Today’s practice was quite an enlightening one for a lot of us – I managed to get into my first tripod headstand!
I felt the same way I did when I attempted pincha. Tripod headstand is more accessible for me but I’ve managed to surprise myself yet again when I got into it on my own. Jessica kept repeating the same things again – tuck in ribs, tuck in tailbone, and as I watched the others practice inversions, I began to understand why she always has to repeat herself HAHA.
I’ve also begun to realise how far I’ve come since I stepped into a yoga studio for the first time. I remember not being able to touch my toes in forward folds, or even getting my heels down in downward dog. My first teacher introduced me to the concept of ‘tapas’. She taught me that tapas referred to the ‘heat’ generated in the body as you practiced, and that it was encouraged that you maintain this heat throughout the entire practice by not interrupting yourself (by going to the toilet or sitting and drinking water in the middle of a sequence, etc). It might sound a little strict to some, but I found that it helped me maintain my focus during practice.
As we learned the ‘bonus’ YTT sequence (tittibhasana to crow to teddy bear/tripod and back to crow) I realised that maintaining tapas is quite important to complete this transition. Even more so if you want to complete the entire sequence without your feet touching the floor! I had to really keep my mind focused on what I was doing and be constantly aware of all the muscles I was engaging. I find that I tend to get distracted by my thoughts a lot. I took a long time to learn to get into crow pose, and I think it was because I used to overthink a lot and scared myself out of the pose. That’s not to say that I don’t overthink anymore, but probably less than I used to. There were a lot of moments during YTT where I was constantly reminded that there really isn’t much point in overthinking things. It’s another reason why I’m really glad I chose to do it at TYM.
Nia
RYT200 Aug’20 Weekend
