Yoga

I had a long, luxurious two-hour practice today. Saro and I are up in Madison visiting John. And with nothing to do, no obligations, I decided to do a full Primary practice, taking as much time as I needed and not skipping any poses. It was so nice not to have to rush* off somewhere. I lingered in poses that I like and patiently took my time with more challenging poses. I've noticed that when I have a solid daily practice, my balance is strong. After taking a few days off or having shorter practices, I am wobbly in all the standing poses. Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana is a good indicator pose for me. Lots of poses feel more or less the same from day to day, with subtle variations. But when my practice is strong, UHP feels effortless and fun and when I'm feeling weak, it is absolutely torture. I fell out of this pose several times on each side today. But no worries; plenty of time.

I often skip over some poses to shorten the practice a little bit. Prasarita Padottanasa D, Janu Sirsasana C, Supta Kurmasana (because I'm not even close to being able to do it), and Marichyasana D. I never attempt a bind in Marichyasana D on my own. But today, I thought: I know my body can do this pose because I've been assisted into it. So, just for kicks, I used a strap, and lo and behold, my hands were about 5 inches apart. That's darn close to a bind. My jump-throughs are getting a little better too. I'm starting to see how the bandhas work. I don't have much control, but I can sort of imagine how it works.



*A friend is subbing my Sunday night class and I thanked him, telling him that it'll be nice to go away for the weekend and not have to rush home to teach. He said, don't rush there either. Nice reminder.