Tight Tuesday
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Tight, sooo tight. Hips, hamstrings, back…I didn’t even attempt Supta Kurmasana this morning out of fear of really hurting myself. I’m trying to figure out why I’m having such varied practices. I think poor eating habits are one cause. I ate well going into this weekend and had good practices but the last couple of days have been a lot of sugar and fat and this morning my body was pissed. I don’t think that the food overly affects my openness directly but it affects my focus and my ability to create heat in the body which definitely affect my ability to open. I’m also not sure how much temperature and time of day actually affect my practice. 4 pm always feels like the best time for me to practice but it’s usually impossible to practice then. Obviously I’m going to be tighter in the mornings but where do you make the most progress? Stretching when you’re tight or loose? It was also really warm during my practices over the weekend and my body warmed up quick, vs. these cooler mornings where I may not really start to sweat until half way through standing and then cool down once I’m on the floor. I’m going to focus on the food for now and see what happens. The mornings and temperature are not as much under my control (unless I want to give up all of my evenings to practice). I know my focus at work improves when I’m not all junked up on fat and sugar. And speaking of focus at work… back to the grind.
posted by Chris at 9:55 AM Permalink
6 Comments:
you will be your tightest in the morning, but i find it's the best time to practice, concentration-wise.
8/16/2005 10:30 AM
Some also say that because the muscles are tighter in the morning we are able to stretch the fascia more than if the muscles were warm which ultimately leads to greater flexibility.
8/16/2005 10:50 AM
Practice times make a huge difference at the start of my practice, but by the end I find it matters less. Although jump thrus and backs are always better later. If I practice in the afternoon, I generally do a slightly less intense pratice with fewer backbends so that I am not stirring all night... I find that my body is more flexible but not as strong (except for note above about jump thrus etc), and I tire quickly. In the mornings (6am), I might take longer to warm up, but I think for me it is safer, plus I have heaps more energy. Generally I do 3-4 6am practices, 1 8am practice (Sat), and 1-2 afternoon practices per week.
Inconsistency is such a beast. I think for me that most of it comes from my mental perspective, even if it is not that obvious. Diet is of course important, I try to stop food intact at about 6pm latest....liquids okay. But the other thing is I "work" into my practice week....so by the 3rd/4rth days or so I am at my max for strength/flexibility....I can accept this, seems natural to me.
Good luck...SMN
8/16/2005 5:45 PM
I like the idea of working into your practice week. That makes a lot of sense and I think it would encourage me not to skip... And I think you're right about being consistant. Do you eat or drink anything before your 6am practice?
Ah, if only practice were as easy as stepping on the mat and doing poses.
Thanks for your wisdom.
8/16/2005 6:53 PM
In the am, I have about a half a cup of gunboot tea with sugar and milk on the drive in. This usually means I have to pee after the standing poses...but it warms me up and gets me going. If I pratice in the afternoon, the food thing is really tricky...I usually have a light breakfast, and drink as much as I want but nothing two hours before hand...it is one of the issues with afternoon practices really.
As for working into the week...Sunday Rest, on Mondays I generally practice at home with the kids afterschool assuming I can get them hooked up to the TV, reading or otherwsie entertaining themselves (bad lady). So I get to do Salutes, standing, maybe some seated poses in primary, and finish...about an hours worth. But it really depends...somedays only salutes! Some days grocery shopping wins. The next day I generally do the full primary, and for the rest of the week second series up to KV to Sat. I know this is not the same as the Mysore schedule, but this is what works for me, my work, and family.
Not sure there is much wisdom in here, mostly trial and error!
Cheers...SMN
8/16/2005 7:07 PM
Thanks, SMN. You're more help than you know.
8/16/2005 7:52 PM
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