My first log-in

My first class after having started a log is today - in about 40 minutes. I spent the bulk of the morning cycling - I'm not sure how far, but from Northmount and Brisbois through the University grounds to the Foothills Hospital and round trip. It will be interesting to see how this affects my practice today.

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Post-class

I had a good practice today. The 20 minutes or so that preceeded the class allowed me to stretch.

Dandasana looks simple, but for those of us with short hamstrings, it's a real challenge.

As is the second pose I used to stretch.


Both Dandasana and Triang Mukha Eka Pada Paschimottanasana require you to bend at the hips, keeping your back straight. I found an incredible stretch simply remaining straight. As my muscles warmed up throughout the practice, when we arrived at these two poses in the cycle, they were far easier to do, and I did get a bend in - hand just shy of my knees.

I paid far more attention to my breathing today, slowing my practice down considerably. Inhaling, exhaling and progressing through the postures not at class-speed, but by my own breath. For the first time, today I didn't feel "behind", but rather, that I had developed my own practice in my own time. I also didn't feel short of breath as I had in classes where I felt the need to "keep up the pace".

I have considerable difficulty achieving Lotus, Half-Lotus or any variation on the theme. At the completion of every class, we sit in our own variation of "crossed-legs" and bow at the hips to touch our nose to the mat in front of us. I cross my legs, certainly not in Lotus, and lean forward with the utmost respect for my instructor and the other students. I have yet to touch my nose to the mat.

But I can say, "Namaste".