Day 22-25

Been pretty busy over the past week but still managed to squeeze in daily 3 hours for my practice, sadly not enough time to write here so decided to bundle up day 22, 23, 24 and 25 posts together into a brief oveview. Here are some things I learned...

...about People
- sometimes yoga studio is like a small reflection of the world outside. When you go a lot you tend to bump into people that spend a lot of time there themselves. Sometimes you acknowledge each other by a quick smile, nod or hello, sometimes you make friends. I noticed that during the practice I like to practice close to some people - you just share the similar focus, they move at the similar pace to you, and if they fall out of the standing bow they go right back into it - these are the people that help you keep in balance, just like friends out of studio. Then there is nervous kind of practitioner, and there are many others - competitive guys, shufflers, etc. - I've started avoiding having my mat to close to them...

...about Postures
- "The posture begins when you want to come out of it'. True. When at most uncomfortable, with perseverance ultimately you will make that little bit of a progress - kick up higher, balance better, touch the forehead to the knee etc. that will keep you coming back for more the next day, and the day after that and after. I often get asked how come I don't get bored doing the same 26 poses every day and that is why. Every day is different and every day your body allows you to do different stuff, some days more of one thing some day more of some other. Speaking of which, on Tuesday I finally just managed to touch my head on the floor between my feet in Standing Separate Leg Stretching. My husband can vouch for that, as he went to the practice with me and saw it happening while standing in front of me and hanging upside down trying to sort out his own Standing Separate Leg...
I also began viewing the whole practice as a single thing instead of the series of 2 breathing exercises and 26 postures. In practice this means that I treat coming out of the postures with the same care I treat my postures, coming out slowly and with control, linking one posture to the next.
Can't log off without saying how much the opening sentence here applies the the final Savasana. Usually my first instinct when I get into it and hear the final 'Namaste' is to run out of the room and find some cold air, but I'm finding the longer I make myself lie there the better, calmer and more energised I feel once away from the studio

...Random
- yoga with Korean food induced upset tummy combined with pms cramping not fun (for ladies out there - heat does help). Do not try this at home.
- Jackie Brown is still Q.Tarantino's best film...