Don't forget to check out the Question of the Week at the end of the blog to share your experiences on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, too!
LAURIN'S WEEK 3 HOMEWORK EXPERIENCES
This week was a little tough for Laurin to practice consistently as she was helping a friend move for a few days and was sore from all the lifting and carrying things up and down many flights of stairs. So, she wasn't really able to practice meditation for more than 10 minutes, two times this week (but she said she did get to meditate for a longer period of time than last time so that's an improvement).
Laurin is now confident practicing Surya Namaskar, despite only having the opportunity to practice twice during her busy week. She now even practices Chatturanga with her knees up, and if her arms and wrists feel strained she just puts her knees down, so this means her arm and core strength is slowly improving the more she practices.
After our first week Laurin saw immediate results when she experimented with a Pitta-friendly diet, so she has continued to be mindful of what foods she eats since then. In keeping with her Pitta/Kapha Dosha, she's mostly cut out red meat and has begun using soy instead of almonds in her salads (as almonds are aggravating to Pitta) and has been feeling better over-all in terms of digestion. Laurin has a gluten-intolerance and avoids all sources of gluten, which is a good practice for pacifying Pitta and has come easily for Laurin – avoiding cheese, however, has not been a natural thing, and in Laurin's words "is uh, not happening". I wholeheartedly agree...I think if I found out I was lactose intolerant I would still eat a Lactaid, say a prayer and tough it out. Cheese is so delicious I'm surprised it's not illegal. Cheese does contain very small amounts of morphine, and milk contains casein which also has opiate-like effects; so cheese truly is a trifecta of pleasure. It's true, Google it.
WEEK 4 ONE-ON-ONE PRACTICE
Now that Suyra Namaskar is second-nature to Laurin, practicing Moon Salutations together was a breeze.
With Laurin's hip flexibility being a bit stiff, I showed her different variations of low lunge to practice depending on how she was feeling. You can practice with the arms straight up over head, hands can be in prayer at your heart, you can bind the hands behind the back (either clasping hands or grabbing opposite elbows or taking reverse Namaste hands on the back), you can place the hands on the knee for a deep hip stretch and more stability, or you can place the hands on the floor inside the front foot – whatever your body is into, low lunge has a variation that will work for you.
LAURIN'S HOMEWORK
1) Practice Surya Namaskar A and Moon Salutations throughout the week.
2) Continue practicing Lizard, Firelog and Pigeon nightly to open up hips.
3) Meditate once per day for at least 10 minutes.
4) Read Yoga Sutras 17-30.
MY HOMEWORK
1) Write up a simple hip-and-shoulder-opening sequence for Laurin to
take home next week and build on her practice.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Which variation of the Moon Salutations do you practice? Do you practice according to The Bihar School of Yoga's method? Or do you practice that fun, new-fangled sequence created by who-knows-whom? Personally, I like to play with both versions depending on my mood, what about you? Share photos of you practicing your Moon Salutations on Instagram and Facebook and tag with #blissin90 to share the love!
Check out our Bliss-in 90 progress again in 2 weeks! Going to be taking a brief hiatus from blogging due to scheduling conflicts between us, but I'm planning on filling in the space with some fun lil nuggets for ya'll so stay tuned :)
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