Thursday, January 19, 2006

Dukkha

Going into yoga this morning, my right shoulder ached. Why it did is a long story, the short version of which is this: it's messed up, but usually if I'm sufficiently attentive to it, I can do a reasonably challenging vinyasa practice without implicating its defects.

So I resolved to practice around the problem that lying on a mattress for seven hours apparently generated in it.

Then in the first uttanasana of Sun Salutation I, my perpetually grumpy right hamstring squawked. That's normal, but it was tighter this morning than usual. Even so, I figured it would stretch and lengthen in the warmth of the room if I treated it reasonably.

Then my right knee hurt when I flexed into crescent pose. I wiggled it a bit to get the pain to go away.

In horse pose, my foot cramped up a bit. I shifted it to fix the cramp.

In virabhdrasana II, a new knot formed under my left shoulderblade. It wouldn't go away, so I just kept going.

In Crow, a spot on an oblique muscle I pulled a month ago twinged.

While dukkha is usually attributed to the impermanence of all things, today, I'm hoping that my present condition is impermanent.