YES...AND....

Are you familiar with the rules of Impov Comedy?  Improv (improvisation) often happens with a troupe of comedians being given some disparate props, or "prompts" from which they are expected to create a comedy routine.  One plays off the other as they throw the next line to the next comedian.  None is able to "pass"; all must use the "Yes, And..." rule, meaning no prompt is off limits. Mentally they say, "yes...and..." then add their own idea to the chain of events.  They think on their feet and by the end they've all joined to co-create a hopefully funny, often silly, sometimes groan-worthy, but always amazing skit.

Elizabeth's yoga classes are like that at Yoga Circle.  She always asks practitioners if they have specific things they'd like to work on in class.  Almost always there are requests for "hips", "shoulders", "hamstrings", and the like.  Then she uses her expertise to create a class that includes all those areas of focus.  I'm always amazed, but I also understand that the frequency of these request might clue her in to figuring she will be asked for them, so she's ready.

Last week, however, it went like this:  "Hips, holiday season feelings, shoulders/neck, sinuses."  WHAT?!?  I was stunned.  How was she going to create a yoga practice around all that?  But she smiled, rubbed her hands together with gleeful readiness to meet the challenge, thought for a moment, then said, as she often does.."Let's start lying on our backs..." and off she went.

We did hip openers and stabilizers, neck and shoulder stretches, range of motion movements, and throughout it all she interwove a pranayama (breathing) practice where we focused on the stresses and challenges of the holiday season, for some that means chaotic preparations and for some a time of loss or sadness, encouraging us to use our breath to calm our emotions and to always come back to the present moment -- the only moment that truly exists.  Toward the end or practice, she introduced self-lymphatic massage, an Auyurvedic practice of moving lymph out of the tissues and muscle fascia, draining back into the circulatory system.  She spent extra time massaging the sinus area of the face.

More than the actual practice that day, I was impressed with the knowledge that no matter what we throw at her, Elizabeth takes it all in enthusiastically.  Her skill with therapeutic yoga is evident in what she creates for us in asana and pranayama practice, but what I love most is the broad smile and happy countenance she has when her skill and creativity unite.

"Yes...And..." Indeed.

Namaste,  donnajurene

INJURY = DISCOVERY

So, I've written before about how the Yoga Nidra practice is not my fave.  Do  you know what Yoga Nidra is?  Here's this from Wikipedia:  "Yoga Nidra, or yogic sleep, is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping, like the "going-to-sleep" stage.  It is a state in which the body is completely relaxed and the practitioner becomes systematically and increasingly aware of the inner world by following a set of verbal instructions."

Anyway, in class it's about 30 minutes of gentle asana then an hour of JUST LYING THERE!  I mean, I like a nice restorative, meditative 15 minute Savasana at the end of class like everyone else, but 60 minutes?!? That's excessive.  I try to listen to the guided body scan, but am constantly distracted by how slowly it goes -- do we really have to focus on our fingers and thumbs?!?  My pranayama practice leaves me panting as I try to control my breath with long inhales, pauses, and exhales.  My body is never completely comfortable no matter how many props and blankets I gather around me; my head always hurts.  My intention for the practice moves from "a state of calm" to "just get through this thing".

I am the exception to the norm, however, because the last Wednesday of the month 10 a.m. Yoga Nidra class is FULL.  People love it!  I've taken to avoiding that class.

But last month I showed up, having forgotten about the last Wednesday schedule.  You see, six days prior I had fallen down a flight of stairs.  Yep, slid off the top step in my stocking feet, immediately fell and smacked my head on the floor before descending, hitting my right ribs, hip/thigh, and knee on all 14 stairs coming down from my bedroom.  I picked up speed as I went, like a tobboganer without the toboggan.  So I had been a bit sore and had been away from the studio, but felt like I needed to start moving again.

Serendipity intervened on my behalf and while initially disappointed that I was there on Yoga Nidra day, I decided a long Savasana might be sort of nice.   This was maybe my 5th try at the practice and for the first time, I "got" it.  I was able to find comfort, stay present, turn inward, breathe and "be" with the whole thing and left feeling renewed, grounded, calm. 

I asked our instructor, Elizabeth, afterwards if the words and instructions for guiding Yoga Nidra are always the same, because this one really worked for me.  She smiled and said, "Yes; it's always the same."  I think I'd heard it for the first time at that class.  My body needed to slow down, my mind to find awareness, my dosha to move from Vata (swirling) to Kapha (grounded).  (I'm an Ayurvedic novice...more on that in future posts!)  

At the beginning of each Yoga Nidra practice we are prompted to find an intention for the practice in the form of an affirmation and to repeat it as if it is already true.  I decided my intention would be:  "I am strong, resilient, and calm."   That intention has become a mantra which I repeat every day -- sometimes many times throughout the day.

I don't know if Yoga Nidra will become my Nirvana practice, but I do know I'll be back.  

Namaste,  donnajurene