I had to take a hiatus from my Aim True challenge for a few reasons. First and foremost, I was fighting a cold for about a week, and could barely breathe to practice. Doing yoga when congested is DIFFICULT. Second, I have had this nagging issue in my shoulders and neck, and I feel like my body is asking me from some time off from the repetitiveness of Vinyasa yoga. I'm really trying to do my very best to live the point of this challenge - which was always to reconnect to myself. And if I'm truly exploring the inquiry of optimal living, then I have to listen to my body.
So I've been returning to the therapeutic and mindful practice of more traditional Kripalu yoga - which is, actually, INCREDIBLY strength-oriented more so than flexibility oriented, and trying to be consistent about other aspects of my sadhana: pranayama and meditation. I've started doing a 30 minute practice every morning that includes 10 (timed on my iPhone) minutes of pranayama (Dirgha and Ujjayi, mostly) followed by 20 minutes of (timed) seated meditation. I'm reading The Wisdom of Yoga by Stephen Cope for my book club, and it's really making me want to get back to my meditation practice with more regularity.
We'll see. I ADORE Kathryn's classes, but I have to listen to my body.
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