First day back
Arrived at the studio around 6:30. The first two rows were taken, so I placed my mat in the third row, chanted quietly to myself, and began. I practiced through baddha konasana and moved on to second through laghuvajrasana. I felt okay, if tight, from a year of more cycling than yoga (hips are tight, but shoulders are more relaxed). My energy is really shaky/vibratory though. It will take a little while for that to calm down. My mind wandered some, but not to ugly places. Not so bad. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.
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I’ve always really liked this studio. It’s only the second studio that I have done Mysore-style for any length of time, other than drop ins while traveling. It’s friendly and doesn’t feel exclusive. My practice has been really inconsistent this year, but there’s no judgment. Just glad to see you. When someone conquers their fear of dropbacks or does their first tictoc, there will be friendly murmurs of assent. But this is infrequent enough that it’s not disruptive. I guess it feels traditional but not fundamentalist. Practice is available Su-Fr, regardless of moon days, but you are welcome to take them if you choose.   The first place I practiced Mysore-style in Los Angeles was very serious. And I responded by trying really hard. Ultimately, this turned into tense and exhausting practices. It’s taken me a while to chill out about all of it, and I attribute that softening to my current teacher.