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Friday, December 2, 2016

Took a day off from work and am still in my robe sipping coffee at 9:04am.  I'm grateful for time off to reflect and go at my own pace (which can be fast, or slow).  I've got a wonderful day ahead of me; but first..................I think I'll hit my mat.....


Friday, December 2, 2016 (Part II)
Post-yoga practice.  I continued the modified primary series that I've been doing since Monday.  It's the same sequence, but it's amazing how one's body is different every day.  The physical benefits of my practice are definitely beginning to show.  My forward bends (always a difficult type of pose/asana for me) are deepening with less effort and my abdomen is tightening up in interesting ways.  One of the core principles of Ashtanga Yoga is a series of bandhas or "locks" in your body.  To put it simply, there's a muscle lock at the base of your spine, the lower abdomen, and just at the neck.  The lower abdomen bandha, officially called "Uddiyana Bandha", is activated by drawing in the lower abdomen while you're moving.  Needless to say, it is unbelievable difficult to keep your abdomen drawn in while you're in certain poses and moving through your practice.  The muscles that control this lock have strengthened for me in just a few short days and I already feel a difference that has improved my practice.

It's 10:36am and I've got a whole day ahead of me.  Time to get to it.

Namaste

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