Yoga

My physical therapist let me go back to yoga at the end of February, well before I could go back to capoeira - no surprise there, as you can go about doing what you do without anyone kicking at you. Of course, I'm still building up my strength to what it was before.

Mostly, I've been going to Magi and Jen's classes at Life in Motion. They are both very keen on correct form, which is exactly what I need. Today I went to a class at another studio - no names mentioned, since it's a studio and a teacher I like - and realized I wasn't ready for their brand of yoga yet. That doesn't mean crazy twists and inversions or even a thousand chatarangas; their style is very much "flow free and get loose," and my body still needs a lot of reminding to do things the right way.

My practice is somewhat changed, however, just as my capoeira practice has changed. For one thing, I use blocks more. I'm somewhat anti-prop (don't take me to an Iyengar class), partially because fussing around with them is a hassle but also because I often don't need them, so I would prefer to think I never need them. But since I'm going to look wimpy anyway, why be proud? My pigeon isn't going to get any more open if I don't get my shin parallel to the mat, and my shin doesn't get parallel to the mat without something under my thigh.

I have also only now figured out what child's pose is for. Oh sure, it's "a good place to rest" when the flow is too much. This is not news. But it's also a stretch for some particular muscles around the shoulder, which I didn't realize until my physical therapist gave it to me as homework. (Muscles that get very tight on me and have since long before my shoulder pain began.) Eleven years I've been doing this, and I had no idea.

It doesn't get much more basic than realizing you've been doing child's pose wrong.