Monday, March 22, 2010

Stepping on the road to "recovery"

I'm embracing the upcoming 40 day challenge... bigtime.  In fact, I started last night.  I cleared the accumulated junk out of my yoga room, got it back into sacred practice shape, lit the candles and started with sun salutations.  I took in deep, deep breaths and made every move with gratitude and intention.  It felt GOOD, but I also noticed the cobwebs that had crept into my muscles and joints.  I took my time in upward and downward dogs, taking in deep breaths and asking my body to release.  Ahhhhhhh....

After about three or four, I settled into prone shoulder openers and held each one for several minutes.  I felt my internal organs and spine.  I made tiny adjustments here and there and noticed how each small movement felt in my body.  I could feel my mind starting to relax.

I followed the shoulder openers with some hip circles in table top (both directions), then settled into deep, deep pigeons.  I used my exhale to release the gunk in my psyche and stress in my cells.  It felt amazing.

I finished by sitting on the edge of a bolster with my palms up, thumb and first finger together.  I lifted the crown of my head to the ceiling to bring space and length into my core and spine.  I sat there for about 10 minutes and tried to think of nothing. 

Coming to the mat is sometimes the hardest part of practice, especially if you haven't been regularly practicing.  I've severely neglected my practice and it's taken a dear toll on me.  I've become stressed out, tense and have developed chronic sleeping issues. I know what I need to do to help myself -- I need to come to the mat.  Every. Single. Day.  The happiest, best person I remember myself being was when I practiced Ashtanga 5 days a week.  I want to be that person again. 

I'm on my way to my special room to light some candles and practice.  My goal is to sleep like a baby tonight so I can get my butt out of bed at 6am and practice with my friend, Tammy (and hopefully another friend).  :)

Namaste, y'all!

p.s.  I could sure use some sharing from those of you out in Blog-Reader-Land!  Make a comment, share your goal for the challenge, or just give a shout out to your favorite yoga pose or class.  It's all good...  :)

1 comment:

  1. *LIKES* :) After I went to the gym last night I got the mat out. Two of my favorite poses last night were Bow and the other, I laid down on a block positioned in between my shoulder blades arms stretched open. Both were incredibly yummy! :) Keep up the good work Noelle! You can definitely get back to practicing 5 days a week. :) xoxo--Rose

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