yoga # 21.5
About 40-45 minutes of yoga tonight. A really good solid practice. Did a lot of strength-building work. Tonight I was able to hold my warriors for seven full breaths each, even on the left, without shifting the bent leg to straight and back again. That left thigh has been an issue for me, so I'm excited that I had some more strength there to rely on tonight. I rocked my crow again. I had some serious difficulty getting up into my headstand, because I was just sort of heaving myself up there without being mindful and thinking it through, and I was getting very frustrated (R in the living room: *thud* "dammit" *thud* "motherfucker!" F in the kitchen: "Ah, the sweet zen sounds of yoga..."). But I stopped, sat quietly for a moment to collect myself, and then went into it more thoughtfully, and was able to lift myself up and into the pose.
Tonight, having a shorter practice, I realized that I really do want a full hour of yoga. I spent most of the practice doing the more intense poses, which is good for stamina and strength, but I didn't really have enough time for cooling down and working on the gentle wrists and neck and ankle poses I've been trying to work on lately. I really need to do both in order to take good care of my body--the wrists and neck and ankles are happier with some gentle attention.
Also, I decided at the very end of the practice that I wanted to try a full wheel rather than the easier version that I usually do. It was good to do the wheel, it felt good and I found I'm stronger now than I was a few months ago, but it was NOT good for my wrists. I'd already done some nice wrist stuff, and doing the wheel right at the end of the practice kind of screwed it up. So, I learned tonight that I should absolutely do the wheel and practice it, but I need to work it in earlier, when I'm doing the more strenuous work, and then save the gentler poses for last. My old teacher Gene used to do the wheel/upward bow pose almost last in his class, but that's just how it worked for Gene's class--I don't have to do it that way in my personal practice.
Tonight, having a shorter practice, I realized that I really do want a full hour of yoga. I spent most of the practice doing the more intense poses, which is good for stamina and strength, but I didn't really have enough time for cooling down and working on the gentle wrists and neck and ankle poses I've been trying to work on lately. I really need to do both in order to take good care of my body--the wrists and neck and ankles are happier with some gentle attention.
Also, I decided at the very end of the practice that I wanted to try a full wheel rather than the easier version that I usually do. It was good to do the wheel, it felt good and I found I'm stronger now than I was a few months ago, but it was NOT good for my wrists. I'd already done some nice wrist stuff, and doing the wheel right at the end of the practice kind of screwed it up. So, I learned tonight that I should absolutely do the wheel and practice it, but I need to work it in earlier, when I'm doing the more strenuous work, and then save the gentler poses for last. My old teacher Gene used to do the wheel/upward bow pose almost last in his class, but that's just how it worked for Gene's class--I don't have to do it that way in my personal practice.
