it got pretty darn fun in the doghouse last night as we kicked off our very first third thursday playshop with an unbelievable arm balancing session! we flew, we fell, we laughed, we sweat, we laughed some more….
the idea for “playshops” came when we realized that we’re always hanging out with fellow three doggers to play around with poses that we don’t get to spend enough time on in class…so, we created the “playshop” to be an informal, fun class where everyone’s invited to come explore a pose or group of poses…it’s kinda like yoga recess, but there’s no dodgeball and everyone gets picked first for the team…
as usual, David and I stepped into the room with some general ideas of where we wanted to go, but we had no clue how anything would turn out…and, as usual, we were BLOWN AWAY! 15 willing souls took on 13 different arm balances with strength, ease and (most importantly) a great sense of humor! there were a few near-nosedives, but for the most part everyone came through unscathed…
the takeaways for us were:
1. with the right attitude ANYTHING is possible.
2. we all have different talents and abilities…some people groove on leapfrog handstands, some people groove on lotus peacock…it’s all good!
3. delighting in other people’s success feels just as good, if not better, than our own.
4. arm balancing comes from your core…and your courage.
5. don’t eat a burrito before attempting leapfrogs or peacock pose.
6. practice, practice, practice, practice, practice…but know when to let your body rest…savasana was created for a reason.
7. yoga friends are the very best kind of friends….they don’t laugh when you fall on your face, but they make you try it again!
8. we’re going to need to have another arm balance play shop REALLY soon!
for those of you who want to know, here’s the list of arm balances that were ROCKED in the doghouse last night (the names/sanskrit are offered to the best of our knowledge…everyone seems to have their own ideas/translations of these, and we welcome any more information you may have on them!):
1. crow – bakasana
2. side crow – parsva bakasana
3. one-legged crow I – eka pada bakasana I
4. one-legged crow II – eka pada bakasana II
5. firefly – tittibhasana
6. flying pigeon/crow I – eka pada galavasana I
7. flying pigeon/crow II – eka pada galavasana II (Birgit renamed this “super flying awesome” — i like it!)
8. scissors – eka pada koundiyanasana II
9. twisting scissors – eka pada koundiyanasana I
10. handstands – adho mukha vrksasana (yes, that’s downward-facing tree pose!)
11. eight-angle pose – astavakrasana
12. lotus peacock – padma mayurasana
13. peacock – mayurasana
next month, we’re taking it upside down and playing with inversions like headstand, forearm balance and shoulderstand…come play with us!