Slowly slowly

Tuesday's practice was very good. So good that I was even able to incorporate some jump backs into the routine and I felt strong pretty strong doing them putting more weight into the arms. I didn't attempt to bind in marichyasana d for fear of grave results. JB came over to offer an assist but I had to shake my head and decline the offer. I also had to take it easy in the last 3-4 poses of primary because rolling up from a reclined position was still a little painful. I was positively vibrating after yesterday's class and my colleagues even commented on my pre-coffee chipper mood.

Today's practice went similarly well and I'm feeling even less pain than the previous days. Today I have a feeling of lingering muscle soreness as opposed to a stabbing pain. Jump backs and jump throughs were back on the menu but I backed off as soon as I felt any odd sensations on the right side. I bound for the first time in almost 2 weeks in marichyasana d it wasn't very easy but there was no pain. I'd say that's the litmus test for this injury.

I got a soft adjustment in kurmasana to push my head and shoulders closer to the floor. In supta kurmasana JB wrangled my hands together and got me into a pretty firm bind but unfortunately there was no crossing of the feet so I didn't get to feel like a tightly packed burrito. However, to exit the pose I managed a fairly elegant jump back from bakasana into chatarunga. The key for me for this transition is to really have the arms high up on the legs and when that happens almost anything is possible.

The last several poses were still a little painful and challenging but more manageable than yesterday. Work continues on my hang backs however the ground doesn't feel like it's getting any closer and my knees seem too stubborn to bend. Perhaps I'll write them a letter. Assisted back bending with JB was fantastic as I was actually able to see my heels in the pose for the first time. At first I thought they were JBs heels but then I realized that I was seeing four sets of feet and one of them was brown so they had to be mine! I used my new Manduka Equa towel and I think that may have had something to do with it because my hands were much less slippery than usual. I'll write a full review on the towel in the next couple of days.