Yoga and visitors

Yesterday I was just hanging out the washing while waiting for Helen (my yoga friend) to come and do a yoga practice with me, when I caught sight of movement in a shrub next to the house. This is what/who it was!! A young-ish carpet snake, happily curled up on top of some outside lights ...  I showed it to Helen - and we agreed that (speaking generally) we don't worry about snakes with patterns on them like this. It's the ones that are all one colour - brown or black specifically - that you need to be wary of!

We both practiced to the Mark Darby Ashtanga DVD ... I did some poses that I'm not supposed to be doing again yet (naughty!) Like mariA and B (but the easy version of B). And then Supta konasana ... and even shoulderstand. I was careful (very careful) about not doing anything bad to my knee, but it seemed fine! Some other poses - eg. Janu Sirsasana C and Triang Mukhaikapada Paschimottanasana (which name I had to copy and paste from a website - too long to remember!!) Anyway, some poses I look at and think - it may be a whole year before my knee can cope with that again!! But still, little by little it is coming back, and I am taking the opportunity to concentrate on other areas of my practice, so it's all good.   ( I suppose !!)

This weekend Maharaji is speaking at a 2-day event at Amaroo - it's 2 years since I last saw him! I am so looking forward to it. I've got people coming to stay for it too. My Mum is coming out of hospital on the Monday and I'm going down to look after her for a week. She could have come out on Friday, but I had to ask her to put it off till the Monday so I could see Maharaji ... Luckily she understands how important it is for me ... :)

And then when I get back from my Mum's it'll only be 3 weeks till I head off to Bali for Dena's workshop!

Yoga bookshelf!

Grimmly did a blogpost about yoga bookshelves and invited everyone to send in photos of theirs! Sounds like fun! I've just sent him a couple to choose from, but this one is my favourite because it shows part of the shelf below, and you can get hints of other books that I have! Remains to be seen which one he'll pick though ... :)

My Restricted Practice Sequence

For those yoga-tragics among us who are interested in minutiae, this is a list of the poses I'm allowed to do at this point in my recovery from a knee meniscus tear.

++++
Both Sun Salutes, although I have been instructed to use blocks in the 2nd one, getting into and out of the Virabhadrasana section.
++
Then Padangusthasana and Pada Hastasana
Trikonasana
Not Parivrriti Trikonasana
Utthiti Parsvakonasana
but NOT the Parivritti one
Then Prasaritta Padottonasana (just the 1st and 4th variation)
Parsvottanasana
Utthiti Hasta Padangustasana - but only holding the wall with one hand and my knee with the other (!)
Not Ardha Baddha Padma Uttanasana
though I can do that tree pose (again holding onto the wall)
Utkatasana
Not Viradbhadasana A or B
++
And then to seated:
(Note: Not allowed to do any attempts at jump-backs or anything yet - so the vinyasa I am doing between poses/sides is Navasana for 4 breaths, which does keep the heart rate/heat up!)
++
Paschimottanasana
Purvottasana (although only the 'table-top' version)
Not Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana
Not Trianga Mukaikapada Paschimottanasana
Just been given Janu Sirsasana A again - yippee!
But not Janu Sirsasana B or C
Not Marichyasana A or B
Marichyasana C
And forget Marichyasana D!
Navasana
Ignore everything else to
Baddha Konasana
Upavista Konasana
Not Supta Konasana
Supta Padangustasana - somewhat modified. I have been told to keep my outstretched leg bent (right angles) when it's to the side
++
That's it. I usually do those seated poses twice, and then go onto Finishing, but no inversions at all at the moment, except a 'preparation for headstand - dolphin' pose.
++++

Bali - flight booked!

It's been ages since I posted here (except for the burnt marmalade episode!) Quite a few things have happened in the past few weeks - some (one) of which will have to be its own post, when I feel up to talking about it.

But I really wanted to get back here, and ... late last week I got the wonderful news of confirmation of dates for my meditation teacher's events in Australia. Really looking forward to a wonderful weekend at Amaroo with him at the beginning of September!

Which also meant that I am now able to confirm my trip to Bali to Dena's workshop. Booked my flight on Saturday, and have emailed Dena with info about my knee issues ... :) Of course the flights were more expensive that I thought they'd be - but in a way that's something you have to expect! Partly because of having specific dates (which may coincide with some school holidays), partly because they never include all the extras/fees/charges in the online quoted price!! But anyway ... booked and paid for now!!

Apart from the yoga, and Dena, and the wonderful Ubud and Bali, I am really looking forward to finally meeting up with fellow ashtangi bloggers V (hiddenashtangi, which is really hidden at the moment!) and Bibi (pakistaniashtangi.wordpress.com/). You kind of feel you get to know people online, but it's great to have that face-to-face connection too ... :)

And, finally Masterchef Australia has finished (last night) so I won't be sucked into watching quite so much TV - every night!!! I have really enjoyed having a new focus on cooking over the past year or so and I'm sure that won't change. I used to cook a lot of Indian food ... now I'm drawn to more 'Asian' style food/ingredients - fish sauce, kecap manis (Indonesian soy sauce), 5spice, palm sugar, etc etc. I find when I go to the library these days I'm always picking up cooking magazines (Delicious, Master Chef) as well as books. And I bought that Jamie Oliver 30-Minute Meals book and have been cooking some of those (really yummy) recipes, though not attempting to do the whole meal, or in 30 minutes. It's lucky I'm a 'vegetarian who eats fish' though!

Burnt marmalade ... !

I can't believe that I spent half of Sunday making marmalade, and have ended up with a burnt-out saucepan and nothing else!

Actually, really what I can't believe is that I thought it was OK to spend all that time cutting up the specially purchased Seville oranges (with a tangelo and a lemon), going through all the laborious processes ... and then decide I could leave it boiling furiously with all the sugar in the mixture on the stove for the final 20  minutes, and wander out into the garden to do a bit of planting (green bean seedlings) and watering!

What was I thinking?!!!  <eyes rolling>

Needless to say, I came back to a house full of burnt marmalade fumes and smoke! I guess I should just be grateful I didn't leave it longer and find the saucepan on fire! I ended up emptying the blackened marmalade down the bank outside ... maybe someone will want to eat it <grin> Now the pan is soaking with a mixture of bicarb and cream of tartar - apparently a magic cure for burnt saucepans. I have to boil it up tonight ... sigh!!

Yoga, my knee and other things in my life? Maybe tomorrow ... :)