Practice update

So hi,
I wanted to share what's new in my practice, what had I discovered, where I did have some troubles. Last couple of weeks I had not been writing frequently about it so there must be a warning that this post will probably be super long and probably outdo all my other posts in it. I thought I will share though because I got some valuable pieces of advice that might help others too. Not only in getting into some of the asanas, but more importantly preventing injury and/or pain.

Ujjayi revisited
....Or shall I say discovered?
Because it turned out that what I do is something, I must say pretty weird. I used to breath through my nose, but I sort of did quick inhale through my nose only, and longer exhale that goes through both throat and nose. Now I'm working on breathing in through both throat and nose, and breathing out the same way. The main issue though with my breathing is to lengthen it, especially the inhale part, so that the length of exhale and inhale becomes even.  Now, that fact made my practice longer for sure. There was this time that my friend came to Mysore class and she said she will do half primary today, and I did the entire thing. How is that that we finished pretty much at the same time, I wondered?  Here goes another mystery solved ;) I was just breathing incorrectly and WAY too fast. Now some of the postures that seemed easy before, now are really, really hard to hold for entire amount of counts. That's because my breath gets longer, so the postures I have to hold for a longer time too. I thought before that something must be wrong if I can hold them and I don't even feel much... Another mystery demystified ;)
Like Navasana, Utplutihih. THE HEADSTAND I was like ok, 15 up, 10 half way, up and down, no problem.  And now I'm like, OMG that is haaaarrrddddd. After headstand I'm like,  I'm completely wiped out. So much effort, but at least I feel like something is happening.  Some strength is building. If feels good.

Uddiyana Bandha
Remembering and being reminded about Uddiyana Bandha helped me in most of postures. Some of them were easier to lean forward, like in all the Janu Sirsasana's, keep balance, like in Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, or be supported and stop jamming your neck in Setu Bandhasana. The biggest revelation though was my problem with getting into Ubhaya Padangusthasa. Once I remembered Uddiyana Bandha, the problem "magically" disappeared.  ;)
Another moment when Uddiyana Bandha is useful proved to be backbends. But let me keep it forlater as I'm planning a long paragraph on it. Here goes...

Backbends :)
I thought I will just put up all the listings I made about advices on both getting up and dropping back and to Urdhva Dhanurasana. First things first though. The first problem was actually with back drops (when you stand and have your arms crossed and teacher helps you to deepen your backbends). Well, I did not understand before that it is not about simply leaning back! Instead, you need to engage Uddiyana Bandha, stand on your own legs, and go as much down as you can, but not more that you can support.  By doing that I really felt like there is some work going on.
Once you reach down, and you walk with your hands, here are some pointers I got:
- keep breathing slowly
-  if you stop breathing the moment you get up, the world will disappear;) I mean you will have your own personal blackout. Checked empirically today, if you get up with breath that will not happen.
Now tips on my beloved getting up ;)
- you can start with rocking. Exhale on your hands, inhale on your legs. The important thing is though, to not speed up the breath or the movement, because it will go out of sync, and if it does you won't get up.
- getting up should not come from the contortion of the spine. Instead the movement should be initiated from hips going forward direction and strong legs.
(I will stop here for moment - this is a back pain prevention that I checked for myself. Before I had some pain in lower back. Last week and this week I have experienced no pain at all.)
- the head should go last
- Uddiyana Bandha and Mula Bandha engaged
- heels inside and don't turn them out too much. (Years of ballet don't help here ;)
That's quite a listing!
:)
May I add something from myself... Don't get frustrated too quickly. Just be patient with yourself. I used to get really irritated when I can't do something right away. It's sort of pressure in my head telling me that if I don't do it NOW, the world will most certainly collapse.  It really helps to remember that yoga is a lifelong practice, there is always another day when you can try again. Besides it is not a competition for anything, which is definitely  hard to re-learn for a mind of a dancer and it's world of auditions and other stuff like that.

Marichyasana B problem & solution
So recently I've got some troubles in Marichyasana B, due to my hyper mobility in ankles, or that's at least what I've been told I have (years ago when I was in physical therapy  for some minor injury, the therapist told me that if he would twist the ankle of a " normal person" like that, he would most certainly break it ;). Thought some other abnormal ankle owners might have the same issue.
So the problem is that when I put my leg in half lotus and then put my other foot on the ground, my feet unnaturally twist, creating pressure on my ankle joint. Today I learned about possible solution to this problem. When you do half lotus, the feet should not rest completely loose, because if it does, it will twist. Instead, when you do half lotus, flex you foot just a little, so that the heel points towards the hip crease. That might make a position a little harder to bind and lean forward, but at least is pain free.

Hello Pasasana
On Monday I've been given a first posture of the second series, Pasasana, which is definitely harder then it looks. It's a combination of balance, twist, and pretty difficult bind. In general, really challenging. Also the transition from the posture is hard. Have nothing else to say for now, other than it's been only couple of days that I've been doing it. It really does not look so hard in the picture ;) as with everything ! If all was so easy then where is all the fun and what's the point :) So I'm enjoying the challenge :)

That it for now, I think. Long enough. I congratulate anybody who made it till the end of this post. Hurray, good job :)
Keep practicing :)
Joanna