Fri. 4:30 with Margaux
Sat. 2:30 with Amy
Sun. 2:30 with Libby
Mon. 2:30 with Amy
No, I didn't forget to blog. And I didn't miss any classes either. Instead, five days after Ike our cable service went down. First, Comcast said that it would be up within 24 to 48 hours. After 60 hours had passed, they said they could not give any estimate on when it might be back up. So I asked when they estimated I would switch to Direct TV and DSL instead. To that, I got a nervous "I understand what you are saying, sir."
As for yesterday and today, I think they figured out how best to handle customer complaints. I'm no longer able to get through to a person. Instead, I'm either told to wait forever, or until I get some random busy signal while navigating their call menus. So instead, I have to go out to a coffee shop to get internet access. And from other people I've talked to, it doesn't sound like they are making any progress on fixing anyone's service. No-one has heard about anyone's service getting restored.
Yoga has been good. I had really strong classes on Thursday through Saturday. Each day, I felt better than the last, and each day I thought the room was too cold. (I didn't ever think I would be saying that.) Thursday it was 103.5 and 40% humidity. Friday 103 and the same. And Saturday it was just over 104 with slightly higher humidity. I was coming out of class not even sweating that badly, and I was starting to feel like a tough guy.
Then came Sunday with Libby, and it was back to real Bikram weather: over 105 with high humidity. And lo and behold, I was just an ordinary struggling human again. Class was still good, but I was drained and a bit exhausted afterward. It was a real struggle to make it through the standing series.
The funniest moment the last few days came in Standing Bow in Libby's class. I was concentrating really hard, holding it fairly well. Then I heard Libby say "Tongue inside the mouth." I didn't know I was doing it, but as soon as I heard "tongue" I knew she must be talking about me. I was sticking my tongue out for concentration long before anyone had ever heard of Michael Jordan. And I had no idea that I was doing it -- but there it was. So I pulled it back in and of course immediately fell, which got me laughing, which in turn got Libby laughing, to the point where she had to tell someone else "I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at him...."
After class, she said that there's even a line in the dialogue about keeping the tongue in the mouth. But it's in Rabbit. Still, she said I should know better. And of course, I do know better. I just don't know that I'm doing it when I'm doing it. So one more very small thing to be aware of.
My sciatic problem is basically over with for now. I'm not going to say that it won't come back. But at least now I know how to deal with it, and maybe I can now make some lasting progress on my hamstrings.
My knee is a slightly different story. I talked to Amy about it, and she said it sounds like I'm working through old injuries, and realigning things. Later, I realized that the problem is worse when I twist the leg slightly to the inside. And then it hit me that I'm not walking duck footed anymore, so my knee is constantly now feeling what, for it, seems like an internal twist. And that really is just my body realigning itself. So from that standpoint, the tenderness makes perfect sense, and I should just work through it. Eventually I should come out on the other side, with a better aligned, more capable left leg.
On a more practical level, I've eased off just a bit on any pose that seems to put pressure on the knee, and it seems to be coming back some. I don't have any problems with it out of class now. And the only poses that really get to it are Toe Stand, Fixed Firm, anything in Japanese Sitting Position, and the final forward stretch. I'm pretty sure that all will be well with it in just a couple more weeks.
If you noticed, I've got 9 classes to go and only three days to do them. I'm not sure I've got a triple in me right now, much less three in a row. I will continue with this challenge either until the numbers match (x = y in x/y) or until I'm ten classes behind. I just thought it might make some sense to define failure as well as success, so I have some idea when the "challenge" is over.
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