Downdog Overload...

This weekend is a yoga training weekend. We have one weekend out of each month that is a 4 day training schedule. We have a 3 hour class Thursday and Friday and then a 8 hour class Saturday as well as Sunday.  Normally it is only one class a week.

I am not going to lie, I am completely spent.  I will be looking forward to the end of the day on Sunday.  I don't mean that in a negative way though. I just need a moment to absorb all I have been learning. We have been discussing Downward Facing Dog for the last three days.  We haven't even got to the leg part yet.

What I discovered in the later half of class today, is that my downward dog doesn't have "Integrity". A little dis-concerning to say the least.  I was even volunteered to show the class how my pose didn't have integrity...awesome *sarcasm font* It is a pretty comfortable group of people so I didn't mind showing in the sake of knowledge.

Not having integrity in my pose means, that although the pose looks OK and I seem to be "sinking my heart to the floor" quite far, I am actually extending too far past the integral part of the pose. I am not sinking my heart, I am sinking my shoulders.  I have a lot of mobility in my shoulders and not enough stability which means I can set myself up for injury down the road by putting stress on my joints and ligaments.  NOT what I want to do at all! The same can be said about stability.  If you are too stable or rigid in a pose, you can find it difficult to find mobility in the pose. I will admit, I was a little confused.  From what I was hearing, I am to stack my shoulder blades on top of my back, squeeze them in and down, turn my biceps outward, forearms inward, slight micro bend in the elbows, hands and fingers splayed with the index fingers forward and the rest slightly outward, equal pressure through out my palm and wrists, soften the back of my heart and push up with my upper inner thighs.  ....   ....  ... ... WHAT!?!?!?!?

All joking aside, what I have really taken from this is that there is a balance between mobility and stability. There is a balance between pushing too far and not pushing yourself enough. I need to listen to my body as it will tell me if I am pushing too far, past my edge or limits. Now, if I think about it, downward dog has always hurt my shoulders a little.  I was pushing too far and losing my own personal integrity in the pose. I'm starting to think your body is the best messenger to tell you where you are at in your life and when you need to pull back or push harder.

Surprisingly I am not really frustrated by learning this information about my pose.  I want to learn yoga in ALL possible ways to avoid injury....it is my whole purpose for being there. I am not upset that I have discovered that what I am doing is incorrect, it's more that I am confused by how much there is to think about in order to fix it.

One thing my teacher said was:

"The best way to learn, is to take the familiar and make it unfamiliar so you can make it familiar all over again."

I am officially unfamiliar with downward dog now. lol. If it was perfect to start with though, then what would I have learnt while studying this pose? Nothing.  So I guess I am getting my money's worth! It also means I will be better equipped to help people keep their downward dog integrity. That's exciting to me!

Tomorrow is a new day! Hopefully I will be stacking, micro bending, outward and inward spiraling, stretching fingers forward and lifting areas of the thighs I didn't even know I had, tomorrow. But tonight I am taking a rest from my practice. Instead, I am following my dog, Aston, around the house. I will be watching to see how much integrity her Downward Facing Dog has.  I bet you any money her shoulder blades are stacked!!! Happy Saturday!

Aston when she was 10 weeks old! Cuuute!!

 Namaste xo.