Ashtanga, finally

Karen had finally come back from her leave (she was on an ashtanga training course, of course) so I had my first ashtanga class in about four months. For some reason it was a very small class this time, but it was nice to see Linda and Emma again.

Doing ashtanga again just reaffirmed what I remembered - this really is my thing. Ujjayi breath came back to me like I hadn't been away and I was able to maintain it throughout the session. In the one-hour class we do the short version of sun salutation warm-up: three each of Surya Namaskar A and B instead of the normal five. I'm glad too that we didn't do more than that because although my flexibility seems to be where I left it, on the aerobic side I seem to be lacking a bit.

But it's funny, it almost seems like the break has been good for me. I felt that especially the stretches were easier than they used to be, and that I was able to easily wrap my hands around the soles of my feet whereas it used to be quite difficult. (I remember when I started a little over a year ago I couldn't even touch my toes.)

But I obviously made a mistake and did the up-dogs properly in the beginning when there didn't seem to be any pain in my wrist. After a couple it got painful so I reverted back to the beginner versions, but it was too late. This morning my wrist feels sore, which it hasn't been for months now. Next time I'll just follow the voice of reason.