Consistency

Practice. Practice. Practice. 

I have been doing my practice, religiously. I am so proud of myself for that. We have been so busy here getting ready for the trip to India. Hunnie leaves this week and I head out December 20th. After finals at school I will have 4 days to rest before I leave. Wow. That is only 43 days from today. I cannot believe it. 

In an effort to be prepared for all the yoga in Goa I have become more serious about my practice. This is so good for me. I am working on drop backs again, and Wednesday last week I practiced twice! Well, I did full primary in the morning and then I worked on back bends, drop backs, hand stands, splits, pincha, and some other opening exercises. I have had a pinch in my rib for the last few days. It hurts to breathe in deeply. Thankfully I'm getting a massage tomorrow so I suspect I will be good as new again shortly. 

Today is daylight savings day. I am somehow extra tired. Maybe because there is no sun since about 4pm? 

Kukkutasana

What a good practice. Kukkutasana! I have landed in it twice now after Garbha Pindasana and been able to hold it. Very exciting. I had landed it before but not with the same confidence I've had in my last two practices. 

I slept later than I had planned (7am) and didn't make it to practice until 8am. This was good though. I needed the rest. I did my full practice and worked extra hard in back bends. I did drop backs and had some assistance with what seems to be my stuck point. The teacher thinks I am not engaging in my legs/hips enough. The other teacher said, strong quads! It's nice to have some direction, it helps keep me motivated. 


I decided this morning that I am going to stop in Mysore and practice with Saraswathi after my practice time in Goa. We have some friends that live in Bangalore so we can visit with them then too. 

The last 5 weeks of my school semester are upon me. I'm very busy with school but I am committed to my practice more than ever. I feel so good when I have done the primary series. It helps me with all the stress that school is causing. 

I am a better person when I practice.

Exhaustion

I cannot believe the whirlwind that my life has been the last few days. Moving took us forever and consumed most of the weekend and then bam! the week started up with a flurish. Getting into a new routine that includes another 15 minutes on our morning (and evening) drive time has taken a toll. I'm exhausted. 

I have done my full practice today, yesterday, and Sunday too but I couldn't really tell you much about it. It seems as if my practice this morning happened many days ago. 

Rest is on my mind. Tomorrow I will sleep until 6:30am. Oh yes, that is sleeping in. I have been rising around 5:30/5:45 that extra 45 minutes will feel like hours.

YES!

Ahhh, it feels so good, today I am back in the swing of things. Feeling a bit more rested and mentally better too. I had a great practice. A little short but overall nothing to complain of. Some days primary series feels so good. I have been working on my "float" and I got a few good lands today which was inspiring. I grabbed my wrist in Marichasana D! My Kurmasana is still weak but it's better. I am down two pounds which helps. I have a pain in my hips that is annoying me some so I did Utthita Parsvasahita and Navasana for only 3 breaths today. 
When I went up into Urdhva Dhanurasana I felt a pinch in my left shoulder. At first I thought, "oh no, I have done it, I have truly hurt myself!" and then I thought, "relax, breath, come down and up again". I did it, I relaxed. Then, I came up for my third Urdhva Dhanurasana and the pinch was gone. Magic. 


I have been reading Guruji by Guy Donahaye and Eddie Stern and I just love it. I am skipping around through the chapters. Last night I read Tomas Zorzo's chapter. The way he speaks of the practice as he has experienced it resonates with me. A quote, "Some people are advanced because they are flexible. Some will find difficult asanas impossible because of age or for other reasons. But everyone can feel the same. It does not matter how advanced you are, if your practice is correct, if your breathing is correct, you can be an old man or a cripple and you can still be in touch with this prana." 


I love this. We are free. If we can concentrate on the breath, the prana, and not on the next pose we have freedom. 

Yin Yoga

I love the difference in the way I feel (during &) after a yin yoga class from the way I feel (during &) after my Ashtanga yoga practice. It is over and I am relaxed, not sweaty, ready for a quiet evening doing homework and dinner with my hunnie.  It's the perfect Sunday evening activity. 

Some of the poses do stretch enough to cause soreness and a little pain. Not sharp pain or lasting pain that would be bad, of course. It feels so lovely to stretch my side body and parts of me that are used but not thought of during the week, like my ankles. The yin teacher is passionate about this style of yoga, she is a great teacher for it because she believes in it. Of course when someone isn't bs-ing their way through a class it is noticeable and always better. 

I'm off to finish my maths.