Self Practice

I really have hit a tempo with my practice. I feel like the practice week just flies by. I'm generally working pretty hard during practice, but I do not have that deep and bone penetrating tiredness that I experienced this summer. Thats pretty good, because that phase of my ashtanga practice was not the most fun!

What has helped a lot in the last few weeks:
-Doing "sets" of urdhva dhanurasana - 2x3, raise up for 5 breaths, lower on exhale, raise on inhale for another five, repeat, rest 5 breaths, repeat set. Its great and is just what I need to build stamina. Stamina has been a big hindrance to my vinyasas during second. Now they are feeling stronger which is much more satisfying.
-Using MB as a point of dharana. This one is apparent to a lot of practitioners, but only became obvious to me after a few weeks of MB exploration. It really is just the perfect point of concentration.
-Extending the breath. This arose from practicing pranayama and I *think* becoming more aware of my breath as a result. I realized at times my breath was borderline gasping. By extending it I have calmed my bodymind and can work on a deeper level than simply muscular tissue.
-Taking my time. There is no hurry to "get" dwi pada (I've got my hands full with eka pada!). I've realized the last couple months that the practice works best for me when it is done evenly and not frenetically. The new pose comes when it is ready, at a natural time. I have to mention along this line, my "anxiety" about new poses (especially titta A and pincha M) have decreased dramatically. If I'm not pushing myself for new poses then once the poses come I will feel completely ready for them, rather than maintaining this partial field of doubt and resistance (which probably had a lot to do with my energy levels when transitioning into 2nd).

Thats all thats going on in my Ashtanga World. A LOT of other stuff is happening, namely working on applying to graduate school and generally studying/reading/thinking about classes.

Life is good,
Andy