Day 129

Another day, another practice. Since I skipped my day off on Sunday, I'm sort of on a roll - one of those weeks that feels like the yoga version of the movie 'Groundhog Day.'

Fortunately, moon day is coming up on Sunday, which means I can move my 'day' off to any other day I like. I'm hoarding it close to my heart right now, but I may very well take it tomorrow, since I teach four yoga classes and will likely be very busy and tired. Or maybe Thursday, since I'm going out for a holiday lunch with my old boss and that would make the day feel that much more festive. Or...(etc, etc; thinking about it is the fun!)

Today's practice was completely middle of the road: not extraordinarily deep, but not cranky and inflexible either. I pretty much did all the things I'm able to do, without too much sweat or drama. In the spirit of measuring my progress (more for me, than for any of my three readers), here are the poses I'm still struggling with (read: using modifications):

Marichyasana C: I can bind to wrist reliably on the right side, but not the left. That's definitely my less-open side.
Marichyasana D: I can bind to fingers on both sides, but binding to wrists feels impossible. Of course, I used to say that about Marichyasana C and look at me now! Will keep trying.
Kurmasana: will those legs ever straighten (I suspect they will when I'm able to get my chest to the floor in Upavista Konasana)
Supta Kurmasana: I wish I could have seen my face when my hands found each other last week and I was binding for the first time. It's a right squeeze, but I'm still doing it. Next goal: get the soles of my feet back together.
Garba Pindasana: Still can't get my arms through those invisible holes in my legs (Seriously! There are *holes*? Where?!). My hips are very open these days so that's not it. And a spritz of water from the sprayer doesn't seem to help. So right now I just hold my knees and roll.
Setu Bandhasana: I'm actually doing this one (used to replace it with bridge). It's always a struggle for me. I don't find an ounce of Sukha (ease) in it and I'm not completely sure that I'm doing it correctly.

Jumpbacks/forward in Surya Namaskara A are lovely and almost floaty. Jumping back/forward from a seated position not so much. I'm still struggling with Lolasana-to-jumpback and although I can jump through with crossed legs, I can't seem to bring my legs forward and bum to the floor (unless I'm using blocks...boo, hiss, I know, I know).

Looking at this objectively, I realise I've made great progress on this series since June. I'm *so* much stronger.