Splitting my time....

Because of my teaching schedule, I have been forced to split my time between Guy's place and Eddie's place (it's funny - throughout all of this Mysore stuff, I have yet to practice with either one of them due to their travels). And actually, it has been going really well as a result. So, yesterday, I was at Guy's place, practicing under Mark's tutelage, and today, I was at Eddie's place, practicing with Sarah as my teacher. They are very very different. But they are both so incredibly amazing. For some reason, I am finding that I am a bit more focused and contained at Eddie's. Things go pretty smoothly, and I have energy to spare at the end. At Guy's place, I have been quite scattered the last two times. I am hoping tomorrow goes better. I think the difference is probably primarily the time at which I am practicing - I am NOT a morning person, and at Guy's place, I am forced to get my act together much earlier (9 a.m.). At Eddie's place, I don't need to get my act together until 11 or even later. Could it be that simple? And if so, what can I do about it?

Anyway, I think I am really close to binding by myself in Marichi C, which would be so so so cool. I never thought I could. And I think it really might happen soon. I was almost able to do so in the bathtub after my practice today!

Sarah has not given me bujapidasana yet. She doesn't think I am ready - she thinks I need to work out what's going on in Marichi C and D first. That didn't bother me until I saw this other student doing Bujapidasana for the first time today. I had noticed her before - she is a middle aged woman with a slim but completely unathletic body. I have noticed her doing parts of the standing series and thought that perhaps she was very very new to yoga. Then today - she was practicing Bujapidasana for what seemed like the first time. Her hands were really close together, her legs were wobbly. There was no way she was going to even fold over. And that is when I started to wonder - WHY have I not been given this pose yet, since I can TOTALLY do it?

I explained to Sarah that it was weird for me to be stuck in the Marichis (actually, she gave me Navasana, and it's totally fine, uneventful), since I am able to do all of the subsequent poses. She explained that that is often the case. That surprised me, since I often blame everything on my mastectomies, and the resulting tightness in my chest and shoulders.

Anyway, it's all good. I really want to be able to do the Marichis properly, and if I start working on the subsequent poses and their complicated transitions (it is the transitions that are going to be tough for me - the poses themselves present few issues), then it is going to overwhelm me, which is perhaps what is happening at Guy's place. Perhaps I am overwhelmed, and the drama is getting the best of me?

Let's see what happens tomorrow. Maybe I can try to go through the series, right through the Marichis with minimal drama and maximal focus - counting just five breaths in each pose, not repeating Ardha Baddha Padmotanasana, which I have been doing lately. Let's see what happens if I practice at Guy's the way I have been practicing at Eddie's.

There is another possibility of why my focus is a bit off at Guy's, but I don't even want to bring that up here, at least not yet.....

YC