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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.

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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.

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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.