Odds and ends

Mysore this morning. Practice felt good--I kept the mantra "strong & light" in mind, and as it turns out, practice worked out that way.

The stressed breathing that I was having a few weeks ago during the Marichy D through Supta Kurmasana sequence seems to be resolved. My only "sticking point" is Kurmasana. For some reason, once I get into the pose, it takes a number of breaths for my hamstrings to really relax so I can lift my heels. Residual fear, perhaps, from the time I cranked my feet up and hurt the insertion points. Can't blame the hamstrings for remembering that!

Garbha Pindasana is coming along. I can finally get my palms to my cheeks. Volleyball Guy adjusted me today, and it was cool to feel the pose as a flattening out (somewhat similar to Yoga Mudra in the action of the back). I love Yoga Mudra, so it was nice to find that feeling in Garbha Pindasana. Usually I just roll in place and don't go around in a circle, but today I gave the circle business a whirl. It was pretty pathetic, but whatever. There's a part of me that really does NOT want to roll in a circle. No idea why. Perhaps because it seems so ridiculous and undignified. LOL! Like the rest of my practice is dignified! I have no idea what my problem is on that. I just have to do it and get over myself.

The other place where I am taking extra breaths is Upavistha Konasana. After Baddha Konasana, my hips and back are so burnt that I just kind of creakily sink down into the pose, taking a bunch of breaths and being kind of surprised at my own...well, creakiness.

Speaking of Baddha Konasana. Today I decided that Baddha Konasana is, for me at least, the most painful pose to learn in the primary series. Oh yes, I remember my moaning about collarbones when I was learning Supta Kurmasana. And yes, I realize Baddha Konasana may seem more painful now, since it is what is currently hurting. But whatever. The darn thing is pretty intense.

As I've mentioned (often), I am not a natural when it comes to this pose. I started off about...oh, I don't know, maybe two feet away from the floor? Seriously far. Then I learned that if I turn my feet up and engage my quads and PUSH my feet against each other HARD, I can get further forward. So now it's a prop pose for me: a sandbag on each thigh, and then Volleyball Guy goes by and puts a couple of sandbags on my back. It takes about ten breaths, at this point, for me to get my head on the floor. Then I stick around for a few breaths, just to enjoy the searing pain.

Then I sit up straight and press my sandbagged thighs down even more, to increase the pain. Hahaha! When I write it out, the mania of my willfulness is both amusing and frightening. Seriously, though, this is the pose I most had to surrender to: I had to fully believe that I was going to break myself trying, decide to go ahead and break, and then find out that in fact I didn't break. So now I love it, even though it really still hurts. I'm not sure if I've drawn this analogy before (and vegetarians, read no further), but it's like when you roast a chicken. When it's cooked, you can rotate the legs in the joints quite easily. That's the only way I can make sense of Baddha Konasana. It's a pose that's cooking me like a chicken.

Jumpbacks are still on the menu. Looking pretty bad, I'm sure, but feeling more and more familiar. The side of my right foot is getting irritated from dragging on my mat. I suppose once it gets bad enough, it will teach me to curl more effectively. LOL! Lazy woman's guide to Ashtanga: let it hurt until you do it right ;-)