Astanga

Thanks for the well-wishes for my hockey game, everyone.

We got pounded, lost the game 4-1 (we officially came in second place, but that's okay - the pizza tasted just as good). Turns out, the reason that the other team was SO good is they have a *very* special player: The Bionic Woman.

She's scary. When I mentioned the losing-my-arms thing, I was only half-joking.

That's why this next part is so *very* funny.

In the second period of the game, I was positioned along the boards, valiantly attempting to keep the puck in the other end so my team would have a decent scoring chance. That's when I noticed her, the Bionic Woman, moving toward me at mach speed.

I held my ground with this single courageous thought running through my mind: “Holy shit. I'm gonna DIE.”

She plowed into me and then she kept going, tripping over my stick and crashing to the ice as I looked on in amazement. I was amazed that I was still standing! Then the whistle blew and the ref pointed at me.

“Dude, you've GOT to be kidding! I was just *standing* there!”

“I know, I know, but you *did* technically trip her.” He pointed at my stick.

Unbelievable! I received a two minute penalty for that. Me! The pacifist, vegetarian, meditating, yogadork! The one voted least likely to hurt a fly! My teammates were simultaneously indignant and amused. I'm just not a rough player.

So there I am sitting in the penalty box, serving my time and these two little kids wander over from the viewing area. I smile and tell them: “I was bad. The ref put me in a box!”

The little girl giggled. “You're in time out!” she announced, and wandered away.

I certainly was! :-D

I wasn't sure how my yoga practice would be this morning, given the game and the unusual quantities of alcohol consumed at the pub afterward (I rarely drink, but just for the record: three drinks seem to be enough to put me under the table...lol). But I seem to have turned some kind of corner with this shoulder business because I felt fine on the mat this morning, definitely better than yesterday.

I did a solid half-Primary, skipping only Janu Sirsasana C, broke into a good sweat and felt more focused than I have in days.

I had a weird vertigo moment after Parsvottanasana. I'm not sure where that came from but it made Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana *very* interesting. I just felt slightly off-balance.

Sirsasana has been feeling unstable for me too, to the point that I don't feel entirely comfortable bringing my legs back up after holding the half-bend. Today, I skipped that part and came into child's pose. I haven't been doing very much of that pose over the past week, so I may have lost some of my strength for it.