Yesterday's post

So I received a few comments from the kindly readers of my blog yesterday that I was being too hard on myself. While normally that would be the case, this time I really wasn't. I swear! I was just pointing out things that I think should probably be worked on. So, to answer some of the commentary:

No, ustrasana doesn't feel too terribly crunchy in the lower back as long as I work really really hard. But it is not a really difficult backbend for me, for whatever reason, so I like to practice it. It really helps me open up the shoulders as a prep for UD.

As far as backbending in general goes, I don't work too terribly hard on it but I do try to work on it every time I practice. I have the type of body that loses flexibility, strength and muscle memory really quickly. If I didn't backbend for maybe seven days, I would backtrack in a big way. With my tweaky lower back, I can't afford setbacks.

UD is monumentally easier now than it was when I first started practicing ashtanga. At that time, I wasn't even strong enough to get my head up off the floor. I must have practiced UD with my head on the floor for six months. Now I can get in three strong UDs on a good day (with a lot of rest in between). As far as the feet winging out, it's bad for my freaky lower back so I try really hard to be mindful of that. If I'm pressing into the feet the way I should be and dropping my inner thighs, the feet don't wing out as much. I tend to have 'turn out' naturally, for whatever reason. My knees and toes want to open up and drop out to the side. If I had a different body build I might have been a decent dancer, ha, NOT! However, this is not the best way for me to backbend, it throws off the hips and causes the lower back to do all the work.

As far as how these particular two poses feel, they feel pretty darned good! And they feel better with every week of consistent practice. I do concern myself with the upper back because I have to carry around these boobs and that's a lot of work! It does cause some shoulder rounding and upper and mid-back tension. It's hard to open the heart when it's all caved in trying to hide size D breasts!!!!! :)

So, there you have it. I appreciate everyone's concern that I was being overly critical of myself, the cyber-shala comes through once again! One thing you will notice, not one derogatory word about the way my body looks. I was actually pretty excited about the pictures, I thought they were really revealing, both of the good stuff and the stuff that needs to be worked on.