He rocks

Good practice today. Returning Guy, Chanting Man, The Other Dave, Sanskrit Scholar, The British Director and me. I've been struggling to get to Volleyball Guy's by 5:30 AM--I've been coming in at around 5:40, when everyone's well into their suryas, which makes me feel kind of left behind right from the get-go. So today I made a point of being there at 5:30, and sure enough, the guys were already there practicing. But I didn't feel quite so late.

Last Mysore practice, I felt like I was kind of going through the motions at some points. I remember particularly feeling like a slacker during utthita hasta padangusthasana, which I just slid right through to ardha baddha padmottansana like a baseball player sliding into third. Today's intention was to be present and attentive throughout all of the poses. Duh, I know. I'm supposed to do that all the time. But hey, I'm human.

I did stay present throughout practice, and it was just lovely. So there's not much to say about practice per se, which gives me a chance to write about Volleyball Guy.

Volleyball Guy rocks. End of entry.

Just kidding.

Here are a few stories of Volleyball Guy:

When we are practicing, sometimes someone catches their foot on their rug and kind of messes it up. I've seen Volleyball Guy behind us, straightening our rugs as we practice.

I use a thin block for hanumanasana. I tuck it under my front hamstring, right near the insert, so I can square my hips up better. Often, at some point during the time I am practicing, the block appears at the end of my mat, waiting for me when I get to hanumanasana.

I am struggling with the bind on marichyasana D. Today, Volleyball Guy adjusted me in marichyasana B. Then he stood by while I struggled and struggled and struggled with D. I was just going to give up and ask him to help me, when I realized that I had gotten further into the pose than I ever have, and that I finally understand how this is going to work.

On the other hand, I find getting up into handstands pretty easy, and quite fun. Volleyball Guy usually spots me on three after utkatasana, and three more at navasana. Today, he stepped back while I was doing the utkatasana handstands. When navasana rolled around, he went off to do something else, leaving me to use the wall as a spotter, and to try to figure out how to come back down with some grace. He's taught me as far as he can on this one, and now it's time for me to figure out the rest.

Last, but not least, my weirdo backbending routine. For this month, I am doing ustrasana and dhanurasana instead of urdhva dhanurasana. To see if I can stretch out my shoulders, keep my backbend, and then eventually put it all back together and do a better urdhva dhanurasana once my shoulders are stretched out. Every morning, Volleyball Guy adjusts me in these poses, then he has me do a handstand. He turns his back to me, grabs my ankles, hauls me up on his back, and leans forward so I am backbending over him. Why? So in a month we can see if my urdhva dhanurasana is even slightly less atrocious than it usually is.

So you see? I really could have started and ended this entry by simply saying Volleyball Guy rocks.