Day 22

It was very hot and muggy this morning, even at 6:30 a.m., but I didn't feel like I was sweating any more than usual. When I first started doing this, I was sweating a lot, then I went through a period when I wasn't sweating very much at all. Now I seem to have reached some sort of equilibrium when it comes to the heat of my practice.

I found a good flow today. I've been experimenting with drinking water/tea on my walk beforehand and though water is probably healthier, I think the tea is helpful in that it quells my hunger. I had good focus throughout my practice.

Yesterday, I finally sat down and watched the DVD from start to finish. I know, I know...you're supposed to do this before you practise for the first time, but honeslty, it was more valuable to me now, with 20+ sessions under my belt because I have some context. It was really interesting to see the more advanced practitioners in the DVD (Holy floating jump-backs, Batman!) and the modifications used by some of the others. Now that I'm tuned into the ins-and-outs of the practice, I'm better able to notice the subtleties of the poses.

I was struck by how each participant did absolutely everything, even if only in a modified version. Inspired, I decided to try everything this morning, even Janu Sirsasana D, which seems impossible to me (my feet were all “Huh?” when I tried to dorsiflex them). I did bridge as a modification of Setu Bandhasana, gave my best college try for Marichyasana D and used the modifications I've already been using for other postures.

There's no good reason that I haven't been doing Uttana Padasana (I can do it easily), but I did it today. No more slacking off; I was hard core.

I bound to my wrists on both sides in Marichyasana B this morning. I bound to fingertips easily on both sides of Marichyasana C. For some reason, the Marichyasana sequence seems to be my current indicator for 'where I'm at'. I was very happy with my practice this morning!