Skip to main content

TGIF Yoga



Friday, March 20, 2020
Woke up this morning at my usual 4:15AM, and I'm on my mat, typing this at 5:09AM.

Physically, I'm feeling well this morning.  A bit of tenderness in areas of my back, and a bit of tenderness in some areas of my legs, but nothing too extreme.  I've been getting exceptional sleep lately, and crawling into bed around 7:00PM-ish every night; asleep by 8:00PM-ish (and it's awesome).

Mentally, I'm feeling fair enough; I think I had funky dreams last night, which led to a funky feeling this morning, shortly after I woke up.  This happens at times, and the perfect "reset", is the mat that I am currently sitting on.

If I could tell myself one thing, I would say this:

"The world will try and rob you of your peace; expect this daily.  If the world will try and rob of your peace, on a daily basis, you must prepare your body, spirit, and mind, and ensure that you're not left gutted, weeping, and confused when the world comes for you.  Build up your reserves of peace so that you can freely give peace to others."  

Time to begin...

Friday, March 20, 2020 (Part II),
I'm writing this several hours after my practice, at 1:58PM.

Today's practice was the third, full, Ashthanga flow that I've gone through this week.  Ending with the backbend sequence is still the final "mountain" that I stand at the bottom of, looking up (covered in my own sweat), knowing that, when I get to the top (and completed my backbends), it will all be gentle from that point onward in the practice; Savasana is near.

A great, 15 minutes video representation of Sun Salutes/Surya Namaskara can be found here

Sun Salute B/Surya Namaskara B, has been modified and extended to include Lizard and Pigeon pose, as well as Warrior 2/3 before going into the other side; in total, my four Surya Namaskara A and two Surya Namaskara B take up nearly 25 minutes of my practice. 

Tomorrow is Saturday, the traditional day of rest in yoga.  Being born in the United States, and being a Westerner, I observe Sunday as the traditional day of rest.  I may hit my mat in the morning, and I may not.  This week was a great series of practices, which I am proud of.

Namaste








Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Asana

Monday, March 30, 2020 After no physical practice/Asanas on Friday, and no yoga over the weekend, I notice that it's difficult to stay motivated and dedicated to my practice at times.  Additionally, I ran a solo-10K this weekend (the St. Louis GO! Marathon/Half-Marthon/10K was cancelled, like most public events), and the additional tenderness in my feet, legs, etc. definitely told me not to get on my mat. Monday blues/malaise, essentially.....a "negative mind"... When I'm on my mat, feeling like it's pointless, and that the day ahead is pointless, and that the efforts I'll expend to make things better are pointless, I can go back to the foundations of my life.  First, what do I live for?  I live for God.  That is my attempted mantra every day. It is not for me/you to understand the purpose of anything.  Pulling yourself out of an equation is very liberating in that you're no longer attached to the result. It's 5:27AM as I type this, and it...

Re-Building + Persistence

Tuesday, January 23, 2018 Re-building a routine is hard. I woke at my usual 5:00AM this morning and did not want to get out of my bed. I'm on my mat as I write this, however, and will be beginning my practice shortly.  I've found that, like most habit changes, the 3rd day "hump" is usually the most difficult; get past that, and you're golden. Tuesday, January 23, 2018 (Part II) I'm writing this on my mat, having just come out of Savasana. As always when we push ourselves through something we don't want to do, it feels good when it's done and over with.  I'm feeling wonderful, connected, and ready to address the challenges the day might throw at me. Namaste

Come As You Are

 Monday, June 23, 2025,  "Come As You Are" has been used by me as a post title before.  While I can't remember the specifics of why I may have posted with this title before, I would bet that I used the phrase "Come As You Are" due to feelings of being inadequate, ugly, not worthwhile, or generally indifferent to myself and my practice.  If you're feeling any of these things, practice anyway.   Time to begin today's practice... Part II: Having just come out of Savasana after a vert gentle "Yin" style practice, I'll say that, when one is feeling ugly, unlovable, inadequate, etc., all the more reason to hit your mat.  You'll come out of your prayer, meditation, and practice knowing that you are none of those things.  Time to bring this version of myself out into the world.  Namaste