Astanga

Dawn hadn't even cracked when I unrolled my mat this morning at 4:30. That's early, very early, but I actually like it (except the waking up part - that's hard). I've been lighting my OM candle and really savouring every moment. Practice is more contemplative at that hour, or maybe I'm just exhausted ;-)

Since my work, such as it is, is quite mindless, I've been reviewing Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita. A couple of years ago, I learned to chant Chapter 6 in its entirety and even memorised it, but I've since forgotten all but the first four verses. I reviewed those, and re-learnt verse 5 this morning. Fun! I'll keep doing this for as long as the gig lasts, and perhaps into the summer, depending on what I'm doing.

From the Easwaran translation:
“Reshape yourself through the power of your will;
Never let yourself be degraded by self-will.
The will is the only friend of the Self and
the will is the only enemy of the self.”

I also like this one from Santosha.com
“One must elevate, not degrade, oneself
By one's own mind.
The mind alone is one's friend
As well as one's enemy. “

Practice was unremarkable. It continues to be a sweat fest. This morning, I tried rolling up a bandanna and using it as a headband (making me nostalgic for my running days). It worked. I didn't have sweat rolling into my face. I look goofy, but at 4:30 in the morning, no one is around to see me but the dog (and she's asleep).

Due to all the standing around I'm doing in the mornings, I'm experiencing some weirdness in my right hamstring and piriformis. I didn't notice it so much this morning, though my hamstrings were very, very stiff. But my leg was cramping up so badly after supper tonight that I had to lay down and do Supta Hasta Padangusthasana (supine hamstring stretch) then Eka Pada Raj Kapotanasana (pigeon) to shut my muscles up. eek!

A few of you have contacted me via the comments regarding access to KD (Which is a relief, actually. There's nothing worse than throwing a party no one shows up to). In order to add you, I need your email address. If you're already on Blogger, I think it helps to use the email address you use on Blogger. To contact me you can use the comments here or I'm on gmail. My handle is 'reluctantashtangi'.