Monday, June 15, 2009

Astanga

Day 8 of full Primary. Well, it was an interesting experiment, but today it came to its not-terribly-surprising conclusion: I'm tired. *yawn*

I woke up tired, I stepped on the mat tired. In the past, I've usually rallied and I can get my prana up, but not today. I sluggishly endured the standing poses (my allergies are bad and I started with a slight headache).

It didn't get any better with the seated poses (I was only binding to fingers in Mari A-C and couldn't bind at all in D) By the time I hit Navasana, I was pooped. I briefly considered half-primary, but pressed on through Kurmasana (didn't bind in Supta K) to the bitter end (skipped Setu because it seemed like too much work) and did a very modified closing sequence.

Not my finest hour.

To be fair, I haven't exactly been treating my body like a temple this weekend. There was that funnel cake on Saturday. And yesterday, I went to a potluck picnic that resembled a dessert table potlatch. I actually felt a bit embarrassed setting my fruit salad on the table alongside the Cinnabons and cupcakes (it was devoured though). But me? I can't resist sugary treats, so it was yet another unhealthy weekend for food. I need to watch that. Gonna get pudgy...

Tomorrow, I'm taking a break from Astanga with a shorter Hatha practice and I'm tentatively planning Hatha on Thursday as well. Then I'll see how I'm feeling and what my schedule is like.

In other news, since backbending has been on my mind, I remembered that I do own a balance ball. I purchased it a few years ago, but deflated it and put it into storage because I wasn't using it (and it's huge). I thought that now might be the time, but I needed a pump. I added 'Buy pump at Canadian Tire' to my to-do list and literally hours later, I saw some garage sale leftovers sitting at a curb. There was a brand-new pump in that pile! I snagged it and now have a functioning balance ball!

It takes up a lot of space in the apartment - I now remember why I deflated it (it smells funny too). My plan is to use it for supported backbending.

Whee! This is fun...for about 30 seconds, then I hate it. Aversion? Sounds like something I need to explore further! ;-)

2 comments:

Michelle said...

Okay, 2 things.
First: Pudgy? I don't think so. In fact, you likely don't eat enough calories to support your high activity lifestyle.
Second: Sleep more! I liked hearing you slept 10 hours. I know I sound like your mama but... hey, when you read someones blog you get to know and care about them.
I can't help it.

Kaivalya said...

@Michelle: I have a pretty good handle on the pudgy thing. My standard is simple: when I can't button my jeans, I need to lay off the banana pancakes ;-)

The jeans are getting tight.

I have an athletic lifestyle and view food as fuel for the body. I'm less concerned with the quantity (calories) than the quality (nutrition). A weekend of cupcakes leaves me feeling weak and stiff.

When I'm eating healthy, I can have the best of both worlds: a diet that gives my body the fuel it needs at a calorie level that keeps me slim enough to button my jeans.

As for sleep, I'm fortunate that (at least for now), I'm not ruled by an alarm clock. I wake naturally when my body has had enough. Lately, I'm back into a rhythm of 7-8 hours per night.