I literally had no expectations of Matthew Sanford's class this afternoon; I knew nothing about him as a teacher and was simply told that "I had to go" from a friend of mine. If you don't already know, Matthew is an Iyengar teacher who is paralyzed from the chest down; his paralysis gives him great insight into yoga concepts, which only adds to his comprehensive teaching style. The class's focus: learning to go inward in each yoga pose so that total integrity is given to the spine, and breath is easy and free.

We began the class by doing certain simple adjustments. Having a partner push or pull or press in certain poses can reveal the potential of those poses. But, did you ever think that pulling the skin down from knee to ankle would make your chest lighter, and breathing easier? Of that focusing on the space formed between your legs and under your arms in Warrior II would give lightness to your spine?

Matthew brought several new perspectives to my yoga, and he made me laugh. The greatest idea that I took from this class: When you look inward in a pose, letting the focus move away from the muscles and into the knowledge of space and gravity, the pose becomes whole and your mind becomes clear. One of those simple, yet profound ideas that you find so often in yoga, and then forget when you leave the class. Yet, after feeling Trikanasana supported by this thought, I commit to carrying this one back to the mat.