Days 34 & 35

I'm having a really nice stretch of classes right now. I LOVE YOGA!

The biggest change is that I am not really having to stop in the standing series anymore. I've been paying a lot of attention to my breath and it's definitely helping. I've also been working on not getting too attached to emotions and thoughts. Sometimes I catch myself thinking, "Ugh, it's hot" and then I take a breath and think, "but you'll live" and continue with my practice. Steering my mind away from negative thoughts really helps to remove their hold on me.

I had my best standing bow yet today! My left side continues to be better than the right (in a strange reversal from the norm), and I really got deep into the posture today. I felt compression in my back and my leg was shaking I was pushing it back so hard. After I released, I felt like it was five months ago and I was coming out of my first good camel. In moments like these, it's impossible to keep the smile off one's face.

I can definitely feel improvements in rabbit. I can get my forehead to my knee now, though it's tough to hold it. I also realized I have a problem with my hips being too open when I sit Japanese-style, which impacts the postures that follow the direction to sit as such. Today, I focused on keeping my knees together, which meant tightening my inner thighs and flattening my feet on the floor. It makes the posture really, really, really hard, which obviously means I'm doing it the right way. Heh.

Another weird thing I'm noticing is that I'm healing lightning-fast. I tend towards clumsiness and am always picking up burns or cuts from the kitchen, bruises from running into things, etc. Two days ago, I tore off a big chunk of one of my toenails and it was a bit of a bloody mess. Today, you would never have known it bled, it's so well-healed. The other day, I cut myself on the trunk of my car (don't ask me how because I have no idea) and I couldn't even find the cut the next day. I guess my blood is flowing through my body extra well these days. It's insane and cool. It also makes me have less attachment to pain. If I burn myself pulling my dinner out of the oven, I don't dwell on it because I know it's going to heal super fast.

I keep discovering new and exciting benefits from the practice and it is beyond exciting. I'm definitely doing at least one double this week. I've been bitten by the double bug and I'm psyched about it. I need to get a double or two in before I leave town for Christmas so that I can have some leniency with travel days. Also, doubles are kind of fun. Shh, don't tell anyone.