30 consecutive days of yoga, day 26

One of the things I really like about this project is that I've reconnected with a number of people who go to the same studio, and whom I haven't seen in years. Today my friend Nancy practiced beside me. She lives about three blocks away from my house, but circumstances like kids and jobs have kept us from seeing each other in about four years. Nancy's great, and she can do a killer side crow.

In a previous post, I wrote about how shivasana is one of the most challenging poses in yoga for me. Today's class was packed (you'll have that in this town at 8 on a Sunday morning) and really hard. I'm not one to push myself right to my edge physically because that's how I wind up on the couch begging my friends for Percocet. And I certainly did not push myself today. I backed off of a number of poses because I felt shaky and my muscles started hurting. When it was time for shivasana, I was relieved. As I lay there, the teacher talked us through. He walked over to me and picked up one of my feet, placed it down, and did the same for my other foot, both arms, and my head. It was absolutely sublime. With my body really connected to the earth thanks to his manipulations, I finally understood that shivasana works.

Kinda like this but without the blue jumpsuit.

 What happened: a little heart opening, a few tears. Yum.