Day 238

I had an amazing Saturday/Moon Day combo weekend! I spent much of it outdoors, frolicking in the sunshine. On Saturday afternoon, a friend joined me for a jaunt around the neighbourhood and tea at my favourite little indie café. I enjoyed a fun night out with friends on Saturday night. I celebrated my birthday in high style in a grand ballroom with yummy cookies, surrounded by friends, enjoying a great D.J. and dancing into the wee hours (I stumbled home after 3 a.m.). I slept in on Sunday, then headed to our Big Park for more fun-in-the-sun (I even got a bit pink; need to remember that sunscreen).

The weather was so balmy all weekend that I wore shorts and a tank. It seriously felt like summer! I took advantage of this great weather by starting my summer yoga project: free-standing handstands and dropbacks into Urdhva Dhanurasana. I usually work on this in the park, where there are slopes to drop back on and soft earth to cushion my head when I crash land.

Obviously, I have no bandhas to speak of - I drop back like a sack of bricks. Ouch. I had a bunch of successful tries using the steep slope to reduce the distance I need to drop back. That was pretty neat! Then I tried on level ground. The first try ended in an 'abort'. I sort-of wrenched my shoulder. The next try, I resolved that I would drop onto my head if that's what it came to and I sort of did. But I *did* drop back on my own at least.

I fared better in handstands. Right now, I'm working on kicking up, holding for a second or two, then coming down. It's a very odd feeling and I can do it most of the time. When I finally fall out, I'm able to come right back down or fall off to the side. I did crash land a few times, but it was fine. Removing the wall turns this into an entirely different pose! It was strange, but fun and kind of liberating!

I woke on Sunday morning with VERY sore abs. I would love to attribute this to my Mad Skillz on the dance floor, but I suspect it's all the dropbacks I was doing! ;-) I recall that I had sore abs the last time I attempted Project Dropback. I really noticed the abdominal soreness in the Updogs during my practice today.

Today's practice was good, but it took me awhile to coax myself to the mat. I'm feeilng distracted and tired today and I want to eat everything in sight: if that's no a sign of an upcoming ladies' holiday, I don't know what is! I could feel my sore abs in every single Up Dog and anytime I used my abdominal muscles in a pose or vinyasa. I'm actually amazed at how much I use those abs!

After Garba Pindasana, I enjoyed a happy little sigh because every single pose that comes after that point is fun and enjoyable for me. That's when I realised that I wasn't dreading backbends or handstands. Instead, I was looking forward to both! This is certainly a new attitude!