I woke up with the stiffest neck this morning, and was worried about my practice today. The last few days have been hard and challenging, much like it was in the first few days. I’m not sure if it’s due to lack of focus or just fatigue. I’m trying hard to reign it all back in, thank goodness for my stubborn nature.
I had the unfortunate spot today of standing in a spot that split me in half by the mirror. I moved aside for a latecomer who also happened to breathe out of his mouth the whole time and I would get these wafts of garlic every now and then. This was not very pleasant, and I could not wait for him to leave at the end. People please be conscientious of what you ingest before coming to class! Etiquette is really important, especially when sharing a tiny studio and sweating your ass, I mean your ASS off. No need to be immersed in anyone’s funk, you know?
So, let’s talk about Utkatasana, or Awkward Pose. Yeah, I know it looks easy, but let me assure you it’s not. I think I must have been cheating before, because this burns like crazy lately! Especially when you’re going down on your tip toes. Wait no, especially when you squeeze your thighs together and go down slowwwwly, then hang there above your hips and then come back up even slower! It’s absolute torture, and today, I was barely hanging in. I better have some hot looking legs after this! Summer is approaching….
Although I must say that I’ve never had a better body than in my 30s. All throughout my 20s I struggled with my eating habits and weight. It wasn’t until I started running that I realized I didn’t have to deprive myself of anything I wanted, as long as I watched the portions and ran it off regularly. Then after running regularly for a few years, I started getting injured due to lack of stretching. Once I incorporated stretching into my routine I was golden…until I got bored. You can only run around Manhattan so many times. And I wonder if I’ll get bored of Bikram as well – sweating day after day in the same room. We’ll see….
Supposedly Poorna-Salabhasana, or Full Locust Pose is good for the spine, abs and varicose veins. Not sure yet how if affects the legs, but I can certainly feel it burning my core. My heart was racing in this one today. There’s a lot going on in this posture, sometimes I lose focus on the front and slag in the back, and vice-versa. The legs are the hardest part. Sometimes they feel like lead to me. The legs and buttocks must be squeezed tight, heels touching and knees off the floor. The challenge is lifting them off the floor together still glued together. I’m out of breath just thinking about it. Ok, if this isn’t going to get any easier, how far can one really go with this? There’s definitely no finish line, as I think the answer is probably pretty fluid and it’s all about how far you want to take yourself.
