Class 36: The Giggling Back Bend.
Whenever I come back from an ayahuasca tour, something magical happens in my body.
WHOA! SCANDALOUS!
Kidding. But it is magical. My body seems to just open up into the poses, and my depth in them leaps ahead. I went straight from landing in the States on Sunday morning to hitting a late afternoon class that same day. And it was astounding how the ayahuasca medicine put my body in a new place with stillness and depth. I was far more connected and aware of my body than before. Which makes complete sense, given what the ayahuasca medicine is and does for you.
The next night, Class 35 for me, was a total shit show, however. The studio I was practicing in was so hot that I sat out almost the entire Floor series of class. Two students left the room, and didn't come back. But what I was able to do in the class was just as open and deep as it had been in the previous class. I may not have had the stamina due to the heat, but I still had that connection to my body. Bending myself backward and forwards more effortlessly than ever before, and finding perfect stillness while perched steadily on my toes in the second part of Awkward pose... That shit was pure magic.
These two classes were opposites of each other, in terms of stamina. But they showed me that my body is very ready to push deeper into the practice. And Class 36 had me doing just that... But with a little purging.
Right from the start, the bottoms of my feet felt more connected to the ground. I could shift my weight on various points on my feet with barely any movement. I was steady and had a good platform for balancing in my practice. This meant that my depth in Half Moon, the opening posture sequence, was going to come more easily.
And it did.
Bending sideways, making my body into the Crescent Moon shape, was very easy. I was able to focus on lifting up out of my waist, shooting my spine up... And then just pushing my hips all the way to the side. Rather than bending right. My mind was connected to the structure of the pose. It made sense how to get into it and push harder. But it wasn't difficult. It felt natural.
This was exciting to feel in my body, the depth. But I wasn't prepared for the next part... The Back Bending part of Half Moon.
I prepped the pose, dropping my head back. And right away I could tell my neck was more open than ever. I stretched up our of my waist, and began to push my hips forward and bring my arms back. I was arching my spine. And typically I can go deeper than 75% of the people in the room, bringing my spine down and backwards to my waist.
But in this class... I dropped eyes down further on the wall behind me, and felt my torso arch upward. This made my back bend deeper. And my arms began to fall deeper as well. I was further than I had been before in this pose.
That's when the teacher came over to me and began encouraging me to go, "Deeper. Go deeper. Go deeper..."
I began to giggle. And giggle. And giggle. All while feeling my body move centimeter by centimeter more deeply into the pose.
He focused on me and instructed me to push deeper for 10 seconds, with me laughing the whole time. It was an wonderful purge. I hit a pocket of energy that came out in laughter. I realized how connected to the plant medicine I still was... And furthered my understanding of how energy is stored so deeply in the body, and how it can be released.
It's all magic.
WHOA! SCANDALOUS!
Kidding. But it is magical. My body seems to just open up into the poses, and my depth in them leaps ahead. I went straight from landing in the States on Sunday morning to hitting a late afternoon class that same day. And it was astounding how the ayahuasca medicine put my body in a new place with stillness and depth. I was far more connected and aware of my body than before. Which makes complete sense, given what the ayahuasca medicine is and does for you.
The next night, Class 35 for me, was a total shit show, however. The studio I was practicing in was so hot that I sat out almost the entire Floor series of class. Two students left the room, and didn't come back. But what I was able to do in the class was just as open and deep as it had been in the previous class. I may not have had the stamina due to the heat, but I still had that connection to my body. Bending myself backward and forwards more effortlessly than ever before, and finding perfect stillness while perched steadily on my toes in the second part of Awkward pose... That shit was pure magic.
These two classes were opposites of each other, in terms of stamina. But they showed me that my body is very ready to push deeper into the practice. And Class 36 had me doing just that... But with a little purging.
Right from the start, the bottoms of my feet felt more connected to the ground. I could shift my weight on various points on my feet with barely any movement. I was steady and had a good platform for balancing in my practice. This meant that my depth in Half Moon, the opening posture sequence, was going to come more easily.
And it did.
Bending sideways, making my body into the Crescent Moon shape, was very easy. I was able to focus on lifting up out of my waist, shooting my spine up... And then just pushing my hips all the way to the side. Rather than bending right. My mind was connected to the structure of the pose. It made sense how to get into it and push harder. But it wasn't difficult. It felt natural.
This was exciting to feel in my body, the depth. But I wasn't prepared for the next part... The Back Bending part of Half Moon.
I prepped the pose, dropping my head back. And right away I could tell my neck was more open than ever. I stretched up our of my waist, and began to push my hips forward and bring my arms back. I was arching my spine. And typically I can go deeper than 75% of the people in the room, bringing my spine down and backwards to my waist.
But in this class... I dropped eyes down further on the wall behind me, and felt my torso arch upward. This made my back bend deeper. And my arms began to fall deeper as well. I was further than I had been before in this pose.
That's when the teacher came over to me and began encouraging me to go, "Deeper. Go deeper. Go deeper..."
I began to giggle. And giggle. And giggle. All while feeling my body move centimeter by centimeter more deeply into the pose.
He focused on me and instructed me to push deeper for 10 seconds, with me laughing the whole time. It was an wonderful purge. I hit a pocket of energy that came out in laughter. I realized how connected to the plant medicine I still was... And furthered my understanding of how energy is stored so deeply in the body, and how it can be released.
It's all magic.
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