Day Three

We had a day of classes with Patricia which was so great. Apart from the fantastic back bending practice and feedback I got from Patricia in my practice- (lift your lower abdomen more (Pelvic loop) bring the side ribs back/don't exploit the mobility at T-12 (kidney loop) and lift your top chest more (inner body bright/shoulder loop)) she also gave me another great lesson. It was toward the end of a fabulous back bending practice that is too extensive to try to capture at this time in the day and I was demonstrating a variation on dwi pada viparita dandasana. She said "Okay, urdhva danurasana."


I said, "Just go up?" (Mostly because she was not always having us come to the top of our heads and I was not sure which way she wanted me to enter the pose.)



Patricia said, "There is no such thing as just."



It took me a little while to grok her point. She repeated it. And I have thought about it all day. There is no "just go up" ideally. There is only skillful action, mindfulness in motion. By that point in the practice, for me to say "just" was a huge missing of the point. By that time she had generously assisted me and everyone in the class in many poses and in pointing out our blind spots and so I had plenty of things to keep in mind even on the way up to urdhva danurasana. No just. Great lesson. On the mat. Off the mat.


After class we had lunch and then our hiking team reconvened for another hike. We took a different route today, which was Timothy's suggestion. We lost the trail for quite some time but got to a great view and took some fun pictures. Rachel introduced Timothy and Anne to the scent of the Ponderosa Pine (butterscotch) so the that explains the tree-hugging snapshots.

Anne- The Hills are Alive with the sound of Annzy-- (AH-AH-AH-AH.....)

Timothy, Old Hippie at Old Hippie Lane.
Old Hippie on a mountain top.

Rachel, seeking a Higher Perspective.
The sisters.
We bushwhacked through a lot of tall grasses with hitch-hikers of various kinds and so we sotpped to clean out our shoes. Here is Anne tending to hers.

Here is Rachel. Here is Timothy.

Rachel, demonstrating the tree-sniff... Timothy, following her lead.
Anne, tree-sniffing to see for herself. (Or smell for herself, more accurately.)