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As we’re practicing, I hear a chuckle. I look over at The Cop.

“Just happy?” I ask.
“Laughing at my own folly,” he says.
We go on.
“I’m waking up at 4:30 to put my own foot in my own gooch.”

Yeah, I guess that’d be hard to explain to the other cops.

***

I look over during the second side of marichyasana B, to see how he’s faring.

“I’m fighting with it,” he says, having gotten the pose again this morning.
“What’s your fight-to-surrender ratio?” I ask, “100% fight?”
“90% fight,” he responds. “I know I have to surrender, but it’s conceptual knowledge.”

***

The cybershala.

Yesterday it was Owl talking about stress in the jaw, and Vanessa talking about her body as “soft.”

This morning, Tova has a video of herself putting her chin on her mat in bhujapidasana. I was thrilled to see it. I have been hovering, but not putting my chin down. Mostly because when I hover, I can feel that I am decreasing the angle between the forearms and upper arms to counterbalance the weight of leaning forward. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be able to put my chin down while keeping the 90 degree angle of the arms. Watching Tova’s video, I saw that she, too, decreases the angle of the arms. As does Arjuna, now that I look up the pose.

Okay, so I was busy thinking I shouldn’t do something until I could miraculously figure out how to do it the way that is probably actually physically impossible. Yeah, good idea.

Suffice it to say, watching Tova’s video made me understand how to just go for it. So this morning, in bhujapidasana, I put my chin on the floor. The fact that I smooshed most of the lower part of my face into my mat and my feet were dragging is immaterial. That’ll improve with time. I am curious, though, about why I thought I was going to suddenly be able to do this perfectly without going through the messed-up, just-learning-how-to-do-it stage?

My other inspiration this morning was Laksmi, who also posted videos. I was particularly taken with her supta vajrasana video. So strong and yet so delicate. And all I could think about was how GOOD it would feel to stretch my shoulders/traps out. So I did the entire practice as officially given to me by Volleyball Guy. To a delightful supta vajrasana, by way of a sketchy-at-best kapotasana.

And for my poetintellectual inspiration this morning, Patrick’s post. Kapotasana. The introverted pose. The Barnett Newman of asanas. I am going to think of my spine as one of Newman’s zips from now on. That’ll be more helpful than the Pollock-like energy chaos that usually happens in my kapotasana!

Thanks to all of you, cybershalamates. You really help my practice.