Day 42 -- Priorities

10:30 am class with Zeb.

As usual, a very good and fairly intense class with Zeb.  I got off of the "no water" kick about a week ago, but I'm thinking about it again.  Perhaps I won't do without water entirely, but limiting intake to a few sips is probably a good idea.  Today I had a sip after Eagle, and then another before Fixed Firm.  The main advantage is that it leaves nothing for me to spit up in Locust.  And it does seem that my head is clearer at the end of class without it.

I had one distinct breakthrough today.  In the second set of Half Moon, I grabbed my feet from behind, instead of slightly from the sides, for the first time.  This slight movement strikes me as a minor miracle.  Two weeks into the practice, my best guess on when I would get to that point would either have been "never" or "several years".  

Now the question is whether the breakthrough will stick.  Fixed firm is getting back to normal, but I took a slight step backward from yesterday's Standing Head to Knee.  Progress definitely spirals with the yoga, while hopes and expectations tend to be linear.  The trick, I guess, is to see the "setbacks" as simply being part of the natural progression.  Expecting continuous straightforward progress will just create another obstacle.

When I talk to people about Bikram, the comment I hear most often is something like this:  "I would love to do something like that, but I just don't have the time."  More and more, I think this means "I like the idea of doing something like that, but its just not important enough to me."   If someone really wants to do something, then they can make it a priority and find the time.  That's one of the things that has been really great about this challenge.  By taking on the commitment, I insisted that for at least 60 days, yoga would become one of my top priorities.  And making it a priority means that I have to find the time for it.   If its important enough, then it should almost always be possible to find the time.  (Fortunately, with the extra energy I get from the practice, it actually feels like I'm adding useful hours to my days, not stealing them away.)

Of course, its not my place to tell people what should be important.  But it would be nice if people would face the truth about their priorities, instead of simply making an excuse because of their busy schedules.