Forehead to Knee

Day FIFTEEN

10am with Caroline had only four other people and me in class.  We got lots of personal attention from her today!  I love attention...must be the only child in me.  I love getting corrections so that I can improve my yoga.  Except when it comes to getting my forehead to my knee.  Don't look at me because I can't do it!

Oh, the corrections I got today!  So many, it was awesome!

"Sit back, sit back Johanna," she instructed during first part of awkward.  I stumbled backward.  She said, "Yes, good!"  I guess I learned my edge.

And then the next correction came at my favorite pose, standing seperate leg head to knee.  In the same way that The Missus feels she has not progressed at all in half tortoise in all the time she's been practicing, I feel the same exact way about this pose.  No matter how much I bend my knee, I cannot frakkin' get my forehead to it especially on my right side.  It.  Drives.  Me.  Bananas.  I don't have normal breathing in this pose no matter how hard I try to calm it down.  I feel the heat exploding in my body and the flood gates of sweat open the most in this pose.  And then here comes Caroline's correction, "Bend your knee as much as you have to.  No eskimo kiss, no forehead to shin.  Touch your knee."  Oh honey!  If you only knew how many teachers have told me this.

I got a little correction on toe stand:  put my foot up higher on my thigh to open up my pelvis.

No correction from her today on cobra.  I have been practicing on really stretching my heart up and forward after I come up and my lower back kills in the posture!  I really must've just been hanging out in cobra this whole time.  It's a whole new posture for me now thanks to Caroline's help.  She said today, "Over time, you will distinguish the pain you get from stretching and the pain you get that tells you to back off."

In half tortoise, she told me to stretch my arms more towards the mirror.  When I did, she said, "Good!  Now you are working!"

By rabbit, she told me not to move my forehead as I move my legs up to close the gap between foread and knee.  I don't intend to move my head but I can't seem to keep it still!

I was a bit frustrated with my inability to get my forehead to my knee today that in head to knee pose, I decided I was finally going to scrap all I've done in the past and start from scratch.  I committed to having integrity in this pose no matter how high my knee had to bend.  I bent my right knee so far up that it looked like an upside down V and I focused on getting my forehead to it.  I struggled so much to keep my chin tucked in, stomach sucked in, breathing normal, and holding it there.  THIS ONLY HAPPENS ON MY RIGHT SIDE.  Left side, my knee is practically straight so I've deduced that simple anatomy is not my sole issue.  All the injuries I've had pre-Bikram have been on my right side:  knee, shoulder, wrist, ankle, back, glute.  When Jim Kallet taught a class, he observed I had a tight right side during triangle after he asked me to keep twisting my head so that the right-side profile of my face was to the mirror.  Could this be another factor?  Whatever it is, I'm going to commit to having integrity in this particular forehead to knee pose since there is no balancing involved. I hope with integrity, hard work, and determination I will progress in this posture.  If not in this 101 day challenge, I trust someday, one day, I will get my forehead to my knee.

Btw, happy belated birthday Caroline!!!  Thank you for all your help today!  You are a great teacher!