Tartan Yogi

Hoorah for my new blog (representing Scotland in among all the US blogs)! It will be rather fabulous to keep an eye on my practice like this so I can remember when I have good practices so it makes me forget about the bad ones. And who knows, they might be entertaining for others to read too!

So far this week I have been to one mysore class and one led class, and am off to mysore tonight. I didn't practice last night as I went to see Jasper Fforde do a reading (if you haven't read any of his books then do so immediately, they are rather splendid indeed), and then had to do an assignment, how rude.

So bad me. I really am trying hard to stick to the traditional way of practicing five or six days a week, but things conspire to get in the way. Ah the joys of a full time job, social life and doing an Open University course and trying to practice 2 hours a day ;)

The mysore practice on Monday was rather good actually, even if I do say so myself (obviously in a non egotistical yoga type of way). I managed to bind on one side in Mari D, woo hoo for me! Although best not to get too excited because the other side was a disaster and I fell over almost knocking over the person on the mat next to me. Unfortunately my four(ish) year ashtanga practice has not managed to make me elegant and graceful yet.

Although it proves my horrid knee injury is getting better as I was able to attempt Mari D on both sides. I managed to do something to my right knee while getting into lotus at home (probably being too impatient as usual and trying to yank the stiff side into place) and have been doing an unfulfilling modified practice for four weeks. It really does impact on the flow of practice having to think about an injoury, but it has been a good lesson. Before when I have had an injury, and they are always on the same side, I have stopped practicing (the injuries are due I think to a couple of car accidents [I told you I was clumsy] when I was littler than I am now, which is quite a lot being a six foot tall lady!).

I digress, so this time when my knee was in poor shape I did my usual full primary series practice but modified any lotus work on the right side and crossed legs instead of doing lotus. Not quite the same as a full practice, but a good exercise in patience. And it has meant my injury seems to have healed faster and my practice isn't set back as a result. So if I have injuries in the future my game plan is to do the same.

And the led class on Tuesday was good too, although I am at the stage where I should be trying to do mysore practice most of the time I like doing a led class every week as a wee change. Am looking forward to tonight's class, bring on those backbends. I love dropping back! I think probably because I have always been able to do it (spent many afternoons as a child doing them for fun), and standing up from a backbend is getting there, although I need to work on coming up without Charlie Chaplin feet, very unelegant. And also the bit sometimes when I have to run forward to stop myself falling over, my teacher once made me move away from a window just in case I ran out of it by mistake, most embarassing.

Right, must do some work, new blogs are most distracting and this post is way too long already!

No post for the last couple of days as I have been at the marvellous Wickerman festival and have been doing sterling work on my handstands and sun sals in lieu of a full practice. Back to normal practice now though. If dancing counts though, I did do a full practice...

I had a fantastic practice on Thursday though. Really intense. It was with a teacher who I don't usually get at the yoga centre, and my goodness she is strong - even though she is about half the size of me! I got my head to the floor in badha konasana for the first time in a while and I was feeling it in my hips on Saturday :)

When I got to backbends, I did a couple of dropbacks, but because my arms were fairly tired due to lots of strong adjustments, I rather inelegantly fell over as I was trying to come back up into standing. Unfortunately I fell right into a plant pot. The two newbies who had been watching me do backbends (with what I like to think was awe at my backbending prowess, but was probably more likely to be amusement at my charlie chaplin feet) burst into giggles. Oh well.

Then the teacher got an acomplice to help me and did an adjustment I have never had before. The teacher put a belt round my back under my arms while I did urdvha dhanurasana and the helper put another belt round my hips and they pulled on both belts. I was told to bring my hands further back and it was the deepest bacbend I have ever done. In fact I kept forgetting to breathe! After that I even did some handstands, it is true what they say about backbends giving you energy!

Anyway, as I have the day off work to recover from the festival I will do a nice home practice after I have done my housework, it is non-stop glamour all the time round here you know.

Oh dear, my husband is trying to eject a pigeon from our stairwell and it sounds like the pigeon is winning...must go and help.

Bad case of the monkey mind today, but still did my practice aided by David Swenson. Thank goodness for his video practices. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that yoga should not be practiced at home unless you have a proper room for it with no distracting articles. Like 2 cats who want to help and a husband who is faffing about in the background listening to the noises that a theramin makes (don't ask!)

I was also thinking a lot about body image and yoga today, after reading an article in one of my mother's Yoga Journal's (I read hers as I no longer subscript, really it is recycling and very yogic!) I have pretty poor self image, and although not overweight, I feel just too big sometimes. Probably mainly to do with my height and feeling out of place ever since I was a teenager - I felt and still sometimes feel like I take up too much space.

I remember at a class one, when I came to do backbends, that a teacher said he couldn't do them with me as I was too heavy. At the time I promptly burst into tears, but 4 years later I realise he may have been right, just not very tactful! After all I was about a foot taller than him. Being a 6 foot tall girl is no fun somtimes, like finding boyfriends tall enough (thankfully my husband is 6 foot 3). Mind you it does have its advantages at concerts!

Anyway, the point is that I am now much more confident and able to deal with things like this because I know my body, while not perfect, is strong and fairly supple and that is mainly down to my yoga practice. Sadly this doesn't stop me wishing for smaller thighs so that garba pindasana is easier...

Just some random thoughts I had while practicing. Funny how trying to focus the mind throws up all this stuff!

My mother has this saying that if you let it, laziness will get you in its cluches. Probably why I hate being lazy, however as I am doing badly on the practicing front this week I think laziness has caught me :(

My excuse is having to do a last minute assignment for my Open Uni course (as well as trying to do practice and have a full time job, a husband and 2 cats to look after). Poor me! Anyway, to rectify all this feeling sorry for myself, I am taking myself off to the yoga centre to do a talk through and will do a couple of practices at home over the weekend as I can't get to the centre tomorrow.

Next week I will turn over a new leaf and will resume my normal three or four classes a week plus a home practice or two. It is all about routine I think.

I have also been dead tired this week, I don't know why, probably due to stress of rolling out a big project this week at work. I really do worry too much about work, I suppose that is why yoga is so great as it gives me something else to concentrate on, it is hard to worry about work when you are doing drop backs!

I think this weekend I will do lots of work on my pathetic headstand. It is ridiculous that I still cannot do this pose yet, I think it is fear more than anything else, and my honed avoidance techniques. Although at least now I have perfected the art of falling out of it, which does help (providing there is no furniture in the way). Now at least I can get up without using the wall, but I think it is a question of finding that balance point and concentrating on it, rather than thinking oooh, look I am doing a headstand and promptly toppling over.

It is a shame there isn't anywhere at work I could practice, it might look a bit odd in an open plan office though.

I have just signed up for the week long 'teacher training' by David Swenson in December. I am really excited about it, although I am certainly not going to do it to be a teacher, not in a week ;) Rather I am going to do it to have totally immerse myself in yoga for a whole week and to learn how to improve my own practice, bliss!

It is a bit daunting though. I will write more soon when it has sunk in a bit!

Will help get rid of that lazyitis though!

Interesting led class on Thursday, we had a try at Astavakrasana B, which was let's say, interesting ;) I can get the lift before going to the side, but as soon as I try to swing my legs to the side I just collapse. I suppose not having moved on to second series, let alone third, it is highly unsurprising. But it was nice to do a different posture in an astanga class.

I was thinking the other day about if I would carry on practice if I never got to second series, and I think I would be happy to do the first series postures forever and never contemplate the other series. I don't think you can ever master a posture even if you are amazingly good at it because evey time you do it you approach it in a different way.

However, saying that, it is always tempting to think about the next step. My primary series is pretty strong and I can do all the classic things you should be able to do before moving on like binding in mari D, standing up from a backbend etc, but I have never been moved on by my teacher so am happy to stay where I am. It means I can work on making my postures really strong. I think maybe what is holding me back is my lotus work. Having that knee injury, and an ankle injury before that has slowed me down somewhat, but it has taught me the virtue of patience!

So anyway, a rambling post, I'm off to practice!