Thursday, September 3, 2009

Vinyasa

I enjoyed my morning practice so much on Tuesday! Not too hot, not too cold, not too sunny, not too many people, and most importantly, quiet.

I wanted a repeat.

This morning, I woke early so I could walk the dog up to the Big Park for another blissful morning practice. The park was practically empty and the sky was a deep, blue bowl. The leaves on the trees glowed neon green. Seriously, I could not ask for better weather. In my city, this is as good as it gets!

What I didn't know, is that I was about to have 'one of those days'. You know, one of those days when EVERYTHING goes wrong.

But back to bliss...The ground was dewy and wet, but that was fine. I happily started my practice, a Yogadownload Hot Yoga/Power Yoga fusion class (Hot-Power Fusion #1, 60 minutes, Lauren). When I'm doing a lot of Astanga, I miss practising poses outside of the Primary Series (I'm thinking of stuff like standing balances like Ardha Chandrasana, hip openers like Pigeon, standing splits - that sort of thing). This class was heavy on the standing balances, which was good fun and there was a half-Pigeon in there too.

Half-way through my practice, I heard a roar overhead and the ground shook beneath me. I glanced up curiously: Military jets. Rehearsing for the weekend air show. Great. The dog was shaking like a leaf, trying to wedge her body beneath me in downward facing dog. I spoke to her soothingly, but carried on.

And that's when the Riding Mower started. He began near the edges of the field and started ominously working his way towards me in in large, looping spirals. Each time he came close, the dog would break out in new spasms of terror.


As I was 'enjoying' Pigeon, the Riding Mower and the Military Jet synchronised their movements in perfect precision, converging simultaneously. The dog tried to wedge herself into my left leg.

Savasana? Ha! You must be joking!

So much for quiet mornings in the park. I know there's a lesson in non-attachment here someplace. I'm digging. I really am.

2 comments:

Arturo said...

hi Kai
there's a wonderful rooftop deck where i live. maybe i should practice up there in your honor and give you a report. i'm afraid of the wind, though, since it would be on the 12th level of a building. there is a little room with doors, but the roof is glass, so you basically cook under the sun without shade. the other parts, where the wind gets to, have shade.
cheers,
Arturo

Kaivalya said...

@Arturo
I do love outdoor practice, but I'm kind of 'on the fence' about it these days. Love being outdoors, but wish I had a backyard to be 'outdoors' in (so I wasn't such a public spectacle). I'd like to better control the conditions of my practice. I have a larger post about this percolating in my head - more to come, no doubt.