Day 168

It's cold out today. The wind chill is -16 C (3 F). I was out walking the dog a little while ago and saw a guy in our neighbourhood park doing Ashtanga Yoga in jeans, parka and toque. It was definitely Ashtanga - I recognised many of the postures, though he was doing them a bit out of order. He did Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, Ardha Baddha Padma Padottanasana, some forward bends, then Sarvangasana, Halasana and Karna Pidasana.

A few weeks ago, I remember reading some discussion about heat in practice. I can't remember if it was on the Ashtanga forum or on a blog, but anyways...here's an example of someone who not only shuns a heater, but embraces arctic temperatures for his practice! (and the fresh air and distractions of the great outdoors). I sat and watched him for awhile, but had to leave because my dog was so cold she was quivering (and my fingers were frozen).

I did my practice at 6:30 this morning, *indoors* with my little heater chugging away. Looks like my bound Supta Kurmasana is here to stay. My back was cranky this morning and my whole body felt stiff, but I was still able to bind easily. I'm absolutely mystified and amazed by this. There was no grey area for this one, no period of almost-but-not-quite. I literally went from not-even-close to binding in one day - sort of like the Divine waved a magic wand over my head and said “Let there be binding” and there was.

I accidentally skipped Parsvottanasana yesterday and didn't realise it until I did the pose today. I wonder how often I skip something and don't even notice? I'm teaching a variation on Parvottanasana in my classes this week and I wonder if perhaps my subconscious had a role in the omission; I'm kind of sick of that pose.

I've started to enjoy my Musical Sirsasana very much. I selected a four-minute-long song today and stayed in the pose easily for the four minutes. Soon, I'll need to graduate to 'headstand playlists'. ;-)