Mat time...

"Today I realized... I know where home is."

I've begun to offer up my practice daily as merits and to others who need healing, love, compassion, for those that suffer. I am trying to be unattached to the outcome/fruits of the practice. Otherwise ego is invovled. This method is working for me. Making me happier on my mat and not trying to "attain" anything.

With that in mind--this morning I was up and out the door by 5:00am. I made it to Balance for Mysore practice. Alongside a fellow friend/Ashtangi- which is always inspiring. She was acutally doing a full vinyasa between posese; which I don't normally pay attention to what others are doing. I am pretty centered (most of the time) but I noticed she was adding in more vinyasa ala Lino style.
It was inspiring.

My personal practice on my mat felt great. I can't tell you what it looked liked but I felt pretty awesome after! We worked on Marichyasana D more and slowly my upper body is opening and my darn shoulders are very tight! I never really noticed that until I started realizing binding is becoming more and more difficult (which has to be from typing at a computer all day).
Teacher did tell me to do Navasana...so we are moving on bit by bit in Primary.

Today I also did 4 Urdhva Dhanurasana (backbends) and my 5th one being a dropback.
During the backbending she made me pay closer attention to bringing my elbows towards one another while pushing up rather than "splaying" out to the sides as I normally do. This caused for a little more intensity and fired up my shoulders but it felt like the "right" way to get into it.
My dropback was fine...however I think I almost knocked my teacher over when I came back up! Oops!!

All in all a nice practice. My mantra still is and may always be "tuck the tailbone" or lengthen the tailbone to the floor (which ever version you like best) My tailbone has a mind of its own I swear!

But for me how I judge my practice (if there is such a thing) is how I feel internally after. I felt awake, clean, better, happier. So that to me equates to a great practice.
It was hard work...but worth it.

Tonight starts my assisting in the Friday night Intermediate class. I will just observe tonight and the next 6 classes I will be assisting/adjusting as the teacher directs. This is "homework" for my Yoga Teacher Training Certification. I have until May to assist at 6 classes, plus I have to teach at least 2 classes a month on my own. And there is lots of reading to finish up on, studying anatomy, 1 paper on the Endocrine system, 2 more book reviews and my large 5-10 page paper. All of this in the next 3 months.

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I have to say I've gone back and forth on styles/practices for the last 2 years. I've questioned every form I've practiced. When I start to think I've made up my mind or I think I've "figured it out" ...well that is when little things have a way of unfolding and showing what you really need.

Something clicked for me yesterday....Sometimes I don't need to question everything. Just like the Zen approach to meditation; I just need to sit. I need to sit and be still and calm my moneky mind.

Well the same thing with yoga practice. The Ashtanga Primary Series is referred to as Yoga Chikitsa, which translates as Yoga Therapy. The therapy is pretty simple to understand yet hard to execute. Asana (including Bandhas), Breath, and Dristi (gaze/focus)
So really just 3 things to remember. That is a stripped down very basic over view.
But really, I just need to show up, I need to sit with it, I need to be still within and let it happen.