Just before I began practice, as always, I gave my respects quietly, prayed for a good spiritual practice, prayed that my practice would benefit all the people in my world, prayed that everyone in the shala would have a good practice also, and devoted today’s practice to my daddy (I love you daddy – God rest your soul).  After that I lifted my arms for my first sun salutation and the rest is all a blur (just the way it should be!!!!)  There were only five times during the practice that I left my little divine place and was re-connected to reality: 1) When Guruji and Sharath entered the shala to chant our opening mantra, 2) when Saraswati assisted me with Supta Vajrasana, 3) right after that when I talked myself into Bakasana (aside: I swear this pose is my nemesis right now – some days I get Bakasana B fine, but I’ve really been struggling the last five practices or so – just miss by an inch and my toes ever so slightly touch the floor and then I gotta try try again…Well today I missed the first time and then I said to myself, “damit Krista you can do this and it doesn’t matter if you bust your skull – you did it in Thailand when you blacked out and busted your chin and cracked your teeth – this will be much less painful I promise” – And somehow that little ‘pep’ talk did the trick b/c I simply glided into Bakasana B and held it ever so gingerly for five breaths….Way to go Krista – now lets see if you can do it again tomorrow!); 4) when I  go to Eka Pada Sirsasana – I love this pose and quite enjoy how it feels but I’ve noticed my hips are much tighter recently ever since I’ve been back at the gym doing cardio five days per week…Oh the dilemma…I so enjoy doing cardio again – it feels so good for my body but the down side is that it will most definitely make you tighter – no matter how long I spend stretching afterwards…Oh well, for now I’m gonna keep on keeping on with my yoga and my cardio and keep working to get those hips more open – I can do the pose fine but my right side simply wants to slip from my arm if I don’t really focus uber intensely by pushing my right leg strongly onto my arm and head…; and 5) when Saraswati helped me with drop backs….Another place I feel tighter now that I’m doing cardio again…But I think it’s such a good balance b/t the two and I’ll get back to where I once was when I was doing them both everyday – with time the cardio won’t really hinder my practice at all but help it via the strength, endurance, and cardio vascular strength I’ll regain by doing it….