Nala is on my lap and I'm making her purr
Apr. 7th, 2006 10:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flexagonTonight we had the monthly 'master class' in yoga, focusing on handstands. To my surprise, I lasted through the class and even got upside down a few times. We did the following handstandy drills:
I cannot do all of these -- the straddle-up seems near impossible for me, not surprising given my lousy flexibility in that position -- but after trying them all I found it easier than ever before to kick up to the wall near the end of class. (That last thing? Turns out you can move the other way through that too, by kicking up and over into split handstand on the wall and then crawling back down into your backbend). I loved the tapping-the-opposite-thigh drill. I think just keeping my lower back curved so that my hips are cocked back makes a huge difference too... that rear end is HEAVY, folks, and the closer it is to where I'm trying to put it, the better. :)
This week at work was all about fixing a problem and getting a 'hot fix' out to a customer implementation, which means pressure. That was okay except for the new discovery of more mysterious behavior today at about 4:30 PM. Much as I gnash my teeth to admit it, I'm halfway looking forward to going in to work tomorrow just to figure out what the hell is going on with that mangy piece of code. The new problem is so strange-looking I can't help but be curious.
And... I'm getting quite interested in offsetting my carbon emissions. Check out climatecare.org to learn more. HLM says doing this is a bit like buying indulgences from the Catholic church in days past, and maybe so... but I like the idea of neutralizing some of the bad things I do. Nonharmfulness has been featuring a lot in my thoughts lately. And carbon emission offsetting is fairly cheap, at least if one doesn't fly a lot.
Anyway, back to reading V for Vendetta. I want to finish it before we see the movie tomorrow night. I decided I'd rather have the unsullied graphic novel experience than the unsullied movie experience (indeed, I'll probably understand the movie better if I've read the book; I can be a little stupid about movies.) It's been a long time since I read a good graphic novel, so V is making me pretty happy.
- Start with hands down in front of you, one foot down and one up behind you as far as possible. Kick up, using just the foot on the floor, and then just bend that knee and try to tap the foot to the opposite thigh and then come back down.
- Start with wide-straddled legs, and try to "straddle up" enough to balance or at least float briefly.
- Do half-handstand against the wall. Bring one foot up and behind you (away from the wall) to get into split handstand. Then bend that knee (and your back) to come into half-scorpion (still safely on the wall).
- Holding a towel or rolled-up T-shirt between your thighs, try to get hips over shoulders and feet to wall... or at least tuck in and get hips over shoulders so you can balance against the wall.
- Backbend with toes touching the baseboard, then walk up the wall and push off it to transition through split handstand and to standing (same neat thing I posted about last week).
I cannot do all of these -- the straddle-up seems near impossible for me, not surprising given my lousy flexibility in that position -- but after trying them all I found it easier than ever before to kick up to the wall near the end of class. (That last thing? Turns out you can move the other way through that too, by kicking up and over into split handstand on the wall and then crawling back down into your backbend). I loved the tapping-the-opposite-thigh drill. I think just keeping my lower back curved so that my hips are cocked back makes a huge difference too... that rear end is HEAVY, folks, and the closer it is to where I'm trying to put it, the better. :)
This week at work was all about fixing a problem and getting a 'hot fix' out to a customer implementation, which means pressure. That was okay except for the new discovery of more mysterious behavior today at about 4:30 PM. Much as I gnash my teeth to admit it, I'm halfway looking forward to going in to work tomorrow just to figure out what the hell is going on with that mangy piece of code. The new problem is so strange-looking I can't help but be curious.
And... I'm getting quite interested in offsetting my carbon emissions. Check out climatecare.org to learn more. HLM says doing this is a bit like buying indulgences from the Catholic church in days past, and maybe so... but I like the idea of neutralizing some of the bad things I do. Nonharmfulness has been featuring a lot in my thoughts lately. And carbon emission offsetting is fairly cheap, at least if one doesn't fly a lot.
Anyway, back to reading V for Vendetta. I want to finish it before we see the movie tomorrow night. I decided I'd rather have the unsullied graphic novel experience than the unsullied movie experience (indeed, I'll probably understand the movie better if I've read the book; I can be a little stupid about movies.) It's been a long time since I read a good graphic novel, so V is making me pretty happy.
