Muscle Memory

Me and the Sister drinking tea in Urla

It's amazing how muscle memory works. I mentioned it before, I played basketball for 12 years- 9 years competitive and with very heavy practices. That's why it is very hard for me to be comfortable in Paschimottasana if I have a break from my yoga practice. My hamstrings are tend to shorten very fast because of all this basketball practice - I assume. But really, I can do squats forever even if I do not practice them for ages and I do not feel tired a bit, but just not forcing my back when I stretch to my toes is almost impossible if I do not try it more than a week. I, now been practicing my Ashtanga Yoga for almost a year. I do not know if I am improved much, but I am loving it everyday a bit more... How I wish I could practice it uninterrupted for years and years and years...

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Ready...

Utthita Padmasana (Elevated Lotus)

It's been a long day. With only two hours sleep I managed to get my residence permit after standing in a line in the morning breeze for 3 hours and more waiting was there without the morning breeze... But it's finally over...

The weather was beautiful when I got home in the lunch time. I grabbed my mat, unrolled it to the fresh grass and started the warm ups from shadow yoga under the inspection of curious neighbors. Some warm ups look funny I know, but I tried to stay in the present without thinking of the curious eyes. I took photos of some asanas. Boy the image in your head and what you are doing is so different. Today is April 8th. I will take the next photos on May 8th or so. And let's see if there is an invisible development. Lengthening the spine must be my focus, then hamstring will lengthen naturally. When practicing always in my mind: Can you ride the breath as a bird in the breeze...

In the library now, dozed off for an hour so. Simply fainted in the reading lounge... Managed to read an overview of Godel's cosmological solutions by Hawkings which answered many questions in my mind but raised many others... I have to narrow down the topic...

Weekend is approaching!

Paschimottanasana and anger management

When I was an ambitious basketball player,  we used to do  these stretching thingies. One of them, now I know as paschimottanasana, where you try to catch your feet with your hands, was an impossible position for me. I could never get how people could grab their feet so easily.

Over a year now, not that I can only catch them, I can also straighten my back, be comfortable in that position and let my neck relax...

All these years of doing these intense competitive/ team sports I did not even think whether I like them or not. Just couple of years ago I realized that I do not even like basketball. I played 12 years and was quite  good at it. I was quite good at every competitive sport I tried actually...Now I wonder: could that be because I had this built in anger in me? I was the perfect competitor: Ambitious and angry

Now, I can let go off my anger in situations where I want to hold on to it so badly. I used to believe that being angry was giving me strength, power... I do not think that anymore..It worsens the situation and makes one more and more fragile everyday. Although I know that,  letting the anger go is still hard. I had to lock my self in a public toilet today and -weeping -begged for it to leave me alone ..

I believe that our emotions and asanas in Yoga revolve around each other and help themselves in turns. The more I let go off the anger the easier I can straighten my back and my head gets closer to my feet. The more I get closer to my feet the easier I let go off the anger...

It's more then "letting", you have to work hard for it to go away. I am  hoping that one day it will be quite natural for it to leave me just sooner...

Namaste...

Focus and perseverance

I am grateful to my body that I can do all these asanas. I did 3 Surya Namaskar A and 3 Surya Namaskar B, then I did all the primary series. My paschimottasana is developing. I can almost feel my abdomen on my tighs. Joy...

When I do Uttasana, especially in the end of Surya Namaskar A, the transition to Urdhva Vrksasana could be a bit painful for my hip joints. So I always try to activate my muscels in my legs and butt as much as possible. Then they do not hurt. Hence I need the utmost concentration for that transition. I wish I could go to Mysore classes. At this stage I definetely need a trainer to watch me. Sighh. Well maybe when I am in Berlin I can start... Hopefully

I am glad yoga is in my life. It makes me a sane person, my shoulders do not hurt when I do it regularly, and I am learning to treat my self in a much better way [Negatively put I stopped torturing myself :)].. Namaste..

I cooked traditional Urla Ravioli today...

I do not want to forget how to cook it. So here is the remedy:

The dough:

Only water, salt and flour. Two globe shaped pieces dough, as big as the poi balls :) Put sunflower oil between them after flattening. Then thin and enlarge them with the pin. Cut them in squares

Filling:

Cooked chickpeas, blackpepper, parsley, salt. Squash the chickpeas, chop the parsley, mix them all.

Put the filling on the squares, put another square on thop then fold the four sides by kinda entwisting the corners. Fry them, put some garlic yogurt on top. MMmmhhh my favorite dish in the world!

Today I start...

...to be disciplined. Before I sit on my table, I will go over my plans on my head then I will immediately start working.

Last five days or so, I was on vacation, it was my moon days, it was new moon. So practice did not happen. However apart from these dates I practiced everyday.

I do not study as much as I want (my thesis...sighh). But that's over now. I am disciplined and I am productive again. The fact that I can write my blog again shows that I guess.

My Paschimottanasa's are much better now... Not as good as this one. What is the inner thing that coincides with this Asana. I have a special difficulty to get into this pose. I miss my Yoga practice...

Will I be up early in the morning?

Photo: http://ashtangayoga.info/asana-vinyasa/primary-series/05d-Paschimottanasana-A.html