Monday, September 10, 2007

Day 71

Lately, I've been doing my practice spontaneously during the day, but not necessarily in the morning. This has the advantage of allowing me to enjoy more flexibility as I move past my morning stiffness, but it also means that if my plans change unexpectedly, I can miss my practice.

That's what happened on Sunday. I was out late on Saturday so I decided to sleep in a bit on Sunday morning before heading to my volunteer shift at the soup kitchen. When I arrived, I discovered that I was invited to a party. A small gathering for the 'core group' of volunteers was scheduled in the afternoon. I raced home after my shift, stopped by the store to purchase appetizers and replenish my baking supplies. Then I spent the afternoon baking my Fabulous Butter Cookies. Very mindfully, I swear! ;-)

But, no practice for me.

I did make it to the mat on this morning for a full and very intense hour-and-a-half practice. It was neither good, nor bad. To sum up: I just worked very, very hard. Sometimes, hard work in yoga is far more satisfying than having it all come very easily.

Here's an asana tidbit: I've stopped using blocks completely during my practice. I can now put my hand on the floor in Parivritta Trikonasana (a victory of yoga over tight hips and hamstrings) and I'm finding that I enjoy Parsvakonasana more without the block (a victory of yoga over tight shoulders). I'm doing Parivritta Parsvakonasana with hands in prayer position at the chest. Things are coming along!

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