It was a very tough class. It started out a bit cool but very humid, and from there got hotter and hotter, while remaining really wet. I skipped one set of Triangle, but felt OK through the standing series. Then the floor just wiped me out. After Cobra, I had a hard time doing anything more than going through the motions. I stayed with it, but it was definitely one of those classes to be gotten through, instead of a class to savor.
I'm making real progress on Fixed Firm, and finally feel like I'm making some decent progress with my right knee. If this keeps up, I'll be doing Toe Stand again in another week or two. My balance was pretty good. I didn't fall out of Standing Head to Knee even once, and kicked out on both legs in second set. Standing Bow showed some promise. More and more, the key for this pose has been keeping poise as I ease into it. Too fast, and I fall out forward. Too slow and I lose something to one side or the other. But with a deliberate pace I can put myself into a decent pose and hold it for a while (generally until I'm reminded how much longer is left in the pose).
Again and again, my teachers tell us that the practice is all about ourselves. And that's what the day 193 meditation is about as well. The asanas lead naturally to us looking inward. At the start its just to get the feeling of the posture, perhaps simply to learn the edge between discomfort and pain. This turning inward naturally leads to a gradual conclusion that we aren't looking for something external through the practice. We start by focusing simply on our own limits, and by gradually pushing back those limits (in our backs, our hamstrings, our breath). And when we see its possible to push back those limits, then it also seems possible to work on things like discipline, stillness between the postures, respect for yourself. And progress is possible there too, so the same process starts to creep in elsewhere, on and off the mat.
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