Today we worked on the Vissuddha chakra, which concerned the throat.  Although I had difficulty experiencing this chakra, I really enjoyed the quote Michael said at the beginning about asking ourselves before we speak: 1. Is what I’m saying true? 2. Does this need to be said?; 3. Is this the right time to say it?; ; and 4. Can it be said with love? I feel like I’m frequently considered quieter than others, so I tend to think about the above aspects #2 and #3. However, today’s yoga practice really made me question whether everything I say is said with love. I feel that everything can be said with love, but there are times in which I become too concerned with whatever things I “need” to get done, and I pay less attention to what I say to others. I feel that constant speaking with love first requires constant love of oneself and furthermore a conscious effort to have genuine interest in what those around you say and/or are needing you to say.

I had a lot of fun with the headstand today, although I’m not sure if I was doing it entirely correct (for the fact that I may not have opened my neck the way Michael was explaining). When I was younger, I always had headstand competitions with my aunt, so it was somewhat nostalgic for me to be in this posture. This was definitely a posture that was done with love. At one point during this exercise, I accidentally lost balance, and flipped over into a backbend. Although Michael stated the advanced nature of what I had done, my descent was completely unintentional. =) It is interesting to me to note that I have always had difficulty with postures that involve hand stands, but that I’m able to do headstands for extended periods of time.