journalling on.. in july

07 jul, friday 

"i have it."

went about my practice keeping this mantra in mind.

12 jul, wednesday

"i did it."

despite not feeling great, and feeling a little discomfort in the back after a long while, i went ahead and did the practice mindfully. felt better after completing it. in fact, i felt fine enough to go for an hour-long evening walk afterwards.

13 jul, thursday

"i can skip practice the day i skip breathing."

i have to understand that i must do my practice and my pranayama regularly to first, energise myself for everything i set out to accomplish, and then, to relax myself after completing everything i manage to do.

14 jul, friday

"i have it."

the day began with a much-needed, long-overdue, marathon gardening job with the help of my dear god-send maali, murari bhaiya. that tired me out at the start of the day itself. around noon, i stepped out to go to a dear, home-bound friend to help with a haircut at her home. then i picked up some mechanical work that I mostly reserve for fridays. alongside, i listened to the god of music, mark knopfler, and the day began to feel saner. around early evening, i suddenly started to feel some discomfort just as i started to practice. but i reminded myself that "i have it", and carried through with part of the practice. just had some soothing basil tea, and i feel better.:)

15 jul, saturday

"relaxed"

it was good to have the choice to split the practice into shorter pockets of time, rather than one solid hour. it encouraged me to do as much as i could in the time i found in between the 'need-to-do-over-the-weekend' things. made sense to not let perfect become the enemy of good. at least i practiced some.

17 jul, monday

"mindful practice"

i managed to do the entire revised practice mindfully. not because i found spare time magically. but because i wanted to do it. and indeed, it helped me feel energised at the beginning, and relaxed by the end. to more such days.

18 jul, tuesday

"pleased"

despite an "office" day, i managed to complete my practice (supine poses) in the morning itself. and i was super pleased.

20 jul, thursday

"sense of duty"

day 2 of migraine and i was not up to the class. then by late evening, although the migraine lingered, it's intensity waned a bit. so i decided to do my practice. as i started, i realised that i was doing it with a sense of duty this time, because i should. but by the time i was done, i was also glad to note that i felt happy for having completed it despite feeling the way i felt.

22-23-24 jul, sat-sun-mon

it was a good run where i was able to do the standing asanaas in the morning itself in the green space upfront. that felt great!

24jul, monday

it was also a class day, which went smoothly with advice to continue the practice. 

25 jul, tuesday

it was an office day, where i had to go to a new location. the AC in the meeting room was at such a low temperature that soon i started feeling uncomfortable despite an extra layer. by the time i left the office in the evening, i was cold to the bone, and was relieved to get back home. i had some chai, and then rested. but over the next few days, i felt discomfort, stiffness, and soreness in the back, neck, shoulders, knees, ankles, wrists - after a very long time. i resumed my ayurveda oiling routine and warm showers for the week. 

my sense is that the uncomfortably low temperature for the duration of the day did not suit me at all. i'll need to figure out a workaround so as not to go through a similar experience next time.

26 jul, wednesday

i did my practice although it was a pain day and i was low on energy. i experienced slight trembling during practice. it turned out to be a long work day and i am glad i managed it.

31 jul, monday

today is a class day. although i could not step out for the practice in the open today, i walked in my backyard, spending time with my plant babies. i also did the pulley exercise to relieve the tightness in the left trapezium muscle.
the class was good. filled the feedback form helped me reflect on the practice and how it is impacting on my wellness levels.

regaining my strength...

...after a hectic weekend and busy week days.

after a super busy weekend and super busy monday and tuesday (evenings included), i felt completed beat on wednesday morning. i woke up feeling exhausted. :|

although the good bit is that i am able to do a lot more than i could since the spine got into trouble, i felt the body was telling me to slow down and take it easy. so i did. i still worked through the day, but was kinder to myself. with a few small meals and a big mug of coffee, i felt better by afternoon. by evening, i felt good enough to step out for a walk. and i walked for an hour.

i realize exercise and walk is extremely important for me, especially now. but i also got to remember that adequate rest is equally important.

i'll try and do a better job at balancing things.