Blessed Moon Day

And Merry Christmas!

I had Friday off work, so I was able to practice from 7 to 9, what a treat!

And it was a great practice, despite being thoroughly exhausted from the week leading up to it. It was warm, and light, and light-hearted, with a brutally deep Supta Kurmasana and the attendant sore clavicle.

And afterwards, a hammerhead, bagel, and couch to pass out on at Pannikin!

Then dog park and climbing gym. The combination of practice and climbing is great. My shoulders and back are utterly destroyed - taking two days off will be fantastic. Now off to PDX for the holidays, and practice with Jason and Co.

Thursday Improv !?

Given that it's the last day of work before the holidays, the office is empty, so I decided to come in a little late and I sneaked to Encinitas for Tim's Thursday Improv - which I hadn't been to since June.

And it was epic.

First half of Second Series, with Urdhva Dhanurasana instead of vinyasa. And, per request, we sang Twelve Days of Christmas holding Urdhva D. Arms were shaking by the time we got down to that damn partridge in a pear tree - and then standing up was particularly interesting.

EPIC.

Led Tuesday Primary ?!

I played hooky from work today and snuck up to Tim's for led Tuesday Primary. Actually, I worked for nearly an hour from home before heading up. And it was fantastic, of course, sandwiched between some of my favorite people in a nice cozy warm (!) studio with the sun up (!). I think when people ask me why I practice I should reply 'because it's beautiful'.

Taking the advice of senior Ashtangis, I'm eating Vitamin I (ibubrofen) and Zynflamend (a herbal anti-inflammatory) like candy, and it works - or at least my deltoids aren't feeling as bad.

I'm still beating the Mari D drum, B is almost casual at this point; I haven't failed to bind without assistance in something like two months.

Other lotus-y things, all good, but full lotus still many practices away.

Backbending: fuck yeah. I remember when I hated backbends, now I look forward to them. Standing up is fun. Falling down not bad at all, no me-shaped holes in the walls yet. Bhujipindasana, my nemesis until just a few months ago, has become routine though not easy. The exit happens on most days. Supta Kurmasana is a different story.

Sunday improv/2nd was awesome too. It's a wonder, but I really love Kapotasana. And I was wrenched into dwi pada bekasana for the first time. Such fun.

Mysore-style tomorrow morning, and into work for an 8am meeting. I've got Friday off. Practicing at 7 is going to be such a treat.

FUCK YEAH YOGA.

The Ashtangi Diet

1.) vegetarian - because it's totally Indian, and yoga is Indian, and Indian!

2.) 'paleo' - because human evolution ended six thousand years ago, grains must be evil! All meat, all the time. (aka The Bacon Diet). CrossFit-induced.

3.) omni ('I hate cooking. And like restaurants!')- often accompanied by vaguely self-image-loathing blog posts. Sometimes linked to strange 'Yoga didn't make me skinny!' rants.

4.) not enough - aka anorexic? Honey, eat a damn sandwich, pasasana be damned!

5.) Vegan - see #4.

Heh. I gained twelve pounds (hint: not fat) on a biologically vegan diet after committing to a daily practice.

6.) my personal invention: The Mari D Diet. Consists of leafy greens, quinoa, and tempeh. I'm going to choose to ignore the six berry/banana pancakes I just inhaled. Mari D is going to be spectacular tomorrow, dammit.

On Early Mornings

1.) I started a morning practice after about two years of 3 to 6 days evening practice, typical led/flow/asthanga-based classes. I remember the first few months of practice - I couldn't sit cross-legged on the floor without falling over backwards. Seated forward folds required a strap around my feet. Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana required a strap for a long time. Sirsasana freaked me out. Handstands were even worse. But I practiced many times a week for two years and loosened up.

2.) 7am wasn't that big a shift. I learned that my body could indeed handle full Primary five to six days a week, and that I shouldn't have been as intimidated by Tim's studio as I had been. That was almost exactly a year ago.

3.) I then finished grad school and got a real job. I started July 5th, 2011. Inspired by a few others who show up at Tim's at 6am to practice while others are busy in pranayam, I decided to adopt an 8:30pm bedtime and practice from 6 to 8ish, so I could get to work by 8:20 or 8:30. This was hard. One issue was that an hour made a big difference in how early I had to go to bed, how well I could sleep. The other, primary, issue, was that at 6am I was stiff like concrete. Half lotus-y poses could only be achieved after forty breaths in eka pada rajakapotasana.

Then I realized that practicing Primary M/W/F/S and practicing in the evening via led class on T/Th was killing me - my hips locked up so badly after lotus-free evening practice that the next morning was invariably brutal. At one point I texted a friend after a morning practice: "7x surya A, 7x surya B, and still no paschimottanasana!". That pretty well summed it up. I did, however, learn that I am more naturally gifted at backbending than anything else in Ashtanga (not saying much).

So I tried a different shala on T/Th mornings. Mysore-style, full Primary. Oh, hello, pelvis, nice to speak to you again. It was abundantly clear that I needed to practice full Primary every day. I didn't dig the shala, though, the other participants spent time drinking water, chatting, and checking their phones, and I was the only one putting full effort into the practice. The environment was drawing energy from me.

Work moved to a new office, the new gym space has a section with hardwood floors.

I practice there now Tues/Thurs, despite the clanking of weights in the next room, the 65-70 degree temperatures, the dirty floor, and the mirrors.

But you know what? The solo practice is beautiful too, in its own way.

I deem today a moon day

Or rest day, or whatever. I got up at 6:45, not 4:30, and I'm writing this sitting at my kitchen table.

My shoulders are about to explode - in mysore yesterday they felt creaky and immobile. Rather than risk injury practicing, I deem today a moon day. Bad man, I suppose.

Of course, my practices this week were pretty awesome. Friday should be epic.

Pasasana, Kapotasana, Adho Mukha Vrksasana

List of firsts, in order:

bound

sides of feet

from bakasana

Good practice.

On Kino Yoga (KY?)

Recently, thanks to a few reasonably high-profile Ashtanga-based blogs, I became aware of the yoga blogosphere's crush on a young ashtangi by the name of Kino McGregor.

She's got a nice practice; however, her popularity seems to revolve more around short shorts, makeup, and a burgeoning yoga business (read: marketing).

First off, I'm going to have a hard time taking anybody seriously when the basis of their popularity is their attire, and secondly, I can't take anybody who wearing makeup while sweating profusely seriously. At all.

Mascara? Ashtanga? Seriously? SRSLY?

Notice also that the initials of her business are KY.

Snicker.

Bad Man!

This morning I practiced Primary in the work gym. Cold. Dark. Drafty. Noisy.

This evening I was a Bad Man and played in a led improv class led by a friend.

Tomorrow: Friday Mysore at Tim's. It'll either be really good, or awful. Either way, it'll be cold.

Every morning I practice I come to work feeling like punching the air and cheering. Every morning that I don't (moon days, or sick days), I have a headache, lingering apathy, the antithesis of a practice morning. That alone is worth getting up at 4:30 and spending an hour commuting to and from the shala in SoCal traffic.

Fuck yeah, yoga!

Led Primary

Heather led Primary series this morning.

As the midday led classes tend to be, it was sweaty, deep, and powerful.

Practicing in the middle of the morning is such a luxury compared to my normal 6am practice times.

Practice notes: Mari D is progressing; can get my chest to my knee on a good day. As for Bhujipindasana, 'exit not correct'. Practicing in shorts makes titthibasana near impossible. Lotus is creeping nearer as arhda baddah padmotanasana and paschimotanasana become deeper and deeper. Standing up from urdva dhanursana is becoming routine and far more controlled.

I practiced Primary with Atsuro yesterday; the consecutive practices lead deeper and deeper, until my power disappears and I need a day off.

Ok, now time to get some work done. Working on revisions for a paper written in grad school..