minkan

Sometimes you gotta wonder why we do this, why people travel from all over the world to come here and do this. Why do we travel all this way to climb over gates at four in the morning or to sit outside the shala waiting for a good spot for an hour getting eaten alive by mosquitos. Pushing our bodies into strange poses and sweating like an animal. Yeah sometimes you gotta wonder. But as soon as i roll out my mat and step on to it, it becomes so clear. How could you ever not want to do this?

So obviously practice today was good, as in very good. I had a very nice lead practice yesterday aswell but today was even better. I fellt tired when my alarm went off at 4:45 this morning, and a bit stiff in my hips, i figured it might have been from me stretching yesterday, i met Per on my way to practice and he said "maybe it's an opening!" Haha well yeah it might very well be.
Practice was good as soon as i started with my sun salutations it just felt so good. Somedays it's just that way, you never really know why or when it's just as if your whole body is happy, thanking you. Thank you for stretching me out. It felt good anyhow, i don't really know how to explain it.
So after i got hurt for a few weeks ago, pulling my hamstring doing kurmasana. I haven't been doing it. First i was just being careful because i needed to rest my poor hamstring, then after not doing it and remembering how it pulled i developed some kind of fear for it. So i havent been doing it at all. I've thought like every day "Today i will do kurmasana" then when i reach bujapeedasana and i think of being pushed in to kurmasana and my hamstring going "snap" i think again and go directly to the finishing poses.
Yesterday i said to myself "monday i'll do kurmasana, i will" But then again today after bujapeedasana i rolled my mat up and started heading to the womens changing room for finishing when Saraswati called after me "What was the last pose you did?" ehm... "bujapeedasana" I answered. "You come back and do kurmasana" Okay.. so i went back, put my mat back out.. did kurmasana while Saraswati was watching me, when i was done she said "I'll come help you soon!" So I sat there and waited, the guy next to me was smiling, and Saraswati helped him with backbends, then she helped another few people while i waited. When she finally came over to me i said "I pulled a hamstring doing kurmasana for a few weeks ago" "okay we take it slowly" she said. Taking things slowly at Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute is a bit different from taking things slowly at home. I got in to kurmasana and Saraswati pushed on my back then she started saying things like "Slowly take your hands behind the back" While saying the word "slowly" my arms were yanked back around my legs and back, it didn't hurt though i'm very happy to say, still it was neither slowly or carefully. So Saraswati was pulling my arms and my legs in ways i wouldn't have dreamed of even in my worst nightmares for like a year ago. But somehow it was nice. It was nice knowing that i can 'kind of' do it, atleast without hurting. Yeah kurmasana is a killer for those hamstrings, i guess you just got to take it slowly.

After getting helped i felt happy and went then in to the changing room for my finsihing, when i reached Baddha Padmasana (sitting in lotus) I swung my arms around and all of a sudden i realised "OH MY!! I am holding on to my toes from behind my back!" How did that happen? It was about two second of pure happiness until my right hand lost hold of the toe. But still.. come on!! It was great even though i couldn't hold for the entire time. Maybe it IS an opening.
Haha too funny the way the body plays tricks on us.
I find this practice so amazing and challening at the same time.

On my way out of the shala i got eye contact with my friend Olga who had just began, she smiled and i whispered "breakfast at santoshas" to her, then i thanked Saraswati and slid outside.

So i went home, showered and then went to Santoshas for breakfast. I had a very yummy breakfast and after breakfast i went straight here, not much has happened here so far today besides the good practice and good breakfast. At one i'm meeting some friends at the coconut stand, we're going from there to lunch. Then at four thirty i'm giving meditation another shot. Maybe i'll do a quick visit at the pool before that.. otherwise for sure we're going to the pool tomorrow. It's been soo hot here the last days.. haha listen to me i've been saying that for two months now.. yeah..it's hot lets leave it at that. The weather here is very very hot, but......i absolutely love it.





take care

mich.