Medieval festival

The order of some of the recent posts are a bit mixed up.  Posting them all at once on a poor connection seemed to overwhelm the blog, and I had errors popping up all over the place.  I hope it's understandable.

Today I caught the bus into Eivissa town for the medieval festival.  It was everything you’d imagine it to be.  The whole castle was full of stalls selling everything to do with the old style of life on the island. Big pigs on spits.

Yoga was good, I've stiffened up a lot with the running.  Well I'm not sure it's the running, but I've certainly stiffened up a lot.  It's been mostly in the hips.  I can't seem to get together a good Garbha Pindasana.  That used to be my favourite, so it's quite a hit to my practice.  I hadn't realised how much I like rolling around on my back, tied into a pretzel shape.  Right now I can't even get my arms through, so there's no rolling, but I'm sure it'll come back soon.

I've moved to practicing in my bedroom.  The tiles are nice and smooth.

Running

I went for a run today.  It’s the first for a while.  I used to run a lot, at even had a running blog back in 2006.  That then morphed into a Triathlon blog, and by 2011 the Tri blog was getting a huge amount of traffic.  I closed the blog when I had my motor scooter accident and my illness, but I’ll probably do triathlon again someday.

When I moved to Mexico I kept running, though only a little, and a lot slower than before.  Somewhere along the line though, some old foot injuries flared up, and running was off the table.  Today’s run was just 2km.  Long enough to strengthen the feet, calves, and knees, but not long enough to do anything else.  I know how to train from scratch – SLOWLY!

Primary was good, I’ve moved into the bedroom now.  The tiles are really nice and smooth, and the window is big enough for the room to breathe.  My hips are continuing to tighten unfortunately.  Garbha Pindasana didn’t happen today, and usually that’s one of my favourites.  Still, it was one of the most lovely sessions I’ve had in a while.  It just felt smooth, easy, flowing.  

And of course, Savasana was beautiful.

Yoga in long pants?

I finally got a full primary in, in this little hotel room.  

I’d never done a full primary in Long pants before.  How strange.  I mean, how does one get their arms through their legs for Garbha Pindasana?  I tried, but it wouldn’t go.  The rolling thing was off limits anyway, because in this little hotel room I’m stuck in a corridor without much room to do it.

I got to go mountain biking in the local hills around here.  Absolutely beautiful trails, through farmland full of infrastructure that was set up by the Moors long ago.  A lot of it is still tendered by the Spanish today, but a lot of it has fallen into ruin.  We drank water from a natural spring that gets its water all the way from the Pyrenees, through a layer of porous rock.  It tasted better than Evian.

Settled in a house, still no internet.

I finally have a house to live in.  It’s a beautiful old place in the countryside.  The only issue with it is that there is no internet.  This means no blogging.  It more than makes up for it with beautiful views of the surrounding orchards, and all sorts of spots in which to do my yoga.

Today I did a primary series on the back balcony where the hummocks are hung.  It was a nice series, though I’m a little stiff at the moment, so a lot of postures were modified.  The only issue with this spot is that the tiles here are very roughly hewn, so if any part of my body misses my mat, I get grazed.  I’ll keep looking for other spots.

Today was the first day I did yoga without a towel.  It was ok, though I won’t be doing it again.  The mat didn’t really get slippery, even when it was wet.  This is probably because I have a good Manduka, and not a cheapie mat.  Still, I didn’t have the confidence to do Setu Bandhasana or Urdhva Dhanurasana.  I also prefer the feeling of the towel keeping my dryish every time I I sit or lie down.

Goodbye Mexico, Hello Spain!

The next few blog posts are all posted together, as I have no internet here.  They cover a two-week period.

The flight over was great.  On an almost packed flight, we ended up getting four seats together to ourselves.  It was because the girls beside us went to sit with their friends… either that, or we smell.  Jaja.  Most of it I spent sleeping as there was Diazipan to be had, but I did manage quite a bit of yoga.  Lots of forward bends, Baddha Konnsasas, and even an Urdhva Dhanurasana across four seats in a Jumbo jet!  I should have got a photo of that!

Arriving, and it was freezing!!  Freezing as in “I’ve just come from 35 degrees, and if it hits 15 degrees tonight I think I’ll die!”  So nothing like Canada, but still unpleasant.  It will probably take a couple of weeks to acclimatise, and then I’ll be fine.

I got a standing series done day one, and that was enjoyable.  My legs don’t seem to have tightened up too much with the cold, which is a good sign.

Photo reblog

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Good bye Shala

Friday's class has been cancelled for a special event, so this was my last class in the old shala.  The whole hotel has been sold, so if I come back to this part of the world some day, I don't know where Coco will be teaching.  It's a beautiful place, and it really means a lot to me.
More than the place, I'll miss a lot of the people here.  We have a really nice friendly community, and everyone is really supportive of each other.  I've made some good friends among these yogis.  I hope I see some of them again.

It was nice to be back in front of the window with the cool breeze.  The class was a little easier than the last one, though i still sweated buckets.  Unfortunately Coco has been drinking far too much mate.  I say this because she did the Surya Namaskaras in doubletime.  I couldn't keep up!  Added to this, there are a few in the class who don't to a full exhale to Chaturanga-Dandasana, meaning they rush through the vinyasa, and this encourages her to race as well.

So the jump-forwards have totally disappeared.  I don't know where to, but the last few days, I haven't been able to do a single one.  It could have something to do with the loss of muscle-mass that seems to be acompanying my yoga practice.  I can jump up, but my feet get caught on the mat on the way through and stop.  Somehow I have to learn to keep my knees closer to my chest to give my feet closer in to my body.

In Marichyasana A, I figured out that I can stretch a little better if I use my armpit and shoulder to apply pressure to my shin and knee.  It helps me to keep my foot on the ground, and my chest forward.  The binds have gone again in B and C, but they'll be back again, I can wait.

There's a girl in class (I've forgotten her name) who has only been there for two months, and just can't believe that I'm such a beginner after being in Coco's classes for nearly a year.  She's just someone who was born with flexible muscles, and so finds yoga incredibly easy.  I wonder if she gets as much out of the class as all the rest of us who are struggling with the postures.  I think the struggle is really where the benefit is.  Maybe she uses it more as a relaxation class.

After class I had dinner with my friend Diego and his partner.  They're a Spanish couple who moved here because the employment situation is better here than in Spain.  It was fun to hang out with some educated people, chat about ideas and language and culture.  It's not something you find in Mexico.

Utthita Parshvasahita straight leg, and a fond farewell.

Class yesterday was exhausting.  I don't know if it's all the late nights out seeing friends, or if it's merely the emotions of leaving town soon that is affecting me.  I was tired from the first movement, and all the way through.

Again no binds in the Marichyasanas, and I think Coco was happy that I stopped trying to bind after B.  She often says I push too hard in class.  Yes I agree with her, but it's because I feel safe in her classes.  I don't push that hard at home, but in class I have the confidence to give the poses a good tug.

Today's breakthrough was Utthita Parshvasahita.  Coco adjusted me into it on the first side, and somehow it happened with a straight leg.  This is a massive improvement, as usually my leg is so bent that my knee touches my arm.  It was so exciting!  It's the first breakthrough I've had for a little while, and something to leave town with.  I then managed the second side all by myself.

It was a moon day yesterday, so Coco only had us do three Navasanas.  That was a little bit of a relief.  I had the best Setu Bhandasana I've ever had, and that was fun too.  I felt like I could stay up there for days, and had none of the cramping I'd had earlier in the week.


So that was my last led class for a while.  I don't know when I'll next be able to get to a shala.  Coco and I said our goodbyes, and that was it.

Paying my dues

Well I certainly suffered in class after last night.  I believe I almost died.  Note for later:  Don't stay out late drinking Mezcal, and then expect to be able to do yoga the next day.

It started strangely, as there was a political rally outside the house.  It's so sad what is happening in Mexico these days.  Since the rigged election imposed an almost totalitarian regime, the country has changed significantly.  If I drive north to the city, the highway is lined with mile after mile of political propaganda.  The money is all funnelled into the major political party and their friends, and they hold huge rallies where they buy the peasants votes with bright lights and shiny trinkets.  It's sickening.

The streets were all blocked off, and there were police everywhere.  Thus nobody with a car could get to class, and this included the teacher.  So after a little bit of waiting,  we all started Mysore style.  After the Surya Namaskaras, Coco turned up, and so we started again.  I was already shaking in Adho Mukha Shvanasana, so to say it was a struggle is an understatement.

Sweat was litterally pouring off my nose in Uttasana.  It felt like I could almost taste the Mezcal streaming out through my pores.

In Janu Shirshasana B, I think I've figured out that by sitting a litte further back on my heel, I enable my knee to be more out to the side.  It's not perfect, but I think one of the problems before was that with my knee joint all closed up, i couldn't stretch out from my hips.  My Janu Shirshasana C has also improved.  I used to only be able to get my toes to the floor and keep my heel up on the right side, but now that's happening on the left side too.  The foot isn't vertical or close to the body, but the heel is definitely a full cm off the ground, throughout the posture.

Urdhva Dhanurasana was good again.  I've had a few days now of good UDs, and I really like the posture.  It sems liberating for some reason.  I can feel the opening of the back, and also see the progress that I am making.  There's so much more that can be done on this pose too.  The first goal is to do it with straight arms, then walking closer in to the body.  Then come drop backs.  Then comes popping up from drop-backs.  Finally, in second series are the tic-tocs.  When I can, I'd like to video my Urdhva Dhanurasanas, so I can see where I'm at.  Actually to think of it, I should video my whole practice soon.  Last time I did that was on the 4th of December, so it's been nearly six months.  How about that, six months of doing a daily Ashtanga practice.  Certainly the improvements only came after I switched to a six-day per week practice.  I don't know why that makes such a difference, but practicing three days a week just did nothing for me.  Well not nothing, but there were certainly no flexibility gains.

Lastly, with the increased heat, I got a cramp in Setu Bandhasana.  I have to say, Setu is one of my favourite poses.  It's just so weird!  But my hamstrings do tend to suffer.  They cramped last night, and they've done that before, last week I think.  It's concerning, because the last thing I want to do is mess up my Urdhva Dhanurasanas.

Strong led class

Monday's led class was warm and busy.  When I arrived, Coco set me to hanging a huge picture on the wall.  I mean seriously, there must have been fifteen people there already, but she waited for me to come.  Hahaa.

Class was fantastic.  I got back to where I was before my little regression, that is, binding in Marichyasana B and C, and a nice strong Urdhva Dhanurasana.  With the heat that's around at the moment, I got really sweaty, and not only was my mat towel soaked, but there was a little lake around my mat.
I managed to get a little further in The Prasarita Padottanasana variants than I had done before, and I think soon I could be straight legs, bent arms in D, rather than Straight arms, bent legs like I am at the moment.  I think these are the most effective stretch for my hamstrings and hips at the moment too.  I think I really should give these a go a couple of times a day, to help my hip-opening along a bit.

After class I met up with my friend Morganne, who owns a bar, and we did some Mezcal tasting.  Now as a non-alcohol drinker, drinking Mezcal completely destroyed me.  I was also up very late, and thus completely wasted the next day.  Work was an absolute catastrophe!!  Oops!

Stiffness

Well I hardly got through my practice this morning!  It took me two hours, and I still barely made it through.

I had planned on sacrificing watching the London Marathon, and doing my practice before Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but somehow even though I woke up early enough, the coverage of Liège-Bastogne-Liège had already started, so I just ended up watching that for three hours instead of one!
Liège was a fantastic race!  With Dan Martin managing to push away early enough to finish ahead of the lighter Spaniards Valverde and Rodríguez.  I'm sure all the Brits will be going crazy over his win.

Then it came to the yoga, and I was really stiff.  I haven't been this stiff for a long time.  It truly felt like I was just starting out again.  I don't know why this happens to me sometimes.  Did I oversleep last night?  Am I dehydrated? Did I not eat enough dinner last night?  I know I'm usually stiffer in the mornings, but this was 10am, so it should have been ok.  I guess we'll see how it goes tomorrow back in led class.

After yoga was Michael Gannon's birthday.  I finally got to meet one of his kids, and what a sweet little thing he was.  Also it was cool to see Michael as a dad.  I've only ever seen him as a yoga teacher/ mentor, and seeing him today, he really looked like such a great daddy!  That's so cool to see.

Photo reblog

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Teaching my first class

I taught a class!!  Led primary!!  WHAT???  I know, how strange.

This is seriously not something I thought I'd do for many years, if at all.  After all the work on my shoulder, i was ready to do a class with Coco.  I'd texted her to let her know that I would be coming on Friday night to her led class, but she wasn't there!  Neither was Karla.  They're both doing the Michael Gannon day tomorrow (Grrrr... I still have knee pain from that man!!!) and I suppose they were resting up.

Hugo said that Coco had let them know that there would be nobody there to teach, so we decided that we'd just do a private practice, and leave on our own.  After I led the class in the chant, I started my Surya Namaskaras.  Well, immediately it was obvious that there were beginners in class who had no idea what they were doing.  So I had to talk through the poses and the breaths, leading the class.

It was really fun.  I did a little bit of adjusting; nothing forceful, just some alignment stuff, reminding people of dristis, and gave a guy up the back a variation for Marichyasana D because he was crazy stiff.

Nobody understood Gharba Pindasana, so I had to give a demonstration.  Fortunately I nailed it, and Kukkutasana as well, so that was a cool demo.

According to the regular students, I was a bit fast in my counts.  I suppose that's normal for a beginner teacher.  I certainly wasn't  expecting to teach, and so hadn't prepared myself for it.  The other issue was that I had to teach the class in Spanish.  Now yes, I do speak Spanish, but in the stress of trying to teach my first ever class, remember the postures, maintain an even breath count, help and correct students, AND do a little adjusting, my Spanish just went out the window!  Ah well.

The Chiropractor

The Chiropractor was really good.  He explained where I was at with my body, and said there were some areas were I was certainly tight with a limited range of movement.  He advised that I keep stretching my hip flexors, something that I haven't done regularly since my running days.  He also said that I had no major muscle imbalances in my body, only that my pecs were overly dominant and pulling my shoulders forward, causing bad posture.

The one area were I have an issue is that my scalene muscles are too tight.  I thought a scalene was a type of triangle, the one with unequal sides or angles, but what do I know????  Anyway, I need to stretch out my scalenes, and that will free up my shoulders and neck to be how they should be.  The tight scalene muscles and forward shoulders were probably as a result of the years of hard road cycling, with inadequate stretching.

He was really positive about my body.  He said I had an amazingly strong core, and that my muscles were all really well balanced, resulting in nothing out of alignment.  He did however say that I had limited range of movement in my spine, especially in the thoracic area.  The general advice was to keep doing yoga regularly, and if I can, get occasional checks with a Chiropractor or Osteopath.