I was practising in the almost-dark, by candlelight. For some reason, this set a tone for my home practice and I was futzing less.
I managed to pull off my full practice, Primary plus Intermediate, backbending and finishing in exactly 90 minutes. I know this is mostly due to the time limitation. But still!!! I used to struggle just to get through Primary in 90 minutes at the Shala.
An efficient, futzless practice always feels better to me.
Backbending was great! I had a little eiphany this morning while dropping back. I discovered that if I push my hips forward at the *exact* instant that I drop my hands to the floor, my landing is much lighter! No trauma to the wrists! Yay.
Standups were also good. I'm still standing from the futon. I'm starting to develop a better sense of where my hips are in relation to my ankles, so I know when it's possible to stand up.
I'm also using a little trick DR taught me in a workshop a few months ago: As I rock back and exhale, I try to straighten my legs. It's like coiling a spring - it gives me better momentum when I rock forward to come up.
Standing up was SO easy this morning, I'm starting to think about removing the cushion again and taking away my extra 10 centimetres. If my dropback landings continue to be very soft and controlled, I may do it!
The irony of the morning was arriving promptly at 8:20 a.m. for a cancelled 8:30 appointment. I wasn't notified (disorganised people annoy me, but I was really nice about it). I came home and proceeded to get a LOT of work done that I would have been struggling with later in the afternoon.
And I still have time for a nap!
I'm seriously thinking of getting up early for practice tomorrow. I love early morning practice and I love taking naps. Maybe this is the answer?
(photo was taken at the Really Big Park last week, as I explored the off-leash trails with Princess Fur)
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4 comments:
yay, sounds like a great practice! go kai go!
Ooh nap time. I swear sleeping is my favorite activity. I'm an old feline thing.
I'm going to try to get going at 7am tomorrow. I have a feeling I'd be fine to go back to the shala, but I sort of feel like taking this whole week off from the commute. My friend Ayelet got Mula Bandhasana today, the first pose of 4th. I was a bit green. I telepathed that. She was like, "How did you know?" But then... I got that pose the first time the March before last & it isn't a big deal.
Right? :)
Hi kai, I was going to suggest getting up earlier and napping. I did not have time to comment yesterday, so glad you had a go of it accidently. Napping really helped me when I had my long practice as it gave my body recovery time between practice and teaching. Also long savasana, how long do you do?
@stephanie
Thanks! :-)
@Boodi
I think you'll get Mula B as soon as you get back into the Shala routine. But I *do* find it amusing that JC decided to deliver the pose when you were 'out.' It's almost like he's scolding you for not coming to practice :-D
@Helen
I'm going through a 'savasana-hate phase' so it's never more than 5 minutes, in part because I'm absolutely *starving* by the time I finish practice and just want to drink some water and EAT.
The naps are helping a lot, though.
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