Ashtanga 8 - Thoughts on Lifestyle

The eight days refers to daily practice done in a row. This, of course, doesn't count Saturdays and Moon Days. I'm interested to see how far I can take this. I will be able to practice everyday until seeing Guruji in NYC.

I woke this morning with a sense of relaxation that I have not had for the past couple of weeks. My first thought was something like, "why rush?" I am slated to go to NYC and go I will no matter where I am at in the primary. There is absolutely nothing or no one that says I need to be at a certain point in order to go. Sure, I'd like to master the primary! Hell, I'd like to fly! But the daily practice is where it is at and where it will be. There is no rushing the body to move this way or that. Over time it will come and it will do so on its own volition. I guess I simply woke up and realized that I had utterly integrated Ashtanga into my life and that REALY is the point. Waking up in the morning, catching a whiff of the sweet ambrosial hours of the day, walking up to the front of my mat, intoning the invocation, raising my arms to the sky, looking to the east and praising Surya. Many aspects of my life have been done for others or with others in mind, sometimes blatantly and other times subtly. This practice has become for me alone. Sure, j_nine may benefit from my pleasant disposition, lack of intoxication, and clarity, but that is a simple side effect of the work and no part of my intention. With Ashtanga integrated into my lifestyle I will be waking as I have this morning for years to come. There is no rush. It is all about consistency of practice.

"Practice is the best of all instructions" ~Aristotle

Today's practice ended with Marichyasana D. Matthew had to assist me with both sides, which is odd because I got into it on my own on the right yesterday. During the bind, I experience pain in my rectus femoris (and probably my sartorious) from my foot compressing the muscle. Matthew advised that I try to get the foot more into the crease between my hip and thigh to avoid this. I'm also still having trouble with Janu Sirsasana B as I have a hard time keeping my heal to my anus while doing the forward fold. I also received an adjustment during Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana. For some reason I had been raising the arm prior to the forward fold. It turns out the bind is made and then the fold without having to deal with counter balancing the raised hand. This makes a great deal of sense and I tried it on both sides with success. My progress with Utthita Hasta Padanguthasana is coming. My right knee is becoming more able to handle the weight of my whole body. Keeping my hip down and not leaning back is where I need work now. If my memory serves this was the first morning that I worked through to my stopping point without messing up the order of the asana. I did forget the bind on Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana, but Matthew caught me and I did both sides.