Argh! I have like a ton of papers to read and assess this week and I'm procrastinating, severely. Should stay off the internet completely, but may not be totally able to? These papers are a part of my work that I really hate having to deal with. It's so bad that I'm seriously considering to jump ship. It's NOT what I enjoy doing and it's not a part of what I'm either good at nor educated for...
Woke up this morning and was actually on my way out of bed and go to practice when my whole body just screamed "GO BACK TO SLEEP!". So I did... for another two hours. I'll be there tomorrow. Promise.
Shoulder is bugging me again. Need to take care of it! Last week I saw my massage therapist, or should I call her my body worker? Whao, did she work my shoulder! She is an ashtanga practitioner herself, which makes it so much easier for her to know what the problems are and what is causing them. As opposed to the bitch naprapath I saw last fall when the problems first started. She had never tried any form of yoga and the first thing she said after I told about my problem was "We DO get a LOT of YOGA related injuries now, you know" - fucking bitch... Anyway, she (my beloved masseuse, that is) gave me a few more good tips for stretching exercises and advice about practice. Upper pecs seems to be a part of the chest that is often forgotten or neglected. I can totally relate to that! When my shoulder is killing me I often also feel a kind of tension below the collar bone. I've written here before of the notion that I need to lift and open the chest and let the heart strive towards the sky, which seems to be an accurate image. Another little muscle that often cause, especially women, problems is infraspinatus. She confirmed Gabis advice that I should be working more with lats since we tend to compensate week lats in sun sals by overloading infraspinatus. So now I need to find a way to train and build those lats. I need to go to the gym? Anyway, I must see body worker again, soon. She's good :)
Well, aren't we cheerful today?
18 comments:
This picture is hilarious!
I want a body worker with ashtanga background. You need to cherish yours - there are rare! My shoulderblade is killing me, and I do not know who to ask for help. Oh, well, there is always china gel and epsom salt bath...
oh God, yeah. People who do not practice don't understand. My hand surgeon last year informed me that "there's a reason we don't walk on all fours anymore" in explaining why I should never put weight on my hands. Ummm, okay.
Lats? Hmmm. Owl might have a suggestion. I do find, as cliche as this may seem, that really being mindful in the poses brings the necessary openings, and what's interesting is when I play with the fundamental poses - triangle, extended side angle, etc. - how much more movement there is to experience. If this makes any sense.
I hate my job too. Lets win lots of money and travel the world and teach frazzled office workers to stand on their heads. Wouldn't the world be a better place?
ROAR!
xx
I think it would be a great idea to get contracts to go into office buildings and give chair massages to stressed-out workers. How amazing would that be?
I hope you're feeling better tomorrow! Lucky that you have a great masseuse. I haven't had a massage in god-knows-how-long. Everything is retarded expensive here. Maybe I could find a student? Hmm.
How does one work the lats in the sun salutations? Do you mean that they are used to pull back and down on the shoulders during downward dog?
I guess we each score posts that confuse the other!
and i like "naprapath(?)bitch" but i don't know what that is? i mean, i know the bitch part.
hi everyone!
thanks, i'm feeling better today! had a good practice this morning and that always helps :) still putting off those papers though...
i wish for all of us to find a good ashtangi massage therapist! Alfia, you will have one soon! Cranky will take care of your shoulder blade :) and you should try to find something with capsaicin, ask her about it!
JS, that's a great idea! it's actually quite common here.
Anna, didn't Ashtangi write about a shoulder problem and her body worker saying something about lats in DD recently? can't access her blog anymore, so i can't find it...
Eeyore, don't you have naprapaths? they are similar to chiropractors but i think they work more with muscles and ligaments than chiros. glad i don't have to explain the bitch part ;-)
oh, and Carl, i'm happy i'm not the only one being confused!
no, chitta, i'll google naprapath to see what comes up around here.
Chitta, I forgot to give you this info:
http://www.samasthitistudio.com/
I wish Paris weren't quite as far away as it is! I would come and take class with you and wouldn't it be grand?
Maybe when I come to Sweden!
Mmmm. Lats. Maybe the habits are pretty established in most postures, including DD (where they could probably be working more, and where the poor infrasp might be getting stressed over time)?
How is your headstand? Is it a place where you could play with moving the work around, maybe activating the lats, then releasing them, then reactivating? Since you have the option to bear some weight on them there, or take it mostly in shoulders or forearms, maybe that would illuminate options for how to get the lats involved elsewhere (esp DD)?
I dunno though. Will continue to mull it.
Oh, crap.
Now I think I remember you said headstand wasn't good.
If so, another idea.
On "DWE" in surya namask, pretend you are swimming. Really pull the arms down (esp the first part) from the sky as if the air is water and you have to use the back muscles to pull you up through it. Lats lats lats. Then three breaths later push to updog and rotate your shoulders a bit until you fell the lats open your chest from the back. Keep the awareness there moving to DD?
Not sure, but maybe a place to play.
Joy, thank you!
and yes! that would've been fabulous - you and me in Paris :) we will definitely take a class together when you come here! do you have plans to do so?
you are indeed the Most Fabulous Owl!
(mull, that's a new word to me, i like it! i will do precisely that - take your suggestions and mull them :)
you're right, i haven't done headstand since last fall, (except when Petri was here). but i'm starting to try for it again (feet still on the ground) and i see exactly what you mean by playing and moving the weight around. my problem in headstand has probably been exactly that, the lats should be more involved and less weight on shoulders and forearms. and i'll try the surya namaskar 'swim'!
oh, i'm all excited to play with this :) i'll report how it unfolds, thank you so much!
I told you most fabulous owl. : )
those suggestions are fun. I think I will try them myself. Lately I've been having fun playing around in the fundamentals, like triangle too.
you sure did :)
it is fun when you can play like that, isn't it?! feels like i've been doing that all week with Mercury. she's has me doing things i've never tried before, lots of fun! but she does make me work too... ouch! my tummy oy! my legs!
I know, right? Lets get massages!
Yes Chitta I'll be coming next year probably. I've got an ooooold uncle Ivan that I'd like to see and time is short. Plus cousins and aunts and uncles a-plenty in Stockholm.
oh, i hope you'll make it! we must meet then and practice, it'll be so much fun :) :) :)
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