Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Well, two days in a row, I got up nice and early (yes, the start of school does that to teachers.  You have ALL these nights to get nervous about:  The night before the teachers go back.  The night before you meet your homeroom.  The night before your first full day.  The night before your first Monday.  I might not get a good nights' sleep until October!).  What to do with all that "extra" time?  Well, how about some yoga?

It took a lot more convincing today to get my body out of bed.  My mind kept telling it, "Well, I'm up.  We might as well do something."  The body whined back, "I know if I open my eyes, it's still going to be dark.  The legs are too tired, and the neck is nice and comfy at this angle.  If you make me get up now, I'm never going to make it to the end of the day!  You don't even know what I'm going to wear today!"  To which the mind replied, "Ah ha!  All the more reason to get up!  We need to see if that dress needs ironing."  Of course the dress didn't need to be ironed.  It's so frustrating to my lazy self when the mind outsmarts me!

Anyway, I'm glad I got up.  Since the dress didn't need to be ironed, I put the time to good use by getting on the floor again.  (No way was the mind convincing the body to stumble downstairs in the dark to fetch my mat.  The mind is cue-ing right now: "Maybe you should just bring the mat upstairs the night before.  Then I'll have more ammo with which to trick you in the morning!")

I decided to follow the same practice I followed yesterday morning - Sun Salutations followed by some lunges, reclined twists, and planks leading up to Vashisthasana.  I had a little bit of trouble with my Side-Planks yesterday.  I couldn't hold them for long...but today, TODAY was a different story.  It was measurably easier today (and I was considerably more lazy today!).  My form just felt better - the side wasn't sagging, the legs were stacked instead of staggered, the shoulder wasn't sinking.  Perhaps my practice yesterday was setting me up for doing a little better today.  Now, what if I get up early again tomorrow and attempt the same flow?  Will "practice make perfect"?

Perfection does not come easy on the mat - but practice does bring you, step by step, closer.  Perfection is not the solution in yoga.  The journey is the solution.  It's about what you discover on that journey.  How does each day change your practice?  Do subtle variations make you feel better, stronger, more confident?  All of this experimentation on the mat is what makes yoga so much fun.

So go ahead, Lather, Rinse, and Repeat your flow.  It may never get perfect, but it will always get better!