State of the state

Yay, my parents are back in their own state: Florida. Golf courses. Ocean. Hurricanes. And I am in my state: Arizona. Mysore practice. Quiet time with The Cop and My Gift. Sigh. Life is good again.

Practice was busy this morning. More and more, the new faces are becoming regulars. Add in the diehards, and we have a considerable shala.

Today I had my usual left hip/hamstring glitch, with the added entertainment of some twinges in my shoulder. Left over from a rotator cuff tear a couple of years ago. I know there is some stiffness and probably adhesions in there, and it's scary to try to work through it. Is the ache a result of my loosening scars of an old injury (essentially "digesting" and being done with the injury) or am I just hurting myself all over again? Ah, so many questions that will only come clear with time ;-)

What I can definitely count on these days, though, are my Mysore adjustments. Which pretty much inevitably include: a spot on handstands between navasanas and adjustments in supta kurmasana and baddha konasana. At this point I am madly in love with baddha konasana, probably because it is such a difficult pose for me, and each time I touch my head to the ground, it is just thrilling. Also, the adjustment is scary, which introduces a nice sense of adventure and surrender. And the cracking sound is fascinating. I guess because I am surprised I can hear it and not feel freaked out.

Supta kurmasana is the other challenge at this point, but I am not as invested in it as I am in baddha konasana. Mostly, I think, because the kinesthetics of supta k are kind of unfathomable, and the pose is only going to come clear with time and practice. I'm not going to be able to figure it out in my head. The idea of supta kurmasana being yoga nidrasana upside down is interesting to me, and I can't help but think that yoga nidrasana seems like it'd be easier to pull off than supta kurmasana. LOL! No doubt this is one of those cases where something seems so obvious in my head, and then when I try it, I am astounded by the depth of my cluelessness. Kinda like when I read Richard Freeman's explanation of Marichy C when I was learning the pose, and thought "Oh, gee, now that he's explained it like that, surely I can do the pose." Yeah, that was a disappointing morning ;-)

Okay, back at work, back to practice, back to normal everyday life. Nice.