Astanga

It’s another beautiful day out - I’m starting to feel spoiled. March is usually such a horrible month here, but this is absolutely delightful!

Last night’s ice hockey game was very late. I almost skipped it, but since my teaching schedule is light, I booked time in the afternoon for a long nap and made the 9:30 game. I’m glad I did (even if it meant getting to bed after midnight). We won the game, 7-1. I like these easy games because I don’t have to work very hard - I just loaf around on the ice and enjoy...lol.

As is always the case after a hockey game, I was very stiff on the mat the next morning. My hamstrings and hips were particularly tight. I eased through it and vowed to just enjoy every pose. Silly but effective: Before each pose, I said out loud: “This is my FAVOURITE pose.” It worked! Every pose was my favourite today.

I did a bit of extracurricular backbending with my balance ball and the chair. I’m finding that the chair is an effective rehearsal for positioning my arms for dropbacks and a huge confidence booster. Starting with my hands at my chest, I ‘pretend’ to drop back, bringing my arms up and back to the wall. I worked on going up and down, matching my breath with the movement, like a vinyasa. Since breathing properly in backbending is sometimes an issue for me, this seems like a good pattern to establish.

After I finished, I packed up my Manduka and towels, even an eye pillow. Tomorrow is my fun day at the yoga studio with Teacher IM. I’m looking forward to the break in routine.

I’ve launched my Devanagari studies. Here are the short vowels, or ‘swaras’:

Five down, 36 to go.