Day 11
Timer is on…
So…I finally detailed where I’m at with the poses, so far, and from here on out…I’ll just update when something good or “less talented” occurs.
Today my left hip hurts. It’s been hurting since last week’s Iyengar, but, really it’s been hurting for longer than that…I noticed it about a month into living in the Catskills…I started having Charlie Horses (is that really what they’re called) when I was sleeping with that hip, and it’s never really gotten better…some days I can’t feel it, but…sometimes it just aches…I’m not sure what it is…it isn’t like a “bad” pain, per se, but…it isn’t a good one, either…
Today for some reason my Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (Standing Big Toe Pose) had issues on on the left standing leg and I fell out of it at 21 Kapalabhati breaths…I was thinking about cancer for some reason, at that point, and the fact that I’m going to lose a friend to it any day now, and that a woman I adored, who was the mother of a girl I grew up with (and was, incidentally, my choir teacher in middle school) had her birthday this week and she passed away from cancer a few years back…cancer was on the brain…I’m not sure why…it Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana…
Garudasana was better than its been in days, but the right standing foot was a bit hard because my left hip was the wrapping foot on that side and was really hurting…I also don’t have my hips totally forward with the right standing foot, so…there’s a couple of problems, here, still…
After Garudansana, I sent “love” to my left hip (something yoga instructors are always saying in class, and it always sounds like a good idea, but, apparently, I can’t create the “loving” feeling in self-practice), but I had balance issues in Virabhadrasana III in the right standing foot…I suppose I should not have sent love to the left…
Natarajasana is still not the full position and was “less talented” on the right standing foot today, and I don’t know why, other than my left hip was really bothering me…and I guess anytime it was up the air, it was unhappy…
I suppose now is a good time to quote Kapalabhati breaths from Noa Belling’s YOGA HANDBOOK, since, it is the one theme to the whole practice, and I haven’t really delved into it:
“Kapala” means “skull” and “bhati” means “light.” This breathing practice brings light to the head area and clears the mind. Kapalabhati is a cleansing breath, involving forced exhalation in which the abdominal muscles are quickly contracted, causing the diaphragm to push upward into the lungs. This helps the lungs to expel more stale air and carbon dioxide. Kapalabhati prepares the abdominal muscles for the Uddhiyana Bandha.”
“1. Kapalabhati involves a deeper inhalation because the abdomen is relaxed.
2. This is followed by a quick, active exhalation in which the abdominal muscles are contracted in toward the spine. Let go of the abdominal muscles immediately after the exhalation, so that there is a natural recoiling action of the abdominal muscles – this causes the inhalation to follow naturally. This pumping action strengthens and tones these particular muscles.”
“Maintain the length of your spine one the exhalation and don’t involve the shoulders. After completing a round of about 20 breaths, hold the breath for a comfortable period.”
There is more to this…so…to be continued for tomorrow…
Timer is on…
So…I finally detailed where I’m at with the poses, so far, and from here on out…I’ll just update when something good or “less talented” occurs.
Today my left hip hurts. It’s been hurting since last week’s Iyengar, but, really it’s been hurting for longer than that…I noticed it about a month into living in the Catskills…I started having Charlie Horses (is that really what they’re called) when I was sleeping with that hip, and it’s never really gotten better…some days I can’t feel it, but…sometimes it just aches…I’m not sure what it is…it isn’t like a “bad” pain, per se, but…it isn’t a good one, either…
Today for some reason my Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (Standing Big Toe Pose) had issues on on the left standing leg and I fell out of it at 21 Kapalabhati breaths…I was thinking about cancer for some reason, at that point, and the fact that I’m going to lose a friend to it any day now, and that a woman I adored, who was the mother of a girl I grew up with (and was, incidentally, my choir teacher in middle school) had her birthday this week and she passed away from cancer a few years back…cancer was on the brain…I’m not sure why…it Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana…
Garudasana was better than its been in days, but the right standing foot was a bit hard because my left hip was the wrapping foot on that side and was really hurting…I also don’t have my hips totally forward with the right standing foot, so…there’s a couple of problems, here, still…
After Garudansana, I sent “love” to my left hip (something yoga instructors are always saying in class, and it always sounds like a good idea, but, apparently, I can’t create the “loving” feeling in self-practice), but I had balance issues in Virabhadrasana III in the right standing foot…I suppose I should not have sent love to the left…
Natarajasana is still not the full position and was “less talented” on the right standing foot today, and I don’t know why, other than my left hip was really bothering me…and I guess anytime it was up the air, it was unhappy…
I suppose now is a good time to quote Kapalabhati breaths from Noa Belling’s YOGA HANDBOOK, since, it is the one theme to the whole practice, and I haven’t really delved into it:
“Kapala” means “skull” and “bhati” means “light.” This breathing practice brings light to the head area and clears the mind. Kapalabhati is a cleansing breath, involving forced exhalation in which the abdominal muscles are quickly contracted, causing the diaphragm to push upward into the lungs. This helps the lungs to expel more stale air and carbon dioxide. Kapalabhati prepares the abdominal muscles for the Uddhiyana Bandha.”
“1. Kapalabhati involves a deeper inhalation because the abdomen is relaxed.
2. This is followed by a quick, active exhalation in which the abdominal muscles are contracted in toward the spine. Let go of the abdominal muscles immediately after the exhalation, so that there is a natural recoiling action of the abdominal muscles – this causes the inhalation to follow naturally. This pumping action strengthens and tones these particular muscles.”
“Maintain the length of your spine one the exhalation and don’t involve the shoulders. After completing a round of about 20 breaths, hold the breath for a comfortable period.”
There is more to this…so…to be continued for tomorrow…
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