Day 23: O.M.G, It's Flow. Again!

Date : October 23rd, 2013. Wednesday
Day : 23



O.M.G.  I'm getting there, well, at least on the above board i am! So I decided the last three stickers to have the letters : O, M and G and the last last one to have an exclamation "!" mark. Yes, as you can see, I am very excited. I realized, I never shared the Week 4 theme. It's "Triumph".

With the hot journey nearing completion, this week turns celebratory as we explore the theme of triumph. Every class you have taken, every plank pose you have held and every time you have turned away from mental distraction and back to breath is a personal victory! No matter how you feel, your challenge is complete, it's time to reflect and appreciate all that you have done in the last 30-40 days. We also explore how the jubilant energy of triumph can also act as a catalyst for greater change - it maybe the end of this journey but should you choose to accept the challenge, the beginning of a lifetime of self-discovery. You might lose some weight or gain some muscle during this Journey, and you will feel healthier, more toned and notice your skin taking on a healthier glow!

Take a few days rest after your Journey before coming back for your next hot practice. Reward yourself with a relaxing weekend of hot baths, massages and maybe a Yin class. Use these days to feel the difference in your body and you will know that your journey was worth your time.

Yes to the rest and hot baths! I will add good food to that list well. I already have plans for awesome Indian Chinese food at Little India on Saturday  :)

But, it's not yet over! I have 2 more classes to go on the board and a few more classes for 30 days ! 

Today's class was Flow with Michelle and my right thigh was still not in perfect shape. But I kept that it mind and didn't put too much pressure on it. 

The flow class today was very very core focused. Which is in way good. Usually in flow we try to fit in an inversion as well. I am yet to master the head stand or the forearm stand even. But I usually go for the Salambha Sarvangasana or the supported shoulder stand. It's an inversion, because you head is below your heart. I love it. I absolutely love it. We do it at the end of an Ashtanga sequence and then we do it in flow most of the time. I try and do it whenever I can at the beginning or end  helps calm your brain and brings such peace to your body, it's beautiful. There are many many benefits of this asana. Supposedly even tones your legs :D ! While this asana stretches your neck and shoulders, it is extremely important to make sure there isn't any weight on your neck. And that's one thing the teachers keep repeating in the class as well. The weight is supposed to be on your shoulders.  That said, this pose is supposed to be an intermediate to advanced pose and beginners are often advised not to practice this asana without supervision. Because if you are not in the correct alignment you could get pretty badly hurt.


(Image courtesy : veronique-cancel-yoga.jimdo.com)

Here's a not-so-brief how to for the salambha Sravangasana

1) Lie on your back with your hands on the side
2) Lift your legs up towards the ceiling.
3) Bring you hands to your lower back with your fingers facing upwards.
4) Try to keep the elbows shoulder width apart, not going in two different directions.
5) Lift up through the balls of your feet.
6) Bring the hips towards the front of the room and the feet toward the back to straighten the body.
7) Work on moving the hands down the back towards the shoulders.

The correct alignment is with the hips over the shoulders and feet over the hips. To come out of the asana, bring the feet back over the head and go into Halasana or plow pose and then roll out from halasana slowly. I will talk about Halasana in the next post.  The salambha sravangasana is followed by the matsyasana or fish pose. Which also I will talk about in the next post :)

So we ended Michelle's class with salambha sarvangasana today and i usually prefer doing nothing after the fish pose, I just want to rest! Because the asana takes me into that mood. 

Namaste.