Practice and Patience

Why is it that with the weekend I've had, I felt more balanced, more aware than ever this morning? My practice truly felt like my own - perhaps because I was closer to the front of the room and my drishti didn't wander (as much!). Why do I also feel like sharing today? Maybe for the reason of it feeling MINE and like I was making progress on my own and feel so motivated to practice. In fact though, today's practice wasn't the greatest. I have a few complaints; I felt like I wasn't warm enough (I had a cold night in bed so maybe I've got a bit of a chill plus, this morning's shower was the first hot one in three days!), my lower back is whimpering in pain (and I'm paranoid that that's my kidneys) and my shoulders are tense and a little sore. Having said all that our new yoga teacher was amazing and sensed my shoulders and massaged them down in a wonderfully soft and gentle way that was delightful! My whole body exhaled deeply. I somehow managed to miss out Utthita Hasta Padangustasana A - C COMPLETELY (which is an unusual for me to forget!) and Marichyasana A, which to be honest, is easy for me to omit. BUT I did do everything else with passion so I think that makes up for these accidental omissions! I even feel like I'm beginning to get Kurmasana and Supta Kurmasana - Mel pointed out that my over-extending elbows aren't helping me and I need to be careful with how I bend them.

I also managed to glance at the clock before starting this morning and I reckon the entire series (once I can move on to the asanas post Supta Kurmasana) would take me an hour and half. I think an hour self-practice (at home) in the morning is realistic. I always feel pressured by time (and distractions) in my own space - so maybe at home I could do half vinyasa instead of full ;). As frustrating as it is not being able to move on from Supta Kurmasana (as I know I can do the rest of the series), I'm going to conquer it. Like an obstacle.