Today is February 15, post Valentine's day. I had a Yoga meeting today and then went to Physical Therapy. Yes, I am still going, likely for another month. I started weights today and elastic bands. My therapist told me before I left that I would "not like him" tomorrow morning because my shoulder would be sore. Oh, now that's something to look forward to!

Regarding yoga: I made it through blindfolded class. It is hard to really practice pratyahara. Try to tune out all the peripheral stuff in your environment and withdraw inside. Sometimes I experience this in shavasana but not routinely. Even more of a challenge is practicing pratyahara during a regular class with other people and lots of other "noise". But it was a great learning experience. Spend some time wherever you are, cover your eyes and just sit and try to focus on your breath. A challenge right?

One of my yoga assignments for today was to sequence a 3 pose Vinyasa Flow and present to my instructors. Talk about intimidation! But I put together a wall sequence including Tadasana, Uttanasana, Utkatasasa, then Virabadhrasana I and II. It went pretty well and was more than acceptable I think.

In January I attended a Restorative Yoga Workshop in Asheville. It was wonderful for many reasons. One was to be able to practice Restorative Yoga on Friday night, all day Saturday, and again on Sunday for 4 hours. The best part was that as our final assignment we had to develop a a sequence for someone with a certain medical condition. After this we had to instruct it to the people in our group. This was so great for me. I had great trepidation about this since I have never taught yoga and have not been steadily practicing yoga for a long time. But I taught the class and it was great. So today when I had to present my sequence I dropped back in to that mental state and it went great. I felt comfortable with it and the flow. I also answered the questions correctly!

I really enjoy Restorative Yoga but I also like more vigorous practice. I think I am going to develop a practice that is based on Schiffman's 10 Core Poses. These address core movements and is a well-rounded series. Yummm.