Monday, March 25, 2013

Days 8 & 9 - Keeping at it, Kurmasana

Distracted. I am so in love with doing a strong yoga practice and surfing everyday that all other aspects of my life have fallen to the side.

Day dreams. That's about all I can muster for my to-do list.  Between yoga and surfing I day dream about things I 'should' or 'could' be doing to get my life organized and prepared for returning to Haiti...and then I go sit on the beach or walk in the jungle.

It is thrilling that I'm not distracted from my new Ashtanga practice. Everyday I am on my mat for 2-3 hours and it feel luxurious and amazing.  What a privilege to have this kind of unstressed practice time for myself.

While I'm on my mat, that is one of the times that my to-do list dances around in my head. I've noticed that my mind is emptier while surfing than it is while doing yoga.  I think it is because surfing is still so new.  There is also the fact that there is water and waves that need to be navigated and assessed.

As I write that, I realize that it is my thoughts waves that are being navigated and assessed on the yoga mat. That is the practice.  To see the thoughts and to bring them back to breath and posture.  The physical postures are an extension and embodiment of that focus.

This morning while I was walking on the beach I saw an huge mama turtle.  She was majestic and ancient.   Starting my day seeing a huge turtle was a powerful totem for the work I am doing on Kurmasana or Tortoise Pose.  She was so awkward as she was working her way across the rocks to get back to the ocean, it made me feel better about my awkward attempts to get into the pose.

Kurmasana is still a total work in progress.  My hamstrings are plenty open enough for it, but there is some core tucking that needs to happen that I don't understand yet.

I got worried that I about hyper-extending my elbows by not getting my arms far enough under my legs. So now I am doing more of a prep pose that is followed by some hip and hamstring opening.  I am going to read some about that part of the series soon, and maybe even look at some youtube video tutorials to get some tips on how to move into them safely.

I did get the Marichyasana C bind today, it felt awesome to see it again.  We'll see if it is still there tomorrow and what else shows up on the mat and out on the waves.  Regular life will be waiting on the other side of this paradise.


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