We obviously learn in waves. I know plateaus, I now set backs and I know highlights. Right now I experience that my learning has speed. This additional hour of stretching before going to bed makes a difference. I hold poses up to 5 minutes. The hamstrings, the hips, the shoulders, the back, the wrists become an extra treatment at night. I always forget how much discomfort this is to hold a pose for 5 minutes. To give up before the peep is not an alternative. That is I cannot hold the stretch for the hips for 5 minutes. It got easier already, but I’ll need a couple of weeks till I’ll be able to hold it for 5 minutes. All the other exercises are possible. I realize already that some of them became more comfortable. When I start getting bored I’ll have to look for another challenge.

The shoulder stretches and the hip stretches improve my back bending. Back bending is my focus this year.

It makes sense to explore what different yoga styles have to offer. There are very good teachers on that globe who share their knowledge. Poses that seem impossible, become doable with a useful training.

After this evening practice I’m so tired. There is no dynamic when I focus on stretching. Important is to relax. At the end of this hour I’m exhausted and I sleep at once. I even practiced already in my pajama.

Yesterday I discovered Vimeo. That is I ignored it by now. Cyogalife is on Vimeo and I wanted to participate in a back bending class. I decided to go for an on-demand class. Time difference doesn’t allow me to attend classes. This is also not important for me. I bought a back bending class. I watched it to learn what it is about. The exercises are challenging but doable. Some of the exercises I can integrate in my Ashtanga Yoga practice in the morning. Next time I’ll do the exercises. Sixty minutes is a reasonable time span.

Summery:

1. Try to hold the difficult asana longer.

2. Look for additional exercises for shoulders, hips…… and hold these exercises for three or 5 minutes.

3. Explore what other yogini or sportive people do. Learning never stops.

The gravity training I mention is by Lucas. The website is yoga body.com. This is unpaid advertising.

It’s rather difficult to find good tutorials, so this is why I like to share what I consider as good for me.