binding, binding, binding

90 minutes - vinyasa 1/2

finally, i made it back to the studio after moving. i have practice precisely once since we actually moved homes primarily because working, having two children and unpacking is a lot like have 2-3 full time jobs. i fall into the bed every night and take every spare minute in the morning to collect sleep.

this morning, however, i committed to the studio. i'm so glad i did. it took me a minute to warm up, but the whole practice revolved around warrior 2 and moving from warrior 2 to a variety of other positions.

my milestones today include binding in 2 positions that i've never been able to manage before. first, the yogic squat. basically, you squat with your knees and ankles pointing the same direction (for me, slightly outward) and put your hands in prayer position. (my girlfriend taught me how to sit like this almost 20 years ago because it's how the old korean ladies sit in the market.) then somehow the instructor got me into the bind- one arm under and one arm behind. i've never done that before.

then, the second bind came right after. we were in side angle pose and i made it into the bind there as well. except i couldn't hold it for the whole time. i don't know how many breaths we were taking, but i made it about half way through. i guess that's what i get for not practicing for 3 weeks.

still, i'm pretty proud of my progress.

standing half moon

60 minutes - balance

Last night was our final on site yoga class at work before the summer. I know my co-workers like the instructor, but I have to say that I'm not a big fan. He takes forever to get into the poses.

However, last night I did the full standing half moon poses without falling over. The key for me is looking down to find my focus instead of looking up at the ceiling. And standing on the floor instead of my mat. It felt so good and so strong to be able to push out of both arms and both legs at the same time.

Super proud of myself.

bind

60 minutes - on site fitness

we had on site fitness last night with not my favorite instructor, but the practice was nice. it was only me and one other co-worker. as we neared the end of our practice, i managed to get into a full bind in a seated twist. and just as i settled into the bind on the other side, a police officer walked into the room.

"is this 1399?" he asked. what?

he asked again. then he asked, "are you burglars? we got a burglary alarm."

let me paint a picture for you: 3 people sitting in a fairly dim conference room on yoga mats with peaceful music playing in the background. if we were really burglars, we were the worst ones ever. who breaks into a conference room to practice yoga?

in reality, someone had forgotten we were there and set the alarm on us which is set off by motion. i hopped up, disarmed the alarm and got a false alarm ticket.

the instructor wanted to repeat our previous pose to get us back into the rhythm, but we had done fish pose right before that and i really didn't want to do that one again, so we did something else to refocus our breath and finish up.

seriously distracting.

nice and easy

25 minutes - whatever i want

this morning, i thought i would do the 12 asana practice my friend recommended to me, but i kept getting dizzy in downward dog. so, i scrapped that and did a nice little series of standing poses, a balancing pose and some seated forward bends. i added a little twist to round out my practice then tried to finish up in hero pose again.

except i couldn't quiet my mind. the cat tried to use my mat as a scratching post. i worried about the baby waking up. i thought about the back to back interviews i have scheduled this afternoon. ugh.

i gave up and started my day. oh well.

car yoga

a recipe

all one needs to practice yoga in the car is two young children in the back seat and a long drive ahead. for me, this is how the practice unfolded.

we started out listening to music, but soon snacks were in order. i passed a snack back to daughter number 1, then twisted myself into a pretzel to pass a snack back to daughter number 2. and the magnadoodle, and the books and the everything a young person could possibly want during a long car drive.

i used my flexibility and strength to really make it happen. happy car travels to you!

yoga with a friend

60 minutes - vinyasa 1

i met a girlfriend at the yoga studio tonight for an evening class. it was geared toward level 1 and i'm glad she chose this one because the last time she practiced was during pre-natal yoga. we were pregnant at the same time and our little ones share a birthday. they are 20 months old now.

it felt kind of strange to practice next to someone i knew. i felt like i had to pay attention to her and we kept lining up so that our arms would crash into each other as opposed to staggering on our mats. and i felt like i had to really do great at everything since i've been practicing more recently. in my brain, i know it's not a competition, but my mind kept slipping that way.

and...

i got my heels down in downward dog! not for long and only after i had warmed up, but they were down. i could finally push through my heels and my hands at the same time. maybe if i keep this up, i'll be able to do it consistently and not just have them touch for a couple of seconds per vinyasa.

i did it!

supported hero

30 minutes - nice and easy morning practice

yesterday morning, i started my practice in mountain to find my breath and get centered. i cycled through some sun salutations, standing and seated poses. then, instead of ending in savasana or corpse pose, i decided to sit in supported hero pose. (to add support, place a block under your sits bones. if it's too much of a stretch to sit in the full pose, this adds some height and helps if your feet tend to fall asleep.)

frankly, i was afraid i would fall asleep if i totally relaxed into corpse pose so i chose something more active to settle myself.

i found that i got lost in mindfulness, just noticing and letting thoughts pass through. i let go of my breath and just paid attention to my body. then i realized i didn't know how to get out. usually, i wiggle my fingers and my toes when i'm ready to start my day, but this time i didn't have a familiar pattern to undo my silence.

fortunately, M started shuffling stuff around in the kitchen and it provided just enough distraction outside myself that i could open my eyes. i started my day in a good place. and it was a good thing because i ended up working until after 9pm.