Yoga diary
Routine: 'Learn Yoga' - General (1hr30mins)
Time: Uhm, 2pm-ish? I think?
I was in a foul mood on Monday (teary and grumpy and just generally unhappy). I'm not really ready for the General (read: advanced) routine but I remember the modifications and wanted something challenging. I kind of wanted to fail, too, and for that to be okay. Unsurprisingly, I wasn't very focused. It was very much a meandering routine, what with me needing to come out of poses early and moving around a fair bit for the modifications. I definitely need to work on my head and handstand preparation before attempting the real thing, although I was surprised to notice that I was pretty strong in the shoulderstand. The plough, though, scared me oddly when I felt a not unpleasant burning sensation in the muscles of my lower back. It wasn't a bad feeling but it unnerved me so I didn't hold the pose as long as I felt I could.
Main benefits: I needed something a little meandering and I did feel like it was okay to fail by the end. The sun salutations were hard but worth it (I used to do 16 of these when I was super fit) and I felt that joy I used to when doing them. They definitely made me go much deeper in down dog. I felt accomplished, even if I was fidgety. Oh, and afterward, my hips/sacrum felt soooooo loose and happy!
Routine: 'Learn Yoga' -General, partial (40-45 mins)
Time: 3.45pm
I really just wanted to do sun salutations today so I cut the practice down to a good warm up for them and a safe cool down. Like yesterday, I couldn't hold all the poses for the designated time, and the sun salutations kind of kicked my butt (in a good way!). I was still kind of fidgety, especially because my arms are really achy from yesterday. I might stick with this practice because only through really challenging myself will I see the kind of strength gains that I had before.
Good stuff. . . uhm. . . I guess my breathing is become more measured/controlled during certain poses, and it helped elevate my mood a little.