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!

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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.

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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

Hatha

I have a question for you.

Say you’re on a beach at low tide, retrieving Princess Fur (who is eating something she shouldn’t, like THAT never happens!), when an Australian Shepard dog races past, followed by a Collie. An angry elephant and a hippo with a big, sharp horn are pounding down the beach, close on their heels (do hippos even have horns? well, this one did). The hippo and elephant turn and charge you. You’re frozen in place, terrified, and Princess Fur is trying to scramble out of your arms so she can continue noshing whatever it was she was eating on the sand.

What do you do?

Well, it happened to me!! And this is what I did: I woke up. *phew*

Then I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I washed the dishes, cuddled the dog, cleaned the kitchen, and read a book and finally, around 4 a.m., I managed to drift off. I woke up at 9 a.m. and my Lady’s Holiday slammed into me like a Mac truck. Pure misery for the rest of the day.

No wonder I was having nightmares!

I did some very light Hatha for about 20 minutes this afternoon. I’m reserving my remaining energies for getting through the day, including the 3 back-to-back classes I’m teaching in the evening. On minimal sleep. While feeling ‘under the weather.’

Good times.