I was looking at my list of post titles, and misread "Practice decisions" as "Practice delusions." That's a pretty good idea for a post too. For example, I think I'm practicing every day, but some weeks I miss a couple of days. Or maybe I think my hips are open and my head is in… Continue reading Practice delusions
Category: mulling things over
Paying attention
On one level, it's about becoming more flexible and more able to do the poses. On another level, it's about increasing body awareness. With time and practice, you get so you can pay attention to subtle changes in your body, and to exactly the teeny shift in, say, your right calf muscle, that puts you… Continue reading Paying attention
Fooling around with variations
This morning I did something very simple that I don't think I've ever done before. I sat cross-legged and did a forward bend. OK, yes, of course I've done that before. But because my hips are so exceedingly stiff, I always round my back. I simply cannot tip my pelvis forward very far. The difference… Continue reading Fooling around with variations
Sluggishness
Let's see, it must be a combination of the freezing cold weather and the general aches and pains I'm fighting that is making me be such a slug. I have practiced every day this week, but most of the practices have been reeeeeeely slow and not very interesting. It's been a good winter in that… Continue reading Sluggishness
Travel yoga
I was gone for five days, and I only did a real practice on one of those days. My sister lent me her yoga mat, and that was a good thing. I could easily have weaseled out of practicing with the no-mat excuse. The other days, well, what happened? I just didn't do it. All… Continue reading Travel yoga
Practice decisions
It occurred to me yesterday that because I have been taking classes and reading books for a long time, I know a lot of yoga poses and ways to sequence them. As a result, I sometimes feel I have done nothing at all in a given practice, because there's always so much more I could… Continue reading Practice decisions
Late again! What is the deal?
It doesn't matter how much time I allow for yoga early in the morning, it's never quite enough. I guess that's not a bad thing, but the bad thing is that I finish up peacefully on the mat, hands in namaste, greeting the day, put my mat away, and then race upstairs takeashowergetdressedgetthepapereatbreakfasttearoutofthehouse! Not so… Continue reading Late again! What is the deal?
Checking in
The benefits of daily practice are just now coming back to me, after 6 weeks with only a couple of misses. Benefit #1 - When you do something every day, you don't evaluate it or even think about not doing it. You just do it. I can't remember the last time I skipped brushing my… Continue reading Checking in
Restorative poses
We all love restorative poses, don't we? But I find myself not doing them, because they feel so good and relaxing and stress-reducing. This is just plain ridiculous. It's some sort of Puritan holdover, I guess. I think I'm only allowed to do them as a reward, or if I'm in some sort of pain… Continue reading Restorative poses
Impatience
A friend once told me I was simultaneously the most patient person and the most impatient person he knew. It's true. I'm struggling with not being able to do everything I want to in my practice. My foot is so much better that I'm impatient about it not being ALL better. My shoulder is better,… Continue reading Impatience
Practice Notes 