Balancing my chakras, man!?

So I'm mid-week 2 of my yoga course and things are going interestingly. I had been feeling a bit rubbish at the beginning of this week- after three days off in which i did lots of walking- I was feeling very stiff and frankly old and comparing myself to the other yogis, some of whom can put their lythe (younger) bodies into shapes that ressemble pretzels all the while looking serene and a lot less sweaty than I do. I felt I hadn't made much visible progress because I still can't get into Marichasana D (see http://www.kpjayi.org/primary-asanas.html) after 6 years practice on and off.
However, on Monday I suddenly and strongly felt the need and motivation to start meditating again. After my previous attempts, that have all ended in me rebelling furiously, it was nice to feel that i 'wanted' to meditate as oppose to previously when I always felt that I 'should'. So i've started a little meditation course just for 6 days at sunset with a very nice and chilled out karate dude and zen master. Yes- I know I'm mixing it up a bit what with yoga and buddhism but I like this place because they don't mention 'God'- and some of you know how much that freaks me out. There are lots and lots of Gods and Goddesses here (at least one for every letter of the alphabet- in fact I saw a poster of this yesterday in the Rama Krishna Ashram bookshop) and i find that very interesting but...
So far we've done some humming meditation, some energy- sharing meditation (bear with me here) and some candle-staring. Yesterday we did some pranayama (yoga breathing) called 'Mount Everest' ( I can't remember the Sanskrit ) which involved hyper-ventilating and then staring at a candle and then swaying around a bit! I'm finding it a lot of fun BUT (panic not you doubters) I'm taking it all with a big pinch of salt while trying to keep an open mind. My teacher says he can see i have emotional blockages (i hope he can't see my other blockages 'cos i ain't going to see that proctologist!!) and that I'm ruled by my mind (not ideal if you've got a mind like mine)- both of which i could have told him myself but it's always good to get affirmation. I've been told to watch my dreams and sure enough last night I had a very emotional dream in which I was extremely and expressively ANGRY!! It felt good in the morning when I woke up to have let it all out.
The most important thing I'm learning though is that the yoga asanas (postures) I'm doing are for the sole purpose of cleansing and therefore readying my body for pranayama, meditation and ultimately discovering the 'Ultimate Truth'. This is my quest so the main message I'm taking 'to the (yoga) mat' (this is what all the cool kids are saying) is 'it doesn't matter a jot if I never get to 'kiss my own a** '(my meditation teacher's words (sorry Pauline)) what matters is turning up most, if not every, day, trying my best and LISTENING TO MY BODY. There's a lot of ambition in the yoga room and it's easy to get drawn into the competitive spirit- that's how all these ashtanga types get injured (and we do, frequently) but today I decided to try to relax, breathe and focus and I came out of there feeling light, cleansed and much happier than I did yesterday. So in conclusion I think I'm making a whole lot of progress...
Watch this space for more photos. I'll be uploading some of my new Hampstead Heath on Saturday and keeping you posted on any more zany hippy stuff I get up to. The latest thing I've been encouraged to do is Mahamudra which involves some guy in a woolen hat (I've seen his business card) 'banging a gong in between your legs'. Now who could refuse?!!