soon means soon

I feel like I have a backlog of ideas that I want to post about..and a lack of time these days.

I have also been tango dancing a couple times in the past week.

But first, practice report:

Got a new pose this week: garbha pindasana. Definitely less scary than kurmasana and supta K. Funny part was the day before my teacher gave me the pose..she tells me that we will start working on garbha "soon". Now soon to me didn't mean tomorrow..I was thinking, oh, a couple weeks from now, maybe. I even told her that the last couple poses she gave me seemed to arrive when I had completely given up on thinking I would get the next pose anytime soon. (I remember thinking I'd be on navasana all summer, and lo and behold, I got bhuja the very next day). Maybe I had let go of the expectation of getting a new pose, or of the expectation of somehow succeeding at the current pose anytime soon. Letting go of expectations seems to be a theme in my practice.

Day 2 of garbha was interesting. I didn't beach myself at all. Not sure how many times it took to make the 360 turn. My lotus, on the other hand, seemed to have a lot less space for my arms than the day before! Lifting up is a mystery, I seem to be resistant to the balance point, though I surprised myself that I have enough strength when my teacher puts me at that point. Then she lets go, and I plop down. Definitely a work in progress. She had me start working on the jumpback from the lotus..whoa, I have no idea how it will be possible for me to eventually balance on my elbows, in order to raise the knees and pop out of the lotus. I sort of slide out of lotus and back to chautauranga.

A new pose also means new sore back and shoulder muscles. Still trying to work with my gimpy right shoulder/neck combo. It doesn't seem to affect my practice much (yes, wondering greatly if I should be doing less..the trouble with practicing at a shala..much more temptation to do more), but it never leaves for long. I figure I will get stronger and it will be less of a problem, but that will take a while. I am hoping this weekend will loosen it up a bit.

Now for the tango

I used to dance salsa a lot a few years back. I learned a bit of tango, but never enjoyed dancing it as much as I thought I would. The people were weird and maybe the intimacy of the dance itself was something I was not completely comfortable with. The truth is, I stopped dancing pretty much completely a couple years ago. I got tired of the salsa scene in New York; I used to dance with a friend of mine, and when went our separate ways, it was ever as fun again. Last Saturday, I decided to check out a really nice outdoor tango event in Central Park. I had planned to take the lesson, but I somehow didn't see where the lesson was being held, and plunged straight into dancing with people. I had a blast. I know I truly tortured my first few partners (I was nervous and remembered very little) but if I could quiet down inside, I could follow. Technique..well, that will take lessons, and a lot of practice. I was surprised how fun it was, even when I would sometimes trip over my own feet or my partner would step on my toes. My attitude about doing it "right" had completely relaxed from what it used to be. And I have a date this Saturday with someone I met dancing tango. All this very soon after I had announced to my friends that I would like to start dating again (though I was not thinking that dancing would lead to dating, as it never really did with salsa). Soon seems to always happen sooner than you think.