Tony Sanchez Training - Day 3

We were up relatively late last night doing homework: reviewing the teaching cues of the first few postures of the class and also analyzing the structure of a couple different sequences of postures. I find the analysis very rewarding, like seeing the inner workings of the system.

So 6am came very early this morning.

Our morning session begins with a discussion of the Niyamas. One of the trainees, Ben, is a Rabbi, so he offers some incredible insight into spiritual and devotional aspects. Another trainee, Paul, is a PhD student of Sanskrit, so his translations and explanations of the histories and meanings of some of the ancient terms are revealing, especially in conversation with Tony.

Tony also mentions that the postures which are the most difficult for us are the ones that we need the most. We should enter them slowly to let the body adjust, strengthen and stabilize.

When we start the morning practice, Tony picks students to lead the first few sections. When we reach the Half Moon Backbend, he comes to my mat and tells me to take over. My mind goes completely blank. I am standing there with my arms over my head like a deer in headlights. After a few seconds Tony says "Put your arms down," so I do. I spend the next few seconds trying to figure out where we are in the series, what posture comes next, and what on earth I should say to the class to initiate it. I have come to know these postures in my body, but I have never spoken them, and the divide is apparently very wide. I verbally stumbled through the Back Bend and Hands to Feet before scurrying back to the safety of my mat and my own silent practice. Humbling.

After the practice, we discuss the Awkward Pose, Eagle and Standing Head to Knee. Tony demonstrates all the postures and then has a student do it. The discussion about Standing Head to Knee is very long, involved and occasionally heated. There is much discussion about the detriment of a "locked" knee in either the standing or kicking leg. Even aside from the potential for hyperextension of the knee, locking the knee via the quadricep deactivates the inside and back of the leg and buttocks, leading to muscular imbalance and a whole host of potential injuries in the knee, hip and lower back. We must engage all the muscles evenly to create proper alignment and support.