Astanga

At least once a month, I have a week when everything feels comfortable and though I wouldn't say it feels 'easy', it's not difficult to bring myself to the mat each morning.

This week was like that. I enjoyed my practices and even when some things didn't 'go well', I still felt happy and blessed and had that glowing sense of contentment for hours afterward.

'Early' is working for me. This morning, I really noticed my breath, as regular as a heartbeat, leading me from pose to pose. If I can establish that rhythm early on, I can ride its coat tails from the first Surya to Uth Pluthi.

Breath, bandhas and driste make it all easier. Who knew? ;-)

This was a week of solid, easy binds in the Marichyasanas and a return to normalcy in Supta Kurmasana (related to losing a few pounds, I suspect). Urdhva Muhka Pachimottanasana has been especially good lately - I can come up holding the outside of my feet most of the time and my legs feel *very* straight as I hold the pose.

Dropbacks were dodgy today, but I easily stood up from the futon three times. I'm laughing as I type this - it's either one or the other, isn't it? But...I think I was *too* close to the futon yesterday. It seems very important to push into my feet and try to straighten my legs as I rockbackexhale to give me that extra upward momentum when I rockforwardinhalestandup.

Tomorrow is a Moon Day. And I have a big weekend ahead of me!

********************
Waking up early has been a bit challenging but I've had some help. I have a new alarm clock. I've always wanted a 'zen alarm clock' but they're pricey.

A few weeks ago, while perusing the Apple Store, I found a 'progressive alarm clock' app for my iPad. The alarm sounds with a series of 'tibetan bowl' chimes which gradually increase in volume and frequency over the course of 7 minutes (or however long you time them).

Instead of being jolted out of sleep by an alarm, my dreams are gently interrupted by this barely-audible chime. It's really changed the way I wake up. I'm less groggy and grumpy when I wake slowly.

It's also made me much more aware of what I'm dreaming in the last moments of sleep. I'm discovering periods of rare 'lucid dreaming' when I can choose to ignore the chimes and continue with whatever dream-activity I'm involved in. In some cases, I've even hurried to 'wrap things up' in the dream before the chimes finally draw me out of sleep.

The app includes a dream journal, so I've been jotting down a few notes about my dreams (still fresh in my mind) after waking. I've always joked that I have exceptionally vivid and entertaining dreams (I don't watch television, so maybe this is my silly brain's way of entertaining itself!), but now I'm realising how truly bizarre my dreams are, particularly when reading about them days later.

The app is available for iPad, iPhone and iTouch. And it's 2 bucks.

********************


I ran some errands this morning after my noon class and took Princess Fur with me. She both loves and loathes being out and about in the city. The noise of the subway scares her, but she loves the smells.

And making a mad dash for the street car is SO much more fun with a happy dog romping at your side! :-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Vinyasa

Today is the new moon, so I didn’t practice Astanga in the morning. When the alarm went off at 5:30, I turned it off, rolled over and went back to sleep.

I was having a fantastic dream that I was driving a luxury RV through a dessert. Don’t ask. It had nifty cup holders and a good sound system. There were tumbleweeds rolling past! And I was eating Smart Food, which technically I’m not supposed to eat because I’m a vegan.

At least, I’m trying very hard to be a vegan. The slippery slope just became a lot steeper.

It’s much easier to be a vegan if you can eat soy products. There are so many good vegan things to eat that are soy based, many of them excellent replacements for things that vegans can no longer eat (like milk and cheese).

Alas, I’m rediscovering that I can’t eat soy in some forms. I have bad reactions to it. It all came to a stunning conclusion this past weekend when I recognised the same symptoms from the last time I went through this. My bad reaction to soy isn’t a new thing; I knew it was a problem. I was in denial. I faced these same issues when I first became vegan years ago (and it was one of the reasons I gave up and went back to being a garden-variety vegetarian).

This morning, I biked to the store and returned the yummy vanilla soy milk, the soy yoghurt that I love so much and the soy creamer I was using in my chai.

And I replaced the soy milk with rice milk. I was curious to see if any significant improvements has been made in rice milk technology over the past ten years. Nope. It still tastes like sugary chalk-water. Next time I’ll get the almond milk (which is actually pretty good).

I also bought...*sigh*...organic dairy creamer.

I know, I know! But chai is one of the great joys of my life. I’m NOT going to give it up. And there doesn’t seem to be an easy alternative. So I’m a very bad vegan, but this time I’m not going to give up because of the slippery slope. I’ll do the best I can. For now, this is it. I’m going to do some cream research. If I have to buy it, maybe there’s a cruelty-free-super-organic alternative.

********************

I did a 45 minute practice today at the gym before teaching a class. I really love doing this! Today, I had the entire room to myself. I shut the doors and put some fun music on the stereo. I did the Suryas, the fundamental poses, then moved into some hip openers and light backbends.

I worked on Laghu for awhile, my new favourite pose. I love going up and down! :-) I’m still struggling a bit to find my ‘edge’, to keep it challenging without being impossible. If I cross that line into ‘impossible’ I just fall back into Supta Virasana and then I need to haul myself up with my arms. Laghu FAIL.

It bugs me a bit that I’m never sore in my quads after these marathon Laghu sessions. I feel like I should be *feeling* something, maybe I’m not working hard enough. The pose is gradually getting easier though, so I guess that’s progress.

I’ve switched up my strategy for working on ‘standing up’. I’m dropping back against a wall, as far down the wall as I can. Then, pushing against the wall with my hands, I push my hips forward so they’re over my feet and I stand up. Well, sometimes I stand up. Often, I fall back again and need to walk my hands up the wall a bit further. I’m trying to develop some muscle memory around the body mechanics and the positioning of the hips.

********************

Monday was my iPad-iversary. On Tuesday, I called Bell and cancelled my DSL Internet service. I’ve successfully transitioned to my iPad for email, scheduling, Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds and blogging. I rarely use my laptop anymore. I take my iPad with me everywhere.

I love it! It’s been useful in ways I never imagined. For example, I used the GPS and maps function as a roadmap to get to Quebec and then to find my way around Montreal and Quebec City. The iPad trumps the ‘TomTom’ because it pinpoints your position on the map, a bit like Harry Potter and the ‘Marauder’s Map’. It’s a boon for insomnia: I can’t read in the dark with my Kindle, but the Kindle app on my iPad gives me that option. I also have a large collection of photos on my iPad. I’ve enjoyed showing these to friends. It’s reawakened my interest in iPhoto and my photo collections.

And one day, when I was sick to death of being stuck indoors on a beautiful afternoon, I took my iPad to the beach and for an entire afternoon, I used the beach as my office!

I’m totally sold on this idea :-D

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad