beach practice

i biked to the ocean and did yoga on the beach. kira, yoga on the sand is totally possible!

started with upavistha konasana (the therapeutic benefits were multiplied by the soothing warmth of the sand on my legs and hands!)

• chest press
• curl forward

badha konasana

• hip press

move aside, observe beautiful pattern in sand

down dog (with face towards the ocean of course)

tons of time in uttanasana looking at ocean and enjoying new access to hamstrings

roll to standing, turn to face ocean

sun salute

on each leg:

• pyramid
• triangle (played with an idea from uschi's class, to rotate top hip forward--it feels twistier that way)
• utthita parsvakonasana (extended side angle pose) with bind
• crescent lunge

vinyasa to finish salute

on each side, standing forward fold with ankle on knee (to get hip stretch)

• attempt arm-balance (name?)
• stand and evolve to padangustana

tadasana, turn to face inland and attempt to drop back to urdva dhanurasana (upward facing bow) but to no avail. too scared? self-conscious about falling in public?

malasana to ease low-back

camel instead

short childs with forehead hovering over sand (got a little surprised by a wave here)

casual prasarita padattonasana (wide-legged forward fold) in the water to wash limbs.

savasana-ish experience at the park in the roots of the 136 year old tree.

Teacher Training

just signed up for another training, this one at corepower, starting august 3. it is a week intensive, lots of chatarungas, lots of sweating.
nervous.

home practice

i feel like i've never made any progress in my hamstrings throughout my whole yoga career and i woke up this morning wanting to work on them a little. this week i have put them to extra-special use because for some reason i've been taken over by a sudden love of cycling (it must be my cool fox shorts!).

i read that a reclining hamstring stretch (supta padangustasana) is the best way to get in there without straining the low back at all. it took me a while to find the right spot but finally it was TOTAL bliss. i took each leg up, then out then over. afterwards my legs felt so warm and light and awake. plus this was the easiest possible transition from reclining in bed--just simply lift the leg, you don't even have to open your eyes!

then

happy baby

rocked from happy baby to seated upavistha konasana with legs in the air, fingers around my big toes

landed in a squat

rocked forward to crow

fell out of crow but tried to land gracefully and ended up doing some jumbled stretch that opened my side ribs

ardha matseyendrasana to left

eka pada koundinyasana on left hip

same to right side

childs (first rolling forward onto top of head with fingers interlaced and lifting off back)

then just childs, all tucked away in a cozy little ball. ahhh! felt something a lot like sleepiness

observations--really easy to forget to breathe and go too fast and sort of mechanically. when i noticed i was doing that was after the eka padas. curling into childs brought me back into myself.

amazing how if you just START with one small step it can lead to so much more. the immense good feeling created from just one simple round of supta padangustana pulled me forward into more poses. i've just got to find those doors in--in this case my tight hamstrings were the door that got me to do my own yoga practice today and find a little magical ability to self-heal.

Under Pressure

I've been wearing my yoga shirts, but to bars. It is summertime in Boulder, and that means long bike rides up the canyon, late afternoon dips in the creek and staying up too late drinking wine with friends.

I haven't forgotten you, Yogery. More to come.