Day 4 update

So on day 2 it was discovered that I have been breathing incorrectly all my life. Mine was seriously the complete opposite of the proper breathing technique. As I breathed in, my chest would expand while my stomach contracted, as I try to fill my upper lungs. This doesn't make any sense since the biggest and strongest part of my lungs is in the diaphragm region behind my abs. Therefore the stomach should be expanding during the inhale and contracting during exhale! The class got quite a kick out of this as nobody else had the same problem. Almost a stupid human trick. I have been unlearning my wrong technique and improving proper breathing over the past 2 days and I'm noticing a huge difference.

We are really making a ton of progress in all aspects of the course so far in just 3 days. Many people who couldn't do a headstand for the life of them on Monday are already pulling it off. There's a pretty neat camaraderie being built up between everyone, male-female-young-old.
As I'm the only white guy, I get a lot of jokes and attention directed my way, which is fun.
Today, during our afternoon asana class, I was holding a strong headstand so Arun helped bring me into the scorpion position where I lean my lower legs over my head, separate my hands and put forearms on the ground, then lift my head off the ground so all my body is supported by my 2 arms. I couldn't hold my weight myself, but hopefully by th end of this course I'll be able to pull it off.
This Saturday a few of us will leave the ashram to visit a nearby town, Almora, as well as a very famous Himalayan temple which should be quite interesting now that I have this additional knowledge about the customs here.
Off to total lunar eclipse meditation...I'll reserve a post for that later...definitely the hardest part of the program.