Inspired by yesterday’s relative success, I practiced at home before work this morning again. It was nice–I appreciated being able to see the sky through my windows, and the sun I was saying hi! to
Again, I took easy modifications for the jump backs and jump throughs–not jumps, just steps. I skipped the same seated poses as did yesterday–since they would put pressure on my toes, which I don’t want to risk. I also continued to skip the vinyasa in between the seated poses (a bit of a cheat…, I kn…
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Added by Nairam on November 2, 2009 at 7:39pm —
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After a completely wasted week, in which I felt increasingly unhappy and stressed (and ate a lot as a result), I finally decided to give a try to practice today. I was a little hesitant since the toe still hurts and the foot is still bruised, but I thought it was worth the risk.
I was happy to see that I could go through the Sun Salutations (without the jumps, just taking steps, but still going through all the motions). All the standing poses were comfortable as well. The seated asanas were a l…
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Added by Nairam on November 1, 2009 at 10:18am —
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This morning I had a great practice. It was hard to wake up, since yesterday I ran for about an hour (I guess more than my usual 3 miles, although it's hard when the first half of the trip is uphill) and then went to the swimming pool to do some laps. Anyhoo, I managed to get up early and start practice by about 8:15 am. I felt pretty strong throughout and fairly bendy (I had the best hasta padas to date). And D promoted me to Marichi C (very hard on one side) and my first back bends :) :) :) (w…
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Added by Nairam on October 25, 2009 at 9:21am —
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After a one-day break, back at the shala–practice felt fantastic. I was flexible and strong, and I just felt really light moving from asana to asana. Of course, no jump throughs or jump backs yet–who knows when those will come; but in the meantime, I just really enjoyed myself.
The best part was, perhaps, that I managed to do a very deep, connected breathing. This is rare for me, so I was particularly excited ;)
PS On other news, I’m delirious–I’m fitting into my clothes once more!!! (and they…
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Added by Nairam on October 23, 2009 at 6:30am —
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I took a two day break (including the Moon Day on Sunday) and I was back at the shala this morning. Yesterday morning I must have been really tired, since today I felt a huge difference just getting out of bed on time.
I was excited to go and stretch, and I felt particularly good about some things–e.g., my forward bends are getting much better, I finally can put my head on my knees during the seated forward beds without feeling tortured. But my balance was really whacked out during the hasta pa…
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Added by Nairam on October 20, 2009 at 7:43am —
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Shala today, though we are all fighting the elements here… this silly rain has lasted for days and won’t stop. I only made it to AYC by 8:30am, but it turned out to be OK–Saturdays are not as popular as Sundays for practice, and today was not the exception–even if the fact that tomorrow is a Moon Day brought a few unusual attendees that normally do not practice on Saturday.
The practice felt great–better than yesterday. I can tell that I still have, of course, so much to work on, starting with…
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Added by Nairam on October 17, 2009 at 10:07am —
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I think it is a combination of more stress at the office, me going to bed a little later than usual (after 11am) and this horrid cold and rain. The thing is, the last two mornings I’ve felt too wiped out to wake up and go to the shala
This morning, I tried to compensate with practice at home. It was not as long and deep as I do at AYC, not for lack of energy, but because I couldn’t get out of bed before 7:30 am and I needed to be out of the house by 8:40 am the latest to go to the office. So, i…
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Added by Nairam on October 16, 2009 at 7:51am —
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It’s getting cold–and it’s hard to go to practice early in the morning. Let alone getting out of the house–getting out of bed one one can feel that it’s dark, damp and freezing outside is really difficult for me.
Anyway, I pushed myself out of bed this morning and went to the shala. I knew I’d better go, since yesterday I ran about 3 miles in the evening and while I got some stretching at the end, the yoga practice in the morning was needed to avoid getting stiff–particularly since I couldn’t p…
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Added by Nairam on October 14, 2009 at 6:29am —
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Columbus day, so the office is closed for business (though I may go in a bit later). The shala also opened later for business, and I made it there by 8am (as opposed to before 6am).
It was a good practice-a little better with my breathing; D almost did not adjust me today, so most of the poses were as expected (still very strong hasta-padas which made me really happy, but I did not touch the floor on Prasaritta C without the adjustment, though admittedly I may not have tried hard enough). Nice…
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Added by Nairam on October 12, 2009 at 8:37am —
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Made it early to the shala today-I still don’t know how, since for a few seconds, before waking up, I seriously considered not going at all. Yesterday evening I did a relatively strong (for my standards, understood) 3-mile run and some free weights for the upper body/arms. While I am not very sore ( likely thanks to the stretching) I felt, overall, tired.
I moved fast through the practice. I didn’t feel as strong as yesterday–I was a little stiffer, and definitely not as fresh… I could feel my…
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Added by Nairam on October 7, 2009 at 6:25am —
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Finally I’m coughing a bit less, and I was able to practice this morning. Surprisingly, after 8 days without practice, I felt really strong and flexible. Even poses that are usually a bit of a challenge for me worked well (e.g., the hasta padas), and I was able to improve on some of the poses I like (e.g., touching the floor with my hands at Prasarita C). I’m also a little lighter now, and I can feel it in my jumps :)
The catch: I was a little afraid to breath too long or deep and get myself in…
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Added by Nairam on October 6, 2009 at 6:31am —
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Nice practice today, though I started a little stiffer after two days of not practicing (Saturday and Sunday). However, I have to start working harder on my breathing, since I often catch myself doing it quite shallowly. I guess what this suggests is that I’m not focusing the way I should; and probably not, I’m too concentrated into getting the pose right (and align it with the breathing) rather than on lengthening the breathing itself. Hum.
Other than that, bummer. Apparently I went up 2 pound…
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Added by Nairam on September 28, 2009 at 6:00am —
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Practiced today, and I was surprised about how fast I moved through my whole sequence—I think on Sunday I will need to slow down and increase the number and length of the breaths. I think the cause may be that I’m simply getting stronger; I have also been swimming and running (I alternate, one each day, in the evening), and I can feel that I’m just moving easier through practice in the morning. At the same time, I feel as if yoga were tying it all up… very interesting.
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Added by Nairam on September 25, 2009 at 6:30am —
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A little painful, this morning, to wake up since yesterday night I went to dinner with some friends. Despite the fact that it finished early, the wine doesn’t seem to accompany yoga well, as Alfia has pointed out in the past.
Anyway, I was a little bit more tired during practice, but overall it went very well. I love my Marichis and I feel I’m getting better as days pass, which is very motivating
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Added by Nairam on September 25, 2009 at 6:29am —
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Feeling good. I took yesterday for resting, but at night I actually hit the gym–did 7 miles in the stationary bike and then 45 minutes in the step master. After that, I worked on my abs, did some weights and stretched.
This morning I was surprisingly not sore, but by the time I was entering AYC I felt the lower tendons on my thigh muscles burn a bit–which is not surprising since I had not done bike-like movement in at leat 8 years before yesterday night.
Anyway, practice went really nicely, I…
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Added by Nairam on September 22, 2009 at 6:33am —
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Yesterday I went for a swim at the YMCA after practice. I have to say, I expected to be dead today at Mysore, but nothing close--I really enjoyed the practice, which I feel is getting much stronger. Today D finally gave me Marichi A :) I think he may be considering erasing me from the "slackers-who-don't-show" black list, now that I'm more regular with my practice. ;)
I'm going to have to work really hard on the breathing. The swimming was a good way for me to reconfirm that I have progressed v…
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Added by Nairam on September 20, 2009 at 11:15am —
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It is interesting that in only 11 days of practice since my long hiatus--no more than 3-4 days of practice a week--I'm feeling so much better at so many levels: I'm more peaceful, more flexible, stronger; I'm breathing deeper... you name it.
This realization just calls me to step it up...!
PS on another bright side, I'm loosing more pounds. I"m nearly half-way on my weight-loss road :) Already 11 pounds lighter than when I came back from Buenos Aires, yay!
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Added by Nairam on September 19, 2009 at 5:38pm —
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Nice practice today–I focused on lengthening my breath, and somehow the whole experience was very peaceful. I’m feeling more flexible, a little stronger and also, lighter, which really helps Working hard to keep the momentum going…
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Added by Nairam on September 16, 2009 at 7:48pm —
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Mysore practice this morning was good, even if I was pretty sore from yesterday’s led half-primary, I suppose because of the poses that were new for me. I can feel the pain in my shoulders, and the work on opening my hamstrings. But all is working, and I’m happy (but tired). I think this was a good way to start the day, since the rest will be spent in the office ;( I took an opportunity to walk/take the metro, since my car got stuck in its parking lot with the closing of the streets for the Adam…
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Added by Nairam on September 13, 2009 at 9:10am —
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Back to the shala after a bit more than a week of not practicing. I really was not feeling well until this morning, and I could not make it out of bed on time for early practice. Today, Saturday, I still had a little bit of the same problem, even if Mysore practice is scheduled for 8 am instead of before 6 am. However, knowing I needed to practice, I decided to skip the Mysore session and instead take the half-primary led class at 10 am.
It worked really well. I was able to do postures I have b…
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Added by Nairam on September 12, 2009 at 12:01pm —
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