My yoga instructor has recently been to a workshop with Judith Lasater, so last night we were doing a bunch of asanas that were completely new to me.
I find new asanas both exciting and a bit intimidating. Exciting because it’s fun to learn new things. Intimidating because I find myself back in “newbie mindset.” You know, the one where you’re thinking “holy cow what did i get myself into i can’t do this you want me to do what with my elbow” and there’s lots of anxiety and not much being in the moment.
The most difficult one for me last night was dolphin. When I saw our instructor do it, I thought “Oh, it’s like down dog. No problem.” Wrong! Usually, after doing a pose three or four times I start to figure it out, but not this time. It just felt off.
Anyway, it’s one I’m going to work on. At one point during the workshop Lasater had said that if you hate an asana, it owns you. I don’t hate dolphin, but it’s certainly uncomfortable. And I’ve found that the asanas that are most uncomfortable are the one I get the most benefit from doing regularly. Now if only I could figure out why dolphin felt so odd. Perhaps because I expected it to be like down dog?
i do forrest yoga (http://www.forrestyoga.com) in a heated studio, and dolphin and bridge are poses revisited class after class. i’ve only been at it eight months, and i know intellectually how to do both poses, but putting it all together and staying together is still a struggle every time.
but i feel stronger every time i try, gain new peace. i feel like i hit it just right in certain moments, and those moments keep me going.
you’re right–the ones that are most challenging are the most beneficial.
p.s. we do dolphin with our feet at a 90 degree angle on the wall. talk about “beneficial”!