Hurtie time

I guess everyone goes through times where practice pretty much just hurts. My hamstrings are both complaining, though the left one is the real problem child. There's something in my lower back that's kind of nagging, too. All of this enough of an issue that I asked Volleyball Guy about how to proceed (after he squashed me in baddha konasana until my chin touched my toes for the first time. I'm not a natural baddha konasian--so this was rather a milestone). He told me to keep on practicing. "Should I keep trying to push into each pose, to try to push through this?" No, he said. Back off just a hair and pay attention.

The key'll likely be more attention in home practice. My home practice has been slovenly at best, lately. Must re-focus and bring some sensitivity to it, try to hear what's going on with all of these crinks and aches. I really do believe that it's alignment stuff happening--the proper alignment promised by yoga chikitsa, but still it's a challenge not to feel overwhelmed or hopeless or scared that I'm going to really damage myself somehow. I guess these are my physical and mental granthis.

On the up side: got Gregor Maehle's book yesterday. What a tome! Super-detailed physical information. Just what I wanted.

Practice has its inception in doubt, is enhanced through dynamism and the application of effort, and develops into faith only as those preceding factors mature.

--Sitting with Koans, John Daido Loori