First Ashtanga primary series in six weeks : )

Decided to take a rest day today, noticed I hadn't taken a day off practice in two weeks. By mid afternoon though I was craving practice and not just any practice. While the cats away the mice will play and all that. I've eaten poorly all week and have indulged in the odd martini or two and last night, a couple of jugs of Sake with my noodles, felt in need of a detox.

Figured I'd do ye olde Primary series as soon as I got home from work. Turned up the heat, laid down the manduka and scanned my Sweeney to brush up on the sequence, it's been awhile.

Being an evening practice and my chinchilla calling I didn't have that long to so took it at Sharath's (DVD) pace. Was curious how it would go, I checked, it'll be six weeks tomorrow since my last Ashtanga practice. Surprisingly it went well, very well, remembered why I loved this practice so much.

I was sweating by the end of the Sury's (five of each at a faster pace than usual), waving about all over the place in the Utthta's, but then it was growing dark in the room. The paschi's were deep, really deep as were all the forward bends. The Marichi's were fine even managed to bind at the wrist on Mari D which surprised me as it doesn't tend to come in VK. Navasana hurt, first three were OK but felt the last two. Did manage to go up to handstand on the third one, hips seemed to know where to go without my thinking about it, that might be because of all the handstands I've been doing in the Sury's lately, to make up for the lack of Jump through's. Talking of Jump back/through, they were fine, thought I might get tired half way through the practice but felt great, maybe something to do with all the pranayama. Was still able to do all the fancy jump backs too, the half lotus and even the full lotus jump back after Kukkutasana.

Two things blew me away. For the first time ever I was able to lift my heels off the mat in Kurmasana, and in Badha Konasana my whole legs were flat on the mat all the way up to my knee, remember hearing myself think ' oh wow', wonder why all of a sudden. UD's and drop backs felt comfortable but then I've been doing a lot on those lately, felt like Superman in Sarvangasana and Sirsasana as if I was going to take off, maybe something to do with practicing later afternoon/early evening rather than early morning.

So despite not practicing for six weeks, the practice was still there. Seem to be getting deeper into the poses, not sure if that's due to Vinyasa krama, it being an evening practice or the fact that my body was hotter and sweatier than it has been all winter, no doubt all of the above. Thought I might have lost some fitness with the slower practice of VK but I felt good and strong throughout, despite twenty more jump through's than usual, wondering if that might be because of the pranayama practice.

Anyway loved it, think I might make it a regular thing, say three evenings a week on top of my usual morning VK practice. I was thinking about cutting back the asana in the morning to forty minutes or so to give me more time for pranayama and meditation, this way I wont feel so bad about it. Even thought about taking a class once a week

Still buzzin, can you tell?

PS.

M, Come home, miss you. Love to Okasan and all the family xxx