Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Day 323

I didn't skip any of the vinyasa today, but I'm still not jumping back or through. I'm taking my time with that because I suspect jumps may have been aggravating the problem with my back. Still, I can feel my strength coming back and it's fantastic.

This illness, and coming back to the practice after a hiatus, has shown me how amazing Ashtanga truly is. The changes in my body during the first year were so slow and subtle that I couldn't really appreciate how incredibly strong and flexible I had become. With my 'beginners mind' and a new perspective, I'm now in awe of my own body.

Today, I smoothly moved through the new routine I've created for myself - a very, very gentle version of Ashtanga, Primary Series up to Navasana. I'm still doing Urdhva Dhanurasana - just once - before closing and enjoying it.

I’m particularly enjoying shoulderstand these days. I wasn't able to do the pose for months because of that shoulder injury but the shoulder feels fine now. The only thing holding me back from really rocking the closing poses are my tight hamstrings. Just being able to do shoulderstand feels miraculous and fun. Yesterday and today, I did Urdhva Padmasana and was overjoyed!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You've left us wondering about your actual illness and what it is...diagnosis?
Sorry it's been so hard on you and your body.
I think your surrender to it and the change in your wonderful practice after so long, is awesome.
A true yogi :)

Kaivalya said...

Anonymous: Because this blog is completely public, there are limits to the detail of personal information I'm willing to post here, particularly regarding specific health issues. Thanks for understanding.

Anonymous said...

Oh no problem...I do understand. I'm just a crazy curious person sometimes :)
Keep feeling better :)

alfia said...

Hi, Kai:
I am glad you are feeling better. It is very wise not to push things, something I can't always do. I am learning from you!

It is funny how we mirror the injuries. Not long time ago we both had shoulder problems, now - lower back. I did skip on arms and tight hamstrings, but the day is young! Do you think we might be just following a natural progression of ashtanga and are supposed to have these injuries? Both of us started doing Mysore approximately a year and a half ago after doing other types of yoga for years. Both of us are teaching. Just a thought... :)

Anyway, I hope you recover soon. Have a great weekend!