Week One...Complete!

Wow.


I mean WOW!  One of the most intense weeks of my life has just come to a close.  12-13 hour days, with a minimum of 4-5 hours of yoga practice a day, written homework, and DVDs to watch and books to study.  Phew!  I am past exhausted!  My body is much more limber even after just a week, but I had to start taking naps at our lunch break to just make it through the long days!

But...grueling hours and tough yoga sessions aside, I am learning SO MUCH!  I love it so far!  I am in a class with five of the most wonderful women you could imagine.  Brittany from Florida, Katie from Seattle, Cat from Renton, Renee from Puyallup and Shana from New York.  They are amazing, inspiring and just plain wonderful people.  I really lucked out having such a small class and filled with friendly, supportive and fun girls!  Renee is 7 months pregnant and she is incredible.  She can do things I cannot do without a huge baby belly!  This girl is truly inspirational and really fun to watch doing yoga.

I am also staying with a wonderful family here in Seattle.  They are warm, welcoming, caring people that also happen to be interesting, fun and really supportive.  I appreciate the dinners after a very long day with little time for food.  :o)

The instruction is great, albeit very firm and rigorous, and I have taken classes from 4 different instructors and learned something new from each one.  My very favorite part so far was observing and assisting in the Special Needs class.  This class is for anyone with any physical issues that preclude them from doing a normal yoga class.  This is where the Iyengar yoga just shines.  In Iyengar Yoga, the use of props and modified poses allow anyone to have access to the therapeutic benefits of yoga and it was really fun to help someone walk away from the class feeling really great and with much less pain.

My second favorite moment was when we got to hang upside down from ropes attached to the walls.  So much fun.  I was so happy after that ropes session.  It felt amazing to be able to do things I never thought I would be able to do!  I know there will be many more moments like that in the next month.  I am pushing myself way beyond my comfort zone, but I am gaining so much knowledge, self-confidence and physical benefit that it will all be worth the huge effort.  This could be a life changing experience for me.

So...I will keep you posted on how things continue!

PS...I haven't had time to sketch a thing.  We will see if I can gain some stamina into the following weeks and if I can find time to sketch.

Renee resting is modified setubanda sarvangasana (modified bridge pose)

Almost all of us on the ropes doing bhujangasana (cobra).

From the back of the room is Katie, Cat, Shana, me and Renee on the chair.  Brittany snapped the pic for us.   Wish I had been all the way into the pose, but I was moving slow by that time in the afternoon!