Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Teaching yoga is dangerous.

Ashtanga gods are just laughing at me. Next time I need to hide my intention to go to Mysore, just in case. Then jump out of the bed, drive there and find myself practicing. Without preparation or talking about it.
So no, I did not practice today. Because yesterday I got a mighty kick into the eye from a student getting into a handstand. I subbed a very lovely class of rather advanced students and tried to introduce a trick from David kyle' workshop - doing a handstand with one hand on a block (kind of a prep for a one-handed handstand). It feels very weird trying to get into the pose and the students were having problems with it. I was running around, helping to get up. So I leaned forward over this student and in a moment was flying backwards, stars in my eyes. Her heel drove my glasses into a socket of the eye, creating a gush - not very long, but reaching the bone. Blood was pouring down like I was beheaded or something. Good thing it was close to the end of the class, so we settled pretty soon into savasana, with me holding the bag of ice on top of my eye and trying to sooth everybody to let go of the stress of this yoga class.
I might have had a slight concussion, since there was a headache on and off today. In addition, I look a lot like a victim of spousal abuse. But all in all it could have been worse. I taught handstands for a long time and never had any problems, but this was a valuable lesson - one can never be too careful when kicking is involved. :D

Monday, May 3, 2010

I wonder if I broke my neck a little.

Two and a half weeks without Mysore practice. A new record for me. Nothing to be proud of, of course.
Anyway, as soon as my course ended and I was feeling all happy and relaxed, the allergy season caught up with me. One day it was particularly bad, and I took a benadril pill. Should have known better - it has a very strong sedative reaction on me. I slept without movement all night long on top of my arm and with my neck twisted. Woke up with a numb arm and a crick in the neck. Not a big deal, I thought, happened before, should be OK in a couple of days. By noon the pain in my neck moved down between the shoulder blades and stayed there. Painful to breathe, impossible to twist, hard to be sitting, standing or lying down. Took a day off work, used heat and cold, Epsom salt, ultrasound, MSM, China gel, castor oil, Pain wave, you name it. Helped a little, but not by much.
Massage with Keith confirmed it - the muscles along the spine in the upper back spasmed again into a garland of impressive knots, of varying shapes, sizes and locations. It is hard to be so structurally unsound. Bleh.
The smart thing to do would be to go and see if there is anything wrong with my cervical vertebrae, since it it the second time I am getting into this particular trouble. But my willpower is paralyzed at the moment, and I will dwell in a state of denial for a little longer, I think. There is still acupuncture to explore, massages to receive, tennis balls to roll on, right? Let everything fail before I submit myself to the cold eye of an X-ray machine. Silly, but I am just too afraid that somebody will tell me that I can't do yoga or should take it easy or some other nonsense.
So tomorrow I will start with a Primary and ease my way into a regular practice again. Who says that I am not a careful person?

 

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