Invasion of the Bikramites

Led primary this morning. Very crowded, and even more Bikram folks. Bikram Teacher and the Contestant were there, but that's not so surprising, seeing as they're coming to Mysore at Volleyball Guy's. Two additional Bikramites, though: the Head Teacher and the Male Contestant. Head Teacher is the top teacher at the local Bikram studio, and the Male Contestant was in the same contest that the Contestant prepared for a few months ago. Anyhow, new folks in class, which is always fun. I practiced between Head Teacher and the Male Contestant. They said they enjoyed class, and that many of the poses were familiar.

The Cop brought home a knee wrap for me yesterday. It was quite nice--just enough springy support to prevent me from unconsciously torquing my knee, and it kept in a good bit of heat. So my knee felt good. I actually did all the poses per usual (in lotus), and we'll see how I feel tomorrow. The knee pop is perhaps a wake-up call for me, in terms of form. It wasn't bad form that made it pop in Marichy D, but still, it is a reminder that I fold my legs into lotus without thinking about it, and the fact is, my hips aren't super open. Which means my knees bear the brunt. So I've done some reading (Coulter's Anatomy of Hatha Yoga was helpful) and am realizing that I have to be more conscious as I do lotus--flexing my feet to keep the knee stable, stuff like that. Essentially, I just have to be more mindful.

Practice was great fun, though, today--despite the injury. I have had boundless amounts of happy energy the past few days. I've been amusing myself by tormenting The Cop, My Gift from the Universe, even the dog and the cat, with all sorts of silly antics. And I felt it in class, too--movement felt so good, all I wanted to do was move and breathe and once dropbacks were done, I wanted to play around with inversions--just anything that is physical and playful.

Now we're off to show The Cop's cousin around. He is visiting the desert for the first time. It's always fun to bring folks from the east coast out to look at saguaros and desert mountain vistas.