A couple months ago I went back to my first real yoga teacher after years and years of not doing more than checking to see how far away my toes are once a week or so.

I love this teacher, she is from a strong Iyengar background and so she is very very much about the deatils of alignment and positioning in poses. I need that kind of concentration to remind me not to get too carried away.

Yoga has always been an ego challenge for me. If I touched my toes last week, I should have my palm don on the floor this week. If I balanced in tree for a minute last week, I should be able to do it for three minutes on each side this week. So, before returning to class, I had a long chat with myself about what it would be like. I reminded myself that many of the poses I could do before I quit were only possible because I'd had a solid practice for years. I reminded myself that there are different kinds of pain and that the full expression of a pose is different for all people.

I think I'm better about what I can and can't do than I expected but I've sort fo turned it into an intellectual challenge instead. I may not be able to do a pose the way I'd like to but, I can remember the sanskrit name for it and all the verbal cues the teacher gives. I guess this will help me in my practice?

One thing I have noticed is that I'm a terrible Iyengar yoga snob. I watch videos on youtube and think "that is a terrible down facing dog, she should not be showing people how to do that!" Yeah, that damned ego still needs tobe beaten up a bit!