Week of July 9th Ashtanga Mysore Practice Journal

7/11/17:
Back from Vacation

It was nice to come back from the vacation and back to my practice routine, With that said, I still like to be on vacation more than at work.

It felt so good to walk in to the Mysore room, stand on the mat and start my practice this morning. My body ached when I didn't practice for days. I took it easy. I only did the Primary Series, which was exactly what I needed. I particularly enjoyed Urdhva Dhanurasana. It felt great to stretch my upper back and to open my front side body.

7/12/17:
What Happened to Marichyasana D?

I did the Second Series today up to Bharavajasana, which was the last pose I was given to in the Second Series. My hamstring was a little bit sore from the practice yesterday, but overall I felt great.

I had trouble to get into Marichyasana D recently especially the right side, which used to be the better side for me. The pose seemed to be getting more and more challenging. Was it because of the pain on the back of my left knee or something else? My left knee had been hurting for few weeks now. It hurt whenever I kept my it bent. I thought it was caused by yoga because I put my legs in Lotus position a lot. With one week of break from yoga, I imaged it would only get better. In fact, it didn't. Excess sitting on the flight seemed to aggravate the pain. I probably should start taking modification in Marichyasana B and D until the knee gets better. Listen to the advise from my physical therapist.

7/12/17:
How Excited! I Got A New Pose, Ardha Matsyendrasana

My butt, my quads and my hamstrings were extremely sore today, which was probably due to the HIIT workout I did two days ago. Normally the soreness wouldn't get to me me until 2 days later. My body was tired and didn't want to do anything. It was a difficult practice for me, but I managed to work with my body.

Yoga Legging by Glyder, Mantra Crop in White & Black Stripe, XS

Regardless how sore my body was, my teacher gave me a new pose, Ardha Matsyendrasana. I've done different variation of the pose for years, but it was my first time trying this version, the opposite hand reached to grab the foot of the Matsyendrasana leg. It wasn't difficult to me compared to Pasasana, which I still couldn't bind every time, and Marichyasana D, which I struggled with lately. My teacher also asked me to start releasing tension on my outer thigh as next set of poses was foot behind the leg postures. My hips were relatively open, but I was far from being able to bring my foot behind my head. Consistent practice... I am sure I will get it one day.