When I saw these pictures I laughed. I practice at home these days. I swear I wash at least my face before practicing asanas, but I obviously didn’t comb my hair. It’s up and not in the way.
Interesting is to see the difference between picture three and picture four. At picture number three my hand had reached the wrist already. The back is arched. With an inhaling I stretched the upper body. Most of the time the poses allow a development. I’m sure I can bring my right shoulder more backwards. Then the twist will deepen. Most important is that this asana feels good. This is not the case in the beginning. It took me a long time till this pose felt good. But I’ve been there.
It depends on the weight if I can perform certain twists or not. I don’t even try some twists like pashasana after Christmas i.e.. To overindulge is not part of a yogic life style. Yoginis eat modest and vegan. When I started yoga teacher recommended a vegetarian diet. The reason was Ahimsa. A yogini lives a nonviolent life. To eat tortured and killed animals is so last century. These days well informed people (not only yoginis) eat vegan. It’s good for the planet, the animals and yourself. It’s not only good, it’s necessary. Then the twists are easy as well. Everybody will have to change sooner or later, but we yoginis can be role models.
Practicing only the asanas without a complementing life style is of course also good for the body, the mind and the soul, but then the activity deserves the name asana gym. Why not. It’s a beginning. The asana practice will teach that the asana practice itself becomes easier with a vegan diet. We all start somewhere. Step by step we develop. The steps might be tiny, but the direction is clear.
It surprised me that even Sharath emphasized in his last book how important it is to take care of the food we eat.
Stay healthy.
Eat vegan. Do your asana practice. Do pranayama. Meditate. Chose your issues wisely.