My name is laura and I don't like sun salutations!

Every class I take starts with a sun salutation of some form.

I don't like sun salutations.

There I've said it! I don't like the flow, I don't like the order and I don't like the repetitiveness. I understand it's purpose- to ignite the fire and start to focus the mind. I also like the poses in the flow- I just don't like the flow?

Instead of calming the mind and meeting with the mat ready for the following asana, instead I get 10 minutes of monkey chitta vritti going on in my head. 

See example of my monkey mind:


Mountain pose- ooh look a spider on the ceiling,


Forward fold- crap I didn't paint my toes nails,


Plank- oh hello stomach muscles, we meet again,


Chaturanga- ummmm teachers not looking, quick belly flop,


Cobra- creaky bones there,


Down dog- oooh stretch that feels nice, little cheeky tail wiggle,


Jump feet- Yup I can do this,


Forward fold- OK near the end, don't look at toes!


Mountain- please not another round, Please!


All that self criticising, self analysis narration going on in my head. I don't know why I don't like it, this is only a recent thing. I'm not sure if it's the drive to practice advance poses later in the class that makes me want to move on or that I am so used to the flow I don't concentrate and focus?

Ahhh focus, that is probably the problem. I've had my frantic rush to class, quick chit chat with fellow yogis, sitting on the mat, listening to teacher..... maybe I'm not focused at the start of class on yoga? 
Maybe I'm so hyped up with getting to class that I'm not focused when I start?
Maybe this is the point of sun salutations... getting you focused to start your practice? After a few rounds of this flow I don't like I do feel ready to start practice. Have I just taught myself the lesson?

To test this theory I'm not going to start my next practice with a sun salutation but do it somewhere else in the practice, when I’m more focused and strong and then let's see if I change my mind on the salutations to the sun.

a sneezy wheezy yoga lesson

After the decision was made to start teacher training I seem to have struggled to do any yoga. Work has been manic and trying to get home for class has proved really hard. Getting through the door with 30 minutes to say hi to the hubby, hear about school day from little yogi, pat the dog, stroke the cat, get changed, get changed again as I felt frumpy in the first outfit, grab my mat and get back into the car is proving very stressful. To add to all this I have become ill with a cold which has completly depleted my energy. Then last week the yoga class was for a charity donation to an autistic charity- one I'm personally close to. So I got my mat and headed out with a stuffy nose a wheeze and a sneeze. However the sneezy yoga class was a real 'yoga moment'. Backing off from poses and not pushing myself to the ultimate was a really humbling experience, forgoing handstand for legs up the wall was especially soothing and was just what I needed. Having an excuse to back off and listen to my body meant I really enjoyed the class. I found subtle differences in my hip alignment in warrior, not bending so deep into the knee meant I could focus on lowering my hips down. Realising that rising into cobra hurt my chest and therefore focused rising from my lower belly to take preasue of my chest. Both of these adjustments I had been told before but the focus on the end pose meant I missed the subtle

movements to get to the end pose. I do like pushing myself and advancing in class however I now physically get that you can take the yoga you need and a higher warrior with lower hips can be as good as a right angle thigh. Last week a gentle stretch and subtle movement really helped me feel better on and off the mat. Often you feel like you have so much to prove in class but it felt good to do yoga to suit me. A very humbling lesson and one I am very glad I learnt before training!