Astanga

Ah ha! Back to Astanga today. My arm is feeling better! I didn't over-do it though - I stuck with the Swenson 30-minute short form, by the book. For some reason, it always takes me much longer than 30 minutes. Today, I was on the mat for about 45 minutes. And boy, I felt stiff. The muscles around my left hip are still very crampy.

I'm developing a theory around that and it's not a happy one. A lot of the crampiness is around the sacrum. I hope this isn't that elusive Sacroiliac Thing that plagues Ashtangis. That would totally spoil my plans for January!

After my practice, I bundled myself up and bundled Princess Fur up, then we went for our daily walk, stopping at the pet store for dog food. Did I mention that it's cold out? It's COLD out! But I'm not complaining because I was the one being all annoyed last week because winter wasn't kicking enough ass. We have snow on the ground and ice on the sidewalks. The windchill is -17. Enough!

I made Princess Fur wear her fancy red polarfleece dog coat, made by the signature Canadian company, 'Roots' (Stop laughing, Australians!) and her hot pink dog boots which I found on sale at PetSmart two years ago. I hate the colour but half price is half price.

Don't worry, I'm going somewhere with this. In fact, I'm going here:

PunK RoCk PrinCess

Boy, she looks indignant! Clearly, I was having waaaaay too much fun with the clippers that day!

This was fun! So, henceforth, Fridays on this blog will known as 'Princess Fur Fridays' and will feature a story or photo of my favourite downward facing schnauzer. At least, until I run out of good material and we all know *that* will never happen!

Astanga

My Geeky Adventures continued today with the Routine app on my iPod.

I sat down and enjoyed 20 geeky minutes of entering my modified Swenson Short Form, including my custom added poses (technology makes me so happy!). But I completely forgot to add different sides for poses like Utthita Trikonasana, so it didn't work very well in practice. I need to go back and edit the sequence and also take the holds down to 30 seconds for each pose.

But in theory, it's terrific!

I'm back to pondering the holds in my poses and thinking that for some of them, I may increase the hold to 1 minute. While waiting to chat with Natasha Rizopoulos at the Yoga Show, I overheard her say that she's moved toward longer holds (8-10 breaths) even in the context of an Astanga practice.

Because I'm on the mat daily, I've found the space to fine tune my practice in ways I wouldn't have imagined even last year. Experimenting helps to keep me engaged and it's fun!

Astanga

Day two of the holiday was partially a working day for me. I taught a class in the morning, then chatted with my accountant about my taxes.

Eeek! Taxes!

I hate even thinking about finances. The good news is, I'm getting a nice refund. :-) The bad news is that it's just enough to pay off my stupid credit card. :-(

I'm working on a contract over the next week which will bring in another cheque, just enough to pay off a loan from a friend. This is one of those years when everything feels like 'one step forward, two steps back.'

I escaped to the park with the dog for an hour, did modified primary afterward and laid around in Savasana for 15 minutes. When I felt sufficiently soft and gumby-like, I went out for a sushi lunch. Sushi may not solve all my problems but it can help me forget them. Besides, nothing is going to be open tomorrow, so I might as well live it up today.

Astanga

I didn't feel like thinking through a Hatha sequence today, so I did the 'Short Form + 3' today. I've been thinking of ways to make Savasana more comfortable and enjoyable. Doing a bit of restorative yoga to release my low back seems to work - or using a bolster (though I always seem to be too lazy to get up and find it). Maybe I could try doing some Pranayama at the end of the closing sequence to ease into a more restful mode. I don't seem to have as much trouble moving into Savasana after a Hatha practice.

I love all of this experimentation in my yoga practice, trying new things, pushing my edge in news ways, mixing things up. It makes me a better teacher and expands my scope as a practitioner.

I just completed Month 3 of my Yoga Streak. By now, daily practice is one of those goes-without-saying things. I just do it. It seems so easy to just do it. Looking back on my Yoga-less Streak last fall, I recall how easy it seemed to just NOT do it. The lesson? Routines are easy. Get into one and anything is possible. Anything can become automatic and expected.

A few interesting things have come to light in Month 3. I started exercising daily again, taking 45 minute brisk walks up to the Big Park with my dog. The path to the Big Park includes the Big Stairs, about six flights up a steep escarpment. Usually, these stairs are the bane of my springtime walks because I'm out of shape for them. This year? I'm hardly out of breath when I reach the top. Sometimes, lost in thought, I ascend the stairs so effortlessly that I reach the top before I realise that I'm through climbing them.

The only difference between this year and last is daily yoga. In fact, I thought I was in much better shape last year (having skated daily for months), but last year those stairs kicked my keister for the first month. I believe it's because I'm stronger; my body isn't working as hard. I experienced a similar level of fitness when I started riding my bike again. I feel stronger and I have more endurance.

Little things like this surprise me. Daily Yoga fringe benefits, I guess.

Tomorrow: I move into Month 4 of my Yoga Streak. WoYoPracYea! (World Yoga Practice Year), continued...

Astanga

I started working today almost as soon as I woke. After a few hours of productivity, I took the dog for a walk. When I got back, I started a bean soup on the stove and hopped on the mat. Soup practices are always great because the apartment gets warm and steamy.

I steamed and sweated my way through my short form Primary +3. Bhujapindasana is fast becoming one of my favourite poses again. I'm even entertaining the thought of adding a few more poses to my medley soon.

I've been living deep inside my head these last couple of days, sorting through different options and reviewing my finances. The bottom line is, April is going to be a spare month and I'm at peace with that. I had to make some tough choices, but the rent will be paid, I will have food to eat and money for transportation. And I'm doing everything I can to move forward.

In the midst of my practice, I was looking around my beautiful little apartment: at the books, my computer, my bike, my dog curled up sleeping on the futon. I was thinking about my family and my partner and my friends and students. And I was suddenly overwhelmed with a deep sense of gratitude for it all.

Nothing is easy but everything is okay.

Astanga

I squeezed in a quick practice in the afternoon before heading out for dinner and a movie. The weather has been touch and go lately, but today was spectacular.

Practice was short form of the primary with my added poses.

I was out on my bike in the afternoon, running some errands and it seemed like the whole world was out and about - entire neighbourhoods filled with happy, light-jacket-clad people, full patios and children on scooters and bikes. The joy that filled the air made for an almost 'festival' atmosphere.

Almost spring, almost!

Astanga

Adding three poses into my Short Form sequence has revitalised it more than I thought possible. To be honest, I wasn't even aware that I was bored with the short form, but I look forward to each of my +3 poses with eagerness. Bhujapindasana, in particular, I'm really enjoying.

This is a bit of an epiphany for me, in regards to the Mysore method. Although I'm certainly not following it, I can better understand it. It makes me wonder if I should continue to add in 'new' poses every couple of weeks until my Primary Series is 'full' again. It's certainly a fun way to build a practice.

And my practice today was fun. That seems to be the theme of the week. This is my last 'slow' week until June. My full schedule of classes kicks in next week (and thank God, I'm skimming the dregs of my chequeing account right now). I've been doing work around the apartment, catching up on finances, submitted my tax materials to the accountant and reading book after book.

I had my fourth guitar lesson on Monday. I don't feel like I'm making a lot of progress, but I'm sure I probably am. It's all incremental and I can't hear the changes because they happen so gradually.

Astanga

Guitar lesson #4 is this afternoon, so I spent the morning alternating between work and practice. I'm working on three songs right now and the first two are coming along really nicely, but the third involves a technique called 'finger picking' and it's not going so well. Need more practice. I think my right fingers need to do some vinyasa yoga to build strength and endurance!

Also, I've created a new Law of Kai. It's called the “Recession? What Recession?” law. I'm not talking about the stupid economy anymore. Specifically, I'm not using the economy as an excuse. For anything. There is no recession!

Today's practice was a new invention of mine I'm calling 'The Short Form +'. (I'm very inventive today, eh?). Today, it was the Short Form + Purvottanasana, Tiriangmukhaikapada Pachimottansana and Bhujapindasana. 45 minutes of bliss on my Manduka during which I thought of nothing else. Then it was back to work.

Astanga

We were awake by 5:30 this morning. It felt very odd to be up at that hour. Last year, I was a habitual early riser and I treasured my leisurely mornings. Over the winter, I got lazy. This spring, I would like to ease back into an early schedule. It makes everything so much easier because I feel like I have more of the day. Lately, I've been getting up around 7 a.m.

I went for a long walk in the park just after sunrise. During the winter months, I skate for exercise, but as soon as the snow clears I start my walks again. I have a favourite 45 minute route that traverses sidewalks, trails, city and forest, including a series of steep stairs up to the big park.

Usually, the stairs are difficult for me during these first walks of the spring, but not this year. I spring up the steps two at a time and I'm barely winded when I reach the top. I can only attribute this to my daily yoga practice, since I haven't really been skating consistently this winter and I do no other cardiovascular exercise.

When I got home, I did the short form. I was lazy, lazy, lazy and took a more hatha approach to the series with long holds and a leisurely pace. I teach a morning class and then I'm going to go to the farmer's market and run errands.

It's cold, but I plan to do this on my bicycle. I've been biking everywhere since the temperatures warmed to plus-zero. Like the walking, I'm finding biking to be an easy adjustment this year; I feel strong. I'm truly enjoying the outdoors and all this physical activity. Bring on spring!

Astanga

In January, I participated in World Yoga Practice Month to launch my Year of Doing Yoga Daily. As a daily participant of WoYoPracMo, I won a prize: A lovely OM candle donated by our very own YogaMum. The beautiful gift arrived in the mail this week and totally made my day.

Here it is, in a place of honour on my altar:


Today's practice was the short form. Yes, again. On the plus side, I seem to have settled into doing an Astanga practice every other day. It's working for me. Now, I just need to move it up to a full primary.

I'm feeling really tired today. I was up early and volunteering at the soup kitchen this morning. First time in a long time and it was great to see everyone again.

My low energy may also be due to the temperature, which has dipped back down into the single digits (and, Goddess-forbid, the minus digits). As I was biking to a class today, it actually started snowing. If garlic wards off vampires, what wards off snowflakes?

Whatever it is, I need some!

Astanga

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I celebrated by wearing a green necklace to the class. Practice was the short form and I played around with drop backs against the wall.

I taught one of my young students how to drop back today and it occurred to me how ironic it is that I can give all this great advice and guidance on how to drop back, but I still can't do it on my own. It's embarrassing. Part of it is due to an inflexible spine - I've never been bendy. Of course, there only one remedy to that: more back bends. But I hate them.

Really, really, hate.

It's so much easier to do the stuff I like - strength stuff like handstands and arm balances. Of course, I didn't previously enjoy hand stand either. It came with practice.

Harumpf!

Astanga

We're having a nice preview of spring! I took out my trusty little folding bike for the first time yesterday and again today. I headed downtown, riding across the university campus and through preparations for the St. Patrick's Day parade.

The range of participants was bizarre. There was a Chinese Dragon, the Falun Dafa (Falun Gong practitioners) marching band and Jamaican music on steel pans. Oh yes, and some Irish stuff too! Lots of green.

I continued down to the Sunday flea market and wandered around looking at stuff, then ate brunch at a funky little greasy spoon diner across the street.

After I rode home, I couldn't bear to be indoors, so I took the dog for a long walk, then grabbed my hoop and headed to the park.

The hoop is a new activity for me. I bought a folding hoop back in February and took one class (remember the bruises?), but I haven't done anything with it since. Today, it was warm enough to practice in the park without a jacket. My hoop was so pretty and sparkly in the sunlight!

I practised rotating the hoop both counter-clockwise (the direction most comfortable for me) and, less successfully, clockwise. Some people don't bother to learn both, but it makes sense to me to alternate between them. Interestingly, I found that it was easier to hoop in both directions when I focused on my breath - very similar to yoga. When I shifted my awareness to breath, my body seemed to know what to do.

I came home afterwards and did the short form of the Primary Series. I had a great practice! I felt so calm and connected to my breath. It was lovely.

Astanga

Okay, back in the saddle again. Between my Lady's, a rich brunch, a party with lots of cake, a dinner of sumptuous Thai food and a dinner party too decadent to describe, I'm feeling a tad pudgy again. And I won't mention the Mrs. Fields cookies...(oops).

I haven't been skating very much this month, even though the rink downtown is technically open for business. The ice hasn't been very good and I don't have a subway pass this month. I'm thinking that tomorrow might be a good day to re-launch my daily walks. Maybe the energy of my walking will hurry spring along because, really, it can't come soon enough!

Today, I resumed a more vigourous practice with the short form of the Primary Series. It's incredible how weak I can feel after just three days of restorative yoga. I could feel my energy levels climbing with each sun salutation.

Astanga

I did the Short Form, but it was really a perfunctory sort of thing because I'm teaching four classes today and still feeling tired from yesterday. Thursdays are generally a 'do what I can' day, and that's usually not much. I let myself off the hook for accomplishing anything important.

The highlight of my afternoon was laying on the futon reading a book and cuddling with the dog, then taking a nap. :-)

Astanga

I'm having an awful day. Pretty much everything that could go wrong, did go wrong (But I still have a hockey game in a few minutes, so there's still room for a continued fall from grace).

*shakes head*

I'm fervently hoping that this run of bad karma has run its course and that tomorrow will be a bit brighter. Even a tiny bit brighter would be great. In the meantime...

My practice today was less the result of tapas than of habit. I simply put one foot in front of the other and eventually both feet ended up on the mat. I did the Swenson short form because that's literally all I had in me.

As I moved through the series, every pose was a prayer: 'Please let things get better. Please let things get better. Please let things get better.'

For me. For you. For everyone.

Namaste.

Astanga

Ouch, my armpits.

Every time I think I've become intimately familiar with every possible muscle group in my body Ashtanga introduces me to a new one. The area below my armpits and into my sideribs hurt like hell all day and particularly during my practice. Especially while attempting jumpthroughs. Yup! Somebody overdid it yesterday!

Amusing sidenote: I was trying to figure out precisely which muscles were at play by googling “sore muscles under armpits and all I found were pages and pages of people complaining about their sore muscles and wondering how to get rid of them. I don't have any answer but one: don't do Ashtanga yoga. *grin*

For benefit of the curious, I'm thinking my soreness was in the Serratus anterior. My second guess is the Latissimus Dorsi. Or maybe both.

Anways...Swenson Short Form today. And ouch.

Astanga

I did Swenson's short form today, following his sequence down to the letter. I wasn't feeling particularly rigid. The honest truth is, I was uninspired and just wanted to jump into something easily and fluidly. The short form is good for that - I unrolled my mat and stepped right into sun salutations.

My practice felt particularly good today, maybe because of the heat. It's very warm and humid here - well, warm for February. The high was 4C. When I'm teaching, I often end up demoing poses 'cold' because I'm not doing the practice with my students. I forget how much I love a pose like Sarvangasana (shoulderstand) until I do it with warm muscles. I was sweating today, so even the forward bends were blissful. Also did a great headstand today.

Everything just felt great. It's been a great week!

Astanga

Ouch, my shoulder! I don't know what I did to it but this has been going on for a couple of days, which is actually odd, given that I've been doing a restorative practice since Sunday. It feels like a pinched nerve, just an occasional, fleeting burning/sharp sensation around the left deltoid.

Also: Ouch, my hip! I took a hooping class on Monday night and it felt great. It's a terrific workout and so very, very different from yoga (which is why I like doing it). It also makes me aware of how unbalanced I am in the movement of my body. I couldn't seem to get my hoop to spin entirely horizontally. I woke up the next day with the most fabulously multi-coloured bruise on my left hip, right along the pelvic head. Looks like I got beaten up (and it's true! I did...by a hoop!). It's still very tender.

And finally, to cap off my litany of complaints, I'm feeling yucky and run down and I have no idea why.

Today, I did a modified Swenson short form of the Primary Series today and despite my ennui, it did feel good. I took a break right around Virabhadrasana I to google shoulder injuries and, deciding that whatever I have can't be too serious, carried on (and my shoulder felt fine for the remainder).

Astanga

WoYoPracMo, Day 26.

I went skating today on the natural rink in my neighbourhood park. I don't remember using the park rink much last year. The weather was very wonky, with periods of warmish weather and rain and I guess the ice never took. This year, we've been 'blessed' with a long stretch of much colder weather.

The rink was flooded for the first time last week, but I didn't get around to skating on it until this past weekend. It's really nice to have a rink nearby and even better to be able to skate with my stick and puck. It gives me the chance to practice stick handling while skating. It was such a gorgeous day to be outside. It was very cold (-10C), but bright and sunny. I soaked up the sunshine and fresh air and felt a little less stir-crazy after.

It's been a few days since I did anything Astanga, so this evening I did the Swenson short form of the primary series. I have to admit, the short form is starting to feel too easy. I should really be doing a half-primary instead and I'll probably opt to do that next time. I really love that short form, though. It's compact and flowing and it hits all the bases.

Astanga

WoYoPracMo, Day 22.

One of the things I love about Astanga is that it just is what it is - it's a sequence. When I don't feel like messing around with a video or DVD, or figuring out what I want to do on the mat, Astanga comes through for me. I know the Primary Series by heart - all I need to do is unroll a mat and get to it.

So that's what I did today. I had 40 minutes to spare in the afternoon (busy teaching day, I was between classes). So I unrolled the mat and jumped right into sun salutations. Sometimes doing a daily yoga practice reminds me of jumping in a cold lake. You can't just put your toe in and test things out because you'll never get in. Best to just jump all at once.

I had a good practice. After the backbending practice I did yesterday, my legs felt very tired, but I didn't notice anything else out of the ordinary. Today, though, I noticed that my shoulders were a lot more open in the Mari's. That might be due to the 6+ Urdhva Dhanurasanas I did, which I held for approximately 10 years each! *eye roll*