Flying back into my quest for pretzelness with #Atmah Ja

It has indeed been awhile since I took a yoga class from my sistergirlfriend Atmah Ja. It isn't that I don't like her class, it is just timing and isn't timing everything? Today I almost did not make it again. I had the time, but my head just wasn't feeling it. But a power stronger than me, got me up dressed and out of the door.

Atmah's class is different than warm flow. Not worse, just different. First, there is no heat other than the heat that our bodies generate during the practice. Next, we move from one pose to the other but it isn't exactly a flow.

I am sooo glad I went to class today. For me today almost as important as the physical workout was the mental stimulation. Today, Atmah told us to focus on the ways that we enfeeble ourselves. Enfeeble. It basically means to deprive of strength. It is all of the behaviors, thoughts, and beliefs we use keep ourselves from thriving. You know all of the "I can'ts, I won'ts, I am nots, I never wills, it will never be, etc."

What a strong word. A word that I had never heard of before, but as soon as she said it, I felt as if I had been punched in my stomach. I am doing that to myself in more ways than one.


She told us to identify the ways and beliefs that we use and set out to remove them from our lives. I needed to hear that. I had been thinking that, but I needed someone to stand in front of me and tell me to do it. Bottom line: I need to stop enfeebling myself even when the behaviors, thoughts, or beliefs seem valid. 

From the moment she uttered that word and explanation, my practice took on a new direction. My mind started to list my enfeebling behaviors, thoughts, and beliefs and I began to unwind them. Of course it is not that simple. Those thoughts did not just appear overnight and making them disappear will take some effort. But that is okay, as I move closer and closer to pretzelness I will gain strength and from strength comes power. One breath at a time.

Join me with Atmah  http://www.atmahjas.com at http://www.coastalbody.com Mondays at 10:30am. Pretzelness is waiting for you, as well.

Flying in the quest for beyond pretzelness

Today was my first yoga class since my Bikram days. I was actually excited about going to class because I knew I needed to be stretched out after my 14 mile run yesterday. Surprisingly I wasn't very sore after the run. Maybe it is because I have been diligently practicing yoga.

Today's class was at http://charlestoncommunityyoga.com. 
It was a warm flow yoga class. That is a combination of heat, music, breath
and movement for energizing experience. The heat warms and lengthens your muscles, prevents injuries and allow for a deeper release in your body. Perspiring help flush toxins from your body and cleanse your entire systems.

Today I felt incredibly strong. So strong that I flipped my downward facing dogs twice without any nausea. I also performed the crow pose. It wasn't pretty and if you blinked you would have missed it, but the point is that I did it. It does not matter that I only held it for at least two hot seconds because that is longer than I ever held it before.

The crow pose has great benefits. It strengthens the shoulders, arms and wrists while improving balance, stretching the muscles of the forearms wrists and fingers. Plus it looks cool.


I also managed to get deeper into the pigeon pose. For the Athlete, this pose is critical.  Not only is this pose great for stress relief for athletes, keeping the hips open contributes to two major factors, speed and knee health.  I don’t know of an athlete who is not interested in increasing their speed and keeping their knees free and clear of injury.  An open hip as well as a strong hip is the equation for power, increased power is increased speed. 

It was a packed class which is good because I think the energy from everyone helps with the intensity of the flow.  I am slowly moving further down the path to pretzelness. It may not happen this week, this month, or even this year. I will say that I am further than I have ever been before and the possibilities are endless as long as I keep an open mind.