the princess and the pea

Last night I managed to got to bed by 1040pm to get up at 445am (yikes)..and practice at home because of a site visit out on long island. It was a "speed practice" for me..to be done in a bit less than 2 hours; especially as my focus flagged a bit as I tried to rush to fit everything in (not following my original plan!). Still, it was much better than nothing. I actually liked practicing that early, seeing it get light out. It felt good to be alone, and when my focus was there, I almost preferred it to practicing with the group. Physically, I definitely don't work quite as hard on my own, though I don't think that that is necessarily bad either.  Instead of practicing on my good mat and rug, which are much easier on the hands and feet, I only have my crappy jade mat and a towel. Plus my crazy sloped living room floor (though it does help with navasana). I live in an old apartment building that has settled in interesting ways. How did I think that the jade mat was so wonderful before? I could feel the floor through the mat, as in sinking through the mat to the floor. How did I get so fussy about this?  

Practice highlights included a much improved UHP. Yeah, I still fall out of it on the second side, at the end..but I could mentally coax myself into doing the posture and not...well..feeling like there is some injustice going on. There is no one but me and my mat..and the posture must happen, in whatever form. I also managed to bind in supta K. Hard to keep the fingertip hold once I crossed my feet, but it was there, for the first time this month. And coming up in bhuja is improving, slowly..still can't really lead with my head. Backbending was rushed and eh..whatever improvement happened earlier this week was not there in my colder apartment and pre-LH body.

As far as home vs shala practice. I like both, but I think I still need to practice mostly at the shala.

Coming home today, I ran into my neighbor who is being evicted. He is elderly and not able to take care of himself (not sure what happened with his wife). He used to scare me; he had really severe dementia (though it seems better now), and there was that day, years ago, when he tried to follow me into my apartment (we live on the same line of apartments) because he was locked out, and couldn't remember that this was not his home. He was a big guy then..and surprisingly spry for his age..I didn't hear him get up off the stairs and bound to the door..but the pounding on the door afterwards made me panic. I didn't want to call the cops, because he was an old man..but I didn't know what to do, and a little while later my boyfriend came home to him pounding on the door..he sent the old man back downstairs, and found me upset in the apartment. After that, I avoided him..and only in the past year, have I made an effort to at least say hello. Tonight, when I saw him in the lobby, I asked about the notice and whether he had a place to stay. Not sure what will happen with him; he needs care, and the apartment I know is a mess. Still, I hate to see someone forced out of their home.

Looking forward to a big LH breakfast tomorrow.