Day 5

My resolve was tested today - I had to take the bus. In the rain.

Normally, my sweetheart of a husband drops me off on his way to work but this morning he had an early appointment in the opposite direction. I really didn't want to miss this Mysore class (it was my second), so Loser Cruiser it was. In the rain.

As I take the bus home, it's really no big deal, but it felt like a big deal. No easy, dry way of getting there. It's as if the Universe said, "Are you sure you want to take this class?"

So far, I've passed the tests of convenience (today's no instant transportation), and Thursday's intimidation (going into a new scary unknown environment alone, and exposing my lumpy, clumsy body to a studio full of lean, agile people). If the tingles in my aching thigh are any indication, tomorrow's test may be physical mobility.

Thursday's instructor was E. (an incredibly kind woman who made the scary initial visit as unintimidating as possible), who was substituting for S., today's instructor.

As the hamstrings in my legs were tight, I asked S. if it was all right if I stretched a little before showing him my Sun Salutations. Instead of doing my typical stretch, he taught me two new poses, which I quite like.

The first: lie on the floor with the feet against the wall. Raise one leg and loop a strap around the heel. Straighten that leg, engaging the thigh muscles and pressing upwards with the heel. The other foot presses firmly into the wall. Repeat with other leg. (It is shockingly hard to keep both legs doing what they were supposed to do!) S. explained that the point of the stretch is not to raise the leg as high as possible, but to continuously push upward with the heel.

The second: a forward bend, with thigh muscles engaged, and hands resting on blocks instead of the floor. S. explained that when the thigh muscles contracts, the hamstrings correspondingly loosens and elongates, which is easier on the body and works better than stretching the hamstring. Interesting.

Notice the engaged thigh muscles in both stretches? By the end of these two poses, my thighs were quivering like jello.

Then on to the Sun Salutations. Did you know you are supposed to keep the thigh muscles engaged, raising the knee caps for much of this sequence? It makes sense, since the contraction of the thigh muscle lengthens the hamstring. But oh my....

By the end of the practice, my thigh muscles were pudding. Absolute mush.