Most of my homework this past weekend aroused more of those urdhva dhanurasana (upward facing bow pose) memories from last week's backbend clinic. I completed a pretty satisfactory teaching script leading to a UD peak pose, but I still wouldn't want to take my class that day. I don't think I'm alone in saying that asana is absolutely terrifying...and it's not just my tight shoulders. No amount of preparedness can help me to breathe in the pose.
I talked to a teacher training graduate friend of mine, and she said it's important to do the asanas you most dislike. Incidentally, UD is also her least favorite asana.
It reminded me of the time that James Brown told us in class that we avoid stillness in asanas because we fear the way it feels. In his words, we are avoiding the "path" of yoga practice in exchange for a less fulfilled "destination". It's all about the path, people. I'm guilty of gratuitous foot pedaling in down dog, and plenty of shifting and dithering back and forth throughout the class.
How many times have you let your ego win the practice?
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