Wildlife etc.

This is a possum with her baby on her back, up in the rafters of my back verandah! They're mostly nocturnal, so you can spot them during the day (if they're not inside your roofspace!!)

I've had quite a lot of wildlife encounters in the last couple of days! On Sunday, as well as seeing the possums, when I was hanging out the washing I heard some scrabbling over the fence in the neighbour's garden. And there appeared a large rabbit (or maybe a hare) woofling around. It got to about 3m from where I was when it finally saw me. Sat there with its ears pricked up looking at me for a couple of seconds, and then leapt into the air and rushed off!

And then on Monday morning as I was having breakfast and getting ready to go to work, I heard all this squeaking outside on the back verandah. When I looked, there was a red parrot on the railing, pretty much demanding to be fed! So I grabbed some (very expensive, and oh so yummy!) maple granola and put a handful out for it. It sat there less than 1m away and then hopped over and started in! It seemed to like the granola as much as me... :)

Such a surprise at yoga class on Saturday - I got given Garbha Pindasana back! Really, I haven't done that for a few months, since before I had the knee meniscus injury. I also got parivritti parsvakonasana back too, so now I've got all the standing poses again. Seated is a much more patchy experience, but I know it'll come back little by little. I hasten to add that my GP experience is nothing like that of Kevin (globie.wordpress.com) ! I can't do lotus, so the only way I can attempt GP is with crossed legs, and no arms through anywhere! But it's maybe easier to get round that way, even though it might take more than 9 rocks ... <grin>

Back in Bali!

Here I am back in Bali - that little island of paradise. I'm sitting on my balcony looking out at the rice paddies that run all the way through the hotel on a not too hot, overcast morning. Been for the first yoga practice, been for yummy brunch with everyone in the Indus restaurant across the road ...

Going to have a relaxing day today ... May go down into Ubud later, but mostly I want to just laze around, read a book, think vaguely about what I may want to do over the week.

Class was lovely. After we each introduced ourselves and said a bit about our practice, we did some breathing practice and then did a full led primary. I did all the poses in my modified practice and all seems good! Last week Richard gave me back 3 more poses and a couple of days later my knee wasn't at all happy. Which freaked me out somewhat (though I did keep Dena's wise words to me in mind!) But a couple of days rest seems to have done the trick - though I am more aware of being extra careful about alignment.

And I've met up with the other bloggers Bibi and V! Which is really nice ... :)


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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.

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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
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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.
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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!

Yoga class again :)

Went back to class on Saturday afternoon - after 5½ weeks without yoga. It was so nice to be back ... :) Teachers didn't want to know about the Matthew Sweeney sequence - they have their own sequence (called the Laghu Krama sequence) they like their students to follow when coming back from injury, or absence from yoga practice of more than 3 or so weeks. We tweaked it a bit to take account of my knee, but really it is very similar to the Sweeney knee sequence (although shorter). So the plan is I'll follow this for the next week, and then he'll start adding poses back in, bit by bit over the next 6-8 weeks.

R kept a very close eye on my practice, and kept coming to give suggestions/advice. Although no adjustments at all, which seems pretty right!

This week I'm going to follow this sequence in my lunchtime practices (or as much as I can get through), and probably add in the couple of strengthening 'exercises' I've been doing - triceps dips and plank, plus a tiptoe one that my osteopath recommended.

There are many conflicting things going on in my life over September/October with dates still to be confirmed, so I'm still unsure whether I will get to Dena's Bali workshop at the beginning of October (much as I want to). I may not know dates for the other things for another month, but by that time I should have a better idea of how my knee is progressing, which should in turn help me to decide whether I should go (if it's still a possibility). I really want to go if I can. I know I can go next year if I don't make it this year, but I am really hoping to get to meet a couple of fellow Ashtangi bloggers who are going this year. Kind of out of my hands at the moment though ...

finally - back to yoga!

My osteopath said yesterday that things were going very well, and I can now go back to yoga ... I took in my copy of Matthew Sweeney's modified knee sequence to show her. She crossed a few more poses off his list (things like virabhadrasana and baddha konasana), but it's oh so good to be able to start again.

I did a short half-hour practice at lunchtime at work today (in my boss's room as she was away!) I just wanted to feel it out - see where I might have a few wobbles. In one of the prasarita's I felt a bit of strain in the knee, so I stopped doing them. It was muscles I was feeling, so maybe they're just not used to it after 5 weeks' "holiday". I will try again in class tomorrow and see what happens. UHP she'd said I should only do with the wall - not sure why, but that's what I did anyway! Balance has never been a strong point of mine!

It will be interesting to see what my teachers say/suggest when I go back. I read a really apposite (lovely word!) post by Nobel (Yoga in the Dragon's Den) on the pain of being stuck at a certain place, which was also about having to go backwards because of injury! What I had been working so hard on has been taken away from me for the moment! But hopefully I can see it as an opportunity to work more deeply on other poses, and also on that pesky 'asana progression attachment' issue!!

More postings from the knee!

I long for the day when I won't have to be posting about my knee! When it's not an issue, or such a big issue at least!

That day has yet to come!!

I found myself googling 'Ashtanga yoga with knee injury' this morning (well, it's pretty slow at work at the moment!) Anyway I came up with a hit on Matthew Sweeney's site. After his other books, there was a downloadable 'Primary and Intermediate Knee Sequence' - "for those students who have ongoing knee issues or a knee injury. It combines both the Primary and Intermediate Series while omitting all the postures that compress or endanger the knees". So of course I downloaded it immediately (only $AU5).

Very interesting - it seems to have (almost) all of standing in, then after Purvottanasana it skips straight to Navasana, and then everything seems to be in there. (Don't know about the 2nd series poses as I'm not doing them. Doesn't start with Pasasana - Salabhasana is the first 2nd series listed.) The main surprise to me was Baddha Konasana seems to be considered OK. Don't know whether my osteopath will agree - but I'm certainly going to take this in to show her!!

Seemed like said knee went a bit backwards this week (probably caused by me overdoing things last weekend!) But when I saw the osteopath yesterday, she said it was to be expected. And then after she'd treated it she told me that it responds really really well to treatment, and she feels fairly sure that it should clear up in the next few weeks, without any medical intervention! She did however tell me, no yoga for at least another couple of weeks!  ((scream!@#!))

Update on the knee!

Well, it's about 2 weeks now since I did something (still don't know what!) that damaged my knee, giving me a small meniscus tear. This week I've found it a bit easier to walk without my knee clicking at every step. Have to make a really conscious effort to lengthen my spine - somehow the effect of this, which seems to incorporate turning on mula banda/lifting the pelvic floor, really seems to help prevent it.

I saw the osteopath again yesterday, and she is pleased with my/its progress so far! The swelling is mostly gone and the knee is quite cool, so she is believes I probably don't have a bigger tear. She said that if my knee does swell up again, that is when we'd got an MRI done, as that could indicate a worse tear than she currently thinks.

She still doesn't want me to do any yoga yet, but I'm hoping for next week (a week from today). That would obviously still be a highly modified practice, but anyway, we shall see! One lives in hope ... :)

I said that I was worrying about losing strength with being so inactive, and she showed me a highly complicated (to my small brain anyway!) isometric exercise that would work on all leg muscles. Incorporating a block between the thighs ... So I'm going to try doing that and hope that I can keep some strength that way.

And, despite all of this I feel really quite positive. I read a beautiful saying on someone's blog a few days ago (which I've already quoted on Facebook):

Buddhists say that the miracle is not walking on water, but walking here, on earth.

That really touched me (reminded me!). Life is amazing, and whatever happens I hope I can remember to enjoy the miracle of being alive, and accept whatever opportunities come. Once I get back to yoga, there will be an opportunity to work on other areas of my practice. Right now it's an opportunity to breathe and enjoy a quieter, slower pace of life.

Not good news for my knee!

Well, I'd actually forgotten the name of what it was I didn't want to have happened to my knee, but my worst fears were realised when the osteopath uttered the words "meniscus tear"!! Huge sigh!

She says she thinks it's only a small tear that would hopefully heal in about 6-8 weeks. But I can't do any yoga (except possibly 'restorative' yoga) for a couple of weeks ... More sighs! She showed me how I need to try and stand/walk with slightly bent knees, and with my pelvis slightly tilted forward - but more kind of lengthened. This helps turn on pelvic floor muscles and the quadriceps - and encourages mula bandha! All to try to stop the dratted knee from clicking with every step. It's not at all easy!

And now (after I've finished getting my immunoglobulin infusion at the hospital) I have instructions to go home and make a potato peel poultice for my knee, to reduce the swelling!!! Lordie-me! Stay posted for more semi-edible remedies!!


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Knee injury freak out

No idea where this has come from but ... I've got myself a potential knee injury - from where/what I have no idea! Just started noticing a 'tenderness' and then my knee started clicking when I walked! Total freak out - but on Saturday morning I did a bit of research on google (yes, I do know the dangers!) and it does sound like it's probably not too worrisome! But I'm definitely going to see my osteopath as soon as I can get in next week!

Before I looked at google (yoga + knee + clicking) yesterday morning I'd pretty much decided not to go to class in the afternoon but after that I decided I would go. Of course I told the teacher and he kept an eye on me! I did a bit of a short practice, couldn't bend my left leg too much in Janu sirsasana, couldn't do triang (etc) at all on that side. But most of my practice I could do, with care and keeping my left leg a bit bent (in the standing forward bends)!

But I'm really hanging out to see my osteopath next week - if I can get in!!


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