Monday, June 30, 2008

Brand new week

The Internet access in my house was intermittent at best this weekend, so I gave up on it completely. As a result, I was incredibly productive and accomplished a lot, which made me feel really good. Is it possible that the Internet is the source of all evil after all?


On Saturday, I went to see an acupuncturist. She was a very pleasant woman, young looking, with some yoga experience in the past. She was taking my pulse a lot, and inserted two kinds of needles into my back - the regular ones and the "cones", which she heated up with an open fire. I have not realised how very hot these needles were until she first cooled down one of them by putting it in water ( the hissing sound clued me in) and then dropping one of them on my back (the hissing sound was coming from me this time). Here is a picture. My back is not normally this spotty; she marked it with a marker and the red spots are where the hot needles previously were:






I practiced on Sunday and my shoulder blade was hurting really bad afterwards. But I was glad that I went anyway, because I ascertained that I can lift up from UD, not only after a dropback, but from a static pose as well. Yay! Second, I attended the Q and R session with David, where he talked about breath and bandhas, which was interesting and useful. Third, I found out that one of our Ashtangis professionally practices acupuncture and his office is two blocks away from my house. I wish I knew this earlier! Now I have to let go of the pleasant lady in favor of my fellow ashtangi. I hate doing that!

So my shoulder needs healing. No practice for this week. Luckily, there will be no teaching as well until next Sunday, so I can heal without interruptions. This sucks, of course, but I learned the hard way that my impatience hurts me every time.

This going to be a short and sweet week. Happy Monday!

12 comments:

susananda said...

Hello, happy Monday!

Sorry I am so late here, but many congratulations on standing up! So exciting. I remember well how that felt the first time.. now it's one of my favourite things to do.

Hope your shoulder gets better; it's good that you'll be resting. I love yoga nidra - which CD have you got? Is it swami Janakananda? I love that one.

alfia said...

Hi Susan!
Thank you! I am so excited, can't wait to get back to practice. But I really need to heal. It hurts to breathe. :(
My yoga Nidra is from Janakananda! I do not even remember where I got it from; recently discovered it on my Ipod. Still have no luck moving beyond the right arm though. :D
I am going to read you now. It feels so good to have access to the internet!

Arturo said...

Hi Alfia
Well, if our work is on the computer, the internet does offer a distraction, in that we multitask at home, doing our work, answering an email, writing on our blog...
Glad you're feeling better. It's been a while since I did acupuncture, but it was an acupuncturist that steered me towards yoga in my 40s.
Cheers,
Arturo

susananda said...

Excellent! Swami Janakananda's CD is wonderful. It's a pretty wild experience, especially the longer one. Oh, and by the way, although you are of course not supposed to sleep, apparently it still has a good effect on you even if you do :)

That's no fun when it hurts to breathe. I am sending healing cyber rays into your poor shoulder and ribs.

alfia said...

Thank you, Susan! I am soooo curious what is there on the CD, I can't tell you! And thank you for the healing vibes, I think I am feeling them already! :)

alfia said...

Hi, Arturo! I agree, we tend to multitask at the computer, which contradicts mindful living. You inspire me very much with your dedication to the meditation retreats. A nun in me asks for a release!

ashtanga en cevennes said...

Oh, too bad, I was hoping to read that the acupuncture miraculously healed your shoulder, oup, voilĂ !

I have to go and google Nidra now. Have a great morning, Alfia. I'm skipping practice and I don't care! Woohoo!

Anonymous said...

Hey, you see!!! I knew you could do it! ;)

I'm glad you'll have a time to heal that shoulderblade!

Boodiba said...

Wow! Sounds like you went to a really thorough acupuncturist. I hope the fellow Astangi is just as good.

Good for you with the Urdhva D progress.

Anonymous said...

Hi Alfia, I found your blog through Ashtangi.net. I think your blog is very interesting and have discovered that you live in Washington, D.C.

I am actually going to be moving to DC in a few weeks and have been investigating joining a yoga studio. I have been practicing for about 4 years, a mix of Ashtanga, vinyasa flow, with a bit of Iyengar as well, and would consider myself an intermediate/advanced beginner. I have never lived in a city with so many yoga options and have had to do a fair amount of practice on my own at home, so having so many choices is a bit overwhelming. I am not quite sure where to begin.

I am not tied to a style at the exclusion of others, but have been trying over the past couple of years to learn the Primary Series on my own with books/DVDs. I am trying to decide between some of the larger studios in the Dupont Circle area which would be convenient with my commute to/from the job I’m starting or making the commitment to learn the Primary Series Mysore style at one of the two studios near the Woodley Park metro station. How did you decide to practice at the Ashtanga Yoga Center? It seems overwhelming to try classes at several studios. Also, I noticed that you also teach classes--do you teach Ashtanga? How did you develop from a personal practice into teaching?

Sorry for this very long comment from a random person but you seem very knowledgeable, and since I happen to be moving to DC myself it was serendipitous for me to find your blog! Feel free to email me at pinkrobot1 at gmail dot com.

alfia said...

Hi, Omlyeh:

Thank you for reading. It's great that you are moving to DC. This area is really good for yogis and we could use more of yogis as well. We should talk about the studios when you move here. This is very exciting! :)

I do not teach Astanga, but a Power yoga class in Sun and Moon yoga studio in Arlington. I practice Ashtanga in AYC on Tenleytown metro station.

Anonymous said...

Hi Alfia, thanks for your response to my comment. If it's okay, I will contact you again via your blog when I move in a few weeks. I am sorry to read about your friend's challenges lately and hope that the prognosis for her cancer is good.

 

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