Wanda joins us. She lives next door to me and only heard about our project two days ago from Denise and she's decided to join us. When she told me that I burst out laughing, two days notice and she signs on for a year long yoga practise, pretty impressive!
Back at our practise site, a gorgeous shady lawn with huge locust trees above us, we witnessed a tree shower. The sun glistened on the drops as they splashed through the air.
I taught today. That was a challenge as I am only a dedicated student and someone who assists in a beginner class, not a certified teacher, so I guess it is more accurate to say that I led our practise. Sun salutations, starting at 8am before the heat had a chance to exhaust us. Then a few basic standing poses, utthita trikonasana (triangle pose), virabhadrasana II (warrior pose), then adho mukha virasana (child's pose), adho mukha svanasana (downward facing dog stretch), and savasana (corpse pose).
Back to Denise's for chai and a bowl of watermelon and blueberries. Lots to talk about around the table and later on the porch. The neighbours, our children, the architecture, the weather here versus in California, where Denise lives currently most of the time. I've also lived there quite a while ago.
Feeling how very tired I am I get home at 11:15 and try to nap. Cannot settle. My chest aches from the long week of travel; I cannot seem to feel any openess in my armpit chest. So I do a long inversion, (one of my favourite poses these days) two bolsters in viparita karani, with a tri folded white blanket to support my shoulders. I somersault and use the ropes to settle myself and breathe, nearly fall asleep until my right leg wakes me up. It is turning itself outward which upsets the balance and triggers my brain to wakefulness. Then I go to bed to sleep for two hours soundly, until the phone awakens me.
The white blanket in viparita karani makes me see an analogy with our musculature. In yoga asana we attempt to stretch our muscles completely, even the tightest areas. When you fold a blanket and smooth it out, you can see the small wrinkles underneath, you can smooth them, or else unfold the blanket part way and smooth them, then refold and experience the full, thick smoothness of your folded blanket. That is what we try to do with our muscles, retrain them to accept a full, thick smoothness and movement in ways they've lost touch with, through habitual posture and harmful work movements. I feel the source of my back ache, the small knot and pinched muscles. Tomorrow I will undoubtedly chose to do a back practise. It will help.
The rest of the day I lie down and read, walk half bent over with an ache in my back. It only leaves when I make time on my route to the laundry room to check out my pastel drawing that is mid process. I spend ten minutes looking at it. Add colour, and I examine the new, beautiful, soft purple skin thin gardening gloves that I've slipped on to keep my hands clean of the pastels. I like the gloves a lot, as much as I like the colours I'm using. The form needs more work. It looks too literal, too real. More abstraction needed.
As I leave the art making I notice that my back is okay. But then it changes and aches again. I walk very slowly. Lie down and read with knees supported. David arrives. The dogs come with him. I'm sleepy and sore.
My second ten minutes with the pastel, which precedes the laundry moving up to the clothes line, goes even better than earlier. I think this drawing is nearly done. Placed at a distance, I look at it keenly. The movement might need some more definition, but it feels great to work, even for just these few minutes. Timeless, just the aching back stops me.
Lie down to read with my knees elevated. Eventually the phone rings and I have a great, uplifting talk with Jen, my youngest. She is working on the process of realizing a great idea. Thinking it through. Her best friend and I agree to pitch in and help a bit. Excitement.
Blueberries beckon. I pick most of the remaining berries in the garden and I think of my large blueberry drawings from winter 2008, my winter garden drawings, charcoals, based on my photos.
Slowly, day two ends.
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