Anusara class

This morning I went to an Anusara class and I liked it very much. I made my intention "open mindedness and innocence" so that I could most fully experience my first ever Anusara class. When we did triangle pose, it was different for me to start triangle pose with pelvis to the floor in order to touch the floor as opposed to keeping pelvis toward the wall even if my hand doesn't touch the floor. It stretched my brain to try it that way, and I resisted it on the first side and didn't do it the way she instructed until she stressed it again before we moved into the second side. It was an all levels class, but I felt challenged just enough and well stretched. The pace was super slow, similar to an Iyengar class with spending more time in each pose. I enjoyed the steady slow pace, and there was never a moment during the class in which I wondered what time it was or how much longer the class would last. Also, I didn't break out in a sweat although there was a part that I felt heated. I liked the mention of the heart, and the focus of keeping shoulders back and chest forward. That has been something I've been working on a lot since last fall, so it was good for me to practice it more fully in every pose. In uttanasana, it was stressed for us to keep our knees bent in order to have thighs touching the chest, and then to lift the sitting bones to straighten the legs. That teaching counters what I was taught just yesterday, so I felt a bit conflicted about how to do uttanasana in the class. At first I kept my legs straight, but as she continued to instruct us to bend our knees, I bent them.

I feel nurtured after that class. I liked the teacher a lot. Her name is KK Ledford. She has a grounded and gentle presence. I liked how several times in the class she asked if anyone had any questions, and there would be a question and answer with demonstration. This didn't feel disruptive to the class, either, she was able to talk and demonstrate so that everyone could see her without moving off our mats.