Shoulder. "Jois."

Two days ago I held the toes through an entire Supta Vajrasana and celebrated–shoulder healed! Today, sore as it was in May, no jumpbacks really, and still consistent soreness. Depression! Gotta love the emotional rollercoaster.

Primary only, and watching a woman back to my left do a pretty Intermediate. Jealous as hell, but noting it and passing it along. My vinyasa are more powerful, and some of my poses prettier, but she did a full Kapo and Dwi Pada (no preps) and lowered Karanda slowly and didn’t have to take a batch of breaths after each of the strength poses as I often do. She has the superior practice (if we’re counting that sort of thing).

TL gave me a cool shoulder rotation thing to do, which I liked, but in general I’m going to come away from practice here wishing that I was back in my private, traditional-as-I-wanna-be home practice. I’ve NEVER wished for that. So that’s pretty interesting. I used to believe, just as policy, that instruction is better than home practice, and true, there are OCCASIONS when it is. The INVALUABLE instruction that I got on dropbacks from Matthew Sweeney in 2008, opened those for me and they have never shut since, although they are often difficult for me and they’re never consistent.

The April shoulder injury, which backed up my Kapo from foot-creeping all the way back to effortful toe-touching, totally sapped the backbend quest out of me. I haven’t had it since. I still care, but there’s a big wide stretch of indifference in it now. Two obsessive years while doing various parts of seventh series. It just feels dumb to keep stoking both of those fires together, it feels unwise. Perhaps this is growing up. But, I invented dropbacks for myself in January at a YMCA and I was working well toward Kapo in February, in March, the next year, also in a YMCA. Who needs summer, who needs heat?

Leave me in my quiet little pond in the Midwest.

OR

What the fuck is this “Jois” thing that’s opening in Encinitas? No insult intended, and the schedule’s compelling, but they’re opening an American KPJAYI in Tim’s backyard (don’t they recall how Islamorada went)?

I can fly for the opening led class dates for about 250 bucks. 50 per class, 150 for three (I’m thinking Sharath’s led, opening days; school begins here on that Monday, the 23rd).

Do I have 400 bucks to spare, and can my contact in SD put me up then? Would that be stupid or marvelous?

Would it be suffocating or fantastic to be surrounded by who-the-fuck-knows-how-many ashtangis in one of the acknowledged power nexuses on Earth for this practice?