Returning to the Rhythm
The rhythm of practice finally feels steady again. After a couple of hard weeks with wavering focus and low energy, something clicked back into place. I could feel it in my breath, in the way my body met the mat, and in the quiet sense of “I can do this again.”
Last week’s virtual class helped enormously, as did preparing for our monthly full-day training just a couple of days away.
🧘 Practice & Our Weekend Training Day
On Thursday evening last week, an orange weather warning for rain and a yellow warning for wind were issued from Gorey all the way toward Dublin. I had my brain and ear canal MRI scheduled about halfway there on Friday night, and the mix of safety concerns and sheer energy preservation nudged me to book a cheap hotel for the night.
I missed my daughter, husband, and our two (very good cats. The stay itself was nothing special: a horror movie watched from bed, a very “meh” but protein-sufficient breakfast, and broken sleep. The job was done though, and on Saturday morning I only had a short 15-minute drive to the training venue instead of a long, stormy commute.
I arrived with mixed energy and a bit of nerves, but it lifted as the day unfolded. This was the first training day where I felt a clear, noticeable difference in my focus. I’m sure it was a blend of slightly longer rest thanks to less commute time and the new support of Vyvanse helping my ADHD brain stay present. My usual physical pain points stayed mostly at bay as well, which meant I could fully participate and actually feel like myself in the room. After last month’s full day, when shoulder pain was at its peak, that felt like such a gift.
Our teaching practice was my personal highlight. Each of us taught our pose of the month within a small group of two “students” and an observer. Our group was also lucky to have one of the experienced volunteers observing and offering feedback (certified teachers, some just out of the previous 200-hour training).
This month’s pose for me was Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I). I’m glad I didn’t over-prepare. By the time I stood up to teach, any script I had in mind had completely dissolved. What remained was presence, my own felt experience of the pose, and two very real bodies in front of me.
For anyone curious about the classical alignment structure of Warrior I, there’s a simple visual breakdown here (though, like any pose as I’m discovering, there are so many possible variations depending on our individual bodies and needs in any given moment):
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/warrior-i-pose/
The critical feedback that will stay with me most was essentially: stay in my own zone, trust myself. I doubted myself twice during those 4-5 minutes, and it turns out it was visible in my body and voice. It was both confronting and strangely reassuring to hear that, and it gives me something very concrete to work with.
The positive feedback that will stay with me was that my personal cueing style (grounded in bodily sensations, clear alignment, and the idea of working with our own energies as well as the energies around us) landed positively. This little confirmation meant so much to me.
📚 Course Topics: Breath, Rest & Pelvic Floor
The rest of the day was full and as rich as ever.
We explored the very practical question of how to find a truly comfortable meditation seat, not as some idealised shape but as a living, adaptable posture. It felt validating to acknowledge that “just sit up straight and close your eyes” is not a neutral cue for many bodies and nervous systems.
We revisited three-part breath (dirgha pranayama) with special attention to the oh-so-slight movements of the collarbones on the inhale and exhale, from front and behind. Not forcing the breath up there, but noticing how, when the diaphragm and ribs are given time, the upper chest naturally participates. These are subtle details, but they’re the kind that really stick with me and will be most important years from now. I’ve always experienced the breath as more of a full-body relationship than a technique – and that’s exactly what this embodied yoga style seems to be hitting home, so it’s really resonating.
We also spent time with savasana, looking at it not as an afterthought but as a deliberate, supportive shape: props galore and always welcome. Under knees, blankets, small adjustments that invite the nervous system to soften instead of “soldiering through” stillness. We explored both the traditional lying down facing up and also lying face down, and how to make that comfortable. Savasana in a chair or standing, to be available to all who may not be able to lie down, is yet to be discussed – I’ve made note to research options here.
Finally, we had a very grounding introduction to the pelvic floor. Thank goodness the days are long gone where this area was treated as a mysterious, hidden muscle to ignore until it made itself known in an embarrassing way. This area is yet another key part of the responsive, dynamic systems that are our full bodies. That teaching felt especially important to me given my history of chronic pain and post-C-section healing. It put language and anatomy to subtle sensations I’ve worked with for a few years, and many of us explored in awe.
🌼 Life Around the Mat
By the very end of the day, I was tired in a wholesome way. I noticed that despite being tired, my mood was even and my body surprisingly able to co-manage the house with my husband in all the necessary, daily ways that can be so exhausting.
It’s a small thing, but noticing that my focus, pain levels, ADHD medication, sleep, and even the weather pattern all weave into how I show up on the mat feels important. It reminds me that being a yoga teacher in training isn’t about becoming someone “above” all that. It’s about learning to teach from inside a real, fluctuating human life.
This week’s virtual class is this evening, and I can already feel that quiet sense of “revving up” that comes with preparing – but I’m feeling it in a grounded way. A sense of wanting to keep showing up, one practice at a time.
💭 Reflections
✨ Trusting myself is quickly becoming part of the practice.
✨ My teaching voice is emerging from sensation and experience, not scripts.
✨ Pain cycles, ADHD, medication and rest all sit at the same table as asana and breath.
✨ It feels good, and a little bit brave, to say: I’m still here, and I’m still on this path.
📑References
• Yoga Journal. “Warrior I Pose (Virabhadrasana I).” Accessed December 2025.
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/warrior-i-pose/
Lost&Found Wellness 