Sixty-Nine: Day 13

Day 13


Timer on…

After my Dad died and Nick and I came back to Walla Walla because I had to work…I started this ritual of getting through my classes/office hours/working on light and sound for theater for 6 hours and then going home to binge watch LAW AND ORDER while snuggling Pants the Panda. 

This image of me on my bed watching LAW AND ORDER over and over while holding my stuffed Panda Bear, Pants is more than depressing, but…it is what it is.  It is made all the more depressing by the fact that Pants is a bit worse for wear considering he was purchased when I was 9 years old, therefore, and he was 24 years old, by that point.  I have no idea what this image looked like to Nick…it saddens me in hindsight to think that Nick had to watch this image daily for 2+ months. 

Now, LAW AND ORDER, is something that helps me sleep.  I have no idea why.  I think its because its formulaic, much like a ritual.  Some new episodes were loaded up on Netflix, and I’ve binge watching it again (though that habit will have to stop because my data will run out, and I will have an unruly bill from Verizon).  This binge watching has killed a bit of my insomnia I’ve had the past month…insomnia in my world is usually brought on by being alone with my thoughts too much…and, well, that’s been happening in droves with Winter Break in the Catskills. 

So…I’m starting to think about this 69 Day Mourning Poses Yoga Journey to be a ritual, that is, maybe, better at night…it is becoming “formulaic” and “ritualistic”, and therefore, my theory is that it will help me sleep…kind of like LAW AND ORDER, and, maybe, not near as depressing to watch me do…  (Though, at this point, with Nick and I in long distance, only the dogs and Pants witness the depressing image…).

I’ve also been paying to my own circadian rhythm in doing this series, and, I think, it is better at night because my mind is far too busy in the morning and the afternoon…my mind thinks it has to write every thought that comes into my little head in my little journal I have next to me while I’m working.  At night, I’m a bit more content to practice the series and only write down what I think is more pertinent to the journey, itself.  I might have to remember that I edit better at night, and, maybe, never let me write in the morning/afternoon, like “normal” writers (or, what I think is “normal”).

One thing I added to the practice today was that in the standing poses that have back bends, I used Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) as the rest pose, in lieu of Mountain.  I need more work on that pose, anyway, so…I wrote it down in my journal yesterday and tried it out today.  It was good. 

I have daily struggled with the pose Garudasana (Eagle Pose) and I have no idea why, and the struggles are different everyday.  I suppose Iyengar would be proud of me because I don’t have a habit here.  My right standing leg was more talented than my left standing leg, but my left wrap was more talented than my right wrap…and in neither, today, was I able to hold it for the entire 69 Kapalabhati breaths.  I don’t always have the best thoughts in this pose, either, but none that I’m willing to talk about, yet…something to consider…

The poses are here, again for anyone who is interested.

Part 1 – Standing or lying

            Neutral – Chakra 2 – Svadhisthana (Navel Chakra or Hara) – Orange

·      Hero’s Pose – Virasana

·      Butterfly – Baddha Konasana

Forward Bend – Chakra 5 – Visuddha (Throat Chakra) – Sky Blue

·      Child’s Pose – Supta Vajrasana

Back Bend– Chakra 3 – Manipura – Solar plexus - yellow

·      Flying Cow – Januhastasana/Bidalasana/Gavasana

·      Camel – Ustrasana

·      Sphinx – Salamba Bhujangasana

·      Cobra – Bhujangasana

·      Upward Facing Dog – Urdhva Mukha Svanasana

·      Bow – Dhanurasana

·      Supported Fish – Samarthita Matsyasana

Twist – Chakra 4 – Anahata – Heart Chakra - Green

·      Spinal Twist – Jathara Parivritti (straight leg twist on the ground)

Part Two – Standing

Neutral – Chakra 1 – Muladhara – Base Chakra - Red

·      Warrior 2 – Virabhadrasana II – Warrior 2

Forward Bend – Chakra 1 – Muladhara – Base Chakra – Red

·      Standing Forward Bend – Uttanasana

Back Bend – Chakra 1 – Muladhara – Base Chakra – Red

·      Warrior 1 – Virabhadrasana I

Part Three – Standing Balances

Neutral – Chakra 6 – Ajna – Third Eye or Brow Chakra – Indigo

·      Tree Pose – Vrksasana

·      Standing Big Toe Pose – Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana

Forward Bend – Chakra 6 – Ajna – Third Eye or Brow Chakra – Indigo

·      Eagle - Garudasana

·      Warrior 3 – Virabhadrasana III

Back Bend – Chakra 6 – Ajna – Third Eye or Brow Chakra – Indigo

·      Dancer - Natarajasana

Side Bend – Chakra 6 – Ajna – Third Eye or Brow Chakra – Indigo

·      Half Moon – Ardha Chandrasana

Part 4 – Inverted

Neutral – Chakra 7 – Sahasrara – Crown Chakra - Lavender

·      Headstand – Salamba Sirshasana

Back Bend– Chakra 3 – Manipura – Solar Plexus - Yellow

·      Supported Back Bend – Samarthita Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

·      Wheel – Urdhva Dhanurasana

·      Dolphin – Makurasana

Neutral – Chakra 7 – Sahasrara – Crown Chakra - Lavender

·      Headstand – Salamba Sirshasana

Part 5 – Rest Pose

Forward Bend – Chakra 5 – Visuddha – Throat Chakra – Sky Blue

·      Child’s Pose – Supta Vajrasana

Part 6 – Mudra (Gesture)

·      Yoga Mudra – Crown of the Head with Padmasana – Lotus Pose.

Part 7 – Shatkarma (more on this name, later, because…if I were Scottish…the first part of this word is literal).

·      Neti –

·      Dhauti –

·      Basti –

·      Nauli Kriya –

·      Kapalabhati –

·      Tratak –