I did some more yoga today. I went along to a class at Yoga Mayu. It is a studio which seems to have fliers all around the neighbourhood.

I went to an all level Vinyasa class which was my first non Ashtanga class.  The space was good -  a hard wood floored room on ground level. I paid $27 for a start pack of 3 lessons. Sara Levine was filling in for the person who usually does the class. It was not as intense as an ashtanga class, for which I was extremely grateful as my legs were shaking after 30 minutes. I was surprised that I was the only guy there out of 9 or 10 people.

I really needed the exercise. I’m very out of shape as it turns out and am pretty tight. Maybe these the next two classes will start my regular practice. I’ll sleep well tonight.

After an extended absense from my yoga mat, I returned yesterday morning to a Mysore yoga class.  It was held above a Bikram yoga studio. It was pretty hot and quite crowded. It cost about £11 for a drop in session or about £110 for a month’s worth of classes. Seems kind of expensive.

I managed to get through to the boat. However, I found I had forgotton much of the order of the poses and I was very tight.

Today my back aches but I’m otherwise fine.

The yoga practice ground to a halt over the weekend. I’ve injured my knee and decided to take a 1 week break.

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After the lack of focus on day 13 I managed a pretty focused practice on day 14. So much so that I found afterwards my left knee was quite sore. On day 15 I was taking it easy on my knee, but also trying to get my practice done quickly. It was sort of a sprint yoga. I breathed fasted and so held poses for less time. This was nowhere near as hard as a regular session. Yesterday on day 16 I found that my left knee was much better but that something in my left inner thigh was sore. I did a very very relaxed practice and nothing seems worst.

Now I need to figure out about rest days. I think I probably do need to schedule them in. It turns out the when people talk about a daily practice, they do not actually mean daily practice. Everyone seems to be taking Saturdays off! I will be following their wisdom. Which means tomorrow I get a day off. Maybe I will spend the time to write a fuller yoga post rather than a log of what I did that day.

After nearly two weeks of daily yoga it has started becoming a habit. I’m making time for it in my day and I know that I will get through a session even if I’m feeling tired or stiff. I am remembering the sequence better so there are fewer interuptions of looking at my cheat sheet. On the other hand, it is also getting a bit less exciting than it was – I guess it is time to start adding the rest of the primary series. (more…)

Had a much more focused practice today. Trying to keep my hips up in the jumps. Going easy on bridge. Did my yoga before playing football – now I’m knackered!

Today I was not in a very serious mood and so had a fun practice. Lots of trying to do handstands in my vinyasas and doing dropbacks on to the wall. I kept it all light, probably should have focused on my breathing more, but that can be a bit too much effort sometimes too. Feeling gently yogacised.

I’ve gone yoga classes and watched yoga DVDs where the instructor says “even if you can only touch your knees its ok” and never believed them. Instead I’d strain to get my fingers to touch the sole of my foot, any pain was something to breathe through. Doing yoga everyday has helped me realise that you can’t keep pushing like that. It is nicer just to get the point of the stretch and be content to be there today and maybe I’d get a little further tomorrow, or the next day or even next week.

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My hamstrings are very tight. I used to just bend my back to compensate but I’ve since accepted that I can’t yet wrap my hands round my feet. Yesterday and today I tried using a belt to hold my toe in Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, allowing having my leg straight rather than bent. I’ve found it really hard to keep my balance doing this. Anyone know if I should stick to holding my foot with my hand?

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When practising at home it can be tempting to try and fit a practice into a shorter period. When short on time it is better to do some yoga rather than giving up on the idea, but making sure you allow yourself sufficient time for your practice can really help you get on with doing as much yoga as feels appropriate. (more…)