For about a week my home practice consisted only of surya namaskara A&B also known as sun salutations. On one cool morning I got caught up in their rhythm and just kept on going. Sans DVD for several weeks now except on occasion, while moving something distracted me from my breath and I became aware that uddiyana bandha and mula bandha was engaged without my willful effort. I was almost stunned because the "auto-engagement" if you will, was inconsistent for me at best. K. Pattabhi Jois says that if you keep practicing, one day it happens (and eventually you will notice! - these are my words.)
It took a long time for me to develop an appreciation for surya namaskara. When I reflect on the evolution of my practice, it went something like this: sun salutations were exhausting (how many more are we doing?); then they became annoying (here we go...); on occasion there weren't enough (the start of my love affair?); and now I'm enraptured in vinyasa. In the past two months they have become light, rhythmic, meditative, enjoyable. It was during one jump forward that I noticed my bandha's were in place. This was the last component of my foundational practice to land on me.
Fast forward to the weeks following my stint with sun salutations; 4:50 AM is still the earliest I rise, even though bhujapidasana is smoothing out. After years of practicing this posture without the fold and making a raggedy exit to chaturunga, in recent weeks of practicing the complete posture, my legs are beginning to feel like rubber my hips have become light resulting in almost a springboard for the titibasana, bakasana and chaturunga transition. And yes, the bandhas are at work. Therein lies the gospel of understanding each pose before moving to the next.
April was my birthday month and admittedly, curfew slid quite a bit. Rising early without proper rest was an epic undertaking, proving also true for Mona Lisa. My ever present shadow stirs when I do, and not one to miss out on bearing witness to any activity she is present for late night and early morning stirring. Even though she doesn't hesitate to bound from the covers with me, her first nap of the day here lately is around 6:15 AM. I miss her weaving during practice now, but she often wakes in time to give me some head butts in savasana.
The disruption of my sleep schedule threw off my eating patterns for a while, which was problematic because there were times when I didn't have sufficient calories to burn in the morning. Whimper. Practice continues to underscore the necessary balance between rest, nutrition and movement. Proving undoutebly that prolonged disregard for this balance can lead to any number of undesireable outcomes. The ebb and flow of life is returning more steadily, thank goodness; however, lack of discipline in the area of rest is a sticking point.
My stint with sun salutations is over and I'm back to primary. Yesterday in class I told my students that this important sequence is more than a warm up, it's the foundation for their practice. A teacher told me this once, and though I believed it to be true, by my own admission I hadn't reflected much on why. Surya Namaskara's contain all of the fundamental movements that are repeated throughout the remainder of practice; and if there is no appreciation for the fundamentals, then the rest of practice may be fraught with ambiguity. Speaking for myself of course, I backed into this lesson so to speak but that has been my learning style (see the comments about transitioning out of bhujapidasana above). The repetition of Ashtanga is helping me to understand the order of things and that patience and sometimes long suffering hold the key to unlocking greater potential in my practice. Thank you, surya namaskara A&B.
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