Resistance is Futile

NaDaYoPraMo is going passably well. I've managed to practice yoga every day so far, although hard-core practitioners would raise a questioning eyebrow. (I almost said "would have sneered" but if they are really hard-core, there would be no sneering.) I have managed to eke out about a half dozen half sun salutations along with one or two days with slightly (but only just) longer practices. I'm trying to be kind to myself and accepting that I am doing what I have time to do and what moves me. And what moves me is attempting to open my hips and loosen my hamstrings. Thanks to running and a very sedentary job, both are, shall we say, a bit tight.

One of the things I'm noticing this month is that I'm resisting more.

I find that I'm resisting and thereby sabotaging my daily yoga practice. "Just a few more minutes in bed" I think. "I have plenty of time" I think. And before I know it, the minutes have slipped away to my daydreaming and I'm forced to do the bare minimum, like the half dozen half sun salutations and maybe a balance pose.

And more importantly, my heart/soul sister is moving and my heart aches for her. She's losing a beautiful place to live, as well as friends who will eventually return to Sweden. On the other hand, her attachment to place is broken which leaves her free to follow her heart. And I'm finding that I am totally resisting that change because eventually she'll move way too far north. I know our friendship will not diminish with distance. But it will necessarily change. I will lose so much. And she will gain so much by being with her love and having the chance to grow her career.

Change will come whether or not we want it to. As they say, resistance is futile.

Of a Certain Age

Today's yoga practice was much abbreviated, unless you count the hour or so that I lay in sivasana, trying to get back to sleep at 2:00 a.m. It seems that no matter what time I go to bed, I wake up around midnight, then again at 1:00 or 3:00. Somewhere between 4:00 and 5:00, Emma (the cat) starts petitioning me for breakfast and there is no sleeping through it because she will knock things off the night stand or pull over the lamp (note that she only acts like that when she wants breakfast).

Sivasana did help, but then Emma woke me up at 4:00. I got up at 5:00 to feed her and went back to bed, setting the alarm for 6:30 for yoga practice. That did not go well, as I didn't get up until almost 8:00. So the morning yoga was about a half dozen half sun salutations.

This waking up in the middle of the night is highly annoying. I've heard about bimodal sleep, where one sleeps for a couple of hours, wakes up and has a snack or meditates or reads, then goes back to sleep for a couple more hours. One night, maybe when I don't have to go work the following day, I'll try getting up, just to see how well it works.

Now, to sleep, perchance to dream. Or perhaps it should be to dream, perchance to sleep!

NaDaYoPraMo

Well, NaBloPoMo is over. And I hereby declare that December is NaDaYoPraMo: National Daily Yoga Practice Month. Actually, Elizabeth pledged to practice yoga daily in December, so I can't really take credit for it. But really? What better month to start a daily yoga practice than December, with all its attendant stresses with what gifts to buy, parties to go, meals to cook, families and friends to deal with?

I'm not sure how NaDaYoPraMo is going to play out for me. I suspect that I'll start off with speed yoga: a quick centering, a couple of sun salutations, a balance pose, a twist or two, and a lightning quick sivasana. But, once I get into the rhythm of getting on the mat every day, I'll sink into the practice, going deeper into each pose, holding it longer, breathing deeper.

Yoga Today has online classes, and they have a free 30-day trial! This might very well be my go-to resource for those days when I don't want to practice speed yoga.

Yoga Journal is also a great resource, with articles, videos, and tips for creating a home practice.

And of course, there's always the local yoga studio.

Here's to a blissful month of yoga!

Namaste.