progress

Tags

ardha baddha padma paschimottanasana, ashtanga class, david swenson, Euston shala, jump back, marichiyasana b, marichyasana a, progress, vinyasa

so, my first large step – i have managed to bind in mary b! woooohoooooo!

the progress was happening for the last couple of weeks when i managed to bind for the first time in Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana and Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana thanks to a lovely assisant who came up to me and said ‘you can do it, you are there’. i still did not dare to try mary b for real but it did make me curious when practicing at home and i tried to sit in it. i kinda managed only one side.

so today, a very intensive practice as usual in shala and when i reached mary a, i asked the teacher (please no scornful looks) if she could make a decision if i was ready for mary b and i honestly admited that i tried it at home. hehe this did not go down well ;-( i got ‘the look’ and ‘naughty girl’ remark (good spirited – i hope). anyway, she asked me to try it and i did. she helped me bind on the first side and then i managed to do it by myself on the other side! man! such a good feeling 😉 i was about to finish when she asked if i wanted to try mary c as well. hell, yes! so i did 😉 yippppiiiiieeeee…. then i did not want to push it further and i just wrapped it up.

also, last class, the teacher was very sweet and she encouraged me to start trying to actually jump back rather than untangle and walk back as i usually do in my vinyasas. first few tries (that whole class actually) i looked rediculous – tripping and seriously looking ‘all thumbs’. i bet they all laughed 😉 but while doing it at home i managed to break it down to two steps: folding my legs and lifting up and then pushing them through and jumping back. so…… i am currently very proud of myself. a lifetime achievement award – i’m thinking 😉

it does feel very good and satisfying. and i don’t care that ashtanga is not competition and that it does not matter where you are in the practice but, MAN, this feels good 😉 finally achieving something that you struggled with for quite some time… cracking the code, having your body working with you… brilliant!

seeing david swenson this weekend. it’ll be many firsts, i am sure 😉

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visit to copenhagen and practice progress

Tags

ardha baddha padma paschimottanasana, ashtanga class, ashtanga yoga, beginners ashtanga, Euston shala, marichyasana a

last weekend was wonderful. we went back to copenhagen after nearly 4 years. that city has special place in my heart as we got married there 7 years ago 😉 and it happens to be the place where some really good friends live. loved it!

i also used the opportunity to go to a local shala for a sunday morning practice at astanga yoga. lovely warm practice and some nice adjustments in poses that i usually don’t get adjusted in 😉 it was nice to be in the new shala. thanks, louisa.

yesterday i did my practice in ayl and i had a bit of a breakthrough. i am still stuck in mary a as my half-lotus is not deep enough. however, when attempting ardha baddha padmottanasana i always just go with both hands on the ground. this time the assistant asked me to reach for my toe. he actually insisted as i kinda said i couldn’t reach it. or so i thought. and after a lot of giggling and nearly tipping over i managed – ta-daaaa!!! it felt good!

i also did something naughty at the end. as i went to the back room to do my finishing sequences, i was curious to try the mary b as thought my hips/ knees were in the mood. and guess what? i could sit in the half-lotus with my leg bent and managed to bind! i did not stay in the position as felt it was a naughty thing to do 😉 😉 😉 great day!

today i skipped my practice – baaaad! 😉

another week goes by

Tags

ashtanga class, ashtanga yoga, exercize, health, jump-through, marichyasana a

another sunday wrapping up another week. my, time flies fast! already october and 11 weeks until xmas 😉

a brief update on the practice… i have managed now to get back into the everyday-practice routine and i am very happy about that. had a spot of cold a week ago so had to take it easy specially with all poses where my head went down. with my whole nasal passageway congested, putting your head upside down meant a huge headache. nonetheless, i persisted and with a bit of help from kleenex tissues (a box or two 😉 ) i managed to go through it. I did have to skip the class this week unfortunately as thought having lots of snotty tissues was all ok when you were at home alone but not in a busy shala.

i can notice that my form is still not what it used to be before – still some work to be done. the thing about having breaks in your practice is that it takes much longer to notice progress of course. you go one step forward and two backwards so to speak. i am still stuck on mary a and just cannot get my head around the deep half lotus position??? however, my jumpthroughs are getting better i think – mind you, far from being floating movement.

also, i have been working – or just thinking and concentrating – on trying to roll my toes but it does not quite work. there must be a technique for us with big-toed people 😉

xxx