Day 27 = Much More Awake This Time! :)

Day 27 - April 27, 2010 - 6:00AM with David

It's nice that it's getting much lighter out at 5:30AM, when I leave home for my yoga studio.  The energy in the room was great this morning; there were more people today than yesterday.  I guess the hangover from the weekend has lifted and we're all back to the yoga swing of things.

I have been contemplating on whether I should try a different spot during the 6:00AM class, just so I can have a change.  I love change in any facet of my life.  But this morning, I've decided to stay put where I usually am--right next to the door for a speedy exit right after class.

I entered the hot room about 10 minutes early to acclimatise my body to the heat.  As I lay there, there were 2 voices beside me chattering away.  As you know, there is no talking inside the room, in respect to those who are meditating.  I felt the need to shush them, as a friend and I have been shushed when we were newbies.  However, I thought I should just try to block them out of my head.  Put my meditating powers to use.  It's very challenging because by nature, I am a stickler for rules and I expect everybody else to be the same.  The chattering went on, and much to my relief, David entered the room to start the class.

I was determined to do better in Pranayama today.  It's not my favourite exercise, which is a shame because it is very important, very crucial to how your practice will turn out.  It paid off as I am much more awake today than yesterday!  So today being Day 27, with 3 more days until the 30DC is over, I wanted to be more conscious in pushing my limit a little bit further.  There are some postures that will take me more time to properly execute them, like the Standing Head to Knee, and Standing Bow Pulling.  I have improved greatly in the Eagle, Balancing Stick, and Triangle.  For Tree Pose, I am now able to hold my right foot underneath my belly button with both hands in Namaskar, while I still have to work on the left foot staying put.  I am also able to balance with both hands in Namaskar for both sets in Toe Stand.  My Cobra and Full Locust have also greatly improved--I could feel that my lower back has developed much more strength with practicing everyday.  My Camel Pose is slowly getting to the point where I can keep my thighs perpendicular to the floor.  My knees still tend to open up during the first set with the same distance as the second set.  David made us hold the asanas a few seconds longer than usual (I think, anyway), which is great because a challenge here and there will do us all good! 

So all in all, I have noted a lot of positive changes in my body since I started the challenge.  I have decided to extend my challenge to 60 days.  I look forward to many, many more surprises coming my way then!