6am! I am not going lie;  it was a bit harder to get out of bed this morning. It was also a bit harder to pull my dogs out of sleep and drag them over to tie them up and feed them. They say that they reflect you! Thankfully, today is another sunny day, and I am able to drive.

Today I have brought a spirulina shake from home because I need it! I am a bit of a protein junkie. We start yoga once again bright eyed and sore at 7am. We do our first “Chataranga Dandasana” today, and we all go “ugh..” I did not feel those 24 plus sun salutations until oh yep right there… Jackie being ever so observant focuses the class today on the core (instructing us to take note and focus on our Solar Plexus chakra – the power center!) and on balancing (with our legs 😉 Thus, we were able to engage in a very intense practice without overdoing it with our well worked arms. I love the balance of yoga! We did balancing postures today that I have never done nor seen before. However, I did not struggle too much with them. This is not because I am some amazing yogini but because Jackie’s transitions between poses are very smooth explaining the poses in such a way that you do them before you realize “oh hmm I’ve never done this before!”, which is an art that I hope to master someday. My teacher in town, Dagmar, is almost magical at transforming her students into odd poses that you suddenly find yourself in. I say “find” because you are doing it before your mind has a chance to say “I can’t or whoa or I’m not sure about that…” and you just find yourself in it. It is a very rewarding feeling. I hope to learn the proper alignment, common misalignments, and corrections for all of these poses! I am quite impressed at this point how different each class has been and how unhesitating Jackie is as she leads.

This is our last day before break so for our third session Jackie decides to introduce us to a Yin class.  I felt that this Yin class was one of self discovery. It is a class that opens and pulls everything out that you have been repressing. I can not say that I enjoyed it. I must confess that my rage built and grew throughout class to the point where I had to go out to dinner right afterward instead of staying as I was sure my negative energy would offend everyone. I later learn that Yin postures are great for my Dosha type as they pull me into balance instead of going, going, going all the time. It is the  challenge of stillness and rest. It is quite a challenge, and I am excited to improve…