The first day I did primary series. It seemed most appropriate after two days of sitting up in an airplane seat.
I got a very strong adjustment from Nancy in Mirachyasana D. She was able to get me to twist a little further and get me to bind comfortably behind my back.
In the standing forward fold with the hands in prayer behind the back she wanted the feet closer in line front to back. I had been taking a wider stance and she wanted the heel of the front foot to line up more closely with the heel of the back foot. This arrangement will let the hips face front a little more easily.
Also when I was in the forward fold Janu sersasana A she came by and told me to get the hip of the folded leg back on the floor. I did not realize that I had lifted it up. So back down it went.
And that was the end of the practice for that day. That was Monday. We missed practicing on Sunday because we were still traveling and did not get to Purple Valley until just before lunch time.
At home I normally alternate between Primary and Intermediate during the week. Monday I do Primary and then on Tuesday I would do Intermediate and so on throughout the week with a day of rest on the weekend. So, I had a decision to make. Would I continue to alternate while I was here or focus on Intermediate series during the entire stay. Tuesday I normally do Intermediate, so that was an easy decision but what to do on Wednesday and beyond?
Intermediate practice
I did Intermediate series on Tuesday. Nancy divided the room in half and asked the people on the right to come 15 minutes early and start their practice right away. The other side of the room was to start their practice 15 minutes later. She hoped that this would allow for more adjustments to be made with less wait time for us. This turned out to be true.
She also asked us to stay in the same place throughout the entire time that we are here and when we come back next year. This makes it easier for her to find you when she knows that you need an adjustment.
There are many places in the Intermediate series that I need assistance getting into the poses fully.
Passasana (noose pose)
The very first pose is one. I can now get my feet flat to the floor and I can get my arm around both knees and under my legs, but I can not get a enough twist in the spine to complete the bind behind the back. Nancy is able to get the bind to happen. One of these days the rotational flexibility in the spine and the balance in the pose will be there and I will be able to bind fully. Maybe I should lose a little more weight around the middle as well. That will make it easier to twist as well.
Kapotanasna assist
I have been getting an assist in this pose everytime. My quadriceps need to develop a little more strength before I can drop back to my hands without fear of whacking my head on the ground. Just a slight hold on the hips is enough at this time and I land on my hands. Next is getting the hands and head to move towards the feet. The arms are not moving very far but progress is being made slowly. There needs to be more flexibility in the spine (back to front) and more flexibility in the shoulders to allow the forearms from the elbows to the hands to come flat to the floor. They are both moving slowly in the proper direction. I expect that it will be some time before I reach the feet.
One thing I did not realize with this pose is the exit. After five breaths you straighten the arms and left the head off of the floor and hold here for five breaths. From here you lift up to standing while swinging the arms low past the knees rather than up or the head. It has taken me several days to figure out from the guidance that I am being given to get this part added to the pose.
Eka Pada Sirsasana
This is the one leg behind the head pose. I caused quite a stir when I started to do this pose on the left side. My hip is tighter on the left side and the leg does not get behind the head very well or at all some times. So here I am struggling to get my shoulder a little more in front of my knee when Nancy calls out from across the room “Jack stop that!”. She comes over after she had finished adjusting the person she was with and explained what I was doing wrong.
I was keeping my leg pointing straight up in the air while attempting to get my shoulder in front of my knee. This will cause the hip joint to lock and the hip to be in the wrong position for the rest of the pose. It is better to keep the leg bent at the knee while you get the shoulder in front of the knee. Then you bend forward and lower the head below the calf muscle. This rounds the back and keeps the hip in a favourable position for rest of the posture. Once the head is under the calf, then you lift the head up straightening the back slightly.
For the rest of that week and this week as well she has been by everytime that I do this pose to help get the ankles behind the head with the leg bent. The right leg gets there reasonable easily but the left leg continues to be stubborn.
There has been some progress in Dwi Pada Sersasana as well. The shoulders are starting to move in front of the knees and the feet are starting to get closer together behind the head.
Pinchmyrasana
I need an assistance to come to balance. I am still figuring out the balance point and how to come up into the pose gracefully.
With assistance I can get into next pose and then up and over into scorpin with the feet approaching the head. The guidance here is to push up from the floor while they are bending the feet towards the head. In my case the spine gets really stiff and strong as the feet are brought down towards the head.
Seven headstands
The last place I get assistance is with the seven headstands at the end of the series. Previous to this I have been doing the first 3 headstands only, but both Jason, one of Nancy’s assistance and Nancy herself told me to do all 7 of them.
The first day it was a real challenge getting up into the third headstand. This is the one where the arms are out to the side and you are balancing on your head and the palms are out to the side pressing into the floor. I was extremely wobbly the first day and severly stressed the muscles of my neck and shoulders. I could hardly turn my head from side to side by supper time. The next day by the time I got this head stand again the muslces were reasonably flexible and I got a little more support and asistance coming up into the poses.
Towards the end of the week Jason told me that I could do the last four headstands on my own and did not need assistance. My only fear is falling over and hitting the person in form of me. By the beginning of the second week (today) I am doing the 7 headstands with a little more ease. There is less wobble and less stress in the muscles. I still prefer someone there to make sure that I do not fall over onto the person in front of me.
