summer sadhana day #1

While I've gotten a heck of a lot more consistent with exercise lately, yoga seems to have fallen by the wayside. Some of it is the ongoing issue with my wrists, which makes down dog, up dog, down/up dog transitions, and planks agonizing. Some of it is that over time I just forget how great yoga feels, and how great yoga makes me feel. I'm happier when I do yoga. I'm more serene, more comfortable in my body.

Since last summer's sadhana was so beneficial in helping me develop discipline and a sense of responsibility to my practice, I'm going to be repeating it again this summer: 40 consecutive days, starting today, of yoga. I'm hoping that I can repeat the success of last summer, and completely disregard the way my attempt at a winter sadhana crumbled under the weight of an air-travel-induced head cold. There's no air travel to derail me this summer, although Readercon, among other things, offers plenty of challenges. The key is to remember that even ten minutes of savasana or legs up the wall, if done mindfully and with meditation, is just as beneficial as a 45-to-90 minute practice session.

For added inspiration comes this article on how, in a rather limited pilot study, yoga was shown to improve bone density in older adults, to the point of reversing bone loss. As I get older (eek!) that's something I need to think about, and given some of the concerns around bisphosphonates causing bone brittleness, I think I'd rather do yoga for the rest of my life.

With that in mind, today's practice was "Courage," the first chakra from Maya Fiennes' A Journey Through the Chakras It was an auspicious start to this year's sadhana - strenuous, but easy to modify accordingly. I brought good focus to it, and enjoyed the movement and the energy flowing through me.

Today's lesson: Movement feels good. It really is that simple.