Utthita parsvottanasana

Utthita parsvottanasana was the next pose of the standing asanas that I wanted to document. It's a challenge to limit myself and to take a picture of only one asana. To take only one picture or two doesn't interrupt my picture that much. But to turn a practice into a shooting session does interrupt the practice and the flow. This is only one reason why I only take one picture. Another reason is that I want to give my body time to become flexible again. I want to avoid injuries. To practice with passion and committment is great, to be overzealous is dangerous. I have to play it safe these day.

I distinguish between performance practices and exercising practices. At home I'm in a learning mode. I do preparation asanas. I repeat asanas. I rest when it feels good.

Today I realized that I got stronger already. I could hold my body when I lowered it from plank pose. This makes my heart sing.

Once I was in a class and the two yoga teacher were discussing how far the feet shall be apart in utthita parsvottanasana. A student has complained, because one teacher taught her to have the feet rather close together, the other one was the opinion they should be wider away from each other.
For me this is not that important. The asanas of the standing sequence mean strong legs for me. I always check if my legs are engaged. In the above pose I think one shall also learn  to keep the chest open and not to round the back. That's why the hands are in prayer pose behind the back.

This pose used to be challenging for me. It took me years till the chin could touch the shin bone. I haven't lost this pose, but it's painful to get into it. That's why I was downtown yesterday to get a battery for my timer that allows me to set any time till the shutter clicks. The one in the camera has a 20 sec timer. This can be rather short.

My practice lasted 1 hour and 20 min. Then I was spent. My practice is very slowly. I know that I have to develop strength and flexibility slowly if I want to avoid injuries. The mind has stored that so many asanas were possible, but the body has lost the ability. I want to close this gap again.

I'm glad that I'm so disciplined. My practice gets easier with every practice that I did.

My picture project motivates me.
It motivates me to see videos of yoginis and yogis before my practice.