Saraswati: Day 5

Today, Saraswati rocked up in the same yellow hiphop Adidas trackpants, but she was keeping it oldskool on top by wearing a pale green cotton salwar kameez top! It was so cute! FYI - this is what a salwar kameez looks like... like a long-ish tunic top. Not as fancy as this, but you get the idea... Hiphop you don't stop!

(Photo credit here)

She's really cute, like a grandma. In fact, she even smelt like one today! It was a familiar scent, my grandma used to use too... not sure what it's called in English but Pak Fah Yeow would be translated as White Flower Oil... kinda like a minty camphor smell (not quite as strong and overpowering as Tiger Balm). I dunno why I notice these things... but she gave me a leg hoist assist in UHP again today, and my lungs were still bursting with minty-fresh tingles for the next few asanas.

I jumped out of bed when the alarm rang at 4.45am today. Very rare coz I'm friends with the snooze button. I was just raring to get to dropbacks again. "I have to practice for a little over an hour BEFORE I can get there?! Sheesh!"

But when I finally got to dropbacks, I felt myself hesitate. "C'MON! You've been itching to get here! Why are you stopping now?"

The only way I could describe it is performance anxiety. I know I'm not "performing" for anybody at all, but it's the thought of "Shit. What if yesterday was a fluke and I can't do it again today?" Y'know... like how I got that mini Supta K 3-finger-bind and IT HAS NEVER HAPPENED SINCE!!

So there I was, doing my hangbacks, reverse namaste hangbacks, psyching myself up for it. But I was pretty anxious. Then Saraswati magically appeared by my side and said "Stop trying so hard".

Ouch!

Then she said something like "Just do". The fact that she was standing there gave me the confidence. So, I dropped back again on my own 3 times. Good golly, I hope and think and wish that maybe just maybe, these dropbacks are here to stay.

She helped me back up to standing, but each time with a little bit less help. The last coming-to-standing was pretty much all me, except for a last gentle hip tug towards her (AHA! This is why I've been stumbling around at the top of the mat when I do it on my own! The hips don't push forward enough!)

I realized today on the mat that getting to this dropback is just the first step. Now it's time to refine it and put it all together with the standing up, timing it with the breath, working with the inhales & exhales, getting rid of the spatchcock feet... The work doesn't stop! (See yesterday's comments)

My Twitter pal, @miss_om articulated it really nicely this morning, she said "There IS a place for achievement in yoga: just that it's a start point, not an end point."

Beautiful. :)

On a completely separate note, Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! (it's no longer Thanksgiving here in Sydney, but it's still where you are!)

My sister lives in NYC and she sent me these hilarious photos of the floats from Macy's Thanksgiving parade. Except they're from the night before the parade, when they're being inflated with helium by Central Park. They've got nets over them to weigh them down too. Apparently it was already super crowded with people rubber-necking and elbowing their way through to watch the spectacle.

Here's Spiderman.


And Spongebob Squarepants.


Enjoy the food coma! :)