It’s been a busy week and a half so I’ll be covering a few unrelated topics.

I’ve been given full lotus in the 3 closing asanas before shavasana, yoga mudra, padmasana and utpluti. I don’t think it’s meant to be so comfortable for beginners, but for me, it’s really quite easy and pleasant to sit in full lotus. I’m not saying I could sit in full lotus for hours, but for a first try it was surprisingly agreeable.

I’ve also increased the number of practices I have in a week. I’m aiming for a three to four practice a week for the present time and will be working towards a daily practice in the evenings before I take the plunge into morning practice.

I’ve practiced in the mornings on occasions and it’s not been my favourite time of day to practice. I’m often groggy and very stiff, as if my mind is awake, but my body hasn’t caught up yet. My body’s much softer in the evenings and I’m sure that’s a reason why I prefer evening practice.

We had a focus on chaturanga dandasana in today’s class as well. C gave us reminders and tips on how chaturanga dandasana should feel, what to do and what not to do. In summary, don’t to overuse the trapezius muscle, a relatively small muscle, but instead focus on utilising the latissimus dorsi muscle while lowering down.

C said that if we engaged the right muscles in chaturanga dandasana, we should be feeling the lats tomorrow.

I have to swallow my words in my last post. I said I wasn’t ready for marichyasana B and I got marichyasana B. Shows you how an experienced teacher can tell, better than yourself, when you’re ready for a new pose and when you’re not.

It’s much more challenging than I initially thought. I don’t have much problem putting my leg in half lotus, and bending the other leg up to my chest. I didn’t feel any strain in the ankles or legs so I thought I was doing ok. But when I went to bend forward after binding, it didn’t feel right at all. Maybe I had my half lotus knee or foot in the wrong position, but I couldn’t fold forward very far before I felt “something” in the way.

I’ll go read the yoga books in my collection and experiment in the next practice to see what I’m doing wrong, if I’m doing something wrong! It possible that it feels strange just because it’s a new pose.

On another note, I finally got my chest to my thighs unassisted in paschimattanasana. It happened during the counter pose for urdhva dhanurasana, which is strange since I’m usually pretty stiff in the hamstrings at that point. I’m not a fan of paschimattanasana after urdhva dhanurasana, but on this occasion it was unusually good.

I also got the chest to the thigh in janu A on the second side with the right leg extended and left foot into the left groin, which was surprising as well.

It’s been almost a month since I was given a “new” asana and just when I thought I won’t be getting one for a while longer, I got janu shirsasana C, a seated asana from the primary series.

I’ve been waiting to get this pose for a couple of weeks now. I was feeling impatient (how naughty is that?!) because I felt my body was ready for the challenge. I thought I was going to get the pose at the end of last week, because C was hovering near me in janu shirsasana A, but then she went to adjust another student and by the time she came back, I was well into marichyasana A.

So yesterday C specifically told me to wait for her after janu shirsasana B, just as I was entering Marichyasana A, and I secretly said to myself, “Yay!”. I was happy that I was getting a new pose. That joy went away pretty quickly once I actually tried the asana!

Janu C really put quite a bit of strain on my outer knees, something I’m not use to feeling! Which is good I suppose, I just have to be extra careful not to push this one.

On another note, the student next to me got Marichyasana B, now that’s an asana I know I’m not quite ready for!

Parivritta parsvakonasana, a fundamental standing asana similar to utthita parsvakonasana, but with a twist.

I’ve just been given this asana and I’m having multiple difficulties. Firstly, I can’t seem to balance, this is not a surprise since I seem to have problems whenever balance is required in any way. When I put the arm down on the ground next to the little toe of the foot, I fall over. I try pushing the knee into the arm to propel my body into a twist, and I still end up on the ground.

Another difficulty is putting the foot of the straight leg down. There are two issues with putting the foot of the straight leg down. Firstly, how does one balance? Secondly, what angle should the foot be?

I tried to get a look at how it “should” be done by going to AYRI’s web site, but parivritta parsvakonasana isn’t listed as a fundamental asana there. I also looked in Yoga Mala by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, but Parivritta Parsvakonasana wasn’t in there either. Strange isn’t it?

Anyway, I ended up finding a picture in David Swenson’s Practice Manual and John Scott’s Ashtanga Yoga Guide. Both books show the foot of the straight leg almost at 90 degree, but how is that possible? I seem to just fall over every time I try.

This pose is frustrating me at the moment, I just can’t seem to get the feel for it yet. I can’t find the balance and it doesn’t feel “right” yet.

I guess with all new asanas, it takes patience. I’ll get it one day!

It’s good to be adjusted sometimes, you realise that your body can do more than what you thought possible. I had an adjustment in ardha baddha padmottanasana, one of the fundamental standing postures not to be confused with ardha baddha padma paschimottanasana, a sitting posture in the primary series.

In ardha baddha padmottanasana, I was instructed long ago, when I first learnt this pose, not to fold forward until I could bind. I suspected that I could bind in this pose since I could easily bind in ardha baddha padma paschimottanasana, but I was always afraid of folding forwards, so I never tried very hard to bind.

Balancing poses are the most challenging type of asana for me, and I didn’t feel ready to fold forward in ardha baddha padmottanasana. I thought that if I have such a hard time keeping my balance, how would I be able to keep my balance AND fold forward?

Well, today C came around and twisted my shoulders until I could grab my toes. She didn’t have to twist much so I suspected she knew I could bind and thought it was time for me to take the plunge. So I had no choice, I was bound, I had to fold forward.

The tip she gave me that made the world of difference when folding forwards. She said to keep the knee of the straight leg slightly bent to help with balance. To my surprise, this worked like a charm and I didn’t fall over! I wobbled a lot (and I mean a lot) but I didn’t end up on my butt so I’m ecstatic!

Yoga never ceases to amaze me as to what our bodies are capable of, if only you would push past your comfort zone.

At my yoga shala, there is a sequence of classes to take in order to learn the sequence in Ashtanga yoga. It starts with Beginners Class I, which introduced Ashtanga yoga, pranayama, bandhas, sun salutation A and B along with some standing, seated and finishing poses. Beginners Class II introduced the opening chant along with more standing, sitting and finishing poses. Next were Guided classes, probably better known as led classes, which added a few more seated poses.

Beginners Class I and II runs for 8 weeks each. Guided classes run continuously, and was designed to help students memorize the primary sequence to move onto what the shala calls Ashtanga classes, which is in fact, Mysore-style classes where students practice at their own pace and to their own breath count.

I was attending Guided classes twice a week for one month and finally felt confident enough to move onto Ashtanga classes. When I told C that, her response was “about time!”. She was kidding, I’m sure she was glad that I’ve decided to further my practice. She warned me that it was only going to get harder, not easier, especially since she’ll be giving me new poses soon.

My first Ashtanga class was a very big change, much more than I thought I would be, but it was a very good change! I loved going at my own pace, I discovered that I moved faster in some areas and slower in others and going at my own pace and breath resulted in better practice for me. I felt more relaxed and more accomplished at the end of practice than I ever felt before.

I never thought of myself as having much self-control, but Ashtanga classes showed me otherwise. I would have thought I’d rush through the asanas I don’t like so much, like the balancing poses and warrior sequence, but I noticed that I would deliberately work harder on these poses rather than rushing through them.

Now that I’m in Ashtanga classes, I don’t know why I didn’t make the switch sooner.

This was a bit of a strange phenomenon. About 3 months into starting Ashtanga yoga, I started getting pins and needles in my feet, mostly in my toes actually. I thought it was because I was becoming more flexible and my forward bends were cutting off the circulation to my feet. I tried to look up on the internet to see if I was right, but there was absolutely no information about pins and needles and yoga. I wasn’t too surprised, as I said, it’s a bit of a strange phenomenon.

I thought I could put up with it and eventually it’ll go away as the blood vessels learn to cope with the pressure. I was wrong and it only got worse and didn’t look like it was going to go away. It got so bad at one point that I couldn’t feel or wiggle my toes! So I approached C after class and told her about my tingly feet and toes and she said that problems with the feet and toes usually stem from the lower back and that she notices that I collapse into my pelvis not in my poses and also when I walk.

So ever since then, I’ve been concentrating on not collapsing my pelvis, that is, having my pubic bone stick out in front. I’m more aware of the problem during the day as well and I take particular care when I’m in yoga practice. Ever since then, my pins and needles have slowly gone away and after yesterday’s class, I noticed for the first time… no pins and needles!

We had a reminder today not to drink water during practice. I guess our teacher, I’ll call her C, caught too many people quenching their thirst a little too often.

C told us early on in beginner’s class not to drink during practice, so this wasn’t news to me. I remember the first time C told us about drinking during practice, I thought it was a little strange back then but now I don’t even raise an eyebrow. It’s interesting how one’s perception changes with time.

The reason to avoid drinking water during practice is that water puts out the internal fire and heat that’s generated during practice, much like throwing water on a campfire. Without the internal fire, the benefits and purification from the practice is lost.

This is a summary of C’s recommendations when drinking water during yoga practice:

1. Avoid drinking during practice.
2. Drink before and after practice.
3. If you must drink during practice, sip the water instead of guzzling it.
4. Drink the least amount of water to quench the majority of your thirst.

I’ve been practicing yoga for about 4 months now, successfully completing Beginner’s Class 1 and Beginner’s Class 2 and now onto guided classes at my shala. From my reading on the internet, I believe it’s also called lead classes. Anyway, I noticed that with more regular practice in guided class, I became aware of good days and bad days.

For example, the class yesterday was an extra good day. I felt strong and flexible while moving from asana to asana. I challenged myself in each asana, pushing to the limits of what my body could do while respecting that my physical condition isn’t like others who have had years of practice. During shavasana, I slipped into that place between thoughts so easily and managed to stay there, in perfect bliss, until class ended.

I’ve been known to get out of shavasana early as on a few occasions. I’ve felt claustrophobic and almost ended up in a panic attack, so I cherish every shavasana where I’m relaxed, comfortable and “floating” in my mind. I’m at a loss as to why this happens, but thankfully it’s occurring less and less.

So what about the bad days? I had a bad day last week where I was stiff and weak. I feel down repeatedly during the balance poses, more than usual, and I had one of those claustrophobic shavasanas and had to get up early. Rather unpleasant, but strangely enough, I still enjoyed the practice overall. There’s a sense of achievement when you complete your practice, even though you feel wrecked at the same time.

I suppose that in the end, the bad days are ultimately good days too.

It’s been about 3 months since I started Ashtanga yoga. I’m still very much a beginner so I feel somewhat inadequate as I detail and comment on my journey and this beautiful art form.

So, as with any diary, there has to be a beginning. I’ll start with how I came to yoga, and why.

I had always wanted to try yoga. I had heard stories of celebrities praising its benefits for a beautiful body and a way to cope with being “famous”. So for the same reasons as the celebrities, I wanted to try yoga to relive the stress of being a business owner, and to get some exercise into my unfit and inflexible body.

I fell into Ashtanga yoga more from convenience than anything else. There was a yoga school (shala) not more than 200 metres from work, and the beginner’s classes started at 5:30 pm… seems like the perfect time and place. A friend, who had previously been a student at the shala, had also recommended the school and its teachers.

So with good references and the perfect time and location, I decided to start my journey at 8limbs.