Pads and bandahs

I went to studio to practice tonight. I love the energy from practicing with others. I love the warmth. And I love learning and taking home bits of information to think about. Instructor was Scott; I'm used to his smaller, quiet Ashtanga classes during the day. This was the first large class I've seen him lead (filling in for Kathy) and he was more "instructive" which I certainly needed.

He made a point to remind us of our pads this evening. When we are grounding into the palms or soles, remember to really press into all of the pads and points on our hands and feet. Every finger has three pads and each one needs to be energized and pressed into the ground. And when our feet are supporting, press into the four "corners" of our feet.

I thought about this as I moved through the Surya Namiskars. Especially in Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) and in the Warrior poses (Virabhadrasana). In Virabhadrasana, I found that when my left foot was my back foot (turned at an angle) it certainly was not grounded, even as I focussed to press back. On the right, it was good, and felt good. It just did not feel good on the left.

Another focus point for me this evening was pulling in mula bandah and keeping it locked. It kept releasing, but when pulled in, my poses strengthened. I "know", I just need to "do". I have not really focussed on mula since pre-natal yoga 19 months ago. It was very strong then, even at at 9 months pregnant! Time to get that strength back.