Astanga

I slept in until 8:30 this morning and it felt very, very good. And very necessary. I was walking wounded yesterday and I don’t know how I got through my four classes. By the time I started teaching the 8 p.m. class, I was slurring words and tripping over my own feet from sheer exhaustion.

I did a late morning practice today, full Primary Series but I ran out of steam at the very end: couldn’t motivate myself to do the backbends, got distracted during the closing sequence and skipped everything after Sarvangasana. No headstand today.

Missing the lotus poses wasn’t a big tragedy, but I can’t believe I forgot to do Savasana! :-D

I practised with the recording of Sharath’s led Primary today, but I’ll return to Beryl tomorrow. I’ll have the time to devote to a longer practice and I miss doing Bakasana after Utkatasana.

*For those of you just tuning in, I rarely do a ‘self-led’ Primary Series (though I do go through phases with that). I generally practice with either the audio of Beryl Bender Birch’s ‘Power Yoga’ DVD (which is a full led Primary) or the audio of Sharath’s led Primary. An audio led Primary keeps me on track and I enjoy the company during my practice, even if it’s just a disembodied voice. I've been doing a home practice for over 14 years and videos, DVDs and audio recordings have been key in helping me maintain this.

I finished my big project - let's call it ‘Declutter 2010’ - this afternoon. The grand finale was making space in my tiny storage nook for the television and VCR. I rarely use either, and they were collecting dust on my shelving unit (and I was always afraid I would knock them down during my inversions practice).

In the newly created space, I'm storing my Djembe (African Drum), which makes it easier to access (so maybe I’ll play it more). My guitar has its own corner now. Everything looks tidier. I like the feel of a space with minimal electronic gadgets. It feels very homey and organic to me.

Every single closet, drawer and storage space in my apartment has now been cleared out and tidied. I’ve shuffled through my book collection, generating a pile for resale. I’ve thrown away several bags of junk, donated piles of clothing, and cleared out my desk.

I’m ready for the new decade! Bring on tax preparation (next project!)

Princess Fur is fully recovered from her dental surgery. I knew she was back to her ‘old self’ when she asked for her toys. I pulled a few more out of storage when I was cleaning this afternoon and she entertained herself for hours, pulling them out of the bag they’re stored in (I think that’s her favourite part).


The fun was absolutely *exhausting*