I’ve spent the past week trying to catch up on webinars I’ve signed up for and received recordings of. Due to scheduling and travel issues, I’m not able to attend in-person so I rely on the recordings (which, in many cases, have a time limit attached). So, in two cases, I need to get busy!

The first one I’ve focused on over the past week is a 4-day/part webinar with Doug Keller. Title: “The Therapeutic Wisdom of Yoga”. A tiny bit of his presentation I’ve experienced in previous workshops; however, things change and, in this 4-day presentation, he updates and refines as only Doug can. Topics included Psoas muscle (one of my favorites), short leg & body maps, shoulders & neck (what I need), other joint problems.

It’s all been so informative and I do appreciate studios providing these learning opportunities (this presentation came from a studio In the Eastern part of the U.S. — not something I’d be able to attend otherwise). Once again, ZOOM comes through.

And, this morning, I tuned into a 3-day/part webinar with Garth McLean, yoga teacher and therapist. Garth is a wealth of information about Multiple Sclerosis - why? he was diagnosed with MS in 1996. Once diagnosed, he was advised to try Iyengar Yoga; advice he quickly followed. He credits the practice with helping him move through the challenges of his disease. So, I am receiving first-hand information and advice for my teaching/therapy practice. I only have a week left to view this webinar, so you know I will be glued to this computer for several hours over the next 5 days.

Garth’s webinar is hosted by the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco. Another one that would have been challenging for me to get to; ZOOM to the rescue.

The title of this blog post comes from Garth - a quote he brought back from his studies with BKS Iyengar in India. I think it’s a wonderful way of looking at our yoga practice. How many of us can say we are the same people since starting yoga, no matter if we are pictures of health or are challenged by injury or disease? My body may look similar, but my focus, resilience, agility, strength, etc., etc., are all ‘polished’ — as in different.

The polish became evident on Saturday - another 2-part ZOOM workshop with Christina Sell (this one I was able to attend the second part in person). The GREAT part of Christina’s classes and workshops is that they are available to students for an unlimited period of time. The other GREAT part of this workshop (Yoga for Reluctant Backbenders) is that I learned tons about accessing back muscles, stretching from feet to fingertips, and ways to build strength and flexibility in back, arms, legs, everywhere. I can use these in hopes of accessing the to-me elusive urdhva dhanurasana (wheel pose).

Where was the polish, you ask? Well, I am more agile, more flexible, stronger and able to accept that I have a lot of work to do to get to UD. All this I wasn’t able to do 6-8 months ago; I was in a slump. I’m on the rise.

Think about it — what are you doing to polish your new self ? Leave me a comment; I’d love to hear your story.

Enjoy your week,