Bus Body

Alex and I doing closing sequence at Kiran's in N.O.

When I lived in New Orleans, my body was the bendiest that it's ever been. Alex and I would leave home on our bikes at around 5:30am to get to the shala around 6 (this bike ride is another tale entirely--chased by feral dogs, scolded by police to steer clear of the 'hood, daily shout-outs and serenades by the residents...). This, in combination with the warm, humid climate, made me feel like rubber-woman during my practice. A nice feeling for someone who is not naturally flexible. I actually became hooked on this routine, and found it very difficult to practice without a bike ride first.

At some point during the fall after we started practicing Ashtanga (when it was still quite warm in New Orleans), Alex hurt his wrist and was unable to bike for a few weeks. What does biking have to do with a sore wrist? Well, biking amongst the potholes and general bumpiness of the streets in New Orleans is similar to being inside one of those paint shaking machines--I would imagine. You have to hold on for your dear life, and hope your bike has really good shocks! We lived too far away to walk, so we took the bus. The buses, like everything else in New Orleans, were air conditioned to the point of insanity (think Dr. Evil and Mr. Bigglesworth floating in outer space). Though I would wear layers on the bus, the air conditioning managed to permeate through my entire body--to the core. "Bus body" was a term coined by Kiran one morning when she was squishing me in paschimottanasana. As I've mentioned before, Kiran was amazingly tuned into energy and what was going on in our bodies (she even once noticed a change in my smell when I changed my diet). As soon as she started squishing me, she knew something was up. I told her we had taken the frigid bus to the shala, and my muscles were rock hard (as in stiff, not buff). This condition was henceforth known as "bus body". It was most noticeable early in the series, and would work itself out by the end of my practice--until I hopped on the bus again.

The reason I bring this up now, is that I'm currently in a perpetual state of "bus body". I no longer bike for 30 minutes before I practice, and I now live in a city that is cold more often than not. Because of this, every time I practice it starts off the same. First surya namaskara A: Inhale, arms up. Exhale, palms to the floor--but my palms don't come anywhere close to the floor! In some yoga traditions you would grab as far down on your legs as you can reach, but energetic connections are very important in Ashtanga, so we put our palms to the floor and bend our knees as deeply as needed. My knees are often bent in these forward bends through all of surya namaskara A and some of the surya namaskara B's. I had a nice break from "bus body" while on Maui, though my flexibility was nowhere near what it was in New Orleans. As much as I miss feeling like rubber-woman, I am thankful that my practice has been released from the shackles of a "pre-practice routine". I like being able to wake up, step on my mat, and begin the opening prayer. Well, it's not quite that simple. As the mother to a 2-year-old, I do have a few things to get in order before I can practice--none of which are "warm-ups", though. The surya namaskaras is my warm-up, as I think is intended.