Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Day 23

I overslept a half-hour so didn't get to my practice until nearly 7:30. It wasn't terribly hot, but it was very humid. Good flow and focus this morning. 'Flow' is the best word I can come up with to describe it, though it may not be accurate. Flow is being in the moment of each pose. Flow is not thinking “Wow, are we there yet?” or “Oh no, I'm not even to Navasana yet...”

I've been struck with yet another side effect of this medication. It seems like whenever one thing fades, another thing just pops up to replace it. The joint pain is pretty much a non-issue now (or I've become used to it and it's the 'new normal', which is an interesting thought, but I digress...). My skin is very dry and I developed some mild eczema on my elbows pits (yes, I made up that word and I use it all the time in my classes) but over the weekend, the eczema erupted into a full-blown occurrence. My arms, my shoulders and chest are now covered with tiny, festering wounds.

I thought nothing could make Marichyasana D any more difficult than it already is but I was WRONG. So very, very wrong. Ouch. That's all I have to say about that. None of the twists are very pleasant actually and when I sweat, I itch. I'm not supposed to itch, so there's one more thing to occupy my monkey mind in asanas. Good times!

I'm back against the wall in Sirsasana because I've decided to complicate my life and work on coming into the pose with straight legs (instead of bent knees, the current state of affairs). So far, it's a work-in-progress. That said, I'm still loving headstand. It's become my favourite pose.

2 comments:

Marilyn P. Sushi said...

I'm on a mission to come up with both legs too. Right now I only come up with straight legs but one at a time. You still feel it in your core when you do it that way. Maybe try that?

Kaivalya said...

I've found that the best way to work toward straight legs is to 'go backwards' by practising half-bend: From headstand, come down halfway with straight, or slightly bent knees, using the core (try to hold for five breaths).

If you can do that, then try come up into headstand with slightly bent knees and without 'pushing off' with your toes (using the core to pull yourself up).

Next, work on coming up with straight legs, giving yourself a little 'boost' from your toes.

The ultimate goal: come up with straight legs using the core exclusively.

And did I mention bandhas? Bandhas, bandhas, bandhas! ;-)