga begins. I know I discuss the ups and downs of my breathing and anxiety quite a bit but the reality is it's probably the most important discussion of this hatha yoga and it always changes, it's never consistent. Candice also pointed out to me that I use my water bottle as a crutch, for those who don't take class with me I tend to put my water bottle up to my head to cool it off in the spine strengthening series when I get the fight-or-flight attack.
But you know what is great about the times when we do panic, we sometimes get a nudge from our yogi neighbor to the left or right or behind us (thank you Dianne) to not skip out on postures, to do even just 10%, to gain some benefit. The inspired yogi man I have mentioned in a couple blogs back wanted to bail on camel and so with support and encouragement (and some chanting) the class got him to join in-that was an AH HA moment (as Oprah would say) for me because it made me realize how much energy we really give each other and how much I received in return by just seeing him do the posture.

Day 2 (122)-February 2nd (Tuesday)

Instructor- Joseph-4pm
First off, I would like to give thanks to my girl Tricia, who was a row in front of me tonight who gave me the motivation to keep going through this class, hats off to you dear.
Secondly, it is great to get new energy flowing through the studio, different teachers gives students, old and new, new insight and a varying perspective of how this yoga is taught elsewhere. I saw Joseph a couple years back when he competed in the Western Hatha Yoga competition and was inspired by his flexibility and strength; he was one of the competitors who stuck out in my mind and I just wish I had the opportunity sooner to take one of his classes, I suppose I have to get my butt out to Vancouver more often lol.
Two things that stuck out in this class: his flow of dialogue was flawless in the respect that he had a beat going and nothing was going to stop it, including adding frequent assurances that we would survive and how our bodies are like engines..but I will explain that further in a minute.
Second thing was the heat, yes, it was a scorcher with almost a full class and the humidifier running non-stop I could see some people unable to keep up. I even had to skip out one set of floor bow, half tortoise and stretching, but for me, it wasn't necessarily the heat that overwhelmed me it was the pinched nerve I had in my back. I think, possibly, I might be fighting a battle with the humidity that may end up with me in the winning circle, as long as I focus on breath and stillness, the feeling passes, just like any need: hunger pangs, nicotine fits, this too shall pass.
Back to the engine theory, I have a book on Ashtanga Yoga that proclaims this theory: "care needs to be taken not to overheat if one is engaging in strenuous practise in a hot environment. As with any type of engine, so also with the human body". It goes on to say this "heating the room to above 77 degrees may produce more flexibility, but it decreases strength, stamina, and concentration". (Ashtanga Yoga, Maehle, G. (2006)How many times have I felt more energy even with the cool breeze of the fans, it may be mind over matter but it never fails me every time. By the time this class was over the temperature had reached 110degrees.
I told Joseph after "You killed me in there, I don't know whether to slap you or hug you".

Day 1 (121) February 1st (Monday)

Instructor- Maria-4pm
I wish I could say that I started the month off right but physically my body was crying and I felt so stiff and sore coming to the studio it took willpower to fight back the urge to sit today out. The good part about today's class was the amazing lady I only had the privilege of meeting once before: Maria. A strong woman with a powerful presence, she blew me away with her energy that I had wished I had the motivation to give more than I could. It was her fourth class teaching that day and you would not have been able to tell; such characteristics of her reminded me of other instructors for instance her grunts (such a Frank move), finger snapping (Hillary), deep, sharp voice (Dale) but yet she conveyed a rhythm and presence and humour all her own that kept my mind clear to finish the class smooth and clean.
I hope everyone else who is on their second month of the 101 challenge is doing well, how do you feel now that the first month is complete? Any changes you would make for this month to make the challenge easier/efficient, etc?

Day 31 (Making up for Day 102)-January 31st (Sunday)

Instructor- Jaime-4pm
Instead of trying to fit in another double day I thought I could get away with practising on Sunday, even though the day off would have been a bit of a treat, I was still glad I came in to give February a fresh start. Jaime was her perky self with lots of energy to pour into us but I have noticed myself becoming a little run down. The afternoon classes can be so beautiful on my body but my mind has been lagging lately, struggling to find bursts of adrenaline, and even though I surprise myself when I can find balance and strength, they are too rushed; for example standing bow and balancing stick I have to fight to get into the posture because my energy is already running low and when I do reach that sweet spot there is little time left in the posture so I force myself to go to my edge a little quicker than usual. I worry about that because I do not want to injure myself.
Anyway, with another month come and gone I can honestly say I'm not feeling as strong as I want to be; with pinched nerves in my shoulder blades, lots of muscle tension and frequent tension headaches the motivation is wavering...