Week 10 - Ariana

Same poses as week 9. Different time of day - afternoon. New experiences and thoughts.

I felt a little rushed and preoccupied because I was trying to fit in the practice during my daughter's nap again. The practice may not have gotten the full attention it deserved.

My left hamstring has been talking to me lately and I felt it again in Intense Side Stretch (Parsvottanasana). So I bent the knee a little to avoid overstretching there. My quads were talking to me too in all of the Warrior poses and Rotated Side Angle (Parsvakonasa). I had a hard time getting into and staying in Warrior 3 on both sides.I attribute it to my leg muscles being tired from an Iyengar class I took on Wednesday. Rotated Side Angle (Parvritta Parsvakonasana) felt sloppy for me today.

I had a new awareness of cross-lateral stretches in the body today. In Rotated Triangle (Parvritta Trikonasana) I felt a diagonal stretch from the back left hip, across the front of the body to the shoulder of the right arm. I also felt it from the front hip across the body to the opposite arm. I have never actually felt that connection before. I felt it spontaneously when I did the pose on the right side and then I purposely tried to replicate it on the left. I had the same experience, but to a lesser degree in Parvritta Parsvalonasana. My sloppiness propelled me out of that pose sooner than I expected.

I am confused as to why Mr. Iyengar placed One-Legged Shoulderstand (Ekapada Sarvangasana) after Plow (Halasana) and Ear Pressure Pose (Karnipadasana). Why come out of the shoulderstand, do Halasana and Karnipadasana and then go back for variations of shoulderstand? My low-back started to bother me a little when I did the shoulderstand variations so I came out of it. This shoulderstand sequence gave me a rush of calm. Belly Turning Pose (Jatara Parivartanasana) provided just the counterpose I needed post shoulderstand. I felt such relief and expansion of the spine in that twist.

Pranayama at the end has once again left me in a state of steady calm. I felt like meditating after so I did for about 5 minutes. But then I remembered that I wanted to finish this before my daughter woke up. Even so, after today's practice I feel an almost tactile quietude.