Day 141 -Pushing

[Nairam]

Practiced today again--I was a little more tired than yesterday for the start, and sweated myself out during practice. Balance, a little better than yesterday, and I also felt more comfortable with my torso twists, which were always decent but in the last few weeks have felt really stiff. But my breathing wasn't nearly as good as yesterday, not sure why. Perhaps I let myself be distracted by the fact that there were more people in the shala than yesterday; my mind wandered, particularly because someone next to me started roughly at the same time and couldn't help comparing our pace. For some reason, I couldn't avoid but feeling a little frustrated at some point--not very strong, unable to jump forward, unable to jump back. Sigh. As I bumped into the floor for the nth time, A approached me with some really good insights on how to practice to strengthen to get the jumps one day, but also about the philosophy of the practice more generally: to just let go, to un-attach myself from the practice, my doing my best and the moving on. Phew. Good advice, for practice and life...

[Nairam]

Thank you so much Chris--your comment means a lot more to me than you probably imagine... I tend to feel like I'm the most indisciplined person in the world!!!! Many thanks for reminding me I'm human, and trying... :)

[Chris]

Well, it's been about a year since I started seeing you post here. You have really stuck with your yoga, and I respect that a lot! I've experienced many of the same ups and downs, particularly after the first few months. Those first few months of practice are pure magic ... every day better, stronger, more balanced than the last. After that, reality sets in, and many days I feel like I'm going backwards.

I think your practice sounds pretty amazing and I've enjoyed following it. Thanks for sharing it.