I've not had the easiest ride the last week. I've been having some issues with my shoulder and neck (the latter dating back to my locking the facet joint in Doug Keller's workshop - it was fixed but hasn't been quite the same since) and my physio's wife has just given birth to their second child, so I'm left to figure it out by myself.
I went to mysore class last week and while in a forward fold stretching before class, I became trapped, as my muscles tensed up in the centre of my upper back. It was momentarily quite scary. Sarah came over to me, not realising, and I squeaked out 'help, please'! She told me to engage my core and come up slowly - of course it was fine and I was able to, but it meant I ended up doing a very gentle practice that night - I cut out 99% of the vinyasas and just did the poses I thought wouldn't exacerbate it. Taking it easy meant by the end of the night it felt like it had loosened up somewhat.
I did mysore again on the Saturday and while able to do more vinyasas, I still wasn't quite right. I'm back tomorrow in class so am hoping things will be okay and I can flow again. I'm definitely going to set a focus intention - tomorrow's too busy not to. I know that the neck thing will take a while to sort out - I've got range of movement, but when I have to hold a pose and look up on the right side, it's just too uncomfortable. Not a pleasant sensation.
I also missed vinyasa and yin classes last week as I had to go to Luton for a very good friend's birthday. I try very hard to maintain my practice with Tammy but it's not always easy - she only teaches there on Fridays and Saturdays - December was particularly difficult due to illness (chest infection, colds, etc) and being away with family. Am hoping that I can keep a more steady hand on the tiller as we go through the first bits of the year.
I sent off my yoga teacher training application form, and there's nothing more to be done than wait. I had two nice references from my teachers and one lovely personal one from my friend Jo, coincidentally always a yoga teacher. I don't think there's anything else I could have done. I can't magic back those years where I was going to gym classes and practising at home with Yoga with Adriene, the ones I can't prove on the form, and I can't make my lack of consistent presence in class until the start of the year sound less weird than it does (it was essentially that I was focusing on Pilates, and it took going back to led yoga classes in a studio with a healthy back to figure out that this is what I wanted to do).
The deadline is February 4. After that they either accept you, tell you you have to interview, or say no thanks, but here's some feedback. They get about 60-70 applications for 30 spots, and I have no clue how strong or weak my application is. So I just have to keep getting on with things until I know more, although I have noted teaching weekends in my diary, just in case. I'm really ready to get going. I just bought and read a book called Yoga Teaching Handbook, which is a collection of essays from respected individuals about different things - e.g. Dr Andrew McGonigle wrote one on the breath and also on injured students! Perfick.
Partly to cheer myself up in gloomy January, and to distract from the massive work project I have onv4`, I've booked a yoga retreat in Spain with Sarah and another teacher called Becky for this September. We'll do six days of ashtanga/mysore and restorative (one in the morning, one in the afternoon) and some workshops. Becky's recently qualified as a yoga therapist, so I'll be interested to pick her brains about that, as it's possibly a long-term goal for me.