I'm not gonna talk about how utterly stiff I was today during practice - it was quite depressing actually. Dunno why... Haven't slept so well recently, but lack of sleep doesn't usually interfere with my practice so much. Don't get me wrong, it was still wonderful to do my practice, but it bordered on painful up until Kapotasana.
When Sharath came up to help me in Supta Vajrasana I told him that I was really stiff today. I swear I thought he said, "did you drink yesterday?" although it may have been, "did you drink enough yesterday?" Regardless of what he said, I responded with a No, and allowed him to assist me in the posture. But I couldn't help but laugh inside as I thought to myself, "No Sharath I TRY to only indulge in my love of red wine on the weekends man!" Ha...
And let me tell you, when it came time for backbends I thought Sharath would surely cut me a little slack today, knowing I am tight and all, and perhaps even an alcholic ;) - but he didn't let up at all! I did my one, two, three dropbacks and then went down for the knees - even though it was obvious my pelvis was tighter than a 300 pound woman trying to fit in a pair of size 6 jeans, he insisted on moving my hands up to my quadriceps anyway....And while I nearly gasped for air today because the intensity was too much, Sharath simply said, "relax!" I swear I heard a muffled chuckle from someplace in space as he accomplished his goal of getting my hands to my quadriceps, and then stepped away as I straightened my legs - as if to say, "Good girl, see it is all mind over matter Krista." Fair Enough!
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So I'm super sad because Mona left today. We met up at Santosha for our final breakfast together. It was obvious she was really pretty sad to leave too - although I am sure she is ready to get back to her husband, son, and life in Hawaii. I'm sure gonna miss her though - I mean who am I gonna bike around town with now, and who's gonna sit in my house with no power by candlelight and share a bottle of red wine with me? ;(
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So here is the scoop on Melkote: It is one of the most gorgeous places I've had the absolute pleasure to visit! My friend Johnathan and I rode his motorcycle the 40 plus kilometers from Mysore to Melkote yesterday afternoon. The ride, in and of itself, was phenomenal! But it only got better once we arrived in Melkote. It's just nature - all around you. Such a beautiful and peaceful place. Since we were really short on time yesterday (it takes an hour to get there and an hour back and we only had three hours to spare in the day to hang out) we both decided we are gonna go back soon. I am stoked ;) Didn't take my camera as it was a bit of an unexpected ride, so when I return I'll be sure to take photos so you too can enjoy the majestic nature with me!
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Dance was wonderful - both Sindhu and I are astounded by my quick and solid grasp of new material. I've been on a roll the last week or so, and I'm hoping I continue - its new for me, to learn, digest, and perform structured dance moves. Never really had much of any training in dance in my life - just like to move - so it's been rather difficult to learn Odissi with any real speed or accuracy. But all seems to be changing, slowly but surely. And that makes me happy ;)
