Week 3

Well, I am finished with the first set of asanas for Iyengar's 300 weeks of yoga. The first set took two weeks, and now I am on to the next set, which will last another two weeks. Most of the asanas are the same; only two have been traded out. Tadasana and Vrksasana have been traded for Parivrtta Trikonasana, or revolved triangle pose, and Prasaritta Padottanasna. The order of the new sequence is as follows: Utthita Trikonasana, Utthita Parsvakonasana, Virabadrasana I and II, Parivrtta Trikonasana, Parsvottanasana, Prasarita Padottanasana I, Salamba Sarvangasava, Halasana, and Savasana.

I am glad that Trikonasana is still in the sequence for the next two weeks, at least. It is one of my favorite asanas. It didn't always used to be that way. I hated Trikonasana when I first started practicing. I had a hard time balancing. I would often simply fall over, especially if I tried to look at the ceiling while holding the pose. My leading knee would also lock, and cause painful stretching in the ligaments behind the knee joint. I have now learned to micro bend that front knee, and to flex the muscles around the joint in such a way as to support the knee so that the ligaments no longer stretch to painful lengths. I still don't stare at the ceiling the whole time I am in the asana. I usually look up for awhile, then when I notice my neck hurting, I'll look straight ahead, and finally down at my feet to check my padabandha, or if my neck gets tired. After relaxing my neck for a moment looking down at my feet, I often send my gaze skyward for one last glimpse of the air before leaving the asana. Trikonanasana, (along with some of the other sideways standing poses), now endows me with a sense of fullness that I love. Because the arms and legs are spread to extremes in this simple asana, I feel as if I am trying to hug the universe and everything in it. When I send my gaze skyward, especially if I am practicing outside or someplace with raised ceilings, I feel as though I am flying.

Repetition of the asana has lead me to this comfort with it. Different teachers have taught me different things about triangle pose; some of them contradictory. I pick and choose, depending on my mood or what I would like to work on for that day, to find an expression of the asana that works for me. It's been a long time since I have practiced in front of a mirror, but I wonder how my trikonasana measures up to Iyengar's visually? In terms of how I feel when I practice it, I know I am right there with him.