All Those Bandhas and One Goodbye

Actually there are three(?) bandhas- I always hear them mentioned in class or in some video or the other, but it's still quite mysterious which muscles I am supposed to be using.  (By the way it sounds like it's spelled "bunda" to me  when it's spoken, which apparently means something else in various languages.  "Buttocks" in portuguese, I think it is also Turkish for something...)

But there are many things I have yet to learn and experience in yoga, but I'm not in any particular hurry, because as David Swenson would say "Remember you have your whole life to work on your practice.  It will come in time.*".  And also because it has been only nearly a year since I've started yoga.

*Note:  I am not sure if that is the exact quote.  And also I use this excuse to not try headstand or any inversion or pose I deem scary.  It will come in time.

Late last August or early September, since I was bored of running on ellipticals at the gym, I decided to try out yoga as a new means of exercise.  At the Cornell fitness center,  I took my very first yoga classes from Elaine and Zach.  I remember, that at first, Elaine taught me flexibility and Zach taught me strength.  After awhile, I decided Zach was my favorite yoga teacher at Cornell, just because he had this way of teaching that made one want to challenge their own limits.  When I first started Zach's classes,  after a few rounds of his lovely elbow to knee abs, the next day I would feel my abs complaining, with every laugh they would say "this laugh is hard work".  But my abs grew to love elbow to knee.  I also  remember wanting to fall over and lie down midway through all of those standing poses he made us hold forever.  But now, probably due to this training, every time I practice Ashtanga, the part I love most are the standing postures.  And five breaths is not nearly long enough to enjoy the chair pose, seriously, we need to hold it longer.  And, ah, then there's dolphin.  I still hate that pose.

Anyways, I shouldn't be posting on my blog, because I should really be studying for my A-exam right now.  So I will get the point of this blog post.  Today was my last class with Zach.  I am a bit selfishly sad to see such a wonderful teacher leave Ithaca.  But goodbyes are a natural part of life, and so through this blog post, I say goodbye, a positive upbeat goodbye.  I'd like to thank Zach for being part of my introduction to yoga, and I'm sure that little bits of what I've learned from him will stay with me in some form for a very long time.   I wish him all the best for his new life in Houston.