donutszenmom.com

Home practice Thursday! Official day of okay-to-do-strange-things-in-your-practice (per Matthew Sweeney!). I did half primary, then a bunch of weirdo backbend stuff. Including a supported viparita dandasana on my Iyengar chair. Lax talked about doing VD (giggle) for time, so I set my watch for 5 minutes and lay back — toes on the wall and arms stretched out straight. Minute 1: I wonder if the tips of my toes are supposed to fit into the corner where wall meets floor, or if my toes are supposed to curl up the wall? Minute 2: Why aren’t my arms straight? Why can’t I lift them over my head & keep them straight? When I was in virabhadrasana A, David Swenson unlaced my fingers, pushed my upper arms closer to my head and internally rotated my forearms — Gah! I wish I could lift my arms over my head! Minute 3: Wow, my hands are on the floor. Go, gravity! Minute 4.5: Crap, I’m not gonna like sitting up when this is done.

Owie! Sitting up after that 5 minute stretch was NOT fun. But it did remind me that I have to pay attention to the candy cane! I was all focused on it for a while there, then forgot about it. I can’t keep up with all the things I have to pay attention to…

***

Half handstands. First I did a bunch of so-called “shakti kicks” near the wall. Fine. Caught some air on a few and didn’t freak myself out too much. I do not trust my arms because 1) they won’t straighten properly & embarrass me in front of David Swenson, and 2) they are attached to my shoulders, which are notoriously untrustworthy.

Anyhow, the kicks worked out okay. Then I did some less-momentumful presses. (Note: I did not say NO momentum. Just less.) Those worked out okay, too, though they were much lower. Still, I managed to balance on my corneas a couple of times, and that was totally fun. Then I put my hands close to my feet to press up (as MM instructed yesterday) and got, well, nowhere. I need to just practice this and get used to it. Then I can figure out next steps.

***

We have a bobcat in the neighborhood. The Cop told me about a sighting he had, then called me into the livingroom yesterday morning so I could see the back end of the cat as it hopped off our wall into the neighbors’ yard. I brought The Cop a camera, and he stood on the Buddha birdfeeder to get a few pictures of the bobcat drinking out of the neighbors’ pool.

I was teleworking, and as I sat at my desk by the window, I watched the cat pass back and forth across our front yard numerous times as he went about his business. Once he walked past with a bird in his mouth. I don’t mind having him around, except I’m afraid he could actually hurt Maxine, who is very delicate with arthritis at this point, and I know that Waylon would not understand that a bobcat is not a good thing to try to make friends with.

We had dramatic thunderstorms last night, so I’m hoping maybe the cat decided to head back to the mountains. Now that I write that, I realize those two things have nothing whatsoever to do with each other. Nevertheless, I hope he’s decided to go elsewhere. I’ve been afraid to let the dogs go outside without me, and I’ve been bringing a trowel with me when I go out to watch over them, and it all seems very inconvenient and vaguely ridiculous. The Cop suggested the stun gun last night, but I’m pretty sure I can hit with a trowel and not at all sure I can shoot with a stun gun.