Chona and I hied off to Vinyasa for our 7 pm class with Pio after our fun afternoon at the Rockwell Weekend of Fitness.

We were pretty early and had about an hour to spare. Jerry told us one other student was coming. OK, threesome would be nice. Good enough for more attention to alignment.

I had not been to a Saturday yoga class in Vinyasa in a while. Actually, it was because I used to take Pio’s Saturday yoga classes at Gold’s Gym in my sons’ school. But for months now, getting up early to be there for his 7:30 AM class was extremely difficult as I worked Mondays-Fridays. No way was I going to lose precious beauty sleep on a Saturday morning! Even if it was yoga!

15 minutes or so before 7, Pio walks in. Hmmm, he’s early!

So we chit-chat with him about our afternoon, showed him all the brochures and handouts we collected from the different yoga studios, regaled him with stories about who we met, discussed form and alignment. And many more yogic conversations (but that’s not what this post is all about!).

The 3rd student never made it. The whole session was down to just Chona and I!!!

And WHAT A CLASS WE HAD!

We went through the usual sun salutations but after that, Pio began upping the bar.

My killer poses were back: Pigeon Pose and Monkey Pose. And, in almost all asanas, he would let us do the deeper variations. I was feeling the effects of the heat (both from the weather and from my body) and my throat was getting parched! Made me wonder how Bikram students could go without water! I was swallowing my own saliva to “stay alive”!

We also did several more difficult poses:

 

In the Shoulderstand, Pio pulled both my legs higher in an attempt to make me look like an inverted L (with just my head and neck on the floor with shoulders supporting my back. That was fine. But then, he tried to adjust my upper arms so that they would be parallel to each other. After a while, he muttered “Tight shoulders!” (yeah, days on end of hours on the computer, hunched over a desk — perfect for tight shoulders!). 

After the Bridge Pose, he signalled for us to get into Wheel but this time I shook my head. Di ko na kaya!

 

Firstly, I had been having wrist problems (the beginnings of carpal? Or repetitive strain injury?) for weeks already. Then I would have to bear my whole body weight on the wrists to go up into the Wheel? No sirreee!

Good thing Pio was quick to sense my reluctance, knowing that I had problems not just with the wrist but with backbends in general. Thankfully, we proceeded to the next asana.

At end of session, Chona commented on the intense class we just had. I thought that was your normal sequence!, I answered her. After all, I had been away for many Saturdays. Nope, apparently it was not always like this. We were worked out good this night!

We left the shala betting just how achy our muscles would get in the following days after this intense workout. Well, as of this blogging time, it’s been about 24 hours and I am none the worse. Thank goodness! A little muscular pain in the lower back, a bit on the shoulders…but on the legs, none. Relief, relief!

 

 

Wonder how Chona fared…..

Until I get back into a regular practice, I hope to get into a combination of restorative and intense yoga practice. Listening to my body is my current mantra.

Thanks, Pio. That class made me realize I could still work my way back into a more intense class after weeks of more gentle yoga.

If my body could-a,

I would-a.

Otherwise, it will have to be NADA.

🙂