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A Yogini's Blog by Tazima Davis
For Your Modern Urban Yoga Lifestyle

...demonstrating how a yogi is also a foodie, motorcyclist, avid cartwheeler, and lover of corny musicals

save-my-shoulder vinyasa flow

i woke up with the most beautiful no-chaturanga flow in my head this morning. so flowy. so juicy. so good.

my shoulder + ouch

last night, i went to sleep with a very hurty shoulder when i woke up, it was even more hurty, even though i had tried to sleep carefully.

it’s been going on for about 3 weeks; i jammed it while lifting my heavy steel bike up some stairs. blegh!

until today, i had been doing ardha chaturangas and down dogs, but when i woke up, my shoulder was like, hells-to-the-no!

so i listened to my body… and to this flow that woke me up. and went outside on the front lawn to practice next to the water, under a blue sky with seagulls coasting in the breeze.

and here, i’ll share it with you.

save-my-shoulder flow:

right side
(inhale) tadasana, mountain pose, top of mat
(exhale) bend knees, drop hips
(inhale) utkatasana, arms up, shoulders down
(exhale) utanasana, forward fold
(inhale) urdhva prasarita ekapadasana, standing split, right leg up
(exhale) step right leg to back of mat
(inhale) virabhadrasana i, warrior 1, arms up
(exhale) virabhadrasana ii, warrior 2, arms out
(inhale) rotate hips & feet to the right
(exhale) trikonasana, triangle pose, right hand down, left hand up
(inhale) *feel + breathe*
(exhale) rotate hips, rest left knee down, point toe
(inhale) anjaneyasana, kneeling crescent lunge, sweep arms up, tailbone down
(exhale) utanasana, step to back of mat, forward fold
(inhale) utkatasana, arms up, shoulders down
(exhale) extend legs, arms down

left side
(inhale) tadasana, mountain pose, back of mat
(exhale) bend knees, drop hips
(inhale) utkatasana, arms up, shoulders down
(exhale) utanasana, forward fold
(inhale) urdhva prasarita ekapadasana, standing split, left leg up
(exhale) step left leg to front of mat
(inhale) virabhadrasana i, warrior 1, arms up, facing rear
(exhale) virabhadrasana ii, warrior 2, arms out
(inhale) rotate hips & feet to the left
(exhale) trikonasana, triangle pose, left hand down, right hand up
(inhale) *feel + breathe*
(exhale) rotate hips, rest right knee down, point toe
(inhale) anjaneyasana, kneeling crescent lunge, sweep arms up, tailbone down
(exhale) utanasana, step to front of mat, forward fold
(inhale) utkatasana, arms up, shoulders down
(exhale) extend legs, arms down
(inhale) tadasana, mountain pose, front of mat

if your shoulders feel too bad to be sweeping your arms all around, keep the hands at the heart and focus on engaging the core to help build heat.

and if your shoulders feel fine, enjoy this inspired dance mindfully.

Set #12: 108 of 108 Vinyasas across the nation from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA - FINALLY! YAY!

Location: Living room at my new place (amazingly, i was able to keep the chest high piles of boxes out of the shot)

Notes: My lazy monkey mind didn’t feel like doing practice, but really wanted the closure for the trip. 

Even though the leg between Arizona & LA was a short one, this practice happened after…
unpacking the truck
trying to fit everything i had left from my 1 bedroom apt in DC into one room of my current place
rushing to return the rental truck (thank goodness there were no fees!)
then grabbing some food at my favorite local place: Lemonade at the corner of Venice Blvd, and Abbot Kinney in Venice, CA.

Sorry the video is so dark; it looked lighter when i was setting up the shoot; should have turned on another lamp!

My Yoga Mala Journey: 108 Vinyasas across the nation, Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA

Day 6 Update Location: Poolside in the backyard of my cousin’s lovely home near Tempe, Arizona

Notes:
After a day of fun, eating, and rest, I got ready for the final leg of my cross-country journey with an early morning sunrise yoga practice. This is my pre-practice update.

Set #11: 99 of 108 Vinyasas across the nation from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA

Location: Poolside in the back yard of my cousin’s lovely home near Tempe, AZ

Notes: Sunday’s rest was much needed and even though my sleep was somewhat restless, I was pumped about this final leg.  Only 402 miles made this the shortest leg of the trip.  The rest ranged from about 550-800 miles each day. WHEW! 

I kept this practice simple and made sure to include some twists and a nice hanumanasana to help with the hip flexors.  I flipped the dog just for fun and to honor my cousin’s two terriers that love CURRY! LOL!

Day 5: DC-LA Yoga Mala - A Day OFF!
sunday 10/10/10: fun times at Fiddlesticks Family Fun Park.

location: near Phoenix, AZ

notes: i took a break from driving for fun with family and the adrenaline rush of a go-cart racing with lots of laughter-induced pranayama. i also defended my honor and my undefeated air hockey record!  

the rest did me some good and i was able to recover from some of the shoulder soreness from yoga and driving. monday, it was back on the road.

Set #10: 90 of 108 Vinyasas across the nation from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA

Location: I-40 West (exit 128) near Las Lunas, Valencia, New Mexico

Notes: The backdrop of this practice was just STUNNING and super inspirational. It was also HOT!  I added a shoulder-variation opening eagle and opted out of all the chaturangas because my shoulders were on fire from yoga and driving tension. 

I wished I could stay longer and do a fuller, more juicy restorative practice, but had to keep it moving in order to get to dinner at my cousins in a timely fashion. 

Dinner did turn out to be AWESOME with grilled salmon, veggies, and potatoes… eaten at about 9 pm.  We chatted until about 11 then needed to get some rest.

Set #8: 72 of 108 Vinyasas across the nation from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA

Location: Roadside I-44 Westbound near Kellysville, OK in the Creek Indian Nation.

Notes: This was a really hot set; not sure of the temperature but it was definitely at LEAST 85 deg F. I stopped along I-44 Westbound because I was starting to feel tired and needed some energy.  As usual, the practice got me going again. 

I was also excited about practicing in Native American lands. I was fascinated each time we passed into another reservation. The east has no such delineations, well perhaps not as clear as in Oklahoma.

63 of 108 Vinyasas | Missouri Flow Part 1 | DC-LA Yoga Mala

Day #3 - Set #7 of my Yoga Mala Journey from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA.

Location: This set was done in a field near State Road MM  off I-44 west of Springfield, MO.

Notes:
This short flow was getting so juicy, that it ran long and I had to split it up into two parts. I really needed something extra since the place I stayed in Springfield, MO was so bad and I had so little sleep. Thank goodness for my yoga practice.

63 of 108 Vinyasas | Missouri Flow Part 2 | DC-LA Yoga Mala

Day #3 - Set #7 of my Yoga Mala Journey from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA.

Location: This set was done in a field near State Road MM  off I-44 west of Springfield, MO.

My Yoga Mala Journey: 108 Vinyasas across the nation, Washington DC to Los Angeles, CA

Day 2 Update Location:  Evanston, IL - near the High School

Notes:
Got in VERY late Wednesday night / Thursday morning.  So after a brunch with Mom (saltfish & bake AND her special oatmeal. YUM!), I did my practice and hit the road.

54 of 108 Vinyasas | Illinois Flow | DC-LA Yoga Mala

Day #2 - Set #6 of my Yoga Mala Journey from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA

Location: Front yard @ Mom’s in my hometown, Evanston, IL. (Near the high school ;) for all my E-town friends)

Notes: I did some traditional sun salutations, some impromptu flowing vinyasa sequences, and added some twists, hip stretches, & backbends since I knew I’d be sitting all day.

It was the only practice I did that day and it showed! I was so cranky by the end of this long day. On top of that, when we got to the hotel, the dude said the system was down and he couldn’t check us in. Fortunately, I had prepaid, and sleep was FINALLY had by all.

45 of 108 Vinyasas | Indiana Flow | DC-LA Yoga Mala

Day #1 - Set #5 of my Yoga Mala Journey from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA.

Location: Fast food drive-thru lane off of Westbound I-70 near Cumberland, IN.

Notes:
Stopped at a regular rest stop for gas and food. I, jokingly at first, chose to do the set in the fast food drive-thru lane. Then realized just how perfectly Compassionate Renegade to do so. 

In this set, I was also inspired to do some core work… to fortify my digestive system against some of the craziness I had to eat on the road.

36 of 108 Vinyasas | Ohio Flow | DC-LA Yoga Mala

Day #1 - Set #4 of my Yoga Mala Journey from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA.

Location: Parking lot at Schlepp’s Family Restaurant in Morristown, OH

Notes:
Thank goodness for no more rain. It was still cool, but tolerable. I really wanted to catch the beautiful pink sunset, but tragically, we missed the opportunity. Parking lot lamp would just have to do the job for this set. 

Due to the tiredness and to stave off potential cramping, I focused on hips and hamstrings to reduce fatigue.  I dropped a few chaturangas out of this set due to achy shoulders.

27 of 108 Vinyasas | Pennsylvania Flow | DC-LA Yoga Mala

Day #1 - Set #3 of my Yoga Mala Journey from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA.

Location: An underpass along I-79 North near I-70 in PA

Notes: Still rainy and cold. After the experience at the Harley-Davidson dealership, I figured I’d just pull over in PA.

The trucks were loud and icky road spray was everywhere, but this practice still helped me get centered and refreshed.

My Yoga Mala Journey: 108 Vinyasas across the nation, Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA

Day 1 Update Location: 16th & Colesville NW, Washington DC

Notes:
I am embarking on a cross country journey.  Along the way, I’ll be practicing and recording my yoga practices in each state I drive through.  At the end, I will have completed a Yoga Mala of 108 vinyasas across the nation.