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Muscle Man was surprised to see me at the shala again this morning. Yes, I am an elusive home-practicing student. As I was finishing up primary, he crouched down to chat for a moment.

“What do you usually do at home? Just primary?” he asked.

“Primary and second to laghu vajrasana. Sometimes I do the dropback part of kapotasana but can’t grab my feet.”

“You should do second,” he pronounced.

“You mean more?” I asked, confused. Then it started to dawn on me. “You mean instead of primary?”

“Yes,” he answered. “Your primary is strong. You should concentrate on second.”

“My dropbacks suck.”

“Second will fix that.”

Alrighty, then.

Truth be told, I do just second on Thursdays. (Yes, Matthew Sweeney said I could!) It’s interesting, because it feels less bendy than after a full primary (duh!) but it’s also very focused because I’m not tired.

I am not sure what inspired me to head back to the shala this past week, nor am I sure about this “just second” idea. But I’m going to give it a try. We’ll see what happens if I try it Muscle Man’s way.

I’ll be in Seattle Saturday through Tuesday. My hotel is less than a mile from Troy Lucero’s place. Any Seattle Ashtangis who want to fill me in on what the shala is like? Do I need to email Troy ahead of time? Is there a secret handshake or password to get in the shala door? Is the door hidden away & almost impossible to find? Is it cold in the shala? Any info would be appreciated.

***

I went to the shala on Monday and today. I have no idea why. I’d read Grimmly’s reminiscences of starting his practice, and when I read the part about why he likes to practice at home instead of at a shala, I thought, “Yeah! Me, too!” And then the next day I wanted to go to the shala. So I did.

It was good to see Muscle Man, and it was great to practice in the heat. Yes, all things being relative. It is always hotter here in AZ than pretty much anywhere else, so my “cold” is Patrick’s tropical paradise. Still, the extra people in the room makes it nice and toasty, and I enjoyed that. Also enjoyed assisted backbends. Muscle Man thinks I am bending my knees too soon, so he had me not bend them at ALL for as long as I could. Which is not very long. Still, I’ve been doing some hangbacks with totally straight legs, and that seems to be a useful exercise.

Today, The Poetess was subbing. I haven’t seen her in ages. Her assists are getting very strong — just the right spots and just the right kind of pressure. Sometimes I feel like teachers are bending me to their ideas; with The Poetess, it’s clear she’s “listening” to my body. It’s not all in her head.

She gave me a smoking adjustment in supta kurmasana, getting my legs behind my head more deeply than they’ve ever been. Some of this had to do with the fact that I bit the bullet and wore shorts to the shala. Between the sweat and the shorts, it was easy to push my legs down my back. Very nice.

I think I will probably do three days at the shala per week for a while, just to see how that affects my practice.

***

Grimmly: A bit of data for you: temperature when I left the shala today: 85. It felt perfect.

Fatou: I struggled mightily with one pose this morning: UHP. It gets me every time I practice with other people. At home, I’m solid. If there are other people in the room, forget about it!

Liz: Yes, I wore shorts. It felt kind of weird, like going to class in my undies, but once I got going, I was perfectly happy.

Today’s a day off from practice and tomorrow’s a Moon Day. Plus it’s a long weekend — which I just found out about on Wednesday — surprise! My co-workers were appalled that I didn’t know. Yes, I’ve been working too hard.

Okay, so a long weekend with two rest days. What to do? I need something to kick my ass and make me relax. The answer: hot yoga!

I went to a Bikram class… geez, maybe two years ago? Three? It was fine. I never went back. Today, I tried a hot yoga place here in town. It was, uh, hot. Truly, I’m not really sold on the whole hot thing. I mean, I love hot. If they could just tone it down about 10 degrees, I’d be in heaven.

So this place doesn’t do the Bikram sequence, but they do just about as much of the Bikram sequence as you can do without getting sued by Bikram, I guess. Here’s the really good part, though: guess how they start the class? (Squee!!) The do surya namaskaras in the heat! And they do vinyasas in between a good number of the poses. You know what an updog feels like in 115 degree heat? It feels GREAT.

I was sad: no dhanurasana, no ardha matsyendrasana. But get this: they do urdhva dhanurasana! Woohoo! At the end of an hour and a half of super-heated practice, urdhva dhanurasana feels SWEET. Bhujangasana and salabhasana in the heat? Yes! Yes!

The weird recurring savasanas? Love ‘em. For one thing, lying down means if I faint I won’t get hurt. And it’s also a hilarious experience when you apply some insight meditation technique to the whole thing. Spinning lights, shooting energy like my whole skull is carbonated, the explosive heart feelings. Lots of things to note, that’s for sure.

All the balancing stuff? Yeah. Okay. I guess there’s some good in learning how to balance when you are ready to faint. If I practice diligently, I will be able to go into a dead faint and not fall down. Seriously, though, they did a utthita hasta padangusthasana to the side and held it for a minute. “Lock your leg! Lock your leg!” the teacher said. So I tried. And then I got confused, because it’s easier on a locked leg. But I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to lock our legs in UHP? Sigh. I’ll go check with Gregor Maehle.

As I was heading out, the teacher said, “Obviously you practice yoga…” “Yes,” I said, “Ashtanga.” She got that scared look. Okay, I have to admit it. The scared-of-Ashtanga look always amuses me.

We have a hammock on the back patio. Waylon has always been leery of it — he doesn’t like the way it moves or the sound it makes as the chain that connects the hammock to the frame rattles. He’s always given it a wide berth.

This evening, though, he couldn’t resist. I was lying crosswise on my back on the hammock, so my feet were on the ground, and Waylon climbed up the front of me. Once he was up, I shifted him off of me and onto the hammock.

Then the only chore was keeping him from dumping both of us overboard. He’s heavy (50 pounds) and was moving side to side on the hammock. Finally he settled down a bit and lay beside me. Unfortunately, I hadn’t thought to bring a chew toy for him, and in the absence of a toy, he makes use of my arm. It’s amusing now, yes, when he bites on my whole forearm — we’ll see if it grows less amusing as he gets bigger. Better the forearm than the throat, though. Baby steps.

***

On Sunday, we went to his first puppy class. There were 6 other dogs, among them a German Shepherd (Tank) and a Lab (Max) who are the same age as Waylon. He did great. He loves other dogs and people, so no problem there.

Waylon loves to reach out and bat things with his paws (which made it a snap to teach him “Paw”). So, apparently, does Max the Lab. As the teacher was talking, Waylon and Max lay facing each other. One would reach out and bat the other on the head. Then the other would retaliate. Like watching a slap fight in slow motion. It was very funny. Big dogs are amusing, because they can be such lugs: these two didn’t move at all, except for the ongoing alternating smacks on the head. Cracked me up.

I did get kinda reprimanded for using a choke chain on Waylon. I don’t feel chastened, though. I’m fine with using a regular collar for class. But I’m really sold on the choke chain for walking. The teacher talked about how dogs used to be trained rather brutally — and cited the example of people stomping on the dog’s leash to teach the “down” command. Um yeah, that’s a bad idea no matter what kind of collar you use. Anyhow, we’ll carry on and respect the teacher’s room. Nothing to lose in that.

As we were leaving, two little kids ran up to Waylon. A brother and sister — she was about 6; he, hiding a bit behind her, was about 4. They leaned toward Waylon and looked at me inquiringly. “He’s friendly,” I said, “He’s just a puppy.” They both got closer to Waylon, excited to close the gap, but still shy. Waylon wiggled a bit, then reached out toward the girl with his paw. “Look!” I said, “He’s trying to pat you!” The little boy thought that was the funniest thing ever.

No, not what you’re thinking.

Okay, so The Cop and I go to Target after dinner because I want a ball to roll under my back. I was thinking one of those small play balls. I tried a soccer ball, and it was the right size, but too hard.

At Target we found a red ball that was the correct size and a blue ball that was the right material. I decided to get both, since they cost less than $3 each. I figured the red one would probably be the correct one for back rolling.

At the cashier, The Cop asks what the ball is for and I tell him it’s to drape myself over. “Doesn’t that sound good?” I ask. He responds by draping himself, front-first, over the ball as it lies on the conveyor belt of the cash register. This is hilarious, because the cashier has no idea what he’s doing as he drapes his 6’2″ frame over the ball, arms outstretched on the conveyor belt. I couldn’t get my phone out fast enough to get a picture.

We get home and The Cop bounces the blue ball. Maxine, decrepit old lady that she is, springs into action and attacks the ball. She can’t get her mouth around it, though, so the ball is safe. I bounce the red ball. She springs, and I hear, “Pop! Wooosh!” Yeah, that’s the air coming out of the ball.

Maxine looks up happily and goes into the kitchen for dinner.

I’m thinking (and I know I’m thinking it because I just status-updated it in Facebook!) that I should spend my weekend like a cat. In other words, any time I have the opportunity, I should go to sleep. And any time I need to wake up, I should wake up. Only to sleep again as soom as the opportunity arises.

I’m pretty burnt from work. And from an old dog who sometimes likes to spend whole nights walking around, her long nails clicking on the tile floor until she comes over and puts her grizzly bear head on my pillow to rouse me. And a young dog who rolls around in his crate, snoring and grunting and dream-barking. And from all of my own thinking, of course.

Dharma Overground, I love you, but what’s with all these words?! I’m sure I’ll be visiting more over the weekend, during the waking part of my cat-weekend. I’ll also be reading The Zen Doctrine of No Mind. Hui-neng was illiterate, as well as the Sixth Patriarch of Zen. As D.T. Suzuki notes: “Erudition always tends to abstraction and conceptualism, obscuring the light of intuition.” Still, I can’t seem to put the book down.

Okay, so a weekend of reading and thinking. If I don’t write or talk about any of it, does it make a sound?

Tan Dtoon on YouTube. I discovered this via the Dharma Overground, a community for meditation practitioners.

A delightful look at the busy nature of the mind:

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And an interesting (and familiar!) description of some “physical” effects of meditation:

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God, I grin like an idiot the whole time I watch these! You can find more of Tan Dtoon on the dhammatube playlist on YouTube.

The playlist is described as “…the sometimes raw inside of the world of meditation practice. Many clips are autobiographical experiences with meditation, meditation techniques or meditation teachers, some take stands on controversial points. While some of the people interviewed are well-known teachers, many are unknown publicly.”

***

I walked into the livingroom this morning, took one look at this and spun around to get my camera. The first picture was to make sure I captured the moment. The second was a close-up of Waylon and his underbite.

***

Practice was super good today. Starting later in the morning, the warm hot weather here in the desert, and a pre-practice walk with Waylon, ’cause he was full of puppy zoomies, all contributed to a very relaxed and warmed up body. Is it nicer to do backbends when I’m warm? Um, yeah. I’m still struggling to open hip flexors and shoulders, but there’s progress and I can’t complain. Sitting meditation afterwards is all about energy prickles moving around in surges. So basically, practice is about making energy sensations and then sitting down to note them.