Yoga Bliss and Back Bends

“Only from the Heart can you touch the sky.” ~ Rumi

I had the most amazing yoga practice tonight. Still blissed and body buzzed from it hours later.

I’ve been super fortunate to attend class with Cat McCarthy while in New Orleans. Having consistent access to an Anusara yoga teacher here has been such a blessing, and Cat is really wonderful.

Tonight she brought us a practice heavily influenced by sequences and poses SHE played with during classes with Ross Rayburn in New York. Her theme was about finding the balance between giving and receiving.

After a standing sequence which my breath and body gratefully opened to, she led us through this funky half lotus sequence  that went from standing to forward bend, jump back to down dog, forward to plank and the floor, hands and knees and then bound vashistasna – ALL IN ARDHA PADMASANA! Super fun.

We proceeded to not only do Natarajasana and Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana, but then followed those up with Kapinjalasana.

For those of you who have no idea what I just said, fear not. It was a bunch of pretzel-like yoga moves and many involved deep back bends.

Regardless of if you know what the Sanskrit translates into in the body of the pose, I think what I’m trying to say is… YUM!

Getting high on yoga is fun. And SO good for you! How can you beat that?

When you balance back bends (or any form of pose) with a harmonious amount of receptivity and active participation, drawing in and extending out, BLISS happens.

In the words of the Great Nina Simone, “And I’m Feelin’ Good.”

What’s your favorite back bend of the moment? Comment below and let me know!