October 23, 2009 at 12:31 pm (Bumping into YOGA, Running to HEALTH, The steps of LIFE)
After a one-day break, back at the shala–practice felt fantastic. I was flexible and strong, and I just felt really light moving from asana to asana. Of course, no jump throughs or jump backs yet–who knows when those will come; but in the meantime, I just really enjoyed myself.
The best part was, perhaps, that I managed to do a very deep, connected breathing. This is rare for me, so I was particularly excited 
PS On other news, I’m delirious–I’m fitting into my clothes once more!!! (and they are lose)!! It’s as if I had a whole new wardrobe to chose from (which I have not been able to wear for more than two years). I have officially lost 16-17 pounds by now since mid-August. I still have a little more to go until I reach my “ideal”… but I couldn’t be more excited or motived to keep the efforts going
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October 22, 2009 at 1:52 am (Bumping into YOGA, The steps of LIFE)
Second day of practice this week. Nice to see good old friendly faces at the shala… unfortunately recently everyone’s attendance seems to have become more haphazard, and I miss the old stability of the crowd. But things happen (and I know they have happened to me, sometimes) so I guess it’s understandable… Anyway, today, it was nice to see a bit of the shala I love back. 
Practice felt a little stronger than yesterday. The inverted triangles were not a disaster anymore, and the rest of the poses felt pretty good, too. I just was sorry that I didn’t get adjustments in a couple of poses that could have used them… (like the Prasarita C and the forward bend)… but I guess overall everything was good
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October 20, 2009 at 1:41 pm (Bumping into YOGA, The steps of LIFE)
I took a two day break (including the Moon Day on Sunday) and I was back at the shala this morning. Yesterday morning I must have been really tired, since today I felt a huge difference just getting out of bed on time.
I was excited to go and stretch, and I felt particularly good about some things–e.g., my forward bends are getting much better, I finally can put my head on my knees during the seated forward beds without feeling tortured. But my balance was really whacked out during the hasta padas and the inverted triangle was worse than ever. It may be a mental issue–I’m starting to see this pose as my “nemesis”. That said, I know my hips are probably getting tighter with the running, so that may explain why a pose that has always been challenging for me is becoming more??? I don’t know. I want to think that I should see progress, and right now, while I feel much better overall with the practice, I feel I am regressing in that particular pose. 
Anyway, look forward to going back to practice tomorrow, I suspect that getting back to the daily practice will stretch the hips and gluts again…
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October 17, 2009 at 4:05 pm (Bumping into YOGA)
Shala today, though we are all fighting the elements here… this silly rain has lasted for days and won’t stop. I only made it to AYC by 8:30am, but it turned out to be OK–Saturdays are not as popular as Sundays for practice, and today was not the exception–even if the fact that tomorrow is a Moon Day brought a few unusual attendees that normally do not practice on Saturday.
The practice felt great–better than yesterday. I can tell that I still have, of course, so much to work on, starting with my breathing issues. Good stretches all along, that made me come out from practice totally loose I need to think whether tomorrow I will go to led Ashtanga or to “Open”…
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October 16, 2009 at 1:46 pm (Bumping into YOGA)
I think it is a combination of more stress at the office, me going to bed a little later than usual (after 11am) and this horrid cold and rain. The thing is, the last two mornings I’ve felt too wiped out to wake up and go to the shala
This morning, I tried to compensate with practice at home. It was not as long and deep as I do at AYC, not for lack of energy, but because I couldn’t get out of bed before 7:30 am and I needed to be out of the house by 8:40 am the latest to go to the office. So, in reality, I just had 40 mins to practice.
I got a good stretch, though, and was happy to do my Sun Salutations, which I felt I needed despite it all. I also tried Marichy C for the first time (it’s not in my “given poses” yet) and I realized that my hips seem to be particularly tight on one side–in which I found the pose extremely hard (no bind in my dreams). Now I understand why so many fellow yoginis need adjustment in that pose. Other than that, was happy to touch the floor again on my own in Prasaritta C (though with a finger ).
The other thing that is haunting me is that damn inverted triangle. I almost feel I”m getting worse instead of better! I’m now working with a block, to see if that makes the pose easier, but it’s not the case. Perhaps the running and swimming are tightening my hips and here is where I see it? Hum. The problem is that I need the extra exercise to lose weight (this morning I was finally down to 141.4 pounds, compared to 156 pounds in mid-August, yay!!). I need to get to 134 pounds (my ideal weight) so I cannot afford to cut down on physical activity. Plus, I enjoy the runs and the swimming, quite frankly.
Looking forward to a long practice on Saturday morning. Maybe I’ll go back to D’s advice and even do the full vinyasa in between all seated poses Also, I plan to do an “Open” class at AYC on Sunday afternoon, which D recommended sometime ago to improve my alignment in some of the poses in which I still have trouble…
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