Friday, March 12, 2010

Astanga

This is more like it: cool, rainy, windy and miserable. I’m definitely feeling the March vibe now.

I had a bit of a rough morning. I was feeling some anxiety shortly after waking up. This is definitely related to my upcoming Lady’s Holiday (UG!). I can almost feel the floodgates of hormones releasing. I did some Pranayama to smooth my emotions, then journaled for a little while. I keep a paper journal specifically for keeping tabs on how I’m feeling. This morning, I wrote a list of my top 10 worries. Reading through them, I thought: “These worries are not really worrisome.” (First world problems!) Everything flashed back into perspective again. By the time I sat for meditation, I felt calm and focused.

It’s amazing how subtle changes in my body become starkly evident when I’m doing the same sequence of postures day after day. Today, I felt tired and heavy during my practice. I decided to stick with the Primary Series and did the led Primary with Sharath’s CD. I love this CD because it’s simple and clear. If you pay attention, it’s actually possible to get through the entire practice with every single breath matched to a specific movement. I like practising my lift-ups with this CD because there’s time to move through each one, slowly and deliberately.

It felt disorienting to struggle through this same practice that I was joyfully bouncing through a few days earlier. I did a modified closing and skipped headstand. One practice note: Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana has been so much easier since Teacher IM assisted me on Wednesday. Something just ‘clicked’. Maybe it’s muscle memory, but ever since I’ve been feeling strong and stable in the posture which is saying a lot, because I usually roll over every time!

When the weather chilled off in February, I let Princess Fur’s coat grow out a bit. When her hair is long, she looks like a furry bear. Last week, I groomed her. I thought it would be interesting to do a before-and-after comparison shot.

Before:

After:


I love the surly expression on her face. Her eyes say: Do. Not. Like. And she really doesn’t. She’s pissed off at me for days afterward.

4 comments:

LadyRayCello said...

i'm seriously laughing out loud at this "after" photo....!!!

Brooks Hall said...

She does look pissed in the second pic! I enjoyed seeing these pictures. Dog friends are so cool.

Skippetty said...

HAHAHAHA! Looks like she's wearing an off-the-shoulder top, senorita-style. :)

Kaivalya said...

@LadyRay
It makes me laugh every time I look at it! When I came up with the before-and-after idea, I had no idea that I would capture so much doggie-angst!

@Brooks
Agreed! Dog friends are indeed wonderful. Princess Fur is my 'guru'. She's taught me so much about patience, kindness and living in the moment.

@Skippetty
You're not the first to make that observation! Wait until you see her dry, with her 'furnishings' (that's the technical term for the fluffy hair) brushed out. She's ready for the prom!