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My Plan
By gartenfische | July 2, 2007
I have a new plan for my practice. Don’t know if it’s a good plan, yet, but it’s a plan. On the days when I am not practicing with someone else, I will get on my mat at a regular time (I’m thinking 5:00). I will do the chant and then be quiet for a moment and just see. If it seems right, I’ll start with suryanamaskaras and let them lead me. If not, I will lie down and practice ujjayi breathing. I will stay on my mat for fifteen minutes, minimum, one way or another. And it will be okay if I just do the breathing. I’ll set the timer in the kitchen and if I’m still going after that, fine, but if not, fine.
It sounds doable. Nothing scary or intimidating.
There is a bonus to this plan: I have noticed that I almost never get a migraine after I’ve practiced yoga; I attribute this to ujjayi breathing (rightly or wrongly, I don’t know). Soooo, it might mean fewer headaches, which I certainly would not complain about.
Went to a Mysore class yesterday and got help with backbends–standing and dropping back. When I’m practicing outside of class and get to that point in the practice, I can’t imagine trying to stand up. The extra effort it would take seems like asking too much of my body after an hour of hard work. Maybe if I practice for a while with help, they will get better (because I will, in theory, become stronger and more confident). During practice this evening, I noticed my abs were sore high up; it must be from the standing up/dropping back.
Tomorrow the plan is launched.
July 3rd, 2007 at 10:43 am
Sounds like a great plan! I once heard Richard Freeman say that the minimum is to roll out your mat & stand at the top of it in Tadasana. His theory was twofold: first, with the right attention, all of yoga can be experienced from tadasana. Secondly, if you can quit after getting there, you needed a day off. Enjoy! remember: stirham sukham asanam - steady & sweet!
July 3rd, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Thanks for the Richard Freeman tidbit. So that’s what I will start with: tadasana. Steady and sweet is a wonderful guiding concept. If I don’t feel steady and sweet, then forcing the practice is probably counter-productive.
At 5:00 I will be on that mat.
July 6th, 2007 at 10:37 am
[…] July 6th, 2007 in Ashtanga, yoga It seems that The Plan will work, as long as I keep the appointment and am on my mat at the agreed upon time. Yesterday, […]