Practice Yoga regularly, with the wonderful, worldwide alumni of 30-in-30

It’s time to do some more yoga.
I have a 5 lesson card from a local studio just waiting to be used.
Back when we were active here, I just used tapes. Took a month-long Bikram class last winter; now that it’s cold again might do another.
Need to get mo betta floor covering before practicing at home.
Also, what did i do with my mat?

of course it’s another. I don’t know if anyone remembers the entry where I wrote that listening to Priscilla as she goes through her Yoga Stretches in the morning makes me feel like I could just do whatever she says. Well, the fact is, I can’t. I couldn’t. I hurt my hip, butt, thigh, hamstring, muscles, who knows, but anyway it took me a week and a half for my left side to get right, and I actually practiced again today. And plan to do some more when I get home. Yes indeedy.

Wishing all my teammates the best. Don’t neglect your practice entirely. You know you miss it when you do. :)

This morning’s practice is for you!

since you’re such an inspiration.

I know that you know how this game works. :)

and only yesterday was able to do yoga again. I’m trying to do another 7 in 7 to get back in the swing of things. The yoga brings on coughing fits, which is sort of good I guess, but it makes it hard to focus on anything but my poor little lungies.

Do any of you get “Priscilla’s Yoga Stretches” on television? It is aired on our local public broadcasting station at 6:30 AM, though it’s produced by a South Carolina station. Every day Priscilla does a 15-minute series, and when I can remember to turn the tv on at that hour, I’m glad of it. There are always several new versions of asanas to learn, and Priscilla’s gentle southern accent makes me feel I could actually do them.

Priscilla followed by Rodney followed by 18 Sun Salutations! Wow! They were tough! In my warmups on previous days I realized Felinesleek was right about the difficulty of keeping count. Today I was inspired to think of my pets, in order, each one getting its own sun salutation. I had to go through the pets several times to get to 18, and I’m sure this system won’t work for more than that. Towards the end, I could barely remember which pet I was on. But that’s ok, cause I probably can’t manage many more than 18 sun salutations at this point, anyway. (It took me a half hour to do 18. Imagine 108.)

BTW, here are the sun salutation conversations we’d been having last month
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Anyone still up for it?

I’ve been keeping pretty steady, with the Rodney Yee AM yoga most mornings, like Chris. I’ve also been using the Hittleman book I mentioned the other day.

When I’m pressed for time, like most weekdays, I find following tapes and DVD’s very helpful for keeping the timing steady and not rushing through. But when I have a little more time, I enjoy practicing with silence and a book. The silence helps me become more fully aware of my own feelings as I practice, and sometimes a particular stretch, perhaps only on one side, triggers powerful, buried memories and emotions.

The written routine provides just enough structure to get me going, but once I’m into it, other asanas flow out of what I’m already doing. In Kripalu yoga they talk about a “Stage 2” yoga in which one experiences the interplay of will and surrender when one holds a pose and then at some point spontaneously begins to move into another. (Of couse all the previous good instruction helps this, I’m sure.) My practices become longer and much more satifying. Sometimes, without intention, I start to meditate while in mountain pose or a seated pose. Today was one of these days. :)

It would be good to keep a day or so a week for free-form practice, without expectations that any time will be like any other.

On a more goal oriented note, what were we saying about doing sun salutations in February? I guess I’ll do 18 on the 9th, 36 on the 18th, and 72 on the 27th. Considering I first need a refresher on how to do them at all, this is pretty ambitious of me – and subject to change once I know better what I’m getting into!

108SS