Bending over backwards

Last Friday I got to add backbending to my practice. A half wheel and 2 full wheels. Now I feel like I have a complete practice..with some closing poses too. I want try to transition to more days a week of ashtanga, and less of the vinyasa style I have been practicing (jivamukti). It is very complicated going to 2 different types of classes, in some ways. I have to plan my week to fit both places in, and the classes I like at jivamukti are in the afternoon/evening..which is hard to reconcile with morning practice. After overdoing it a bit (or perhaps more than a bit) when I began practicing ashtanga, I realize that my body needs 24 hrs to recover and integrate the previous practice. I was making myself so tired and sore before, and I don’t need to do that.

I am surprised at how the marichasanas take so much out of me..even mari A, a pose I normally really love when it shows up in a vinyasa class. For some reason, I could not catch my wrists in my last practice, and even with the looser bind..I felt so drained after it. In mari C, I can sometimes feel the opening of the upper chest, but not that day either…I will be amazed when these postures eventually become second nature. Now I have to sit for a moment and equalize after each of them, before going into the next vinyasa. (all those posts I have read on keeping correct vinyasa count..that is something to dream about at this stage in my practice). I remember how the whole character of my practice changed, just from adding Mari C, adding a new intensity to it, and now that pose seems to have worked its way backwards to the rest of the maris (I can only imagine what effect mari D will have)

My ankle has been bothering me less the last couple practices..but it is too soon to tell if that means I am really healing. So hard to be patient.  The moment it feels better, I rush in and try to do too much..no jumping in the suryas, not even near that again, but a bit too exuberant in step/jumping back during seated. On a good note, the lotus postures in closing really stretch my right hip. By the time I am in padmasana, it is pretty intense on my hip, but I am staying with it, and I think it is helping somewhat. It is all the sitting at work afterwards that seems to be more of a problem. Meanwhile, I have new (old) gimpiness in my left wrist..thus far, I have been able to carefully practice on it, and not have it feel worse afterwards. Must be nice to have a body that doesn’t get injured so easily..