Shana Tova!

Or, a beautiful year! Which is to say, happy new year to all the Jews out there in blogville!

It's 5768, I believe, correct me if I am wrong, and to honor such an auspicious number, I am initiating some new traditions 'round here. First, we will no longer have chicken, but Rock Cornish Game Hens. Second, I will only be buying three of them, since I no longer partake. Third, no more groty bread stuffing. Instead, wild rice, cranberry and pecan stuffing. Takes the pain out of not having anything to eat besides green beans. For dessert, instead of honey cake or teiglach, we are having Dunkin Munchkins.

Traditions are nice. But they don't always work, particularly where the tradition involves heavy slabs of meat and where some of those who partake are fledgling vegetarians.

Tomorrow is my personal moon day, which is why I practiced on Tuesday. Backbending is getting less painful, but my practice takes FOREVER due to the extra time I am spending rooting the tops of my feet to the ground and opening my chest from the top own in Updog. I feel as if now my updog is moving through my body from feet to waist and then from chin to waist and meeting in the middle. It's an interesting approach, suggested to me by Valerie.

Today, before I left, I asked Oni, Val's assistant, how in God's name she can float the way she does (from Trini to Chatwari, she presses her hands down, bends her knees and up her feet float...and stay there until she sees fit to float them back.) We all three of us had a little chat about floating, and Val humbly offered that she cannot consistently float, but that Oni can. I was shocked because I have heard that Val can float like she's rigged with hydraulics. It's nice when you talk to people who are so incredibly advanced in their practice that they don't even consider it advanced, that they don't even see it in that light, and/or that they intentionally play it down. It's rare. It's not for everyone. But it sure is nice.

Anyways...now, in addition to focusing my practice on backbending, I am now going to be focusing my practice on the connection between the hands and the floor throughout each vinyasa. No lifting. No sliding. Put them down, and don't pick them up til the vinyasa's done.

That's all.

YC