5 Dec 2011

Daily Tittibhasana Practice

Practice has been good.  I've been sticking strictly to the six-day-a-week ashtanga routine. Occasional Vinyasa Krama routine in the evening. The mornings might slip a bit once the snow comes, when I'll be practising my breath work riding down a mountain. Planning on some evening Vinyasa Krama sessions this winter.
Nothing much to write home about really, the elusive Dwi Pada Sirasana (both legs behind the head) comes and goes.  Been focusing more on Yoga Nidrasana which felt really good today.  Probably due to my late start time, makes such a difference.  Bakasana, arms are getting straighter and jumping in is slightly more predictable.  Feel like I'm even coming along in my version of Karandavasana.  Knee is getting better, almost there.

It seems I'd developed a keen disliking of the Tittibhasana sequence. I never had strong feelings about this before, but I realised I'd been quite content to be stuck at Dwi Padasirasana over the years.  It was time I fessed up to myself and to pull out the proverbial finger, I needed to do Tittibhasana more, A LOT more.   I have stuck to a strict six-day-a-week-ashtanga-home-practice. I have practised Tittibhasana everytime,  no avoiding, primary only once a week. It is good.  I've made myself do all the Tittibhasana just to get through to Pincha Mayurasana, which I enjoy greatly.

So why do I so dislike this relatively innocuous asana.  You don't hear people talking about it much, people don't get stuck here, so what is my problem with this?  Well, I am pretty bad at it, I don't know how to make it feel good.  I just do it.  Get it out of the way.  I generally don't like to treat asana in that way, but Tittibhasana. ..  Well first law of attraction: proximity. So I am forcing my self to get up close and personal with Tittibhasana everyday.  It's working, I don't feel like avoiding it quite so much anymore. We are slowly making friends.

Really enjoyed reading Kino's post  Six Day a Week Ashtanga Yoga Practice. We were talking about this in class along these lines, but Kino says it very simply and succinctly.

"When you do not know what you will be doing next your attention will always be on your teacher rather than within yourself."

"The requirement to practice six days a week is meant to develop the kind of mental, spiritual and devotional determination needed in order make progress along the internal path of yoga."

2 comments:

  1. Bit funny about Tittibhasana too, love B, amuses the hell out of me but it disturbs M. even scares her a little even, she saw David Swenson do it and it freaked her out. A is Ok nice straight legs although i always feel the jump in could be more elegant. It's C that bugs me, find it really hard work and I sweat buckets in it, never feel I get my legs anywhere near as straight as they should be.

    It is one of those that we don't tend to talk about much, i should probably look at what I'm doing more closely...or not doing.

    oops, time for practice.

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  2. Yeah, B used to disturb me, I was pretty happy stopping before it came. The third one kills me, I thought I had strong legs but the sequence always culminates in unbearable thigh burn. I cycle up mountains, and snowboard and also do some plain ole walking up and down the things...but Tittibhasana....reachs the parts others don't.

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