Below are a couple of videos from this morning's practice - the first one is from Prasaritta Padottanasana through to the Warrior poses and then on to three attempts at a handstand.
I did balance for the final handstand before awkwardly tipping over.
This entire practice was difficult and painful - not sure if that shows from the outside. I can certainly see it in the video - my lumbar looks stiff, my bum sticks up in chaturanga, I'm only getting halfway down into the bend in Utkatasana and the warrior lunges....ugh.
The morning was cold, the room was cold, my body was cold. Being at the tail end of a bout of the flu, my lungs are glued up with clag which has gotten into all my joints. This morning's stiffness didn't ease up as the practice went on. Wanting to keep moving to warm up, I only stayed a few breaths in each pose which made it even more superficial and disembodied. I didn't want to be challenged or stretched today, so my mind wasn't present in my body, it was sulking somewhere else in silent rebellion. Every pose and every vinyasa was laboured.
It's been a while since I did any yoga, a week and a half I'm ashamed to say. After getting back from the solo retreat, I came down with flu, though not as bad as everyone else at work. But it has kept me protective and inactive, and rest has been paramount.
After the handstands, I did Paschimottanasana, Purvottanasana and Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana, then a short backbend sequence culminating in ONE very stiff Urdhva Dhanurasana. It felt awful, but good, if you know what I mean.
So no surprise that this morning's practice was a short one.
Later in the day I got back to the mat for a 7 minute headstand and a shoulderstand, then continued on with a few supine abdominal poses, three passive backbend variations with a block, and some cross legged forward bends.
Some days it's a struggle just to overcome my desire to NOT do yoga.
This entire practice was difficult and painful - not sure if that shows from the outside. I can certainly see it in the video - my lumbar looks stiff, my bum sticks up in chaturanga, I'm only getting halfway down into the bend in Utkatasana and the warrior lunges....ugh.
The morning was cold, the room was cold, my body was cold. Being at the tail end of a bout of the flu, my lungs are glued up with clag which has gotten into all my joints. This morning's stiffness didn't ease up as the practice went on. Wanting to keep moving to warm up, I only stayed a few breaths in each pose which made it even more superficial and disembodied. I didn't want to be challenged or stretched today, so my mind wasn't present in my body, it was sulking somewhere else in silent rebellion. Every pose and every vinyasa was laboured.
It's been a while since I did any yoga, a week and a half I'm ashamed to say. After getting back from the solo retreat, I came down with flu, though not as bad as everyone else at work. But it has kept me protective and inactive, and rest has been paramount.
After the handstands, I did Paschimottanasana, Purvottanasana and Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana, then a short backbend sequence culminating in ONE very stiff Urdhva Dhanurasana. It felt awful, but good, if you know what I mean.
So no surprise that this morning's practice was a short one.
Later in the day I got back to the mat for a 7 minute headstand and a shoulderstand, then continued on with a few supine abdominal poses, three passive backbend variations with a block, and some cross legged forward bends.
Some days it's a struggle just to overcome my desire to NOT do yoga.
3 comments:
Greetings Nobhodi!
Thanks for sharing the videos of your asana practice...For feeling the way you said to did/do.
Your asana practice was awesome. I would like to share what Lino Miele, once shared in a workshop, "What you don't practice today, you practice tomorrow..." Don't get attached. Cultivate compassion for yourself....
Something we all need to keep telling ourselves, when this emotion of guilt arises. Another mind-fuck game of the mind...Excuse my language, but you get the jest?
Peace and continued practice to you,
D.
Lino's quote is a welcome reminder, thank you for sharing it.
An awesome practice? No way! It's been a while since I had one of those, but of course that's a very subjective judgement. To arise from Savasana in a deeply altered state of consciousness is the sign of an awesome practice for me, the reward for discipline and devotion (two of the purest motivators).
As you have noticed, my big motivator is Guilt - which is the knowing sense that I have not done my best.
I think it is so brave of you not only to tape your practices, but to write about it so honestly. I don't think I could bust out the video! I know Claudia Yoga has done it, but man, I don't think I have the inner strength for it.
Part of it is that I know that when I practice alone -- in the morning, especially -- I have my moments of pausing and whatnot -- stuff I would never dare to do in a Mysore class. Nancy Gilgoff apparently calls this "dinking." It's such an ingrained habit, and it really disrupts the mental flow. My teacher has been working on this with me, which has helped me a lot. But I have not fully gotten out of the habit yet.
And when the room is cold, which it is way too many monts of the year here in America's Midwest, then it's even harder for me not to take those unnecessary pauses because I am silently (or maybe not so silently) pouting at the weather in those cases!
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