I'd like to start off by pointing out that the farting was not mine! I have successfully managed to hold in my toots at every single exercise class I have taken thus far in my life, despite sometimes reallllly wanting to let one pop out. I hope you're proud of me.
I will pop out to go to the loo if I really have to go - the only time I have ever farted in front of friends is when we were doing core warm ups at choir and as I sucked mine... well, you know the rest. Cringe. Much worse than in an exercise class, where at least you don't know most of the people. The deadly rumble...
Anyway, it was a muscly gentleman at today's mysore class who kept letting rip. He was there with his girlfriend, and he was doing a rollover of some description and when he came out of it there was an elongated roar. I mean, it was properly loud. Everyone else ignored it and he seemed to find it amusing - so I had to laugh. 'Eh, it's yoga', I said, and he grinned. He did it again later, a shorter one, but managed to hold it in when he was doing head and handstands - thankfully, as my teacher was probably a bit too close for comfort at that point! I was a bit worried when he went into bow pose, NGL.
To be honest, at least it didn't smell. I have all too many times been in a Pilates class when someone has done a 'silent and deadly'. Grim. I would rather have a loud and proud that just dissipates without hassling anyone than one of those. I guess it's a natural body thing - when you have yourself in certain positions, with your legs wide apart, over your head etc, it's always going to make you want to 'relax' in that way! Jessamyn Stanley (whose picture is now appearing in all my blog previews, confusingly) thinks so, and I would imagine that a lot of physiotherapists would agree!
Moving on, Sarah told me today that I had a 'chattery mind and a flexible body', and that she thought mysore actually suited me better than led classes for this reason. She said sometimes our bodies don't want to do certain things because we're not used to it, but that I (or my body) was starting to accept things now and move forward. I don't think she's wrong. There's something wonderful about taking the time to do your own practice, really focusing in on bits of it, thinking it through and not having to zoom and hurry to keep up with everyone else. I can make incremental improvements and try new things - the teacher has time to help you and doesn't have to keep everyone going at the same pace.
Some things I'm working on at the moment include: helping my back straighten by sitting on a thin block, when activating my feet turning the balls of my feet by my big toe in slightly, pressing them up against a block and working on reaching forward (with bent knees) around the feet (something I can't physically do at the moment). Rolling over by using a bolster to push my lower back into the air (by itself it refuses to come off the ground), straightening my leg out in the standing pose where you hold your big toe. Also stretching my feet regularly to help with all of this.
I'm finding this 45 minute (though it still takes me 90 minutes!) practice easier now, I move through it more quickly, I have to think less about it. My next step is to get to a point where I don't need the piece of paper Sarah gave me with all the poses. I think I can do this if I achieve a consistent home practice (although I wouldn't want to do that sequence every day). Maybe I can work on standing postures one day, sitting the next, whatever. Just to get to a point where I know what I'm doing. It will certainly help with flow and timekeeping!