The Beginners came back

Tuesday night saw C back from her bad back and teaching us again.

Just 4 of us for Full Primary, though ended up doing other stuff after the Marichyasana’s to open up our shoulders and backs in the forlorn hope that backbend will improve. Pleased to be adjusted again in Prasarita Padottanasana C again, carrying on from the very deep adjustment Easter gave me on Friday, C got me way over and I remembered to engage my legs so I could come up again.

After practice glad to see all the enthusiastic beginners all lined up outside waiting for their class. So S and I obviously didnt put them off after taking the class last time. As I went down the stairs I heard one of them comment “Glad C is back, was absolutley knackered after the class they did!”

Skidless Christening

After the Moon day rest of yesterday, I finally got to use my new Skidless mat. Though it probably cannot be counted as a true test of its skidless qualities as I never manage to generate the same internal heat or external sweat at home as I do at the “L- shaped room.

Its arrived

but due to it being a Moon day all I can do is unwrap my new mat and look at it! Its a nice red with a yellow dot at one end.

On non Moon days its always a struggle to find time to do practice etc etc, but on Moon days I feel lost without practice, I am sitting here on the internet trying to look for what other yogi’s get up to on moon days, the one day when you should not feel guilty for not doing practice. So today I have mainly lazed around, watched TV and read the papers.

The weather is typical for a UK public holiday, its cold and hs thrown it down with rain all day, so unless it warms up dramatically overnight I don’t think my new “Skidless” mat http://www.yogamatters.com/acatalog/skidless.htmlwill get much of a test as I never seem to be able to generate the heat at home that I do in a class, shala.

Okay-Ya no more!!

Its 4pm Friday and after last weeks public transport disaster when the train had no chi, I was relieved to see the 4.13 arrive and then depart. At Clapham I took my usual walk up Lavender Hill for my well deserved steaming cuppa at the Okay-Ya cafe, only to find the windows covered and a notice thanking its customers for the last thirty years, the best cup of tea south of the river, gone forever. Only option I hate to admit were the golden arches, but I just have to have a cuppa before practice.

New mat

Having got advice about mats for hot climates, ie Bali, my friend S came round last night to show me her new “Skidless” mat. The idea is for it to go over the usual blue mat, the theory being that it is absorbant and should provide a better foundation for practice. I always find that by the time I get to backbends my mat is a skidpan and I am not good at backbends because my feet never get a grip.

It has little nodules on one side that are supposed to grip the mat underneath or if used the other way up to stimulate the feet and hands, but really I just want it to get me a grip. Luckily it was 10% off today by buying online from Yogamatters, I just hope it does the biz!
http://www.yogamatters.co.uk

I was thinking that with all the various mats available nowadays, yogi’s end up buying more mats than they know what to do with, turning them into Imelda Marcos types, instead of shoes they have cupboards full of yoga mats!

Now just have to wait for it to arrive.

Home alone practice

Tuesday night is usually a lead practice, but there was no class this week and as I can hear you saying “That’s no excuse” and you are quite right.

Though I have been busy as I must be the only person I know not to have an MP3 player, having ordered one via ebay I have been busy trying to work out how to get my cd’s onto my pc, I think i’m getting it after a lesson from my sister! So thats why my practice has been lacking, but anyway..

Home practice

After the trials and tribulations of trying to practice yesterday, I left it until the evening today, hoping my body would be more open.

After telling myself I could go to Navasana, I ended up doing the whole practice, I just seemed to have some energy and kept going, the Marichyasana’s were not bad, but Kurmasana was not, think thats a long way off again after being quite good a couple of weeks ago, why does my practice fluctuate so much?

After having my arm strap I use for headstand taken away by Leela Miller at the workshop I am actually finding that I CAN do headstand without it, though cannot get my head round the lowering legs halfway thing.

Am trying to make sure my practice is regular and honest, ie not leaving out the ones I don’t like, as its 10 weeks and counting until I get 2 weeks in Bali with Dena Kingsberg, cant wait.

No Chi on the line

4pm Friday, another week of aggravation and crap survived, time to escape, then some arsehole rings up to ask something, haven’t these goody goody company lovers got homes to go to? So I’m late and have to literally run all the way to the station, the ticket line is long, but eventually I get a ticket and make my way to the platform.

Tuesday Class(es) & Newbie teacher

First there were four yogis’s all able and happy to do a self practice, as C had hurt her back and was barely able to speak through her discomfort. Then just as we were about to begin two relative newbies came in, so C decided it would have to be led class after all, though she couldn’t do any real adjustments.

Why isnt practice always this good?

Friday night,then end of the first 5 day week in a while, after all the public holidays and vacation.
I am feeling better, the lurgy is abating and its been a hot (for the UK) sunny day.What better way to end the week and start the weekend than with the wonderful counted practice.