Friday 4th May 2007
Meanwhile, back at the shala
Early Thursday morning…I climbed up the 4 flights of stairs to the shala door and arrived slightly breathless. I listened. It was only 5.45am and the chanting on the other side of the door was in full swing with Simi at the helm.
Walking in would have been rude, not to mention every set of eyes suddenly on ME, so I waited until the cue at 6am when I heard her ask them to rise. Then I walked in…my suspicion confirmed…it was a led class today which had started at 5.30am, so I just casually joined in and went with the flow.
I learned after the class that David had been in Mysore for 3 weeks because of Guruji’s health scare, but he was returning on Sunday. Simi had been taking the early morning Mysore classes but the led Friday classes had to be moved to Thursday because of her other commitments. I hadn’t seen Simi for so long so we hugged and chatted affectionately after class and she refused to let me pay for the class - “its’ a gift” she said sweetly.
So I’ll officially start back next Monday with David fresh back from the source.
Then the Iyengar class
After a seemingly endless period of illness and injury, my body’s fallen into disrepair, but where there’s life, there’s hope! I’m beginning to feel a hunger to get back into any and all yoga practice, so I went to Darren’s led Iyengar practice at 6am this morning. Can’t remember the last time I went to that class.
No warm ups today, straight to the wall for an opening set of handstands and forearm balances. Then some extended standing poses, (all the usuals from my beloved Ashtanga sequence except the balances) plus Ardha Chandrasana and Virabhadrasana III.
Then the usual Iyengar mid-sequence 5 minute Headstand and back to the wall for WHAT! MORE HANDSTANDS? before taking two blocks to the wall for a marathon session of repeated Urdhva Dhanurasanas and Dwi Pada Viparitta Dandasanas.
A couple of passive forward bends to counter the megadose of backbending, then Setu Bandha Sarvangasana on a bolster with our legs up the wall. Sweet mercy.
I heard in the changeroom after that it was a much stronger, harder class than usual which I was sort of relieved to hear. I loved it. The downside? I was hyped up all day at work and got twice as much done as usual, well good from a work perspective, but not quite so good from a psychological one - mad monkey mind.
and too many cooks spoil the broth
My burn is healing well. The hospital gave me some Sorbolene cream to apply daily to help moisturize it. And that folks is all I’m doing.
So many well-meaning people have given me different advice on what to put on it, and all they did was confuse me. They all had something different to prescribe: one said to apply honey - any honey, another recommended a “special honey”, someone else swore by aloe vera, then there was something else that sounded like Calendula, there was Vitamin E, rosehip oil, Derma Wheat wheatgrass recovery cream, silver something you take in capsules – the list went on and on.
So simple Sorbolene it is – when I remember.
Which reminds me...
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, back at the shala
Early Thursday morning…I climbed up the 4 flights of stairs to the shala door and arrived slightly breathless. I listened. It was only 5.45am and the chanting on the other side of the door was in full swing with Simi at the helm.
Walking in would have been rude, not to mention every set of eyes suddenly on ME, so I waited until the cue at 6am when I heard her ask them to rise. Then I walked in…my suspicion confirmed…it was a led class today which had started at 5.30am, so I just casually joined in and went with the flow.
I learned after the class that David had been in Mysore for 3 weeks because of Guruji’s health scare, but he was returning on Sunday. Simi had been taking the early morning Mysore classes but the led Friday classes had to be moved to Thursday because of her other commitments. I hadn’t seen Simi for so long so we hugged and chatted affectionately after class and she refused to let me pay for the class - “its’ a gift” she said sweetly.
So I’ll officially start back next Monday with David fresh back from the source.
Then the Iyengar class
After a seemingly endless period of illness and injury, my body’s fallen into disrepair, but where there’s life, there’s hope! I’m beginning to feel a hunger to get back into any and all yoga practice, so I went to Darren’s led Iyengar practice at 6am this morning. Can’t remember the last time I went to that class.
No warm ups today, straight to the wall for an opening set of handstands and forearm balances. Then some extended standing poses, (all the usuals from my beloved Ashtanga sequence except the balances) plus Ardha Chandrasana and Virabhadrasana III.
Then the usual Iyengar mid-sequence 5 minute Headstand and back to the wall for WHAT! MORE HANDSTANDS? before taking two blocks to the wall for a marathon session of repeated Urdhva Dhanurasanas and Dwi Pada Viparitta Dandasanas.
A couple of passive forward bends to counter the megadose of backbending, then Setu Bandha Sarvangasana on a bolster with our legs up the wall. Sweet mercy.
I heard in the changeroom after that it was a much stronger, harder class than usual which I was sort of relieved to hear. I loved it. The downside? I was hyped up all day at work and got twice as much done as usual, well good from a work perspective, but not quite so good from a psychological one - mad monkey mind.
and too many cooks spoil the broth
My burn is healing well. The hospital gave me some Sorbolene cream to apply daily to help moisturize it. And that folks is all I’m doing.
So many well-meaning people have given me different advice on what to put on it, and all they did was confuse me. They all had something different to prescribe: one said to apply honey - any honey, another recommended a “special honey”, someone else swore by aloe vera, then there was something else that sounded like Calendula, there was Vitamin E, rosehip oil, Derma Wheat wheatgrass recovery cream, silver something you take in capsules – the list went on and on.
So simple Sorbolene it is – when I remember.
Which reminds me...
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
