I need to think of some new excuses for why I can't get up from backbends. Very frustrating to pull it off one day, then not be able to get my hands off of the floor the next time I practice. I have yet to do it as well as the first time I ever got up either, and that one wasn't all that good. I was satisfied with how my backbends went today. I just couldn't get my weight shifted to where it would allow me to unweight my hands. I tried to get up anyway on the sixth and last one--no go. I laid back down and caught my breath. I went back into the pose. The teacher for the class announced, "and now, the best for last..." since I was the last one in the room not up and standing and he knew I have been trying to get this. He stood back so that everyone else could see my attempt. I could feel the pressure. I knew I didn't have it in me but I tried anyway. I went up as far on my toes as I could (in a situation like that, I'm willing to cheat) and got about halfway up before gravity struck. Fortunately, the teacher also recognized that today was not going to be the day and when I stalled out, he was right there with an hand under my back to give me enough lift to keep moving and get upright. It looked pitiful and in frustration I let out a hissing kind of expletive that theoretically could have been perceived as just a loud exhalation if everyone didn't know better. It's not like I'm attached to the outcome or anything. I was double desirous of getting up today because the guy who I had described a few weeks ago as working on the same move had already stood up twice today and even dropped back down for the last backbend. Let's just see him accomplish that if he had to work with a mind as weak as mine.

It was a hot and humid day and the studio was very muggy. Tim is out of town on one of his teaching ventures. My wife helped assist for the guy who led the class. She had already done the 2nd series class just before our first series class. She told me later she got hotter and sweatier helping adjust our class than she did in doing the second series class. Fortunately, with Tim out of town, there were only about half the normal amount of students. That helped keep the room from being excessively hot. We enjoyed the extra room to move also. Sometimes in that class, it's crowded enough that we have to shift our positions around a bit to create enough space so we don't whack each other doing postures like Utthita Hasta Padangustasana, Upavishta Konasana, Chakrasana, even the Sun Salutations.


I haven't been posting here as much in the last few weeks. It's not that I've run out of useless things to say. Hardly. It's a reflection of my practice unfortunately. I'm in the middle of a week or so of scheduling that seems designed to keep me off of the mat. I'm going to be lucky to get in much more than Wednesday evening first series class and maybe one of the weekend classes too. Doesn't exactly make for regular reading material. I have debated about filling in the dry spells with accounts of how my days go when I'm not doing yoga but that seemed to be a bit far afield from the original purpose of the journal. For now, I'll keep it a practice journal.