isvara pranidhana

today i had a staff dinner at work that was one of those 'required' things you had to do. in going to this i ended up missing my regular yoga class today, determined to keep my schedule of going to a studio class 3 days a week i went to the last class of the day.  this turned out to be an amazing experience.

this class is taught by the owner of the studio, and before this week i have been avoiding her classes.  i went to one of her classes and it was a very advanced class with a lot of poses i am not physically able to do yet. i understand and did modifications of each pose and spent a good part of the class in child's pose or doing the gentler flow due to the amount of strength needed for it, but it still kinda intimidated me about any other classes she taught. turns out this class was a very beginners class, explaining the three part breath, how to get into warrior two, and triangle and the like.

i personally have been practicing off and on for 6 years, but i am not very physically active exercise wise so i knew everything she was explaining but felt like i wasn't to advanced for the class.  i was able to get some better understanding and explore new feeling in poses you do each time you practice. this class also had two teachers observing the class and helping the students with alignment and adding props as needed.  this was really helpful as i learned that even though i can get into shoulder stand with no problem, that if i add a blanket to my shoulders i gain a huge ability to breath more fully. outside of this class no other teacher has suggested that to me. also, i was assisted by the owner into headstand.  being someone who doesn't work out 3 times a week, who is a shapely lady i never thought headstand was an option to me. and while i was informed afterwards as i expected i need to work on strengthening my core and i noticed how much strength i needed in my legs and hamstrings to get up there, i did it! this was the first time in my life in practice and out of practice that i've lifted my legs over my head and was suspended. it was an amazing feeling, not scary like i've felt before. and i feel so empowered afterwords.

my teacher also mentioned this experience which was really profound to me. she said relationships are about opening up, letting go, and accepting.  wow, to me that is so profound and really something to think about because in my personal life i do not see examples of that at all and that is something i want to try to do in my romantic relationship.

afterwards i discussed things mentioned in class with one of the teachers, talked to a student about feelings and physical logistics of inversion poses, and thanked the other teacher for helping me out with shoulderstand and my experiences with it.  i really felt a strong sense of community.  before becoming a karma yogi here and being able to afford going to a studio i was trying to find a sense of community, people who are focusing on improving themselves and looking inward and being able to experience getting to know these people off the mat as well. i felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude of findng a space to explore and connect with others.

i wanted to share my experience with other yogis who would understand these feelings. :) i tried explaining to my boyfriend and he was unphased and disinterested, head what? lol