The idea here is not so much to cling on to my practice, could stay in bed longer and study or do extra pranayama and meditation....what I'm aiming at is keeping the area around the injury strong and flexible to add support while it heals itself. Seems to make sense, feeling better for it anyway. And besides this is a time to explore what is and isn't possible, the limitations and shifting location of the edge, to get to know and understand ones body a little more....sure I shouldn't be enjoying these minor injuries this much..
Thankfully I haven't had to face anything too serious thus far....touch wood.
Today was pretty much the same as yesterday as it felt so good and felt better throughout the day. I guess I'm using Ashtanga as a framework and then looking in the Vinyasa Krama tool chest to modify. Here's a recap of yesterday's practice
YESTERDAY
Put a tennis ball between me and the wall and rolled around a bit seems I can find the spot standing up and with a slight turn to the left and a gentle squat. With theracane work do we massage the spot or just press, must check unless anyone beats me to it (susan came through on this, more of a gentle rolling, dont kill it and bruse the spot, oh and do it 6x a day- Thank you Susan).
Started practice with a light Vinyasa krama tadasana sequence then a very gentle, hesitant sury, working my hands very slowly down my legs to the mat over five breaths, stepping back more of a suggestion of a sury actually.
Same with the first couple of postures from the ashtanga standing sequence, more a suggesting, a nod in the direction of the postures.
Moved into 2nd series, hint of pasasana, skip krounchasana and settled into the backbends which feel fine, nice actually. Didn't want to push it with laghu vajrasana and kapotasana this morning so moved on to Urdhava Dhanurasana instead.
Can't work out a way to get up to savasana avoiding the pain, probably not going to do any harm but erring on the side of caution here. Did a couple of supine poses instead, seems bringing the knees up to the chest is fine.
Sirsasana was OK. Oh, forgot, added some VK hip openers while in headstand, only place I can seem to work them in.
Sitting is still painful, that pinching around the illiac crest, noticed in ustrasana that vajrasana is fine so settled on that for finishing.
Stayed in vajrasana for some pranayama but then switched to David Garrigues pranayama prep posture and did the Ashtanga pranayama sequence there instead, some Yoga meditation too, really like that posture.
feel better for doing it, pain free for a little while afterwards but sitting here writing this is uncomfortable again.
THIS MORNING
Much the same as yesterday except I pretty much went through most of the Standing postures, just not as deep, the twists in the triangles were a mere hint, a suggestion of the postures.
Managed to do utthita hasta padangusthasana sequence but with the knee bent and near my chest, then out to the side and finally unheld, no strain at all.
Included a modification of Krouchasana, video below of that and a modified suggestion of pasasana.
And a video of the first heavily modified Sury, did three of those, didn't even bother to try to go any deeper in the forward bend.
Backbending is still the best so did all of 2nd this morning up to and including kapotasana, such a Joy to find these backbends are still available to me.
Found a way up into Savasana this morning, rolling up as far as comfortable and then lifting my pelvis up to take it the rest of the way and allow me to straighten the legs.
Lots of hip openers in headstand and a nice long lotus. (Thank you Ramaswami and Vinyasa krama for the tool chest).
The rest of finishing was in Vajrasana and virasana.
For pranayama I used a mixture of the pranayama bolster ( calling it that, David Garrigues just uses it for a noticing the breath exercise, I'm taking it further because it's more comfortable than sitting up) and vajrasana, virasana for meditation.
In the video below I'm doing Ujjayi with kumbhaka after the inhalation, then ujjay with kumbhaka after the exhalation and finally kumbhaka after both.
nadi shodana works here too.
In the video below I'm doing Ujjayi with kumbhaka after the inhalation, then ujjay with kumbhaka after the exhalation and finally kumbhaka after both.
nadi shodana works here too.
Nice practice
Fun.