Post of the Week:

Reading: 

The concept of reincarnation is so interesting to me. I thought it was funny to see that I wasn't the only one in class who is somewhat confused by the subject. The in-class discussions always stimulate my thinking. The problem is, is that as soon as I am introduced to a new concept, I want to immediately understand all of it, right then and there. And what is most frustrating to me in this class, is having NO CLUE on how to understand these sutras -_- At first when we are introduced to these sutras at the beginning of class I am completely lost. And the only thing going through my mind is ".....What??? ughhhh...and what does THIS mean??" And then some of my questions are answered when Dr. Schultz is briefly explaining the sutras, but my problem is, not being able to understand these sutras as a whole. I feel like over the next few weeks I will barely be able to understand these sutras and then, wham!, we get introduced into another set of yoga philosophy excerpts! How do I handle it all??

Practice:

It's crazy how stiff my body becomes when I miss a class of yoga! Last class I was really struggling to do all the "simple" stretches like downward facing dog and the triangle poses. Ugh! Lol. It was definitely something I was not used to.

So this past weekend I went up to Dallas and brought back my puppy to stay with me in Waco. And  while I was doing my homework I noticed him get up from his cat nap and stretch the infamous pose we have all been trying to conquer: downward facing dog. It was funny because as soon as I saw him do this, I  immediately got up from my seat and sat down by him and tried to study his form for as long as I could before he resumed his normal stance. And let me tell you, I was AMAZED! My puppy completely shifted ALL of his weight to his behind like it was NOTHING. So I tried the pose myself to see how far I could get, and sadly I have to say, I was no where close. I thought it was really funny to get pushed back into that reality of understanding that yoga takes a lot more practice than what I do during class time. (Most of the time in class, I get fooled into thinking that the poses I'm doing are spot on to the correct form and technique. It isn't until I get corrected by Dr. Schultz, or my puppy, that I realize I still have a long way to go.) So after this revelation, I realized that 1.) I pretty much suck at downward dog, lol and 2.) I need to take yoga into a daily practice of at least two poses (one of them being downward dog) in order to, I feel, truly start understanding the poses and why they help us achieve self acknowledgement. In order to start on this, I vowed to my puppy, that for every time he decided to stretch in his dog-like ways, I would attempt to do a proper downward facing dog pose. Who knows how long this will last though! He seems to stretch at least once every hour that I'm with him. lol.

: One :

Reading:

Well that's surprising! I would have never guessed that the book we have to read (HOY) is SO easy to read! It almost feels like I am in elementary school reading some easy comprehension book that I picked out from the book fair. But although I like how it is an easy read, I am wanting something with a little more complexity to the story. =/

I think it is nice how the journey that the captain is going through somewhat parallels our journey as students. Its nice to be able to receive another explanation of what yoga means for the body and mind. (Dr. Schultz gives us an understanding in class through her discussion and guidance, we learn a small understanding of yoga through the practice itself, and then another understanding through the narrative of the story.)

Discussing the sutras in class only produced more questions than answers. -_- Are we always in some state of yoga? Is it really possible to still the fluctuations of the mind? I asked Dr. Schultz if she had ever been able to "abide in her own true nature" and she said yes. But how do you get there? What does it feel like? How long does it usually take one to get there? ?????!! ugh. I know it was the first day of learning, but sure seems like a really confusing place to start :(

Practice:

THERE IS NO WAY I CAN STAND ON ONE LEG!!! its crazy! I tried SO HARD and I just kept wobbling! (And it completely gave my calfs major cramping...) It was still fun though. :) The next day I kept on wondering "Why am I so sore??? Surely it can't be from the yoga--I barely did anything!" After the yoga practice I was walking back to my car and realized that my body felt energized. I felt like I had an awareness of all my muscles that I never bothered to notice before? Ha. kind of cool :)