Oh darnit! I forgot to add this to the previous post. So here we go again, two posts in one day and it might be three by the end of the day after I practice.

I forgot to mention that it was my one year yoga anniversary yesterday. So much has happened. So much has changed! I discovered yoga, and more precisely Ashtanga, one year ago yesterday after having about seven years of a sedentary lifestyle. I went from virtually no physical activity for seven years to yoga once a week for four months, twice a week for two months, then the past six months has been three to five times a week.

I started off with little flexibility, no strength and no balance. My chest was light years away from my thighs, I even had to bend my knees to reach my toes in paschimottanasana. I couldn’t hold virabhadrasana A or B longer than two breaths before I had to straighten the legs because they were screaming at me. I couldn’t do utthita hasta padangushtasana holding the knee instead of the toe and balancing on one leg. Oh hang on, I still don’t have much balance in utthita hasta padangushtasana! But at least I can grab the toe and straighten my legs.

It’s pretty mind blowing when I think back and remember that I thought I would never be able to get my head to the floor in prasarita padottanasanas or my chest to my legs in paschimottanasana. I thought jump-backs and jump-throughs were impossible for me because my legs were too long and my arms too short. I didn’t think it was possible to do three surya namaskara B’s without dying. I thought vinyasas were a form of torture! Actually… that hasn’t changed so much!

I had once seen another student go into marichyasana D and thought, “Dude, no way, no how, not in this lifetime, no sir-ie!” and now I’m one of those envied students that can wrist bind with relative ease. Ok, so that was pre-injury time, I have no idea whether I can bind in D anymore.

Come to think of it, I didn’t even know what the hell marichyasana D was one year ago!

I never thought I’d chant or meditate in my lifetime. I thought chanting and meditation was a little bizarre. But here I am one year later, chanting at the beginning of every practice and meditating at the end of it.

I also have this blog and I enjoy writing in it!

So many good things, what about the bad?

Injury stocktake: Had the tingling toes thing. Had the numb lower, left shin thing. Had the left knee thing. Most recently: the lower back on the right and pinching in the left hip. Those were the major ones.

Other little minor injuries: the shoulder/chest/back thing I have now (this is the second time I’m going through it), the broken a nail through the nail bed (I never blogged about this strangely!), the mat burn and squished fingers when falling in shirshasana. That’s all I can think of right now.

I’ve also been in a constant state of soreness for the entire year (virtually). It’s been so long since I’ve been painfree, but the good thing is that I’m getting use to being sore all the time.

More good bits.

I’m enjoying my new found muscular body, and the boyfriend is enjoying it too! I was a tall, skinny, scrawny looking broomstick, and now I have thighs! I have a butt! Oh my gosh, I have biceps and shoulders too! Who would’ve thunk?
And finally, I managed to rope the boyfriend into Ashtanga within this past year!

I’m sure there’s more good and bad things that I can sit and reminisce, but this entry is already so freakin’ long! Anyway, time for some cake…