Quote Originally Posted by rocknrollgirl View Post
Emily,
It is funny, I can do all the hard stuff like crow, and side crow and all the koudinyasanas, strength is not my issue. I am SO tight in my hips and hamstrings. Partly genetic and partly from running and cycling. So the 85 degree classes really help with my flexibility.

So like sitting in staff pose, awful. Sitting with a wide leg straddle awful. Chataranga....easy peasy.
My strength is getting there but certainly not where yours is. We don't even attempt koudinyasanas in the practices I do (in fact, I had to google it to see what they were -- eeek!) Chataranga, planks, etc. no problem, but I'm only middling on crow, can't do side crow yet. My flexibility is actually pretty good. Staff pose, no problem. Recently during a seated forward bend, my instructor could tell I was almost there with chest fully on legs, so he came and gently pushed my back down to help me "get there", and that felt SO GOOD on my back, I could not believe it. I have always had tight hamstrings, but they have certainly improved in this practice!

The poses that are the very hardest for me are anything involving the hip flexor. I am very weak there, especially on the right, from the surgery I had on my ilium on that side. So anything with lifting the legs to the front while standing I have a very hard time with. I used to not even be able to step all the way through from downward dog to a lunge on the right side without assisting my leg with my hand, but thankfully I finally am able to do that, and now it seems incredible that I ever couldn't, but that's how weak I used to be on that side in the hip flexor, even though my quad was strong from cycling.

One thing I've definitely learned is that every student in the practice has weaker and stronger skills in certain areas. Movements and poses that are super difficult for me are easy for some in the practice, and vice versa. That is why I am so in awe of yoga instructors as they are super strong, super flexible, and have amazing balance as well.

It's generally in the mid-upper 70s during my practice (in the morning), but with the humidity, the heat index is in the 80s if not 90s, depending on time of year, so that does help a lot with flexibility. But boy do I sweat!