Journey to Vrschikasana
Once again I return from a prolonged absence. My desire to blog hasn’t evaporated, but it has been somewhat replaced by a need/desire to spend as much time as possible with my friends before I leave for NYC in a few weeks. Today is my last day of work after which I may have more time to dedicate to this guy, but I fully intend to spend as much time swimming, eating bbq, and being with people as possible. Oh, and doing yoga of course.
I haven’t mentioned yoga much on my blog, probably because I already annoy my friends enough in real life by constantly talking about it, but it’s something incredibly important to me and now that I’m leaving Austin I’ll have to find a new yoga family in NYC and it’s making me sad because it’s only been in the past 6 months or so that I found a yoga studio that I love.
My first introduction to yoga occurred my senior year of high school. It took place in a shitty gym in Katy, Tx that no longer exists, and I didn’t have a mat. I was with my sister and my friend Megan. Evidently, it didn’t awaken anything in me because I have no recollection of it. After moving to Austin for university, I would go on to join the University Yoga Club, try bikram yoga at Bodhi Yoga (now Be Free Yoga), take yoga classes with Joanne at 24 Hr Fitness, experiment with hot yoga and power yoga at Black Swan Yoga, cram myself into one of Yoga Yoga’s overcrowded classes, and god knows what else before finally finding Eastside Yoga.
I’m going to warn you right here and now that what follows is going to sound like some sappy, hippie, yoga-cult shit so if that’s not your cup of tea, please exit now. At Eastside Yoga I found what works for me, personally, in the realm of yoga. It’s peaceful and inviting, and everyone there has a sense of calm and joy about them that is infectious. I have never seen anyone leave a class grimacing or miserable because all the teachers focus on making yoga a positive and accessible experience from which you draw what you need. This is the one yoga studio where I have experienced a sense of community and welcoming, and where I have had the opportunity to receive one-on-one advice, not just for my asanas but on which yoga studios to check out when I move, how to improve focus in meditation, adjusting your practice depending on injuries, and so much more.
Eastside Yoga also introduced me to the best yoga instructor I have had to date - Melissa Spamer. Melissa infuses her classes with so much fun and vitality that you leave feeling like you’re high (or at least I do)! She is nurturing in her class and wants students to experience not just the physicality of yoga, but its spirituality and playfulness. Megan teases me saying I have a “Melissa cult” because I have basically made it my mission to talk about Eastside Yoga and Melissa in any conversation. I probably sound like a broken record going on and on to everyone I know about my devotion to this studio and this teacher, but it’s because they have allowed me to experience things I haven’t experienced in any yoga classes prior to this - peace, focus, joy, internal balance, an embracing of my body as it is and what it is capable of, its strength and power and continued improvement. I was incredibly, indescribably happy yesterday when Melissa focused on Scorpion Pose after I had requested it on Saturday (and she said at the end of class that it was for me because I was leaving soon and I almost cried! What a baby!).
We spent all class focusing on back bends to strengthen and warm up our back muscles which felt magnificent because my job requires me to spend 8hrs a day hunched over a computer like some mangled, ape-like robot. Anyway, Scorpio is considered one of the most difficult yoga asanas to master (ranked a 32* on Iyengar’s scale of difficulty) so obviously I was not capable of fulfilling the pose since it was my first time to try it, but holy shit it was so much fun to try! The playfulness of yoga is most evident in all these weird upside-down poses we do (inversions). Our bodies aren’t used to moving this way, we spend most of our days seated, facing forward, our muscles and back and bones not moving in any of the ways the gods and nature intended so its delightful to walk into a yoga class and spend an hour on your stomach trying to lift your legs up and back behind you and seeing all the crazy shit your body is capable of doing!
There are 2 variations of Scorpion pose, Vrschikasana I and Vrschikasana II. Vrschikasana I is the “easier” or more accessible of the two as it allows you to rest on your forearms (in Pincha Mayurasana). In Vrschikasana II, you bring your legs down to your head from a handstand (which I also cannot yet do!). You guys, this pose is insane. After watching Melissa do it in class yesterday my jaw just dropped, it’s so stunning in real life. Beautiful and poised and elegant!
BKS Iyengar practicing both versions of Scorpion:
{Vrschikasana I}
{Vrschikasana II}
This Saturday I leave for 5 days in NY! While I’m there I’ll also be trying out yoga classes at some of the studios that Steven recommended to me including Om Yoga and Laughing Lotus! Any other recommendations on good yoga studios are more than welcome!
