Last mini practice

After having practiced intensively for the last three days, today everything has come to a halt again. My boyfriend asked me if we would go to the gym together. Yes, of course, I love my Yoga practice but I also love working out together with him. So, I did just Suryas, then we went to the gym together. Yoga is all about flexibility, isn't it? But I'm also looking forward to my regular schedule which is going to be resumed next week.
No time now for a Yoga review of the year that ends today, but this will come up next.
I wish you all out there much fun tonight and all the best for the new year!

Starting Intermediate

The question when an Ashtanga practicioner should start with the Intermediate series is the source for an endless discussion. On one side there are people who say that the Primary series has to be perfected before one can start thinking of Intermediate. They measure the level of perfection with the help of certain asanas, e.g. binding Marichyasana D, binding Supta Kurmasana, dropping back and coming up are common criteria. On the other side there are people who say that one should be familiar with the Primary series, which means for example knowing the sequence of postures and being able to practice the complete series alone, then one can start practicing Intermediate. These are the two extreme positions and of course there are many, many positions in between.
Since I don't have a teacher who I visit regularly, I had to decide this on my own. I've been practicing Primary on a daily basis for three years now. I'm far from having perfected the first series. I have problems with Janu Sirsasana C, I cannot bind Supta Kurmasana and dropping back is also still a vision. But I have the feeling that I know Primary now. I'm familiar with all postures and I'm able to perform the series in a steady flow. I simply have the feeling that I'm ready to move on. But I would have had some problems trusting only my own feeling. Fortunately I took part in an Ashtanga workshop lead by Arjuna, my first teacher, in October. On the second day there were Mysore classes in the morning. I practiced Primary, was left alone most of the time, did backbends and then Arjuna told me to do Pashasana. I practiced until Kapotasana. For me this was something like Arjuna gave his blessing to me practicing Intermediate. This together with my own feeling finally settled the issue. I start practicing Intermediate! Today I already added Pashasana, Krounchasana and Shalabasana to my Primary practice. Interesting how strange and unfamiliar the new poses feel. I'm looking forward to working with them.

Back in the snow

Back from the endless vastness of Peru's highlands I was immediately thrown into the usual Christmas chaos. From meditative stillness to noisy bustle. From the burning Andean sun to snow everywhere and minus degrees. That was hard. So my dreamlike vacation came to a very sudden end without being able to digest all feelings and impressions I brought from Peru. On the other hand I was so not in Christmas mood that it just passed by without the usual cozy warm feeling that comes along with it. But both is over now, so it doesn't really matter.
Maintaining a consistent Ashtanga practice while travelling is very hard for me, but this time it worked better than ever before. There were only a few days when I didn't practice at all and I even managed to practice full primary a couple of times. During Christmas it didn't get better but this week everything's back to normal I hope.