Health & Fitness

First sit correctly. The outer side of the foot is in line with the outer side of the body (and not next to the stretched leg!) This might make the pose more challenging, but so it is. Sit upright. Feel your hips and sit erected. Lengthen the body when inhaling, this creates room.

 I usually lean a bit backwards and then I shift my weight forward and diagonal, to bring my shoulder far in front of the knee. I push the knee to the other side. This happens with an exhaling, but before exhaling it’s important to engage the bandhas (mula bandha and the adbomen). This creates room and every inch counts. The movement starts from the hips, the spine turns. All movements start from the core of the body. The breath initiates each movement. When the shoulder is placed firmly in front of the knee, wrap the bended leg with the arm. The weight is still more on the right side.

When the arm is behind the back, bring the other arm to the back, too. It’s better to think of the shoulder and to move the shoulder backwards. If you don’t do this you lose inches that you might need. It’s not about holding the wrist. This pose is a twist, one shoulder moves forward, the other backward (always shoulders move down, away from the ears). The chest opens. The trick here is to bind rather high on the back as this is the shortest way to get together. When the fingers are hooked or when you hold the wrist, you can stretch the arms till the one hand can lie on the stretched upper leg. Now the weight moves to the middle again. M uses to say: press the knee against the arm. This supports the twist.

Bringing the shoulders down helps to reach the leg. The stretched leg is engaged, the foot parallel to the wall. With each inhaling I stretch the body, with each exhaling I go deeper into the pose, means I twist more. Breathing is important. In the beginning there seems to be pressure on the chest that scarcely allows to breathe. Nevertheless breathe. Deep inhaling.

All twist poses seem to be easier when the body is slim.
All twist poses are more challenging with relative short arms. Who cares.

Twists neutralize poses, it is said.

Dristhi is not the nose, but the side. This helps to keep the body upright.

Currently I’m working on doing the above described movements within one exhaling. I’m still a bit too slowly. Sometimes I need one extra breath. The vinyasa count is important, too.

PS: The head  turns last. It’s moving the chin to the side. Check on pictures your head falls aside.

Good luck. Let me know if it worked.

Feed-back in form of comments is welcomed.

The heater is on already. It’s cold here. Awfully cold. Outside. In my rooms it’s warm, but I can feel the minus temperatures. I tremble slightly. Perhaps a second cup of coffee will warm me from the inside. I try not to complain about the weather. It has also nice moments when dressed warmly. During these cold days I put on two pair of trousers, a T-shirt, a pullover, a cap, a coat, a scarf, boots and warm knitted socks. This scarcely allows me to move. Being wrapped so warmly it’s fun to walk around even at night. After dinner my E and myself go out for a walk, a nice habit. At night it’s even a bit colder. This empties the mind. Thinking needs warmth. At home again one really appreciates the warmth.

Primary is on the schedule today.
I’ll focus on the vinyasas.
A few additional asanas are planned like forward split and side split.
In the last two weeks I appeared a bit late in the Mysore class. No dawdling was allowed when I wanted to finish my series in the remaining time. With a certain speed and urgency I went through the asanas and felt flow and intensity. In the end, just before urdhva dhanursana my body was really baked (and flexible). I drop back again on my own. To come up seems doable again.

So, a few necessary chores are done. E has left the villa motley. Time to step on my mat. 

 

This early afternoon I paid the storage for my pictures here: 5.95 USD they want for storing my pictures, lol. They is Google.
A friend to me: I thought it’s free.
Me: For the average publisher yes, but not if you publish as much as I do. lol.
(I know you love my pictures……..:))

 Brrhhhhh was it cold when I picked up my books from the post station. The vegan cooking book “Candle 79″ arrived today. It’s a collection of the recipes of the NYC restaurant Candle 79. A lovely book.
Shall it help to solve my “weight problems”, lol. I enjoyed too many restaurants with my E last month. It’s all perfect as it is.
In February I focus on something else than weight: Handstand and pincha mayurasana in the middle of the room. I’ll face my fears to fall in February. Ha,……..(as if Idon’t know how it is to fall…….I used to stand up afterwards, that was it.)

Mysore classes start one hour earlier on Wednesdays. To be precise we start at 8am now and I appreciate it a lot. It seems as if I’ve more time. I want to ban my yoga to the mornings. At 12pm, it shall be done. To get up at 6am is good, too.
I enjoyed my practice this morning. The new pose was already a tiny bit better. Kapotasana a tiny bit worse. Hahaha, it all entertains me.
First it’s important for me if I have practiced according to my potential and I have. I had access to my energy and I was focused. Breath was even and deep.
Second important is the performance of the asanas. There is always something to improve. So it’s much more satisfying to focus on point one.

Tomorrow I’ll practice at home, primary. Something relaxing……how good.