Wednesday, July 1
I should have been posting about this one since January. But I didn't. So.
I have never been able to get the hang of crow's pose. I waver for a quick moment and fall. In January, I kicked off my year by doing 7 days of yoga in a row. I focused my practice at home and at Mosaic. I fell in love with Mosaic and continued to practice there once a week, missing occassional classes only for travel or work. I had done yoga before, once semi-regularly in Chicago, but everywhere else I've practiced, it's felt like a group exercise class. Mosaic makes it feel like self inquiry practice and an honoring of self and other. Every time I go it feels like a combination of church, therapy, and exercise. I'm in love with the practice and what it teaches me.
Back to this list item, I was making slight progress on my crow's pose, but it still wasn't sticking. Then, I had been enjoying my yoga practice at Mosaic so much that I signed up for a Grace in Strength workshop with my two favorite yoga instructors, Sophie and Kevin. (As I mentioned in my Yelp review of Mosaic, that probably isn't fair because once I was introduced to these two, I haven't given the other instructors a chance. But, to their credit, I've actually stuck to regular yoga practice, so...) We started with a warm up and then went into crow's pose. With just a little extra instruction, particularly on my gaze, I could balance. It was awesome.
I can how hold the pose for around 10 seconds, actually balancing, feeling my weight shift slightly in my fingers spread wide. I'm now just building balance, strength, and greater knowledge of my own body to hold it longer. 60 seconds seems like a long time, but I feel confident I'll at least get close by the end of the year.
Saturday, July 25
Because of work and sailing lessons, I took 2 weeks off of yoga class and 3 weeks off of Kevin's Tuesday class. I was so thrilled to be back this week. I wasn't feeling well just before class and sat on my yoga mat having an internal battle about whether or not to stay. I really wasn't feeling well. What if I got sick during class? But I had been looking forward to rejoining that class for 3 weeks! And I want to be the kind of person who chooses to tough things out when I want them. And I could always leave in the middle of class. But that's bad etiquette. Eventually I took so long to decide that class started. The sick feeling passed within minutes and I had one of the best classes I have had in a long time. The main reason I'm writing about it here is because I stuck my crow's pose for well over 10 seconds even though I was physically exhausted and sweating more than I had ever sweat in that class (due to the summer heat and the number of bodies in the room). I was also grateful that after class, when I told Kevin about the stiffness in my traps, he gave me some great advice and resources to work on it on my own. I heart Mosaic. So much.
Sunday, August 2
On Tuesday I held my first side crow! I could really only hold it on my right side, but I managed a little bit of time on my left. I was super sweaty this week, so it was tough to keep from slipping. I held my regular crow for probably 10 seconds or so.
Monday, August 10
When practicing at home, I must have held my crow for at least 15 seconds and felt strong. Progress!
Monday, August 31
Lately I've been struggling because either I'm not warmed up enough to hold the pose or I'm so sweaty that I slip. I'll have to figure that one out.
Thursday, September 10
I held my crow particularly long in Sophie's class today.
Summary
I didn't get anywhere close to 1 minute and now realize that's likely an unrealistic goal, but I'm glad I improved so much.
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