Instead of eka pada sirsasana

Instead of eka pada sirsasana

This is the pose I was recommended to practice instead of eka pada sirsasana. This pose was also recommended by my physio therapist. It opens the hip and it's relaxing. It's indeed an excellent preparation.

All the leg behind head poses scare me these days, because I think they might be the cause for my SI joint issues. Not the poses themselves were the cause, but the rule to use only i.e. left leg first.

My issues came because my SI joint was blocked. Then the psoas adopted the work of the SI joint, but they are not made to do this. The consequence is they cramp. To loose this cramp is painful, yet it forces again the joint to work. But why is this SI joint blocked???? I always want to find out the cause. One must solve issues by finding out  why something happened. Only cosmetics is not the solution. M mentioned it yesterday, why this SI joined is blocked. It comes because of a misplacement of the hips. And why did this misplacement happen???? Because in Ashtanga yoga it's a not understandable rule to take always one leg first, either the right side or the leg side. Especially if one has to go deep into these forward bending asanas, because the legs are not that long there is a lot of pressure on the hips and the lower back. Now I have to undo this. And my strong abdomen have to support my lower back. My hips that were always even must be exercised evenly again.
Understanding is precious. It took me some time. I mean a doctor told me I have psychological issues. He obviously has a very reduced way to make diagnosis: back pain is psychological. Point. My physio therapist shook her head in astonishment. SI joint issues are never caused by the soul. Other back pain issue might have stress factors as a reason.

Now where I know the causes, I know how to practice.
Since my last practice and it was a very intensive one all is better. It's really like a miracle.
M positive feeling begin to dominate again the entire process that lasts now more than 7 months. I have hope, I love to practice. Yesterday I started taking pictures again.

At a certain age the teaching must be individual. So happy that I returned to M.

Relieved beyond imagination

Relieved beyond imagination

Today it was already a tiny bit easier to get up at 5am.

I went again to a Mysore class, That starts at 7am.
This morning I answered to a comment that I want to alter home practices with Mysore classes. But after the Mysore class today I changed my mind. I simply learn more with M than I could teach myself at home. I want to get back to my level of 3 years ago as soon as possible, but safe. This is possible with the advice of M. He has the experience. He has the knowledge and the sensitivity. He is flexible also in his mind.

Back to the teaching. M is able to teach individually. He doesn't stop students as main teaching method, he gives tips how to progress, how to do even more.
Yesterday I stopped my practice at eka pada sirsasana. I indicated this pose. It's a deep forward bending pose and afterwards comes urdhva dhanurasana. Yet today I was advised to practice till pincha mayurasana. After this pose back bending (urdhva dhanurasana) is easier. It's important for me now to have a  soft transition from one form of asanas to the next. The advice proofed to be excellent. I practiced pincha mayurasana against the wall. First I was scared, but after several attempts I was up.

As so many asanas are not possible anymore I was recommended to do asanas that prepare the ones I'm not able to do. Yes, why not. This is flexibility.

Instead of eka pada sirsasana I do a pose that even my physio therapist recommended. Instead of dwi pada sirsasana I exercise supta kurmasana, that is I do what is possible. I practice yoga nidra and then pincha mayurasana. This feels good.

I left the practice room without any pain!!!!!!!! I sit here without pain.
I know I have to work on strength especially on the abdomen. It's very important.

When I arrived at 7am, M arrived at the same time. We chatted a bit and I learned that he has had SI joint injuries, too. This makes him to an experienced teacher.
This is always my speech, that those teacher are the better ones who had difficulties with asanas. That forced them to understand the asanas.

It's the same with yoginis. Sometimes someone comes to a yoga class and is able to bend back and reach the calves after a few months only. Usually this gets many admiration. Me, too, I love to see these forms, I love to see what is possible with a body. But for me this doesn't mean that this person is an advanced yogini. The body simply allows to do this poses. I admire those who have difficulties with the asanas, but stick to the practice.

Yogi M knows more than me. He'll guide me out of the valley, I'm currently in with all this SI joint issues. Finally I found back my optimism. This feels good.

I sit here for more than an hour and I still have no back pain. I'm relieved beyond imagination.

I return as an invalid.

I return as an invalid.

I must have slept a bit last night, but not much. Again and again I woke up, I tossed and turned. At 5 am my alarm clock woke me up. Only 10 more minutes, I thought. I was so tired and I had the feeling that I could finally sleep. If I hadn't an appointment with my friend S. I would have slept in. But so I had to get up. And I managed it. This morning we had only cold water. This cold shower was good. The tiredness disappeared. Black coffee helped, too.

I had a breakfast date with friend S. after yoga, after the Mysore class with my former yoga teacher. It's now almost 3 years that I didn't practice with him. The last 7 months I was alone on my mat at home. My back pain made it difficult to practice regularly.

A lot has changed since then.
The practice starts at 7am and not at 9am, which is great.
The location is new and I love it much more than this old garage.
All the bureaucracy is done by staff and not by yoga teacher.  

When I saw M in the practice room I told him about my blocked SI joint. This injury was familiar to him. I must engage the bandhas, I know. I even think I must do extra strength training for the abdomen.

It was absolutely OK that I focused on second series only. The kapotasana adjustment that I got was perfect. I was so deep in that pose. It has been ages that I had such a performance. I sum it up: I'm again enthusiastic. I found a teacher who allows me to take care of my body.

When I left the shala M asked me if everything was OK with my back. It was. He is caring. He is not dogmatic. The yogi is the focus and not the rules.

After breakfast with S. I headed home and I was tired like hell and slept for hours. This was it for today. Tomorrow I'll practice again in a Mysore class. I loved the energy in the group, but it was not pushing. After the twists I finished my practice. Safety first.
On Thursday I'll have to go to the dentist in the morning. I don't know what I'll do on Friday. I want to cultivate home practices, too.

I'm more than happy. The show can go on. I love to get back to a life rhythm that means to get up early and to sleep early. I love the early mornings.

Today is soccer time: European championship. I watch TV.
The picture above is taken 6 years ago during the world cup.

Painful and frustrating

Painful and frustrating

This picture shows me about 5 or 6 years ago. This pose would still be possible if I hadn't attended Mysore classes for the last 2 and a half years. Point.
These days I move into headstand with bent legs.
At home I would never had injured myself. I have 30 years of yoga practice behind me with more or less no injuries. 12 our of these 30 years were dedicated to Ashtanga yoga.

Today my practice started very good. I was able to do all the standing asanas. But then it got worse, even though 'only' primary was on the schedule. That I'm no more able to do supta kurmasana is not the cause for the frustration. I got weak and the vinyasas are not possible either. What frustrates me is the pain. My practice was painful again. I had to interrupt it several times to give my back muscles a fascia massage. I rolled on this tool I had bought some time ago. It lies always next to my mat just in case.

Home practices are safer. But it's too late now for me.

Today I found a post by Grimmly about injuries. He also suffered from injures and went to classes which was not the best for the injuries.
 Firstly in classes one is told what to do.
But after a decade one knows what one shall do and one tries to meet the expectations. That is one knows that it is not allowed to do preparation asanas. One has to do the vinyasaas and so on. But this is exactly what can make the injuries worse. One must be also allowed to omit asanas. Even this should be possible when injured. This seems to be a world-shaking compromise in the Ashtanga yoga community.
Today I tried surya namaskara B. It didn't feel good, so I was happy that I did it. In classes I'd surely forced myself to repeat it again. A setback would be predictable.

To follow any rules, only because it's the rule now is not convincing for me anymore. Why was I not more rebellious? I knew that it was nonsense what I had to do.
- What is difficult comes first and not after 2 hours. The results of  this training was little. Of course. It was so ineffective.
- One must alter legs in order to exercise the body evenly also in padmasana, supta kurmasana and so on.
-  I needed strength training
- To have a variety of asanas is better than practicing every day the same, every day the same, every day the same. Also mistakes repeat that way.
- Goals have a deadline. After a certain time span one has to reflect again how to go on.


Second series feels better. It's a more balanced series.
I know, it's another post where I express my frustration and where I complain. Last night I was so optimistic, but reality taught me something else. To practice with pain is hard. It's demotivating.

Every twenty minutes I have to stand up, because I cannot sit longer. A nightmare. I have to work on my attitude. The past is over.....

I think now seriously, that primary is not so good for me. After second series I feel better. I'll focus on second series.

I'm not alone when I practice at home.
The best yoginis practice at home.

Home practices

Home practices

I practice at home these days. This allows me to listen to my body. It allows me to add asanas to prepare the difficult ones like back bending. I also feel free to omit asanas if they doesn't feel good.

In sum the back pain is less painful than a few weeks ago. I can do much more asanas than a few weeks ago. For example today it was possible to get into headstand with straight legs. Surya namaskara B was possible. Three times I did urdhva dhanurasana.

Nevertheless these back pain issues last now more than 7 months. This drives me crazy from time to time. Eat that frog, I think then. There is no alternative to home practices. Mysore classes focus on beginners. Beginners need rules. But the teaching must become more flexible when students practice a decade or longer. This is not the case. This rigidness of  Ashtanga yoga classes causes injuries. I know I'm not the only one who experienced this. As much as I miss being part of Mysore classes I also know that the risk to get injured is too high when practicing in classes every day. Especially at my age (57y) a variety of asanas is supportive. Instead I practiced  every day the same asanas only because one asana (kapotasana), the last one didn't look perfectly. After 2 hours of yoga practice I could finally exercise it. Exhausted I was by then. For 5 breaths I exercised this asana, this was it. Did I expect miracles? No I didn't. I followed the Ashtanga rules without reflecting. Two and a half years the same show every day, till I got injured. Why didn't I stop this earlier. I felt incontent. I knew I wanted to omit primary and focus on second series.
The only didactics in yoga classes is to stop yogis when an asana doesn't look perfectly. It follows an adjustment for 5 breaths. Voilà. This is not enough. This is simple, but too simple.

When practicing at home I have no commuting. I can shower after the practice. Sometimes I'm up till midnight. Then I practice a bit later. I get up after 7 or 8 hours of sleep. My life is flexible, I adjust it to my daily wishes and schedules. Not that I want to make a principle out of it. The goal is to get back to an early morning practice. But one can also maintain a daily or almost daily practice when living a bit more flexible without a strict schedule.

Time to move. To sit longer than 30 minutes is not good for my back.

On vinyasas - a list

On vinyasas - a list

1. One decade (!) I thought that the vinyasas, the dynamic movement to connect the asanas make my Ashtanga yoga practise to a workout. A few months ago I bought a fitbit armwrist, which I wore during my practise. Afterwards I checked my heart rate. This was a shock. Only when I did the sun salutations and when I did urdhva dhanurasana the heart was challenged. This was all under 1 minute. I had to realize that  Ashtanga yoga is not a work out, also not because we practise the vinyasas.

2. In order to being able to do the vinyasas one must be strong and flexible and one must understand the how to do it, the technique. All this might be a reason to practise the vinyasas. But what I see in classes (I include myself)  most students betray themselves or they don't know what to exercise. After 12 years of practicing Ashtanga yoga I got close to being able to perform it. Close. By now I'm not able to do it nicely. This is a wake-up call to reflect on what happened.

3. Almost 30 times the vinyasas are exercised when doing primary. I didn't count the transition from kurmasana and supta kurmasana ie. Now imagine how long I try this dynamic movement without being able to do it.
What does this mean not being able to do it? My feet touch the floor during this transition. The goal is to float through the arms without touching neither the arms nor the floor.
In the first years I learned that this transition is science fiction. Later, when the community grew more and more talented yoginis joined the community. They also analyzed the movement. I learned how to do the vinyasas from the generous yoginis on YouTube and other social channels. I didn't learn it because I practises it 30 times every day for years.

4. It is said that in the early years of Ashtanga yoga there were not so many vinyasas. There were no vinyasa between sides. Similar asanas were formed to a group and only in the beginning and afterward a vinyasa was performed.

5. Why doing the vinyasas at all? For me there is one main reason. During the vinyasas is a counter pose, upward facing dog. Being flexible means not only being able to have a deep forward bend. Flexible people can alter from forward bending to back bending to twists without long preparations.
The upward facing dog is often done very sloppily. This is what I see in classes. I know why. It comes with discomfort. But this is it. It's good to stand it till the discomfort fades away. This makes flexible.

6. The huge disadvantage of the vinyasas is that when done correctly the chest muscles get stronger and stronger. The upward facing dog is not enough to balance this. It would be good to do back bending, that is second series. Students are held too long at primary. When they finally start second series, they are stiff in the upper body. Back bending becomes horrible.
There are authors who say that one shall not practise pincha mayurasana when not being able to do kapotasana, because the chest muscles get too strong then when practicing pincha mayurasana. This author forgets that this exactly happens if one practises too long primary.
In my opinion it's also better to omit primary when starting second series for exactly this reason.

7. Quality over quantity.
Up to 30 times every day, year in year out students try to manage the vinyasas. Most are not so successful. It is much better to do less and correctly.



Today was primary on the schedule. Despite my cold I practiced. I had no fever, so why not practicing? If it would have been too much today, I could have stopped anytime.
I practiced vinyasas as described under point 4.
Then almost at the end I did chakrasana and pulled my neck. I was too fearful today. I feared that the back pain would return and it did. A wrong movement and it's back, I thought. I'm glad that this neck pain faded away after the practise. I added fascia massage at the end.
Oh yes, it was good, that I practised. It's always worth doing it.

On aging and Ashtanga yoga

On aging and Ashtanga yoga

Most people have a number in mind when they shall say what is old. For some 50 is old. When I was in my twenties, I thought my life, or better the fun in life is over. Now I'm 57 and I know this isn't true. The younger people are, the more they think it's better to be young. I dare to say that every decade has it's own challenges, highlights and issues.

For other people 60 is old, or 70.

No, I don't agree when people say age is just a number. With 57 I'm different than I was with 27.
To have only a number in mind when thinking of age is too limited.

Genes, life-style and environment  influence how we are and feel at a certain age. They make huge differences from person to person.

Especially when we are 60 or above the differences between people enlarge. I know people who take part in marathons at this age, others cannot walk anymore or are dead already.

People usually think that I'm about 10 years younger than I am. When I say that I practise yoga, they think that this is the reason. But my grandma didn't practise yoga and she passed away at the age of 103.

One thing is sure: we'll all die one day. If we don't die at an accident, life aggravates slowly. This is not neccessarily so. Yoga can help that life doesn't aggravate. I was once in a workshop with Danny Paradise. This was it what I remember. He realized that those who practice yoga don't make the experience that life aggravates dramatically when getting older.

We won't stay the same over all the decades. Our bodies, our minds change. So do our abilities.

At a certain point at my life I wanted to do a sportive activity that I could do for the rest of my life. I knew it was not Karate. It was yoga. There are a lot of sportive activities that are designed for young people. Soccer is such an example out of many.

Ashtanga yoga was taught to young boys first. Also those first practitioners who pilgrimaged to Mysore were young. The few who sticked to the practice are now around 60, but they practiced this yoga style for all of their lives. They are different to those who joined later in life, like me. I discovered Ashtanga yoga when I was already 44 years old.

When we get older we become weaker and less flexible. When we practice yoga we work against these developments. This keeps us younger. Yet it's more difficult to learn the difficult asanas than in younger years.

In comparison to younger people it's much more difficult and it requires more effort to stay strong and flexible because one works against the normal signs of getting older. Nevertheless more is possible at any age than one thought it was a decade ago. It's worth exercising at any age and one will see positive results.

But and here comes the next difference to younger people. It takes longer to learn anything. It takes longer to get stronger and it takes longer to get flexible.
Not only this. Injuries last longer till they heal.

My experience is that when I want to practice according my age  a variety is good. I don't agree at all to do only primary when 50+. I read this sometimes. Primary alone is an unbalanced practise. It's forward bending. My body is more able to integrate new movements when a variety of asanas are offered. I prefer to do some preparation before doing wheel pose after all the forward bending asanas of primary.

I'm not a fan of limiting oneself neither re what one is doing, nor mentally. Exploring the limits at any age is what I recommend. One day I might be happy to keep a certain level. By now I noticed that I progress at anything that I practise correctly. I progress, but slower than in my twenties.

My personal advice for myself when considering my age is:
- Take care that the practise is balanced.
- Strength and flexibility are evenly important
- Exercise correctly, because it takes so much longer than in younger years till an injury heals
- No long breaks
- Cultivate a home practise

Currently the target group of Ashtanga yoga are the younger people. A few weeks ago I was asked if I promoted a yoga clothing page. As a 'thank you', I should get a sports bra. No, thank you. Not only the clothes but also the teaching focuses on younger people. And one has to teaches the masses. Individual teaching is rare. Yet this is what is more important for older people.

I'm convinced that I can practise Ashanga yoga till the end of my life. But if I start with exercising pincha mayurasana when I'm 70, it might become dangerous, because one must learn to fall. The risk to break bones is more likely when older.

As said: How we feel at a certain age varies a lot. How long we live varies a lot, too.
Life is about exploring the possibilities. And this is my attitude.
I don't want to focus on one asana that I'm not able to do. Every day. This is not effective, nor does it fit to my age.
I also need a variety of asanas on different days. To work day in day out, year in year out the same stuff is not effective, not only because of the age. Second series is rather balanced, primary is not balanced.

There are also advantages when older. I know myself better than I knew myself with 20. I wanted to try Karate and Aikido. Then belly dance was my passion. These days I can focus on Ashtanga yoga, because I know it fits to my personality and my life style.
Most people have found a balance in life when older. I regret that I missed yesterday's party due to my cold. When younger every distraction is welcomed. There are partys, love affairs, perhaps a family with children and jobs. This all makes it difficult to have a regular practise. It becomes easier to follow a disciplined routine later in life.

The goal and the path belong together. On the mat I focus on what is possible now. I focus on the path, yet I know where it shall lead.

Oh yes, I practiced also today: second series. Back bending was my focus. So today the leg behind head poses were almost impossible. Who cares?
I shall see what is possible tomorrow........

I hope this blog post was not too chaotic.

A gift from the Gods...

A gift from the Gods...

Wow, what a practice. So much more than expected was possible. Today I focused on primary. It was possible to take my legs behind my head, one after the other. But I thought the pose was lost. I thought it would take years to get back to this pose. Yep, the leg didn't stay there, I had to hold it.

I could do chakrasana and setu bandhasana. It was not possible to hold it for a long time. Of course not, because I lost strength. Incredible that it was possible, but it was.

I alter primary to my needs. Vinyasas are practised only after an asana and not between sides. I also group asanas. Quality over quantity. 70 intensive minutes on the mat are enough. It's better to practice correctly than whipping oneself through too many poses and vinyasas.

Last night I couldn't sleep in. After midnight I got up again and opened my flickr account. I got so enthusiastic about my pictures. So much was possible already. It so motivated me. I'll get back to this, was my thought. This is possible. I love to see my body in crazy asanas.

Today the focus was forward bending. Tomorrow I'll focus on back bending, that is second series mainly. But I want to get back to the full series as soon as possible.

Wow, miracle happen. I needed such a practice like today.

This morning I got up and my back felt good. This was new, too. This helped.

I lean back and enjoy this gift from heaven.

I remember my physio therapist: work on strength, too. Yes, I won't forget this. A post on Calisthenics will come soon

Kino's May challenge is over

Kino's May challenge is over

Kino's May challenge motivated me to practise, sometimes I only took some pictures, but this too meant that I had to move and to practise. It was not always easy to find time for a shooting, but I didn't like to omit an asana. Tomorrow is still another pose on the list, the relaxing pose. As it's difficult to show 31 pictures in one pictures, I'm happy with the 30 pictures in one picture only.

I'm still so disappointed. So many poses are lost. My back pain gets better and better, but it's still there. I have no disciplined morning routine anymore. I fight to stay motivated, but often I give priority to other activities. What shall motivate myself now as the May challenge is over? I have to find something......

I'm glad that more and more also advanced yogis point at the rigidness of today's teaching of Ashtanga yoga. I got injured because of this, after decades of intensive yoga practise. The only way out of this valley is to practise and to adjust the practise to my needs. Less complaining, more action.

How long will I be able to sit here without pain in the back again, I wonder.

However, I have to find a way out of this crises, I have to. One has to move to stay healthy. I'll alter my practise, for sure.

- more back bending
- less vinyasas
- strength training

And I want to get back to a daily yoga routine. It's not a satisfying yoga practise when I stretch while watching TV.

It's the concentration, the focus that makes yoga so interesting.

Tomorrow is another opportunity to step on the mat. Might it happen. At 7am.
To focus on second series, could be a good idea.

Taking pictures for Instagram

Taking pictures for Instagram

Today I took pictures during my practise. This interrupts the flow. Yet pictures give me feed-back. And I needed some more pictures for Kino's challenge on Instagram: #mayibeginyoga2016 .

My SI joint and the muscles around are still under stress. That's why I skipped the practise yesterday. Today I practiced one hour. This is so perfect. All asanas will improve with time. I'll get back to my flexibility and strength, too. It's important to enjoy the practise. Sometimes a shorter joyful practise is better than a long one that hurt too much.

Today I wanted to go to a Mysore class. I'm so out of my rhythm. I read till midnight. Of course I'm tired then in the morning. It seems impossible to get up at 7am. In order to be on time at a Mysore class I must get up at 5am. So tomorrow I'll get up at 6am. This is the plan. And the day after tomorrow I might be ready again to get up at 5am without an awful 'Jetlag'. It makes no sense to be tired on the mat.
To get to classes again means to leave my comfort zone. On the other hand I could need that kick that I usually get from group sessions.

Sleep is so important. We need 8 hours or more.
Healthy food is so important, too.

Being a yogini is a life style. Nothing else.

Zero pain tolerance

Zero pain tolerance

Today I had zero pain tolerance. After 30 min on the mat I gave up. Last night I had slept very bad. I have the feeling I was longer awake than in deep relaxing sleep status. After 2am I got up and I was some time online. This morning I was tired. Sleep deprivation lowers the pain tolerance for sure.
That I gave up after 30 min doesn't convince me.

This early afternoon I'll have another session at the physio therapist. Shall she press out the pain. It's the muscles that hurt. She knows no mercy. She does what is necessary.

Nevertheless the 30 min count as a practise.

To stay optimistic I go through my list with points what got better:
- I don't need pain killer anymore.
- I can cough without pain.
- My sleep is better, at least most of the time.
- I can do trikonasana on both sides.

The pose on the picture is only possible on the right side. I hold the foot and not the toe because this gives me more stability. The point of focus are the hips and the strong legs and not the big toe.

Strong legs are so important. With this back pain I feel the difference. When the leg muscles are not engaged the back has to work, too. Strong legs give stability. This is what the standing asanas will teach us: Engage your legs.

90 min asana practise

90 min asana practise

90 min asana practise and 10 min relaxation are behind me. Yepee I did it. It's the third intensive asana practise in a row. And the performance of the asanas were slightly better than yesterday and the day before yesterday. I cannot say the same about the pain.

I know now that it was not the best decision to stop practicing. Yet the pain demotivated me that much, that I had enough. I preferred to go to bed late. In the morning I preferred to dawdle and to pamper my dear E. Not moving is never an alternative. This I know now. Sooner or later comes the moment where one has to start again. It's easier to keep the ball rolling than to start from a passive position.

My home practises are exercises in the right direction. After the leg behind head poses I stop and do the closing sequence. I set a timer when I do headstand. Today I was not able to hold the pose 2 min. It's OK. I learned to embrace my fate. Life is about exploring the possibilities. Every day.

Yesterday I had another session with the physio therapist. She is great. She recommends exercises for the abdomen. Strong abdomen protect the back. It makes no sense to integrate the exercises with my yoga practise. So there will be an afternoon session. I know that strong abdomen are good.

Again it got all better. I can do trikonasana on both sides. This is something.

Friday primary

Friday primary

Oh yes, I did it. I just checked my SI joint. I don't feel it. This was different when I practiced today. And yesterday evening after a long Photoshop session it even hurt a lot. This is over. Now is the moment. And NOW I feel good.

I read too many books on success. The thought 'only those who give up have lost' guides me. This sentence serves as a mantra. The mantra 'I can' is not so useful as I see that I cannot.

I got stiff, weak and I have this SI issue. These three factors accompany me through my practise with all the consequences. Who cares? I pick me up where I am. Focus is the breath and not the perfect performance of the first series. Even though the breath got worse, too. I often fear that sudden pain comes up. Fear makes me hold the breath. Then I remember myself to breathe and I move on.

Why recovered my SI injury:
1. I can do trikonasana on both sides.
2. I sleep better. I don't wake up from pain when I want to turn around.
3. The physio therapy is no more so painful. And the treatment goes deeper.
4. I don't need pain killer anymore.
5. Often I can stand up from a sitting position without pain. And I can stand up fast.

This is something.

Back to my practise.
I needed 40 min for the sun salutations (I did only four) and the standing asanas. Usually I need 20 min. I move very slowly into every posture because I want to have the correct alignment, but I also fear pain.
I had to omit almost all the vinyasas. I did the counter pose, upward facing dog, when I thought it was necessary.

Hallelujah I practiced. Before breakfast. One hour and 35 min I was on my mat and exercised asanas and deep breathing.