Now that I wrote about relaxing my face, I’m realizing how much farther I have to go. My practice these days remains pretty much the same, and will until the sciatica goes away and/or the Lyme arthritis in my arms and hands gets better. That means I’m getting to know this subset of asanas pretty darn well.
Smiling while practicing isn’t exactly what I mean. It’s not some big grin. But when I just move the corners of my mouth up a teeny bit, probably an imperceptible amount if you’re looking at me, I do feel my face relax.
When my face relaxes, I can feel shifts in the rest of my body. In Trikonasana, for example, my shoulders widen a bit more, and I can make that subtle twist in the middle of my back just a tad more flexibly.
But in this morning’s practice I noticed, especially in Supta Padangusthasana, that my neck was way too engaged, and my head had rolled up in a strange way, independent of relaxing my face. That dang neck is always wanting to run the show! So that’s the next little subtlety I’m going to try to pay attention to.
Practice Notes 