Monday, February 1, 2010

Goa Recap #3

Tuesday night I slept poorly, the dogs are just utterly insane here. I laid in bed for a few hours staring at mosquito net then got up at 6 to make a nice coffee and sit. There is no talk Wed night so we're doing the beach.

I miss Maverick. And I'm dreaming (literally) about BBQ ribs. Awful, awful. This has motivated me to reduce my meat intake though, which is a great thing. I'm not actually missing it daily, it just shows up in dreams. I also dreamed of bread/buns....guess I am a bit attached to preparing my own meals. The food here is lovely and usually delicious but sometimes it just isn't what I want. I've been eating far less than normal and I don't even feel hungry. Kind of nice to be reminded how little food I actually need (when flavors and preparation are in my control, I'm apt to stog my face). Sleeping far less too and not feeling tired/dreary.

2nd again today. Got a wicked Supta Vaj adjustment from Jason, he got me to bind my toes at the top each time and then lose them as I go back. I noticed that J loved this adjustment so I'm hoping she'll bring it back to Hali. I can immediately see how this will help eventually stay bound for the whole thing. Ardha Matsyendrasana felt like a dream afterward too, I felt like I could grab my whole ankle my shoulder/ribs were so open!

LBH, sigh, sigh. I suck at this. But I do it anyway. Nancy came over and rocked my world with a Dwi Pada assist. She somehow helped me orient my hips better (in a way I don't fully understand) and coached me verbally to bend the legs (don't straighten, don't straighten!) and point my feet. She pushed my chest through and it was comfortable. I was thrilled. I thanked her afterward, it was the most comfortable assisted Dwi Pada I've ever experienced. Maybe my body does this? Who knew?

I crapped out on dropbacks again. I stood and arched and did some hangbacks. Waited a few minutes (lot of people dropping back at the same time) and then got nervous and gave up. Got annoyed with myself at dinner (how's that for being present, haha!) for coming halfway around the world to skip my flipping dropbacks. J really helped me, she said "it doesn't have to happen all on the same day, it's OK Katie". She's right. But I'm doing them tomorrow.


Thursday - Intermediate again, I'm on a roll. It feels better every day, truly. I'm starting to realize what I've known all along and haven't made a reality. Intermediate is my practice, warts and all. It doesn't make me feel good about myself, it doesn't feel smooth or easy or nurturing. But it's my practice and I have to do it, always. No more defaulting to primary, unless its led. Point finale!

In Kapo I spidered my fingers past the footpad, easily. Why have I been stopping at toes forever? Thank you, Nancy.

Dropbacks. I stand, I arch, I hang, I wait. I fidget, I think. I wonder...I almost sit down. I don't. Nancy appears and takes me through the funnest part of the trip. Now I'm not used to dropback assists, I've had them kind of erratically and more from A than from J, few and far between. So I get her to coach me through the breathing and we do:

- 3x back on an exhale just barely touch the hands to mat, then up on an inhale (quickly)
- 3x hands across chest, back halfway
- 1x down and hold for a breath and come up

For the rest of the day, the 1000 volts of electricity running through my body are very pleasant! I feel so happy I did it.

2 comments:

Liz said...

Awesome.

You're really making me want a yoga vacation! At this point, I'd settle for the coast of Texas (that's sad).

How geeky are Ashtangis that we enjoy reading notes about someone else's practice? As Jaime (Skippety) would write: Yoga Dorks Unite.

KMB said...

Extremely geeky! I could happily coast the blogs and read about other peep's practice for hours with a large coffee on a Saturday.

You should go to the coast of Texas then write posts about it so we can all read - Yoga Dorks Unite!