Yesterday my new attempt to do Iyengar-style dropbacks was not too successful. Managed 7, which was better than last time. But qualitatively speaking, they were totally unsatisfying, stiff, hard, and just icky. Tried it today again, and discovered that doing all the sun salutes beforehand (as oppose to lame-ass table pose warm-ups) helps a lot. Duh.
Still, nothing earth-shattering, just a little progress. Twice - 5 dropbacks at a time, then once - 3 dropbacks (13 in total). Needed rest in between the batches. Obvious lack of stamina, but it should improve as I continue practicing. I got a glimpse of what Grimmly was talking about - a sense of rhythm and meditative quality of the whole thing. Just a glimpse of what to look forward to, but enough for motivation.
Looking at my own dropbacks, I just discovered how much I bend my knees going both down and up. On the positive side - feet stay in pretty firm, just splay a little. This week I will concentrate on hangbacks and see if that helps with going down smoother.
On the other note, we just endured a pretty nice snow storm. It is very pretty outside! Need to go and dig out my car. It will be fun trying to find it - they all look like big white lumps. If only I remembered where I parked on Friday...
Happy Sunday!