Monday, August 29, 2011

1st Practice - August 30

Woke up before the alarm which was set at 3.30am. Was excited and anxious - excited to see Saraswathi again; anxious just in case she showed disappointment in my progress. Something about the walk to the shala calms my mind - it could be the quietness of the morning, the odd sounds of awakening in some households or just the fact I was the lone person walking on the road.

Turned out I was the third person there. And so began my third visit to this special shala. When Saraswathi entered the shala, I had just finished my 4th Sun Salutation A. I smiled at her when she called us to samasthiti. It looked like she smiled back. Yes! She remembered me.

Last October, I tore a ligament (LCL) on my right knee. So, I took some time off from yoga and concentrated on stability exercises for my knee. The knee has now progressed really well and I've started practicing at the start of this year. Hence, the anxiousness to see if Saraswathi showed disappointment when it came to Marichyasana D. I sensed no disappointment. In fact, I was given a nice gentle adjustment and the alignment she put me in felt really nice. Immediately, relief came over me and I was able to relax for the rest of practice - which was the finishing poses. Before I was trying so hard in the standing twists, I was perspiring like someone was trying to twist the sweat out of me!

Great to have started practice. Was really restless yesterday. Walked all around Gokulam and Temple road. On Sunday, I had lunch at the excellent Green hotel. Food is always good there. They now have a bread and pastries cafe inside the hotel. Looks really nice for afternoon tea. Three roads to the left of Green hotel is Gokulam Road. There is now a new supermarket just near the top of Gokulam Road. There will be other retail space above it but construction is still ongoing. Looks like quite a bit of development going on in Gokulam.

Fingers crossed that my laptop could be fixed this morning.

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