Six weeks until the Vinyasa Krama course and I'm shifting into countdown mode. I want to run through a sequence a week so they're fresh in my mind again. The more familiar I am with the broad brush strokes of this practice the more I should be able to pick up on some of the finer points while on the course. I worked out I can still keep an Ashtanga framework. I've been adding the seated Sequence to Primary and the Bow Sequence to Intermediate. Now I plan to take that a little further and do a straight Primary with most of Lotus sequence, Intermediate with Inverted and either Primary or Intermediate with the Supine sequence.
Asymmetric Sequence was the tricky one as It's a long sequence. I did it this morning, Standard Ashtanga Standing then straight into the Sequence, but rather than doing all one side then the other I alternated legs after each subroutine. I threw in a jump back and jump through at the change of legs and of routines, not as many as in Primary but still ten or twelve. I'm making all the jump throughs straight legged, still clumsy but getting the hang of it. The uncrossed jump back might not happen.....my arms are too short. I did the usual Ashtanga finishing and a ten minute headstand. That came out at around 90 minutes. For now familiarity with sequence is important so I only stayed three long breaths in most of the poses, saving five to ten for the key asanas.
After practice I did twenty minutes each Pranayama and Meditation. Becoming quite settled in my pranyama now and want to try and work up to 80 breaths at least once before I start the course, that's about fifty minutes. Unlikely to make a habit of that, half an hour seems plenty but on special occasions perhaps.
Oh and I'm working on the chanted Sun salutation again, one of those every morning.
What else, more work on chanting (while cycling to work with my ipod) and looking again at the Yoga sutras. Started back up with Leggett's Sankara on the yoga Sutra's, had put it down to look at Sankara's commentary on the Brahama Sutras and again at the Sankara/Heidegger book but need to get it finished.
When I was first studying Heidegger at Uni I came across reference to Sankara and the Yoga Sutra's. Seem to remember spending half a day in the library with the Legget book and wishing I had time to read it properly. Heidegger and Sankara seemed to have a lot in common. Struggling to get a grip on Heidegger's use of being I wondered if Sankara might be a way to approach that question from a completely different direction. Now twenty years later I'm still studying Heidegger but now I'm practicing yoga and Leggett's book has turned up again and I still think it might be useful. Funny how the wheel turns.
Fasting today, decided to do a one day fast a week and three days once a month, just exploring.
So give me a break and lay of posting pictures of food on FB
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7 comments:
I'm curious about your fasting! This is something I've always wanted to do but have such a hard time with it.
Will you fast on the same day every week? What will you be having on your fasting days (water or juice or anything else??) Have you ever tried fasting on moon days?
I used to fast periodically, during my late 20s and early 30s, but once I got my body the way I wanted it I found I no longer could fast, nor did I want to. A lot of people find it helpful though.
I AM back on the vegetarian wagon. I look at meat and see animal suffering now. Oi.
Anyway - back in the fold you are! So hard to leave. That seems to be a common theme of late in the yoga blog world that I know.
Hi Christina, I once did Ramadan back when I was working as a chef, it was in sympathy with a couple of the other guys working in the kitchen who were muslim. First three weeks was hard but the last week was quite, I hesitate to say spiritual, i'll settle for profound. Kind of like being in a meditative state all day long. Been wanting to do it again or something like it ever since.
The one day a week is to prepare me for the longer three or four day fasts. I'm interested on what practice, pranayama and meditation will be like after a few days fasting and especially how the meditation changes each day. I read once that a four day fast was like being on a month meditation retreat, well i can't take a month but a fast i can do.
One day fasts are quite easy as you've already done half of it by the time you wake up in the morning. For us we don't eat before our morning practice either so that's another couple of hours. I did a water and juice one yesterday, lots of water and three glasses of juice. your supposed to kind of chew the juice. The day before you should eat simply and avoid caffeine and of course when you break the fast it should be something simple. I had a tin of Ambrosia rice pudding with some strawberries on top, easy to digest and I just love that stuff.
Three days takes a little more prep, again eating simply the day before but when you break the fast your supposed to gradually get back into eating. So you break the fast with a little fruit, mashed vegetables etc and then the same kind of thing the following day.
there's a ook you might like, I found it in a charity shop last week. 'Yoga for the digestive system' by Dr. Swami Shankardevananda it has a chapter on fasting.
Am i back in the fold Boodie, sure many will disagree perhaps I'm on the edges. It's been good the last couple of weeks practicing it again, the modifications and tweaks seem to be working out, seem to be getting the balance right. But even today with the VK sequence in the middle of Standing and Finishing with a smattering of Jump backs it felt like Ashtanga.
Good luck staying on the veggie wagon, I switched a couple of years ago now and haven't looked back, not even tempted,,,,, but then I don't live in NYC
Thanks for all that, can't wait to hear how the three day fast goes and how it impacts your practice...I've been wanting to move towards fasting once a week for a while... but so hard to do (and especially difficult to explain to people!)
The bodybuilder Bill Pearl would fast one day per week. Lacto-ovo for many years and still looks incredible. Practised yoga, too, but that's another story.
Btw, does that edition of Leggett's feature the Sanskrit text? My copy, with the same cover as yours, does not (cheap from Motilal) but I do recall reading one that did in an 'academic' library.
Leggett was a fascinating man. I'm quite interested in the pre-planet yoga 'pioneers', including Ernest Wood, possibly the first and probably the last of the Great Mancunian Yogis!
No S, no Sanskrit in mine either, bit irritating that, keep meaning to write it in myself. Must google Ernest wood. Any other 'pre-planet yoga pioneer' names you suggest I should look out for?
Desmond Dunne.
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