Me, on Ambien

Yesterday, with school being out for some city-wide teachers/chancellor thingy, I asked my kids, "Do you mind if I go downtown to do my yoga?"

"Do it here," they said without the slightest hesitation. "We don't mind your yoga, as long as you do it here," Brian explained.

And so, to the background of Night At The Museum and part of Charlotte's Web, I did my practice. It was good, actually. All of the Marichyasanas were wrist-binds except for Mari D, which was a "touch the wrist" bind, were I am grabbing as far as I can down the hand toward the wrist and then I extend my longest finger as far as it will go and "ping" when it touches my wrist, I have done my job. Kurmasana was downright delightful. How many people out there even really DO Kurmasana? Am I one of the few who actually regards it as an actual pose, and not just prepwork for Supta K? I really enjoy the process of flattenging out while still drawing my feet inward toward one another in order to keep my shoulders firmly underneath my legs, and in order not to allow my legs to splay out so that they start sliding down my upper arms. This usually involves me stretching my arms directly back behind me, rather than out to the sides, at least initially. And it really helps to have some nice mat traction for this, which is essentially, me walking my hands down the length of my mat, lining my shoulders up directly under my arms. Only when I have gotten myself comfortable with the placement of legs in relation to shoulders am I ready stop, breathe and be squished. Suta K wa assisted by Brian, who got fingertips to touch.

Today, was a mad rush though. I got to the shala as late as ever, despite the rule that no poses will be given to latecomers (this rule applies to me; I can' say it applies to anyone else), and I cut corners wherever I could. Well, let me just tell you something you already know: Haste makes waste, my friends. Taking a mere two breaths in each down dog of the Surya Namaskars is not going to release the shoulders, back and hamstrings the way they need to. Breazing through Trikonasana and Parsvakonasana without waiting for the delicious "click" of the hips is not going to make for an easy time in Janu Sirsasana C later on. And a cranky Johnny C is a kvetchy Supta K. Let's face it. As Johhny C goes, so goes Supta K.

Nice jump throughs today; those are getting way more consistent. I can pretty much count on them as long as I meet the threshhold test: Is my lower back open enough to do a close-footed full squat, true Indian style, as in India, as in the way everyone squats there. If it is, then each time want to jump through, I simply draw my belly in on intself, drawing my thighs up to graze my bellow, curling my tailbone under as if I were about to squat in midair, and then I look up, and as if by magic, my feet and legs flow out in front of me, and I can sit down pretty much gently. Nice lack of flourishes today. But sad, sad, depressing Supta K.

I just didn't feel it today. Yeah, I got my hands bound. But I could tell as soon as my hands weer gripping each other, that it was to be short-lived. What I felt was that my back was to rounded and my spine would press up against my hands, causing them to spring apart. I really bleve that this is what sets apart a good spta K from a poor one - whether the back can remain flat even as Supta K starts happening. If the back stays flat, the hands don't come apart for me

Afterwards, Sir told me that he's taking away baddh konasana and Upavista konasana. Oh. Well. He was just kiddin hough. I love Baddja K. And I am NOT giving it up.

But the title of this post was "A bit of a letdown". And that is what my failure to stay boudn as my legs got tied up is causing a let down feeling. I keep thinking about it. I haven't leg it go all these hours! That's not what yoga is supposed to teach me! I think thre is something to be said for failingto do the yoga work and recogn/......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....I cnnot jeep my eyes open. This is sudden!! My legs are restless, my eye can't stay open. Isai that oalready. gMore anorehte rtime....

YC