Day 19: Tuesday, July 31 4:30 class
Day 20: Wednesday, August 1 4:30 class
Day 21: Thursday, August 2 4:30 class
Day 22: Friday, August 3 9:00 AM class

Well, well, well. I have been a bad blogger but a good yoga student. Four days of practice and no updates! At this point, it will be impossible to remember specifics of any class but today's, so I will consolidate.

I am continuing my hot, sweaty odyssey across the hot room. You may recall that I was getting too attached to my comfy spot near the door (where it is a well-known fact at the studio--it's cooler!). I finally got across the front row on Thursday. I set up in the very far front corner, where you can see yourself in the corner mirrors. So you have three views of your body--full frontal, full side, and then a three-quarters view in the corner. It is interesting, distracting, and humbling.

I kept sneaking peeks at myself in the side and three-quarters views. I was happy with some of my postures (half moon--I am down deep! and in bow, I had a better backbend than I thought I had) but in others, I was feeling like, I didn't know I looked like that! I think that was especially obvious in the forward pulling posture that you do just before spine twist at the very end of class (sorry, I don't know its official name). My back is totally curled and it should be straight. So I am making it a project to stay higher, not stretch forward, and keep my chest and chin lifted. I *thought* I was doing that, but I the mirror can't lie. It just felt like I was. I really was not.

So after I made it across the front row, I am now working my way across the second row. This was intentionally planned so that I will be further from the mirror. It is noticeably hotter in the second row, because it is closer to the heaters. And it is farther from the mirror, which makes balancing harder. I don't wear my glasses in class (for obvious reasons) so I can't see myself as well back there.

But though it made it harder, I actually did not feel like it really impacted my actual balance. In fact, in standing bow pulling posture I am getting much, much better form. One of our teachers recently told us that you should kick before coming down, and I have been working on that, and I think it helps balance considerably.

Also, I have started kicking out a minuscule amount on my right standing leg in standing head to knee pose. My left leg actually hurts to lock, so it will be a while before I am ready to try that side. But it is sooooo boring to just stand there with no reward, no glory, just the challenge of locking the knee and keeping it locked. And it hurts and it is boring and it sucks. And all around me I see people kicking out on bent knees, and I used to do that too. And it was a hell of a lot more fun to do that! But "if your standing knee is bending, the posture she is over!" So I am patiently working on that. On the studio message board, it said this morning "Climb Mount Fuji, O snail, but slowly, slowly." That is my standing knee's motto right now. I almost feel like I am goig BACKWARD in getting the knee locked. But I bet there is something happening in there.

I just trust the sequence and the process so implicitly, because it feels like it MUST lead you to improve if you patiently and faithfully follow the instructions. Rome wasn't built in a day. But maybe I can be re-built enough to make this worth it, in 101 days.

Only 79 more days to go!

I am one-fifth through with this challenge. It's getting a little draining emotionally. But I am making good friends at the studio who are keeping me happy. Even though they don't know about my secret challenge.