No oasis in the desert

I had my butt handed to me at led this morning. No idea why, but it was quite a struggle. Hot as hell, of course. (Apologies to everyone who practices in a cold environment--I know my complaints about heat probably seem lame.) I guess it's summer again in the desert. Mid 80s today, though way warmer in the studio. I practiced between The Beautiful One and The Dancer, and I was across from Sanskrit Scholar. Good company, for sure. The Beautiful One caught my eye a couple of times during practice and grimaced in response to the heat. Made me feel a little better--at least it wasn't just me.

At led, Volleyball Guy usually goes around the room, doing adjustments one by one. He got to me at marichy A. I love marichy A adjustments. I can bind it up just fine and put my head on my shin, but I really like the extra push. Admittedly, I really covet adjustments in marichy D, supta kurmasana and baddha konasana, but what the heck--the universe is probably dishing out just what I need. I wonder if teachers feel like marichy D, supta K and baddha K adjustments are the special ones that they give out to whoever they like best on any given day. LOL! I guess those adjustments can be seen as both gifts and punishments ;-)

I thought a little bit this morning about pain and practice. I had my right knee injury a while back--and that was a real injury, involving a pop and pretty bad pain. But everything I feel now can really be interpreted as "opening" pains: the left hip and knee, the collarbones. It's all about my body kind of coming undone, letting go of all of the physical habits and imbalances I've taken on over the years.

Someone on EZboard made a comment about getting weaker as they get more flexible, and I am feeling something along those lines these days in relation to my shoulders. They are...well, I guess they are opening ;-) which means there is a lot more articulation, a lot more range of motion. But at the same time, I seem to not have as much strength. My handstands are pretty darned shaky, and I even notice a shakiness in sirsasana. I think my whole shoulder girdle used to move in one block--and now that it is all loosening up, I am kind of spazzing out. I imagine it'll all re-coordinate in time.

After practice, My Gift and I went to the mall (yuck!) so she could get prom jewelry. I felt pretty lousy the whole time, just totally drained. Kind of a bummer, because I wanted to spend some quality time with her, but just felt crappy. Maybe watching the electrolytes a bit might be helpful as summer wears on. I kind of imagine those scenarios where the person is crawling in the desert, looking for water. Someone at practice today (I'll keep her identity a secret, since she is a criminal) had a container she sipped from occasionally. "What are you drinking?" I asked her after class. Her reply? "Chai." Bad lady. I was so jealous!

I wonder how crim hydration during practice is. How have I managed to come to a point where my greatest transgressions can include things like skipping moon days or drinking liquids during yoga? LOL! Guess I'm just not the rebel I used to be.