Utkatasana

Class Five of Thirty

(10am, 5th June, taught by Rachel)

Phew! I have to say that after yesterday's fiasco I wasn't exactly looking forward to today's class. I had to work this afternoon so it had to be the morning class and I am not a huge fan as it can be tricky making sure I have eaten and drunk enough but with enough gap that I am not tempted to hoy the whole lot up on my mat! Anyway the class was almost very enjoyable!!

Decided to pop myself in the second row... couldn't face front row and vile class again and I don't know if it is just my head playing tricks but it seemed that any pressure I had put myself under went out the window and I was able to enjoy the yoga. (Even got a compliment on half a set of Trikanasana - not sure quite where I pulled that from but it was obviously in there wanting to get out!)

So I am five days in and it hasn't been quite the breeze I thought it would be. I suppose that despite going most days usually I know that I can have a 'day off' if I want to without worrying about it, but with this whole challenge thing I am kind of 'locked into' going every day. I know I could pull a double but I guess I think that kind of defeats the point i.e. practicing every day rather than a set number of sessions. In theory I could complete the whole thing in 12 days if I were to do every possible class - though having read the rules for the challenge that may have incurred the wrath of Libby as Yogic-Umpire and I may have found myself disqualified (apparently there is only supposed to be one double per week to catch up on any missed classes). I am still looking forward to the rest of it and am finding the whole mind-f*** quite interesting (in a bizarrely masochistic kind of a way!).

So today is Utkatasana, Awkward Pose. This was one of the postures where I could actually notice improvements fairly early on. I am sure I don't get all of the form right but I can remember the huge sense of achievement when I got through all 6 parts of the 2 sets of this posture without having to drop my arms at all! Similarly the standing on toes and 'sitting down' bit looked impossible at first but with determination I am starting to understand where my body is meant to be and can, more often than not, pull off a perfectly presentable set... However, as with all of the postures there is still lots of work to be done which I like - always more to learn and more of a challenge.

OK to the science bit:

Quite unsurprisingly this posture is good for strengthening and firming thighs and calves as well as increasing flexibility in the hips. It also firms the upper arms (bye bye bingo wings!).

Oh well off to bed, I mean for some intensive Savasana practice!