Hatha

This month, I seem to have settled into an alternating pattern of Hatha-Astanga-Hatha-Astanga. There's no rhyme or reason to the pattern, except I do it every day without fail.

My Hatha days are loose and unstructured and have taken on an atmosphere of fun. I'll try more challenging poses multiple times, challenge myself to hold them longer and longer or add my own playful variations. Astanga days are focused and flowing. The fun is in not needing to improvise - the sequence is laid out for me with soothing regularity.

Each practice nourishes me in a different way.

Today, I continued to play with balances. I experimented with looking back at my raised leg in Ardha Chandrasana to check the alignment, then looking back up at the ceiling. This work with standing balances has made Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana strong and stable on Astanga days.

I spent a lot of time on Bakasana today, experimenting with different ways of coming into the pose and trying to come into it in a deeper way. This means getting the knees into my armpit and balancing the knee tip into the very top of the tricep. Ouch. It also means straightening the arms. I managed to do these things, but not together and when I tried to jump my feet back to exit the pose, I fell over into a puddle of giggles. Fun!