Showing all posts in Yoga

Yesterday morning, I got up early, had a long breakfast and then took the 10:30 am yoga class. Mixed level this time, same teacher. I liked it. My knees woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning though and it was kinda hard to do yoga. But it felt good to move and whenever I felt that my knees couldn’t handle it I just adjusted myself and used blocks.

One thing that annoys me every time I go to class, dance or yoga or whatever it is, after not taking classes in a while, is that my body is all over the place. Ribs out, over stretched knees and elbows, clenched jaw, core muscles are harder to find and my neck gets tight immediately. I’m over flexible and I’ve had a hard time my entire life to hold that center and these are things I have been working hard on, especially after not taking classes in a while. My body is an every day project. 

I do yoga at home but it’s harder to correct yourself. It might feel good to do something and you think you are doing it right but in the long run it’s bad for your body and you need someone else’s eyes. This is why I go take classes. I can workout, dance, do yoga or pilates by myself all day long if I want to, but when some things becomes a habit you can get confused, at least I think so, and the things that feels good or that you think you’re doing the right way, might actually be incorrect. I am a teacher, I know a lot about the body and how things should be done, but even teachers needs others to keep you on track. We never stop learning and our bodies changes over time. 

A post shared by F Sura (@suradance) on May 1, 2017 at 9:41am PDT

Last week, a new yoga studio opened here in Stamford. I had found it online and saw that they had a ‘new student’ deal of unlimited classes for a month. My husband and I walked over there on Sunday and I bought my package. I loved the place right when we walked in through the doors.
Yesterday morning I took my first class. I chose the basic class for two reasons. 1) I like to go back to basics in dance and yoga sometimes because you get to really think and focus on what your body is doing and 2) I wanted to take the earliest class possible and it happened to be a basic one. The studio is beautiful and the class was great. It was the founder, Bernadette, who taught the class. She seems like a wonderful person. We met her the day before and her energy and happy spirit is absolutely fantastic. I love to find places like this, where you feel welcome and part of a community. I’m excited to take more classes there. 

Gooood Morning! I’m in a really good mood! It’s way too cold outside, but it looks nice from inside and with a warm coffee I could just pretend that it’s spring outside:)

On Friday morning, I took the subway to Canal St. As always I was too early so I thought I would walk slower and enjoy the sun a bit (and take a selfie, hihi) before the class I was about to take started. I came to the studio and found out that I was at the wrong location! I had no idea they had more than one. Thankfully the other studio wasn’t so far away. I half-ran along Canal Street and still ended up in good time to set up my mat and say a few words to Jeanette before it started. I got a good sweat on while running since I had so much clothes on which was a nice warmup:)

The class was great. Lots of side angles and balance. My legs were shaking a bit from the cold run, but overall it felt good. I was in the front of the room and when we turned around in one pose I saw how packed it was. It was clear that the girl who taught the class really knew what she was talking about. Unfortunately that’s not always the case when you take classes here in NYC. The studio was awesome too. Bright room, nice wood floor and a warm feeling of the place. Too bad I didn’t know about this place before. I might go back there again before I move though, cause I really liked it. 

After class, Jeanette and I hung out in their little lounge place. The front desk guy came up to us and wondered if any of us had left a wallet. Omg, it was mine! I clearly wasn’t paying attention to anything when I came running in there, haha. 

We walked down to Fulton St and bought food at an all organic place, Magic Mix Juicery, that I also really liked. I love that J shows me these food places. The founder is apparently Danish so its nice to support our Scandinavians too:)

Two pictures from Sweden, the day of my grandma’s funeral

With all this travel and busy days for the last couple of months I have not felt like doing any yoga. I probably should have though. My body miss it now. Doing morning yoga is a great start of the day. Even if it’s only 20 minutes, I feel like the day is different. I try to do a lot of movements that crosses the midline of the body in the morning because that helps the brain to get more focused and creative.

We thought we would be extremely busy for the next three-four weeks from now, but it seems like it won’t be the case for another five months. I’ve had a stressed mind while waiting for two months for the answer that we got on Sunday. I’m actually disappointed, which I thought I wouldn’t be. But, destiny decides and there must be a reason for this. I definitely need yoga and meditation now to release tension and calm my mind a bit. 

I took Jeanette’s kundalini yoga class on Monday and my guess is that it started something in my body, cause I’ve had a bad cold since the morning after that. The class was great, lots of heart openings which was what I needed after a few days of dealing with everything. When we are sad, stressed, going through traumas or grief, our bodies tend to get very tight in shoulders, neck and hips. I was so tight in every muscle and after that class I had “workout pain” everywhere, haha. All the meditation got me to release things I kept inside. I could have stayed there all day probably. Jeanette and I went for dinner after and it was very nice to just sit and talk for hours about nothing and everything.
Yesterday I went for lunch and playground time with Emma and Levy. I wasn’t feeling great and my energy was low, but it was very nice to get some fresh air in the sun and to catch up with a friend.
My mom and aunt face-timed me both on Tuesday and Wednesday. They were in grandmas house and it was actually kinda weird for me to see them walk around there, but I really appreciate that they let me be a part of it all even when I’m so far away from everybody. I always feel distant to everyone and when something like this happens it’s hard to feel like I’m a part of it.
My husband and I booked our flights to Sweden right when we heard about the funeral. After my trip to Sweden in April, it was the first time ever that I didn’t have a plan for when my next trip there would be. I was just hoping it wouldn’t be for this reason. But this is life and we have to accept it. I’m looking forward to see my family and relatives, I just wish it was for something more fun. It will be two very tough weeks until I get to say goodbye. I’m lucky to have my husband and friends by my side through it all.